The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-23
PARIS IN WAR TIME.
Intimate Account Of the Spirit and
Temper Of France To-day.

llSllnkulSueO AIltTlCdn dtltb hoW Z
siding In Parish
PARIS. July o.
In spite of the defeats of the Rus
sian armies and the failure of the
pressure ON Germany from that side.
in spite of the continual fighting
without any material advance of the
Allies in the north Of France. in spite
of the unpromising outlook at the
Dardanelles, which to the unskilled
man in the street looks like a hopeless
undertaking under the present condi-
tons, the French people are keeping
up a wonderful morale and spirit n
show little of the depression that one
would expect t. find under the long
strain of war and the continuous sue
ccsses of their barbaric but well pro-
vided and methodical enemies.
The temper of the population OF
Paris Is splendid. and the settled de-
termination of Government and peo-
pie to persist n fight until they
have achieved victory Is as strong to-
day as IT was in the early days IF the
war after the Marne. when everything
looked easy for the Allies. The UNI
heard of methods of German warfare,
the ~asphyxiating gases and other
crimes against international law.
while they have Infatuated the French
soldier and nation, have been met
with the firm determination to meet
the enemy on his own ground and to
fight him with his own weapons i'm
proved and made more deadly by the
inventive genius of the French
chemist. Their study of the asphyx-
iating gases has shown how to COM
bat IL and in the laboratories of the
French scientists the counted gases
and antidote for the deadly German
chlorine gas have been readily found.
while it has been discovered that the
German aS~phyxiating shells only af-
feet the lachrymose glands of the men.
swelling their eyes and the glands In
their thrUats, while the French have
improved the deadly toxic shell, which
spreads death wherever it explode&
The heavy gases of the German
-asphyNiat!ug shells stay In the
trenches when the shells have ex-
ploded, and although in several cases
ii has cleared u the trenches the
Germans suffered great loss from
their own gas and could not hold the
trenches, and the French have quietly
gone back when the effect passed of
:. without finding "A single enemy in pos
session. The recent attack at EpargcS.
OF which the a so much.
was greatly exaggerated. The Ger
who attacked with asphyXiating
shells We're unable to occupy the first
trenches. and in very few cases se-
cured a hold, out Of which they were
quickly driven when the French re-
occupied them and eDIiladed those
held by the Germans.
1t Is said at present that the French
have at least 100000 more men in the
trenches on the front than the Ger
mans. The great problem of the day
is the making of munitions and while
the French are making over loo, 00C
shells a day. the English output is
not over 1900. while the Russian is
only 10000 shells and Germany Is
supposed TO make 100000 a day.
Some curious events have occurred
here even in Paris which have no,
been reported in the press. \ short
time ago all the brass door knobs an,
brass plates in Il certain quarter oI
Paris disappeared in the night. AS TIN.
practice of stealing door knobs anC
! brass plates has frequently taker
place in Switzerland these last 81,
manths. II Is generally thought tina
in Paris the work was done by Ger
man spies to secure the copper ant
send the booty to Germany as bes
they could, probably by way OF Switz
erland. How they got the brass knobs
5 through the various custom house,
70 no one knows.
, The morale OF the German troop,
r has been much affected lately by III
terrible Commandment kept up by tn,
Preach. German prisoners latel.
taken all show Indifference and hay,
, none Of the pride and haughtines
which Were s. marked at the start
They are not the same solid unit tina
they We're before the battle OF tn
- Marine, but are showing signs OF beirl
o broken in spirit by the awful irene.
fighting.
There have been. unfortunately
{ some political movements, e~ngineere
= by Inscriptions and unpatriot!c poll
e t!Cians, whose aim has been the Min
= !stcr Of War, and ultimately 70 retir
Joffre. whose great p puiarity all tn
pariiamentariaus fear, and to rcplac
= him with "A creature of their own. Iii
Q tie thinking of what hat might mea
e TO the enemy. Luckily these attempt
have been fooled AID at prescr
h France, at least outwardly, present
n the saine united front II has been 5
proud to show TO its enemies.
| am told that much loss OF life i
# the Lusitania catastrophe was cause
a by the suction of the great funnel
g which swallowed numbers of III
r struggling passengers in the al
a and eve gay them up. The att
r. tude OF the French toward AmeriC
n is II OF establishment that AmeriC
can stand the palaverlng II insult
of Germany in the face OF the erin
Il the Lusitaria, but there IS a ger
eral disposition not TO criticise Il
- attitude OF the President until IL
next note is publ he'd and answerc
y The generosity of the American pull
lie is greatly appreciated by Il
French people If all classes and the
do not hold America responsible
" general for those acts Of her Go,
eminent which they reprove.
The expedition TO the Dardanell,
~ and the unthorough manner in whiC
- II was planned and executed have g.
cited comment Ven in the press al
have been roundly censured, even at Il
i, risk OF some of the papers being SUI
20 pressed. However, the feeling is thi
n when the Allies get under way they W
~ make short work Of the Turk.
troops and push on to Gallipoli. TT