The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-03-07
PARIS ARTISTS FEEL
EFFECT OF THE WAR
M%Ontmartre Theatre l. CON.
vcrted Into Restaurant for
Unemployed Actors.
ACTRESSES AS SERVANTS
Special Correspondence IL Tul slN.

tlt Flill NV S'i''' VI NhHt If..IN|fg
and sordid. would astonish ,hos, y,o
see only on the surface of th!uss Nou,
who had their motor cars. thor re-.
ception days, their boxes nj tine ope,,
are in great straits. In the Irv,.y ~
their homes they dress dolls for "a me-
pittance for the French section ~ san
Francisco.
Painters whose pictures iu norm,
times sell for hundreds OF dollars ar.
glad to part with them to Speculative.
dealers for az many francs. If ms
the case with celebrated artists 81, is NOT
difficult to picture the sufIerings OF the
obscure.
The condition OF the theatre worker .
perhaps more hopeless than any. H.. q
legion in Paris, the world centre Of '.
drama. and has tho "~triste' consoli' o,
OF starving in company. The people h,ye
no heart for the theatre that is Ito
most powerful argument of any. ~
house Is without its secret sorrow,
husband. brother, son missing, MANNED.
or perhaps dead.
And other and material reasons con.
tribute to the dearth OF theatres. on.
Is the comparative absence Of commu-i.
cations The u~ndergrounds and tram,
stop running shortly after II o'clatf.
there are no omuihuses-thcy are all Al,
tho front-and taxis are practically nom
existent In the night. Thus to dwellers
In suburban Paris have no oho.c. 5r
to remain at home.
No New play, Now.
1t Is true that Rejane gives p Few
performances each week Of CASTOR
L.eroux's spirited "Alsacc.' lut th, -
"a different story" The appeal .
frankly patriotic. Alsace IL a symbol
shat no Frenchman can resist AMI.
again. l.ejane IL always convincing
The result might be less sttlsflctuiy WITH
a new play. and. indeed, there arc no
new plays, for authors are otherwise
engaged. SoIne are fighting for Their
country others are to, ahsorh.d ir the
great spectacle TO feel an Interest in
their own fictitious dramas. This state
of mind induced a famous dramaust to
remark:
Il begin the day by reading tn.
French papers then ] read TIE English
and italian ones after that ! begin
aRa!n. And so | have no time 20 vsIte.
/ store up simply pictures and impress
sions."
This cessation of output is perhaps as
well. for America has ceased to bay lays.
Just as she has ceased to buy paintings
and sculpture. And 80 neither tn. United
States nor Chile and he Argentine, An
relieve the situation. In consequence II
differs from that OF 1870.
1t is amazing that. ~fogty-four years
ago people continued their tholtrrgo-
ing until the last. They still went When
the guns Numbered at tn. gat0s they
continued until the ans ~tauIdcrDd "a
the streets. Then. ana only then, with
the horrors Of the Commune upon tne'n.
In the month Of March. DID the pars.'ns
abstain for a single fortnight from
their favorite pastimc. Wat Il t"sti-
mony to the occur leger'-iu the fitei
phrase OF Emile olivier at the opening
Of the war OF 1870.
As if 10 express sympathy wiz 'hs
yanQuished. EuroNc and the great pnrl-
lations beyond the seas showered thnr
orders upon French Industries de luxe;
and even during the most painful pet.oi
of the war there was a constant OUTPUT
of the superiiuities. l. Bohemo' Wt'
not affected as ia Boheme' ia to-day
We're IL not FOR private ph!lautlr0ry
hundreds OF artists. some with Household
names, would be positively without
bread. one has only to consider ~.
numbers employed in or about a theatre
10 realize family the extent Of tn" dis
tress. And the theatre IS orlv me
branch OF the artistic activity OF Paws.
Private effort has done somcthl"2 20
deal with the crisis, 1t feeds TIVE artist
Mime. Bechmarn, a we'll "a do Paris"
has founded n restaurant which pr..'H.
the stranded worker in the arts Wit =
lunch which costs 30 ceutilnos 90 ..''-I
4 day. Al thai ridiculous pr.'' T r
courses with coffee arr, provided =
"Cadre" - appropriate g. j. 1t Z 4,
VIII ch. until the war began. wls :
home of Spanish dancing. Dances ~ ;
voluptuous n gay, were clvDn 'o '"e
strains Of the mandolin and gu.,.r nd
the sharp concatcuation Of the cast 10 3
To-day the rhythm has changed We
melody has become ut!litar.tu he
mote" humanitarian
La clgale, aydnt chant
Tout ltte,
Sc trouva fort dtpourv9-
Quand la bise tut venue
Ellie ALA Crier famine
Chez Ia fourmi 81 vosn-
Happily Ia fourmi" has ta'i " n
heart and no longer cries. Win o. t''-
taine's ant. Eth blen dause1 u''
nant.' hut asks her To dine. N'I =
she does. every day a. u score n'
tables on the noor of this li;'le n ore
Of M~ontmartre. set on tie slo""s ,' .
sacred hill.' not far from Size .... ~
GaVarni.
Happy In Ad,~rsit'.
And. to their honor h" . =
guests Of Nine. BeChmtuu k'H' ?
be glad. even in adversely ..r '
NOT hauled down the nag 90
ment they refuse II make ,H
20 the foe, Laughter tll
greet the aproned actresses "''
among them carrying the s...
beef and cheese, apple pu'i- N.
which max up the W"uI Come. :"
from the Coincide Friu,t.s,. I
.sts from the Opera CoW.u'Ir.