New Britain herald., 1923-05-03
French Abbe, Prominent Author
 Speaks on France to Delegates
 At Annual McAN Meeting Here

Following The message Mrs, Pea | body was presented with a red rose
 as token af regard from a young man in New Jersey wha keeps in touch with her wherever she speaks end sees that rose is presented Go l her,
 Following a short prayer the sbbs was introduced and spoke as follows
 Ahbe Dinlnet's Taik,
 Ahhe Ernest DimRet, Paris eerFer sRoRdant Of The London Times" was the principal speaker Of the afternoon,
 He IS correspondent of the "salur- day Review and also lecturer al Harvard university, Ahhe nlmnst spoke as follows You are assembled here In the interests of the poor nee, ple, and poor children in my eonnr try l want to tell you hew grateful l feel for your work, Four years ago this time arrived for ihe second time in my life in this country 10 speak in the interests or the poor little children of France, The hospital in Lille was just on the verge Of closing their doors on the poor people because they had no money, I came here full Of hope, Al the time America had done so much that l did not think she could do any more.
 T am glad to say that conditions in France are improving, Some people say that France had ought to take care of her own and that she can do il. she ought to do it, A great writer in Paris has said that even if things dld come 10 the worst France shall not perish.
 Life seems Natural.
 Life in France seems on the face Of it 10 be exactly as 1t used to be ae- eording to people who visit France. People are inclined to think that con- ditions are better than they used to be. The florists. jewellers. grocers. etc, sell their goods dearer than for merly. It is precisely this side of the question which we cannot hope to look in the face. The people have been taxed very heavily fin the past few years. Almost everything has tax stamp attached to 1t. People seem to be making more money. They are 1, making three times as much as for | merly. Taxation in the year has be- | come four times as high as 1t used to | be. Education in the small elemen- tary schools costs just four times what | 1t used to cost. France pays the most taxes, America comes next and then the British.
 "Conditions in Czecho- -Slavia make it impossible to sell champagne bottles from France because of the high price the French have to charge for them. Czecho- -Savs can sell cheaper than they can be manufactured in France. The French glass works have to be closed down and this necessarily puts quite a few poor people out of work. Tn the little town of my birth. the closing down of the glass factories put It least 100 families in dire distress. What will they do? They cannot do anything but glass making. In the 'orest nearby the Germans left hun lreds of shells in dumps.
 'The only occupation these poor peo- pie can find is to go through these shells and pick them out and sell what hey can. The work is very unpleas- mt and detrimental to both their lealth and safety. The gases from he shells are gradually killing the ,rowth of the trees and the forest is ( ast diminishing. In Paris the usual ] poverty is hidden. You have to look i or 1t to find it. Not very long ago ] I vas riding on bicycle through the [, treets of Paris and I suddenly came