Evening star., 1936-11-18
Travelling Around in Europe
Table Talk Reveals French Character and Paris Police System
Makes Hod-ups Rare.
mo. rs OF a Sertes.)
BY WILLIAM HILL.

of mysterious suspense which
u makes it one of the most In
teresting cities in the world?
We raised the question the other
day at Prunier's, where they special
ize in sea foods. We had wandered
in to find "le menu dun repas" bris-
ting with French words we had never
seen.
In the midst of our dilemma q
black-haired man at the next table
leaned toward us and, in English with
only slight trace of French accent,
said:
May I assist you? I can recon-
mend les huitres.' Oysters. you
know Very different from those in
America"
Some One Speaks English.
That is one of the fortunate things
about Paris. No matter where you
are, there is some one about who
speaks English as we'll as French.
This time it turned out to be New
Jersey man who had represented a
large American corporation in France
for 10 years. The man beside him
was a Frenchman, Paris newspaper
man. We never learned their names.
No one thought to ask after we hap
pened to remark:
why Is it that one always feels
something is about to happen in
Paris?"
The French newspaper man took
the slant on the question that any
Partisan journalist would. 1t seems
that French newspapers are not pri-
marily designed to publish news, but
rather to serve as mouthpieces for
various political factions. They carry
a minimum of advertising, being prin-
cipally financed by some party leader.
Resultantly they are journals of opin-
ion-vituperative opinion often-and
the Partisan reads his newspaper not
to learn the news, but to add to his
personal store of arguments for his
own political faction. Politics is the
blazing conversational topic every
where.
Something always is about to hap
pen" said the French newspaper man.
He went on to explain that with the
diversity of political factions, with the
| Fascists, the Communists, lie Front
Populaire,'' with the working man
finding that he could be power in
the land, any faction is liable any
day to make a move that might be
revolutionary in scope.
Effect of Monetary Agreement.
Something would have happened
October l." the American interrupted,
'if it had not been for the monetary
stabilization move between France.
America and England Here in France
| dates are set when things are sup
posed to happen. October was one.
Before then. however. this monetary
agreement was promulgated AS al
ways, since they are the most logical
people on earth, the French sat
back to see what would result"
Political suspense, of course. was not
the characteristic Of Paris to which
we referred when we proposed our
question. We had in mind something
in the permanent personality of the
city, something that the foreign visitor
is conscious of, no matter how little
he knows of French politics Finally
| lull came and we restated our ques-
ton.
"You know" We said, New Orleans,
Mobile and Charleston have q degree
of the quality that makes Paris what
it is. probably because of a tradition
established by French settlers. But
what is that tradition?"
The French newspaper man pom
dered, then spoke.
City Like a Person"
"a city is like person." he said.
1T acquires personality from events
that become experience. That is its
character You are most conscious
of the character of Paris, ! think.
standing by the circular crypt in
which Napoleon is buried at the Ho-
tel des Invalides. About you are the
Emperor's battle flags, the doors cast
from cannon captured at Austerlitz,
the rays of light filtering on the high
dlCdL tkllo0Sh WAloOWS,
blue solemnity of the place But a
person or a city has something else.
They get it from what people say and
write about them. That is reputa-
ton. The reputation of Paris comes
from the cafes, night clubs and
artists quarters of Montmartre and
Montparnasse-two small but widely
known sections of the city. Some
foreigners know no other Paris"
There have been more untruths
perpetrated in writing about Paris
than any other city," the American
business man said suddenly. IAN
American told me several weeks ago
he was afraid to walk down a Paris
street at night for fear of being held
up He is an ardent reader of crime
fiction. As a matter Of fact, a hold
up or robbery is comparatively un-
known thing in Paris. The French
have deep sense of personal propi-
ETY.. You could leave a plate of pearls
in the middle of your hotel room for