The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08
DECLINING BIRTH
 RATE IS ALARMING France Is Planning Heroic Measures for Relief THE BATTLESHIP PARIS French Constructors Will Make New Record in the Building of This
 Latest Dreadnaught-Israel-
 ites and Red Sea
THE BATTLESHIP PARIS

Paris, September 7-(Special-Th French government is considering seri- ous measures for combating the de- cline in the national birth rate, which last year showed a falling of of 32,- ses births as compared with 1910. The minister of finance has appointed a commission to investigate the causes of the decline and to suggest remedies. M. Klotz himself will preside and among the members will be B. Ribot. M. Cochery, M. Bienvenu Martin and M Caillaux.
 Tn emphasizing the importance of immediate action if France Is to main tain her position in the world, M Jacques Bertillon, the eminent statis-
 tician and brother of the inventor of the finger print system of identifioa-
 tion, points out that. whereas a century ago 27 per cent of the population of the great European powers were
 French, today the proportion Is only
 il per cent. Formerly French was the most widely spoken language. today 1t Is the mother tongue of only 45,o00,00o as compared with 100,000,0e0 who speak
 German and 1s0, ,00o,000 who speak Eng lish.
 1 As for remedies, NJ. Bsrtillon in
 sists that Frenchmen must be taught
 its father supports for the benefit of
 the whole community. In order that a
 family should pay what 1t owes to the state be says. 1t should consist of at | least three children, two to fill tho | places of the parents when they die.
 the third to fill the gaps caused by
 those who die before reaching adult
 age. In order to promote this end M Bertillon proposes a reduction of tax | ation upon fathers of three or more living children, in proportion to the
 number of living offspring-a system
 already adopted In Prussia. Saxony.
 Servia, Norway. Sweden and parts of | Switzerland. The laws of succession
 should be modified and formalties of
 marriage simplified. Mothers of large 1 families should be assisted in various
 ways and especial provision should be
 made for widows left with children.
 Finally M. Bertillon suggests that among the number classes of public
 servants those candidates for employ
 ment by the state who have children II portion to the size of their families.
 Foot and Mouth Disease French agriculturists, so sorely tried ' by the prolonged drouth of last year. are now visited by another plague In
 the shape of a severe epidemic of foot and mouth disease, which made It's ap-
 pearance in the department or the
 Saone and Loire. and is assuming alarm
 ing proportions; 75.000 to S0,000 cattle | cd
 to be already infected. The strictest precautions are being taken to prevent
 the further spread of the disease, which already affects the districts of Charolais, Louhans, Autun, Macon and Chalons. Markets have been closed in many
 places and the transport of animals from the infected zones strictly pro-
 hibited.
 That Trip Across Red Sea l Tho tribes of Israel when they fled from Egypt made a mistake in think
 ing they crossed the Red Sea. according
 to Prof Raphael Blanchard of the
 French Academy of Medicine. They did
 not even cross the Gulf of Suez. he says, | but simply the bitter lakes which cover
 the axis of the isthmus subsequently, pierced by M. de Lesseps. The watets of those lakes are frequently as red
 as blood and this led the Hebrews into eNNN
 intensity of the redness is in exact 1 proportion to the degree of salinfty The color is not due to the presence of any chemical substance dissolved in the water, but to myriads of little red worms.
 Decadence of Fiction The general decadence of diction and l the proposal to form a special class for its teaching at the Conservatoire, has | ,,F atrD4 the eminent authorities on the drama in theory and practice. Jules Truffer, of the Comedie Franchise, says that diction is an aristocratic art. all the rest being accessories to it; and 1t Is disappearing, because no one will take the pains to acquire 1t. The celebrated tragedian Mounet-Sully Is not so pessi- mlstic and is of opinion that such class would lead to excellent results. Jules Claretie, dramatic author, critic and manager, Is sceptical; long expe- rience has destroyed all his illusions | Sarah Bernhardt, as usual, Is clear and emphatic. She says: 'ff a class be start | ed for diction there is no reason why one | should not also be started for pronuncia- | tion, delivery, department, etc. The duty | of the professor is to teach all that to his pupils There is no B-A-Ba in our art.
 It is either mediocre. or good, or very | good or marvellous Diction almost al- | ways is a natural gift. Bartet, Rejane, 1 Granier, Guitry and the great Coquein | had an admirable dicr;on from the be- | ginning of their careers. In a word. T | cass for diction would be, in my opinion, absolutely useless"
 Naval Construction Record | The French navy will create a record l in the construction of the new Dread naught Paris. Such good progress has been made that the date of launching has been advanced a month and she will | take the water at Toulon on Septem- | Der 30.
 Parisians intend to make the event noteworthy and big delegation of mem- | bers of the municipal council and promi- nent citizens will travel to ti,e naval port | to participate and will present to the ship | q valuable service of silver plate sub | scribed for by the people of the capital. | The Paris belongs to the series of sey- enteen battleships that France proposes I to add to her fleet under the septennial programme adopted in 1910 The first l two, the Courbet and the Jean Bart are ] completing, the France will soon be ready for launching, the Bretagne has been commenced, and the Provence and LOT raine will be laid down within a fort night.
 Only fl months will have elapsed be- tween the laying down and the launch of the Paris. She will be the most forrni- dable armed ship ever possessed by France, her main battery consisting of
 12 12 inch guns and 26 of lesser calibre.
 Her tonnage will be 23.500 and her contract speed 20 knots.