Republican farmer., 1919-05-16
WAR MUSEUM IS ATTRACTION IN
 PARIS STREETS

H6hsS " SHlhAA v Visitors in Paris are now attracted by new Institution. the creation of which Is the result of the great World , War. IL is the BibliotheQue ct Musee de la Guerre (war Library and Mus eum) of the French Government. The first thought that led to 'ts ts- tablishment was due to private and not to official origin. From the out set of the conflict, Monsieur ct Mad anne Henri Le Blanc thought of col lecting all the printed and figured material, such as posters, photo- graphs. badges. etc, relating to 1t. As the conflict, which most people at first thought likely to be of short duration. began to lengthen, they found that their collection decidedly outgrew the limits of private con cern. and they decided to donate it to the French Government, provided 1t was agreed to turn 1t into a permanent institution. A charter was obtained from the Council of State. and soon the Library and Museum which had outFrown it's original quarters, 4 Avenue MalalSoff, was transferred 10 a special building located at 39 Rue du Colisce, not far from the of fiCial residence of the President of the Republic.
 The object of the institution is two fold. It is to be. first, Il repository of everything that may remind one ot the various phases of the great conflict. and Is open to visits from the public. It's second and more inn portant object is to provide the fu- ture historians of the War. at least those of them who are anxious to present the facts in their true light, with all the material needed by them for their labors. It is well known to the French authorities that early in the conflict steps had been taken in Germany with a view to attract his- torians to Berlin, and to have them perform their labors in an atmosphere entirely sympathetic to Germany It |. expected now that they will resort C, Paris rather than to Berlin. un- less decided in advance to present the facts in light favorable to Germany
 Even before the U. s. deciued to join the Allies. it was felt that a great lace must be reserved for the Amer ican section of the Collections. While t..e American government itself was neutral. there were many agencies at work in the country favorable mostly l the Allies, but also some to the enemy, as is shown by the evidences e German propaganda which are Known to everybody. Societies wcrs started for the relief of the suffer-
 
 filled with expressions of opinions and (. ntroversies relating 10 the war. All this deserved q place in the new In stitut!on. of course. as soon as war was Gt claret by the Government of the UJ,ited States. the Importance of tFH American section D scarle vsstly great CT. IL was. ther sfore, decided by the authoriti.s of the BibLotheqJe ct y usee dc la Guerre to establish in this country an agency Paving for its objects To collect everything. whether official or unofficial that relates to Il C war activities of the United States since the fourth or August 1914.
 --,-S agency cooperates with the Smithsonian Institution which re- ceives, as a rule. everything that ori- Einates pr has Drisinated with tfe Governr on: f the United Sts 'e,. 2 Everything else. e1i that comes frnr. State Governments edrcIticn11 ir- stitutiors. private concerns a.d c.eties and individuals, must be sent t. the above named agency. IL has collected a great deal of material. but it's collections are far from complete, and all well wishers of France can perform not only an act of kindness but great service to the future by communicating with said agency. and whenever possible. donating to 1t what may be in their possession. The mater ials mostly needed are files of i'm J portant newspapers. whether com plete or incomplete, back numbers of magazines containing articles or pie tures relating to the war. posters. Photographs. badges. medals, flags of all kinds. articles of societies. etc. in fact 1t is almost impossible to give a complete list of the kind of mater 'ial that will be welcome.
 All persons interested are therefore requested to kindly communicate with ~f fnft taa et Musee de la Guerre, Professor Adouphe Conan. Columbia Universi- ty. New York City. if they feel in any sway inclined to contribute to the suc- cess and prosperity of this interesting Institution of our Sister Republic.
 It may be added thatJ Professor sCohan has in his possession a number of sets of French war posters which he would be glad to exchange for the kind of material that would be well Gomed by the BibliotheQue ct Musee de Ia Guerre.