Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-15
STABLE AND Strong
Unfounded Belief That France
Is in State Of Decadence.
NEVER so PROGRESSIVE
Many Visible Signs Of the New
Renaissance.
GOSSIP OF THE BOULEVARDS
Friend of the Birds in the Tuileries
,oardens-An Interesting
Anecdote Of Rostand.
GOSSIP OF THE BoULEvARDs
BY A. w. L'AMOREUX.

torelgn correspondence of The Star.
PARIS, February .. 1872.
1t is common belief abroad-in some
countries. at least-that France is in a
state of deeadence. Political life is a
maze of intrigue, finance is corrupt COM
merce suffers from dry rot; scandals,
sabotage; strikes. riots, syndcalism,
Apachism. anti-patriotism, anarchy and
| other oemoralizing forces are claimed to
De destroying the vitality of the people,
and sealing the doom of France as a
| great nation. Such is the gloomy picture
or france which certain foreigners paint
1t is picture that is far from the
truth
Let there be no mistake about it:
france was never more alive since it has
| been g. republic. never more active in
| tellectually, never more united in face of
| danger or more confident of it's strength
There is new French renaissance To
| be sure there are scandals which are
ruthlessly exposed; there are public men,
not wholly good, whose regulations are
torn to pieces; there are sabotage, syndi-
calism and other evidences of labor un-
rest there are putrfd plays and there are
uemorailzlng literature and other signs
or deseneracy. The trial of International
| nnance is sometimes evident in politics
ana IT cannot conceal its sordid tracks
mere are varieties Of revolutionary So
ciaiism and anarchy, but these things
seem more terrible than they really are.
france has absolute freedom of the press:
scandals are unearthed, which. in other
| countries would be hidden. The faiIings
or politicians are magnified
In France the editor of today NAV be
the minister of tomorrow. Journalism
lls permanently allied to literature on
the one hand and to personal politics on
Esro
OF discussion go to extremes and create
wrong impressions abroad. That France
Is sound at the core, that it's institutions
are stable and that it is passing through
period of extraordinary intellectual
activity is evident to any close observer
Signs of New Birth.
There are many signs in France of the
new renaissance. 1t is producing new
philosophers, who are cosmopolitan in
their ideas And it gives examples of
| amazing industry. Witness NJ hollands
portentous work on John CHRISTOPHER,
| which has already run to many books
ana several volumes and is not nearly
| finished. 1t is a story and study which
| Is apparently intended to lay bare some
OF the weaknesses of French civilization
and strengthen the ties Of International
sympathy, Such a work is possible only
| in France, where book production is
| cheaper than in any other country
France has the cheapest new books. just
as. through system Of subscuhbtion by
post. 1t has the cheapest newspapers.
Another healthy sign Of the times is
the increase in popular universities. the
growth of the conference and the lit
erary pilgrimage. Young men are taking
| more and more to field sports. and quite
a respectable cornel of the daily press is
now required to record the results of
! foot ball matches cross-country run
ming. hockey. etc. And the progress has
| not been confined to the men The wom-
Ell of France. although they do not seek
the vote, demand freedom for profession
al advancement. The feminist movement
has made gerat progress in recent years,
and the women have conquered positions
in the professional world still closed
to them in many other parts of the
world.
There are. it must he admitted. demon
aiizing social influences at work in
| tive and in parliamentary life, perhaps
some sordid associations between the
press and the government. For many
| years the republic had to be watchful OF
supreme difficulty of reconciing demo-
cratic form of government with militia
ris1n. She has not been able to break
down the Capitalization which is leg
aey from Napoleonic days A great con-
script army means an element of autoc-
| racy which Is Incompatible with real de-
| mocracy. But we are comparing France
now with what she has been at any time
| under the republic, and the result is that
| she WAS never SO virile. never SO strong.
| or SO progressive. The French people
politically, are not SO unstable or so vola-
| tile as they are represented to be- During
the critical times of last autumn France
maintained calm, dignity and a re-
serve which was an example to her
| neghbors.