The Washington herald., 1915-08-22

Paris, Aug. 21-Parls never has
been in better health nor in better
spirits than today. During the first
weeks of the war when the city was
threatened with German invasion and
when a long siege appeared inevitable
all the patients suffering from chronic
diseases were sent away and the hos
pitfalls were cleared.
The Parisians who remained were
naturally a little nervous and cases of
insomnia became very frequent, with
the result that the sale of drugs like
vernol. antipyrine and bromides in
creased enormously. After the victory
of the Marine, however. we became
quite our normal selves again and dur
ing the winter we suffered from moth
ing more serious than colds and rheu-
ma tism and the drug stores were be-
sieged by people asking for aspirin.
With the advent of summer these
maladies in their turn disappeared and
today l am sure there is no healthier
community in all the world than Paris.
Contagious diseases and epidemics are
unknown and our few remaining doc
tors whom old age has kept from join
ing the army have no patients to at
tend. except an occasional stomach
ache caused by overindulgence in
fruit
1t is rather fortunate that it should
be so. for the doctors cannot pre-
scribe any drugs but bicarbonate Of
soda. magnesia and various charcoal
ia blets. These are the only drugs left
in the drug stores
The war has revealed the fact tina I
practically all our drugs came from
Germany or from branches of Ger
man firms established here to avoid
the customs duties, all of which have
now been closed. Aspirin. which be-
fore the war cost six francs a kilo.
is now worth nearly one hundred
francs. Salicylates cost thirty-siX
francs. benzo-napthol cannot be had
for love or money and We are forced
to import large quantities of bromide
of pota ssium from America. 1t is
rather humiliating to think that all
these drugs of which we have now
run short are derived from coal tar
and were first made useful by a Lyons
chemist thirty-five years ago.
Concerts in Streets.
Gayety has departed from Paris
since the war broke out. but never
has such beautiful music been heara
in our streets as at present Members
of all our most famous orchestras
have banded together and are to be
heard everywhere and concerts that
would delight the ear OF the most faS-
tidious lover of music may be heard
in Paris courtyards any day between
twelve and two, when these artists
are playing to our little midinettes.
Perhaps the most beautiful music
may be heard in Rue Richelieu. where
a certain courtyard surrounded by ar
cades of Doric columns always is fill
ed with a music-loving crowd listen
ing to a famous band of instrument
talists and several well-known sing.
Hard to Get Rid of Gold.
= The large amount of gold which
patriotic French citizens poured into
the French treasury as soon as it be-
came known that II was needed by
the government surprised the whole
world, but the surprise would have
been greater still had II been known
what you had to go through in order
to be allowed to get rid Of your gold.
French government officials are just
ly known as the worst bureaucracy
in the world and they have evidently
learned nothing and forgotten nothing
through the war. At first there were
in all Paris only two places where
you might get rid Of your precious
metal the Bank Of France and its
branch ONCE in Place ventadour. Pat.
riotic citizens were obliged to form
lines more than a kilometer long and
waste half a day to be allowed to
get rid of their gold
But bad as this was, IL was not all
for in some cases the gold was not
even accepted. One man. an American
by the way. tells me that be brought