The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-12
CHURCHES DEFENDED
Exes- Thinker Maurice Barres Says ohe Beautiful Edifices Help Sat- isfy the Innermost Cravings
 ef the Human Soul


 still, 1t has almost succeeded in disor-
 ganfzing the French army. and for this
 reason its suppression Is of the greatest
 importance to the future of the French
 republic as great power.
 Last year there were 13.500 Sdeserters
 and 53,000 who refused to answer their
 call to military service. Loss to France
 Tn 1910 two army corps. These figures
 are given by La France Militaire sol- niers'N newspaper. In 1902 the labor | confederation started fund called 'le sou du soldat ct des insoumis." The idea was to develop anti militarism and anti-patriotism. Five per cent on the
 subscriptions of the workmen belong ing to the labor exchanges was ordered to be set apart for this fund. The con-
 scripts before departing were requested | to leave the name of their regiment and | their number so that sums of monsy might be sent to them for anti military propaganda in the barracks. For eight years that sort of thing has been going on, but things never reached to the extent they do now. Thy comrades of the workshop count on thee to spread among those around ideas of revolt and rebellion" is an extract from letter
 
 and he added that he had score Of
 such letters emanating from the syndi- cates. In M. Jaures' organ, PHumanite. there appeared an article on December 22, 1910 inviting all the conscripts of | the labor confederation to send in their names so that financial aid might be sent to help them in organizing Pin commission ct la Desertion."
 As the membership of the confedera- l tion of labor is close to million. it is not too much to say that unless the gov ernment succeeds in suppressing 1t France will soon cease to be classed as military power of rank. 4 Far more interesting and picturesque than the English coronation, which oc- CUTS almost simultaneously, Is the great festivals which will begin in Normandy on June 15 in memory of the 1000th an- diversity of the day when the duchy of Normandy was r constituted by the treaty of St. Claire and Rollon made the first duke, by Charles the Simple, who preferred making him duke and giv- ing him his daughter in marriage to fighting this formidable warrior, who would surely have crushed him. aaH4-tA The festivals in Normandy. which will surpass in grandeur anything ever seen in Europe. will be attended by French. Canadian. Scandinavian and English Y~guests of honor.sgseHa s4lfe4 sis st1e Rouen. one of the most picturesque and old-fashioneda cathedral towns in Europe. will be the center of the festiv- ities. There will be any number of quaint festivals with pageants In old Norman costumes. and even Paris will participate with a Normandy exhibition arranged by the Norman colony here and containing souvenirs of such cele- N brated sons of Normandy as Corneiile II Flanbert and De Maupassant :. Rut the main Qxhihitfo0fs will ha at Rouen and here will be seen such col- 1ections of Norman porcelain and pot tery as have never been seen in one place before; carved worries from Dieppe, laces from all parts of Nor mandy, whose women have been expert 1acemakers for centuries, beautiful life size dolls in Normandy costumes, and marvellous collection of the hundreds of wonderful cambrfc caps which are the pride of Normandy peasants
 Never have the beautiful old churches of France. which even the revolution iary mobs of 17S9 dared not molest, had a more eloquent defender than the free thinker Maurice Barres. who adores the poetry of ideas. and whose defense of the churches in the chamber fascinated even the most cynic vandals.
 To Barres the churches help to satis-' fv the innermost cravings of the human soul. Deprive the peasants of their vil- 1age belfry and you take from them F the idealism of their existence.
 He had made a careful inquiry as to what actually was going on in certain parts of France. Incidents of the most scandalous character had occurred and would continue to occur unless the gov ernment interfered. A remedy was / wanted against the atheistic mayors and subprefects, who prevented old chruches being repaired. or ordered their demolition. He showed that local Catholics had. on several occasions of- fered to pay for the repairs themselves and had been refused. He told of the rigadoon beingS danced around the kbodies disinterred from under an old 4 church that had been pulled down; of baptismal fonts being seized to serve as troughs for swine.
 M. Briand and a number of radical e>1uties disputed the facts, but M. Barres said he had taken away every precaution to get at the truth. He has performed public service.
 To judge from the ministerial confi- dences made during the budget dis cussions, the French government is particularly contented with the way things are going on in Morocco. Muley 1Iiafd gives no trouble. and the Magh- " zen accepts the French partnership with apparent sincerity. Fl Mokri, the pciApdletic plenlpOtontlary, Is seen in Paris in frock coat instead of the traditional turban and flowing robe He would scarcely venture to do that if 1t onended his master. the Sultan. No longer the papers are full of Moroccan Iurbulence and anarchy. Everything Is quiet and peaceful and orderly The government of the republic takes credit for that. Meanwhile the work of civil ization Is. we are told progressing |<Throughout Morocco schools, hospitals and infirmaries are spring up Rail- roads and other public works are dot ting the region of the Sharvia, The French and Moroccan high commission CTS pull along together at Ujda, the result being tranquility Rlong the Algeria bor- derland. French energy of the ..pollce,, quality is ubiquitous. reaching ever4 Agadir, which. although a closed hort and. therefore, outside the Algeciras q mandate. was nevertheless being used f.for the introduction of arms and muni- Ftions among the natives. He who wishes Vi the end, wishes the means and France. therefore, considered herself justified in ver-steppings' diplomatic limits for the general interest A movement is4afoot among the arr lists of Paris to Anite the four yearly salons into one. Evidently four annual are too much of good thing There \ gre really six, tfone counts the hu- 4 morists and, the tG6epepdents. the oth- CTS being the two1in tne spring. one in autumn. and one in winter. The parent of them all is the Societe des Artistes Francais, founded in the days of Rof Soloi1. when the pictures hung, ex-