Norwich bulletin., 1916-11-29
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

' V cent air raids of the Teutonic allies have modified the gayety of existence in the Paris of the East," as Ruman~ ians proudly call their capital ely, it is hard to imagine but a striking pie ture of Bucharest sefore the war is given by John Oliver LaGorce, in a communication to the National Geo . graphic Society, port of which is is : sued as the following bulletin in the society's war geography series:
 "The near eastern metropolis Of
 Bucharest is about equal ir size to own own national capital, and yet it has twenty times as many restaurants; and cafes, ten times as many street lights, and twice as many theaters. It is regarded as the most expensive place in the world for the wel1-to-do and the cheapest for the poor. Prices at the Hotel du Boulevard are high CT than in New York or London, and travellers who have visited Monte Carlos leading hotels; ard then jour
 neyed to Bucharest have found its rates from 15 to 9 per cent higher than those obtaining in the hoste1ries of Monaco.
 "But if their prices are high, their service and their food leave nothing to be desired. The cuisine of the lead :. ing hotels and private homes is French, and money is no tonsidera- tion-quality is paramount. Some of | t116 llIlCSt TGSlctuIdt1IS SdSI Ol [ df1S in Bucharest, and the night life, with its passionate, pu'sating gypsy music. its sparkling wine, its beautiful wo- l men, it's scintillating jewels, it's hand some men, Is as gay and es alluring as l anything the world has to offer
 "As to clothes, everybody who pre-. tends to dress at all dresses in the | mode of Paris, and the gowns of the | elite are as np-to-tbe-mirute as those | to be seen on the Champs Elysees. Gambling fiourisaes openly, and ! high stakes are the rule rather than | the exception. Many of the players l own farms as big as an American county and their incomes are propor- | tionate1y large.
 t'The source of the wealth of Blch- l arestis the big county estates and the | cheap labor. The rich 'boyar has a 1 whole army of retaipers, who receive ! little more for their toll than did the l slave in our own country before the ! Civil War-their 'victuais and keep. l The result is an immense income, | which finds it's first expression in Q 1 very fine residence in Bucharest, and l later in the maintenance of an ultra l expensive establishment. It js said | that the Rumanian government has | the finest home For its foreign minis | try to be found iii all Europe. It was built by one of these 'boyars', or land ed proprietors, who had the misfor- ! LQIlS LO uI0 ScOh aItST HIS pdldL1a home was completed. The govern ! rnent thereupon acquired it.
 | Nobody but the proletariat thinks of walking in that picturesque capi l tai. Nearly all the 'cabbies' own thei. town teams of lorg-1naned, flowing l tailed Russian horses. They are Rus sian exiles of the Skopti sect, who have a religious belief that no family ! should have more than one male chiit
 and who resort to q reiigio -surgioa
 ceremony to insure tfis condition. | They wear great blue-black velvet
 coats, the skirts of which reach to the l ground Their waists are bound
 about with multihued sashes. the flow ing ends of which drop back ever the
 seat, and one can guide his driver by
 i pulling one end or The other of this
 sash when language difficulties stand
 in the way.
 eff the presence of tho landed aris-
 tocracy in Bucharest reminds one o1
 Buenos Aires, the driving customs
 bring to mind those of Mexico City
 Every evening all rolite Buchares
 turns out in it's snsartest eouipage.
 and drives up and down the beautiful
 parkway known as the 'Chaussee.
 Along this superb drive the endless. ! chain procession moves in double file
 with the center Of the boulevard re served for the royal turnorts. There
 is no physical line of demarcation be
 tween the kings highway. and ths
 other part of the boulevard, but cour.
 tesy toward ti1e royal family tlrawl
 aff5e respects an in7aSjnaFy one.