The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-07
UNIQUE AFFAIR
 OCCURS AT RHEIMS Sixty Golden Weddings Are
 Celebrated SPALDING MAKES HIT Gifted Vioiinist Takes Europe by Storm-League of Large Fam
 lilies to Combat the Landlords
By PAUL VILLIERs

Fly PAUL VILLIERs Paris, May 6.-(Special )-There was a
 marvelous and unique spectacle at Rheims
 one day last week. Sixty couples cele- brated their golden weddings. After they
 had attended mass at the cathedral re- ception was held in the town hail. where
 each couple received a commemorative
 medal There was one couple s5 years | old.
 | Albert Spalding, the gifted violinist, has taken Europe by storm The young
 man who Is now on his second European 1 tour, has broken all records in his line This brilliant young American has re- versed the usual order of things coming from the United States and capturing the old world by his wonderful playing. He has appeared before the most critical
 musical audiences and winning their en-
 thusiastic plaudts, hs tour has been an
 artist triumph. He has appeared before the largest of audiences in this city, Lon-
 don, Harve, Rouen, Lille, Bordeaux. Tou-
 louse. Berlin, Munich, Prague, St. Peters burg, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Madrid, Rome, Florence, and in fact every city of importance. Had he chosen to do so he could have secured contracts which would have kept him for years to come on the continent
 The League of Large Families, organ ized to combat landlords who bar chill dren from their houses and which num-
 bers 100000 members, has come into col
 lision with the government, owing to parade which was stopped by the police in Paris.
 M. Lepine. prefect of police, watched lthe assembling of about 5000 fathers, mothers and children, all dressed in their best clothes, and listened attentively to the speech by Captain Maire, founder or the league, and himself the father of Il children At length he interposed and told Captain Maire that the contemplated
 parade must not take place. "Why not?' asked the captain indignantly. We can
 march if we like"
 Lepine thereupon ordered the father or Il to be arrested; he was conducted to the lookup, obstinately delaying his prog ress by trying to light his pipe with match after match, volubly protesting. Several other fathers of three or more were also arrested before the procession
 had been dispersed. Captain Maire and the other arrested fathers were released,
 but the league is nevertheless in a state of wild resentment at their arrest. M. Monis the premier, has promised to con
 sider their case.
 After being mourned as dead, and hav- ing a monument erected to their mem ory, nine fishermen of Groix have re- turned.
 Their boat. the Narval, left last Septem-
 Der to fish off the Moroccan coast, and
 nothing more was heard of them until their unexpected return. They had trav-
 eled up and down the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, thinking them dead, their
 families had gone into mourning, and a handsome monument to their memory
 was erected in the local churchyard.
 The whole agitation in the Marne-a movement ostensibly for the benefit or local labor, has been engineered to give d monopoly to five big champagne firms. This is now so well recognized by the other firms that May will witness the
 breakup of the syndicate of champagne
 merchants. The big firms will be left to
 themselves. and the others will form
 new syndicate and agitate for modifi- cation of the Deimitation act
 The vine-dressers have been hood
 wnked. No wine may be sold as cham
 pagne unless it is made from grapes
 with out any addition of outside wine.
 This is fine for the vintages of the Mountain of Rheims, which are pur- chased by the manufacturing firms for
 800 francs a barrel, and sold afterwards at the rate of 12 to 15 francs bottle. But these are but very small portion of the ictp ict ba hull nf fba
 wines of the Marne are thin and acid, and would be unsaleable unless "correct- ed by means of fuller bodied wines from elsewhere. The consumer will soon dis cover that for medium-priced wines a win mousseaux, or sparkling wine, of no spec
 flied locality, Is generally a better pur- chase than a cheap genuine champagne. By the day when new brands of win nous seaux are well established the Marne vine dressers will have no customers to go to except monopoly firms.
 The village of Ay has been destroyed by fire as result of the conflict between the soldiers and those who are engaged in the riot.
 T have seen violent demonstrations in this city, said an army officer to me- but I have never witnessed anything equal to this. Never had my men to deal with people who had reached such fury. The women with their features con vused with rage shook their fists in our faces and spat at us.'
 Trucks were loaded and ready to start when the storm broke out. Only distorted bits of iron now remain of them. The one question that always returns to my mind is how these ravages. which have been announced a week ago, could not have been foreseen To this the mayor of Ay, who has handed in his resignation, replied: "I was one of those who foresaw it. I warned the prefect that between 2C00 and 5000 men had been working about
 the vineyards and that I suspected that
 they were up to mischief l said that the situation was worse than last January The widow of nser who died recently lat Pau was visited few days ago by a debtor who said that he had signed
 promissory note in favor of her deceased
 husband. The widow searched, but could
 not find the note Then she remembered that her husband had been in the habit