Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-01-11

Paris, Dec. 2S.-On the crowded
Boulevard de Montmartre, a tall young
American soldier stood amidst a group
or French girls, French soldiers and
American soldiers who had Joined
hands and were playing r~ing.around.
a.rosy about him. He was a bit Of a
Puritan and somewhat out OF place.
At last a French soldier seized him,
pushed his face up against that Of n
French girl in the ring. CONNIE Ca"
he exclaimed as n kiss resulted.
Much applause greeted this bit OF
enforced internationalism. The ring
broke up, seeking new girls OF new
Yanks to kiss.
Riug.around.a.rosy and kissing. for
all the world like that at country
kissing games, were the favorite sports
of the Paris crowd celebrating tho
carnival du President" which started
Saturday, when the President arrived,
and lasted all Sunday night.
No Rough House
You may get some idea of how
simple and childlike the French
crowd is when it is celebrating. There
was little noise, no horns. no rough
house work of the sort that prevails
in American cities: no fighting. no one
wen got angry. No loud and harsh
tones were ever heard.
The crowd walked from one side
of the boulevard to the other and
walked back and retraced its steps,
laughing, chatting, kissing, dancing.
playing ring.round-a-rosy. It regu.
lated itself. There were no police in
sight. 1t regulated traffic. No
vehicles were permitted on the street.
A taxi attempts to cross. A little
Frenchman sitting on the seat with
the driver is hurrying somewhere
with his family. The crowd seizes the
vehicle. II engulfs it. II rocks it
like a ship on an angry sea. 1t backs
It up. The little Frenchman ges.
ticulates and eXpostulates, but no one
hears him. The roar of laughter and
ttle tls uAo"io lllo NOiCc. ~ ptSlllS W
look as If he would stay all night the
sport Of the carnival-makers. Then
suddenly the way is opened by one
Of those spontaneous movements a
cheers goes on its way. For the mob
knows moderation. II knows when it
has gone far enough.
Must Kiss L. $. Soldiers
Moderation did not include kissing,
but then Anglo.SaXon standards of
kissing do not agree with French
son, Paris, that is, the Paris working
girl. the girl who turning out shells
in the factories had made a victory OF
French arms possible, decides that the
"sammies,' as they call them, must
be kissed.
Unlike the tall young Puritan with
which this story begins. the Sammies
we're not averse. They went in
thousands-for the American uniform
Is in Paris than in any
American city-where the kissing was
thickeSt, on the succession of boule.
wards that lead from Montmartre to
the opera, as they had gone once
when the storms of shells were
thlckest at the front. They had firm
and faithful allies; French soldiers in
their blue were in numbers about
coual TO the Americans. kissing,
dancing. joining hands, and men and
girls together of all countries rushing
wildly up the boulevard in a long
string, or winding themselves around
a whole group corralling them thus
and kissing them all before letting
them free.
Australians, with their big som.
breros, lined up on one side: n few
English Tommies joined in the inter.
national sport with the Partisan mid.