The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-26
BENEFA ACTION FOR
 BORDEAUX POOR Request of S4O0,0O0 to Pro-
 vide H0usebOat  RELIGIOUS ORDERS
Discussed in Waldeck- Rousseau Doc. uments Which Are Being Brought to Light-A Story of
 Election HumOr

51dTlSS MdItll Ios-"AoPSSioAtt eihdA7 | benefaction has been provided for the
 poor of Bordeaux; nothing like it has
 ever been provided for by any other phil
 anthropist. bequest of $40O,OOo left for
 the benefit of the poor is to be spent on
 houseboat, comfortably fitted up, or
 the Garonne, for the use of the aged poor of both sexes. It is intended as a
 day refuge, to provide for 80 men and
 g women at a time. Four hundred meals
 a day will be provided out of the income
 of the fund.
 The religious orders are discussed in
 several patches of the Waldeck-Rous-
 seau collection of documents which the
 Matin is bringing out, but this publica-
 ton is confined to two reports to the
 ministry of foreign affairs from M. Mis-
 ard, who was ambassador to the holy
 see. These reports give the accounts of
 his conversations with Cardinal Rampol-
 la before and after the famous Toulouse
 speech. Some of the remarks made oy
 Cardinal Rampolla may be worth noting,
 as they show how painful was the inn
 pression created at the vatican by he
 prime minister's speech. "How," he
 asked, "can the Pope henceforth carry on the work of appeasement to which he
 has been invited by the French govern ment? What results can be expected in
 the presence of so different, so delib- erately contrary, an attitude on it's side? And this at the moment when he has added fresh evidence to all the proof which he had previously given of his de- sire to facilitate for the government of the republic a unanimity of opinion In respect to the institutions with which France has endowed herself You have been a witness of the attempts, more pressing every day, to bring the Pope round to a policy quite different from that which France owes to his initiative, and which she has so much appreciated. What arms are being given to those who never cease to tell him that his efforts are vain and that policy of entente with the French republic is doomed to fail ure?"
 Cardinal Rampolla was at that time secretary of state, well known for his conciiatory disposition, and in complete agreement with Pope Leo, who years before had invited the reactionaries to rally to the republic, and whose policy was so we'll understood and appreciated that the most friendly articles appeared in French newspapers of every shade of opinion when he died in 1903.
 tSories of election humor have been capped by one from Le Puy. AS pro- test against some unpopular action of the municipality some e.stors nominated as joke candidate for the vacancy local celebrity named Rome, newspaper hawker and collector of discarded cigar and cigarette ends. Rome issued an cleo ton address, in which he promised, if elected. to reduce the price of wine 10 cents a quart, provide z. piano at the Municipal Night Shelter, to open a refuge for husbands who stayed out late at night, and to suppress, as far as possi-
 ble, work between meals. Like the gen erous promises of social reforms often made by municipal candidates nearer
 home, M. Romes programme was taken
 quite seriously by many voters and was elected by a handsome majority. Now the
 council does not know what to do with
 him, and he does not know how he is go-
 ing to fulfil his promises.
 Even the medical faculty must have
 its say on the harem skirt. The question
 was mooted at meeting of the academy,
 where Dr. Berg, astonished the scien- tific assembly by declaring bluntly:
 "The harem skirt has its advantages. It Is an ideal garment for women. It is
 doubly practical because it protects the body from cold and allows free motion to the limbs. It is also a defence against dust and the microbes that float In the air. Numbers of women have been drowned because their movements in the water were hampered by skirts. Others were burnt on account of their flowing robes, and the harem skirt wards off all these dangers"
 Half dozen savants were at once on
 their feet to combat this revolutionary
 doctrine. Professor Debove declared: Trousers are for men, skirts are for
 women, and that is the end of It. Shoplifters have already taken ad- vantage of of the new style of skirt At
 one of the largest shops the attention of | m inspector was drawn to a lady visitor wearing harem skirt. He noticed the wearer steal piece of lace. She was arrested in spite of her protests. It was found that she was wearing a real harem skirt which contained quantity of lace and other costly arti- cles, which she had stolen
 Thirty-five persons were seriously in- 1uder in cinematograph fire at Marches A travelling cinematograph had been set up in a public hall. The films caught fire, and the flames burst up to the ceiling. There was panic and people rushed for the doors and windows. In the scramble thirty-five were injured. Several of the injured persons are in danger of death. M. Denys Cochin, one of the new academicians, has a rough-hewn, bear ish face, with little twinkling eyes. The Cochins of his ancestry were town councillors of Paris in the time of Joan of Arc. Their connection with Paris affairs has gone on ever since The grandfather of the present man founded the Cochin hospital. M. Thiers named the | late Auguste Cochin prefect of the Seine,
 an office when he filled it that included | the mayoralty of this city The picture gallery in his house Is filled with ir- pressionist paintings. He saw war in 1s7o- l n as flagbearer to General Bourbaki. When he has time he goes to his cha teau near Beauvais to look after farm he has there. This he calls going out to grass" M. Rougon, the other new academician, is director of fine arts at l the ministry of public instruction. He | writes agreeably for the paper and re- | views on art and artists, and has agree able wit.
 | A dancer at the Opera theatre, Mile. LeKain, had disconcerting experience. | Having appeared at a dress rehearsal. | she returned to her dressing room to | find that thief had carried off all her clothing. Only her hat was left behind l In this awkward rredicament she was obliged to telephone to her home for clothes. A search .n the theatre resulted | in the discovery of all the stolen property
 in a scene-shifters box.
 | The champagne trouble will be memor-