The Press., 1915-08-18
PARIS AS "A! s...l CENTER.
It's Treasures I.1 t..e Louvre and lts
 Gems of Architecture.

Gems of Architecture.
 In population Paris ranks third
 among the cities of the earth, with | more people than Washington, Mexi- co City, Rio, Bucnos Aires and Santi- ago together. It is the worlds capi- tai in many respects. Its art treas
 ures surpass those of any other city; l it's fashions dominate the civilized | world and even influence the uncivi- lized; its language is the court tongue of the earth; its history is a panorama l of the story of civilization from the days of the Goth and the Vandal down to the present.
 In the heart of the city stands one of the worlds most noted of build | ings-the palace of the Louvre. It is l the priceless art museum of France, and there are contained within its three departments = sculpture, paint ings and antiquities-eXampl of the highest expression of human genius. The collections of the Louvre, were they offered for sale, would bring a total price so stupendous as to be un- believable. For example, in the gal lery of Apollo, among other treasures, rest the diamond hilted sword of Bonaparte. valued at $4OO,OO0; the fa- nous Regent diamond, valued at $3,- COO,OOO: the gems of many beaute- ous queen of France, and the swords
 and spurs of Charlemagne. A life might be spent in study here,
 and libraries might be written upon hn yy,hin hn
 In the hall of sculpture stands the
 peerless Venus of Melos, thing more
 ravishing than any other vision ever hewn from a stone. In this hall there
 are many pieces of antiquity and of
 more modern times, the loss of any
 one of which would be irreparable
 Yet the strange people of this city,
 fired with enthusiasm for cOmmu-
 nistic theory. once mined the Louvre
 poured petroleum over it and prepared
 to destroy with gunpowder what it
 years to produce.
 Paris is oyerrich ill the possession
 of the beautiful. the impressive and
 the magnificent Its famous buildings
 make an almost intending list. Richest among the worlds theaters is the Par
 is home of opera-without, an architec-
 tural delight; within, a fascinating in- spiration in snow white marble, onyx,
 jasper. malachite and bronze. Its famed grand stairway is a fitting pre-
 Jude to the, highest moods that can be
 produced by the music on it's stage.
 And there is not wanting strong element of grewsome and terrifying re-
 miniscence in this glorious city. The
 traveller stands amid the wide sweep
 of the Place de Ia Concorde Place of
 Peace), and he thinks that here before an assembled bestial mob the razor blade of the guillotine rose and fell un. tiring while head after head, mid bitter jest and song. rolled from the gOry ma. chine into the great common basket and the quivcring trunks were corded at its side. Age and youth and lowell ness were sacrificed to brutish passion
 on this now serene square in way that only Rome had equaled.
 Every contrast is found in Paris and all varieties of excellence. Here is the
 worlds highest structure, the Eiffel
 tower. This huge shaft of steel is one of the most overpowering things with in the city. Forty draftsmen worked
 two years on the 15,OOO different de-
 signs necessary for its 15OOO sections.
 Restaurants. shops and theater are
 housed upon its steps and within its
 corridors Ten thousand people can gather here at one time