Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-02-12

| ed even to the colonies and the native
1 Africans arc being decimated by the
alcohol habit introduced to them by
/, tho occddentals. Regions that were
| very productive are slowly becominR
denuded of labor. for the colonists
must depend on the native negro in
| asmuch as the whito man is not ac-
cnmatiZed and perhaps in certain dis
tricts never can be. .,
Statistics show the appalling de-
crease of the population in the provin-
ces OF Brittany. Normandy, Picard, etc,
where the race has been. heretofore,
SO strong and vigorous In Normandy
alone there has been O loss in the last
Is years of 100000 inhabitants. In some
districts the rapid decline of tho race
mas been 80 or so per cont of tho pop
Olaoon. When one realizes that the
French as a people arc not emigrating
TO other countries, one must look for tho
cause for this terrible Milling off. Chill
dren born OF alcoholic parents die by
the hundreds before leaving tho cradle.
and the military authorities claim that
alcohol costs France an army corps
each year and tho French army con-
tains only 20 corps.
Franco has a unique custom-that IS
the "apcritif hour" What the French
people call "aperitf' is in the Amerl-
can parlance an appetizer. Each day
IRON B. o'clock on, practically all men
cease whatever work they ore engaged
In TO indulge in their hobitual aperitlf
which Is in the great majority of cases
glass OF absinthe. Other countries
In Europe depend on their afternoon
tea or coffee but the Frenchman In
general absolutely demands his alb
sinthe. This is n daily routine that
Is followed out almost without n break
and tho custom ls no respecter of class
ThGTn iS qiUDnltF L.,
price, quality. and place of taking It.
The cafes at this hour present n scene
OF great activity. Cafo life In Paris
Is outdoor life and the chill of winter
is no barrier to this outdoor drinking
An awning protects the patron from
the elements while n huge cylinder
stove Is supposed to give the necessary
warmth. On the boulevards are cafes
where the bourgeolsle and the men of
Independent means congregate at the
hour when they take their aperItif
Tho price of absinthe here Is 10 or IL
cents n glass and Ii there is n virtue
In obslnthe II exists in the fact that
at these better cafes the drink is at
least unadulterated
ABSINTHE AT LUNCH HOUR.
An exact Imitation of this daily scene
occurs In the poorer quarters. Instead
VI ti' Mtii Didil VI INC DtIlou
ono sees the white or blue overallS of
the workmen and hands and face still
covered with the CRIME and dirt of tho
days labor. All have stopped work for
an hour or half an hour, as the caSo
may be. and they. too. are talking.
gesticulatlng and arguing over their
glass of absinthe Their absInthe Is
only three or four cents a glass and
1t Is a drink that contains tho most
nauseous ingredients. a mixture that
first excites the brain and ends by
turning men into worse than beasts.
The alcoholic habit is a constant drain
on the slender purse OF the meagerly
paid workman and the dire results arc
far-reaching. The wife becomes a
martyr to the husbands habits. and the
children degenerate. They are born
with q tendency to epileptic fits, scrof-
uln and idiocy. thereby filling tho
whole country with undesirable citi-
zens. The papers are constantly filled
with the cold blooded crimes that are
nightly taking place in Paris alone
These degenerate offspring of the
imblbers OF abslnthe arc called "apaoh-
es." Usually they are young follows
from II to 30 years old-smnll in
stature. slight and far from athletic
looking.
CRIMES OF DEGENERATES
Their manner OF attack is always
underhand. a warning is seldom given
to their victim and their habit Is to