FRANCE. 



ended "ii -Inly 18, 1801, the question of regulat- 

 ing r suppressing betting on IKM-M- races IK.VII- 

 lie iitli-nli-iM of tin- ('ImmlNT repeatedly. 

 The -pi-end "f thu gambling Imliit, ana tin- in- 

 .iig number of tlifftsaiuldefulcutions trace- 

 able ti- In -CM' racing, and of turf scandals, has 

 attracted the at leiition of reformers fnr some 

 time. An eminent judicial authority lias .said 

 that the races, of which 815 took place in and 

 iin>unil 1'aris in 1890, cause a great proportion 

 of the crimes that are committed. In 1874 the 

 poul sellers were driven out of Paris and restricted 

 to tin 1 racetracks. The book-makers were driven 

 diit of their booths in accordance with an act 

 passed in 1887, but continued to carry on their 

 business. The pari mutuel, though forbidden 

 under the general law against gambling, received 

 a partial recognition by the licenses granted for 

 the establishment of booths at race courses. M. 

 (.'onstaiis submitted a bill to legalize the pools 

 and limit the business by taxing the proceeds 

 2 per cent., which was estimated to yield 4,000,- 

 000 francs for the benefit of the poor. The 

 Chamber rejected his bill by 830 votes to 144 on 

 Fill. -js. The Minister of the Interior thereupon 

 carried out his threat to suppress pool selling 

 and book-making. For the next two months a 

 c-ldse police supervision prevented gambling on 

 the tracks, and the result was that the owners 

 lost large sums through lack of patronage. 

 Meanwhile the question was brought up in va- 

 rious forms in the Chamber. M. Develle, the 

 Minister of Agriculture, brought in a bill to place 

 the race tracks under the control of his depart- 

 ment, which was passed on May 13, as modified 

 by the committee, and was slightly amended 

 afterward by the Senate. Henceforth no race 

 track can be opened without Government sanc- 

 tion ; no races will be permitted except such as 

 are organized solely for the encouragement of ef- 

 forts to improve the breed of horses, and are con- 

 ducted by societies whose statutes are approved 

 bv the Minister of Agriculture ; bookmakers are 

 allowed to take bets only from persons with 

 whom they are acquainted and without money 

 being passed at the time ; and the pari mutuel 

 can oe earned on only by racing societies on 

 their own grounds, and the profits shall be di- 

 vided in a proportion to be determined by the 

 Government, between charitable objects and race 

 prizes. On May 27 the Chamber agreed to a bill 

 empowering the Ministry of War, as a precau- 

 tion against siege in time of war, to Keep in 

 every fortified town and intrenched camp a sup- 

 ply of wheat or flour sufficient to feed the popu- 

 lation for two months, the towns of over 40,000 

 inhabitants bearing half the expense. 



The Labor Question. Incidents and ques- 

 tions connected with the social problem arrested 

 public opinion and preoccupied the Legislature 

 m an unusual degree in 1891. On Feb. 18 a 

 Council of Labor, composed of masters and 

 workmen appointed to deliberate and advise the 

 Government on labor matters, was opened under 

 the presidency of Jules Roche, Minister of Com- 

 merce. Its recommendation of a Labor Bureau, 

 modeled on that of the United States Govern- 

 ment, was approved by the Cabinet, and the 

 necessary legislative action was initiated. The 

 police and military authorities took extraordi- 

 nary precautions to prevent an Anarchistic out- 



break on May 1. In Paris cavalry patrolled the 

 streets, and regiments of infantry were kept un- 

 der arms. About 800 well-known Anarchists 

 and Socialists were arrested the day before and 

 held iis dangerous characters. Cunningham 

 Graham, a Socialist member of the J5riti-h Par- 

 liament, attempted to lead a demonstration and 

 was stopped by the police, who charged repeat- 

 edly at the crowd MMOdbwd in the Place de la 

 Concorde. In Lyons the people resisted the po- 

 lice, who attempted to break up their labor pro- 

 cession, and assailed with stones the cavalry who 

 dispersed them in the street, drove them out of 

 the cemetery, whither they then repaired to hold 

 a demonstration, and charged into them twice 

 more on their return to the city, after they had 

 overcome the police. In Marseilles a squadron 

 of horse broke up the demonstration, and. as in 

 Lyons, many persons were arrested, the chief 

 one being Deputy Antide Boyer. Serious dis- 

 order occurred at Fourmies, w'here a strike was 

 proclaimed, and half the miners left work. 

 Many persons were arrested early in the day for 

 intimidating men who refused to join in the 

 strike. In a collision between the mob and the 

 gendarmes the latter were forced to retreat. 

 Toward evening about 1,200 men armed with 

 sticks gathered in the square and loudly called 

 for the release of their comrades. Although 

 soldiers were drawn up to support the gen- 

 darmes, they charged the latter and almost suc- 

 ceeded in capturing the police station. The 

 troops then charged with fixed bayonets, and 

 drove the people out of the square. But, re- 

 turning with a supply of bricks and paving 

 stones, they attacked the soldiers and over- 

 whelmed a body of police. A whole regiment 

 of infantry was brought up, and, finally, on the 

 demand of the sub-prefect, the troops fired into 

 the mob, which continued to fight hand-to-hand 

 with the soldiers and police, but finally ran 

 away. There were 14 persons killed, some of 

 them women, and 40 were wounded. This affair 

 and the condemnation of labor leaders for in- 

 citing riot at Lyons, Bordeaux, Charleville, and 

 other places led to fresh strikes and disturb- 

 ances. Although the Chamber by an overwhelm- 

 ing majority refused to order an investigation of 

 the Fourmies disaster, on the ground that it 

 would be insulting to the army, and the Minis- 

 ter of the Interior took energetic measures to 

 repress the agitation that grew out of the inci- 

 dent, arresting speakers and expelling Cunning- 

 ham Graham, the Government changed its atti- 

 tude on the labor question. Shortly afterward 

 occurred a strike of the omnibus drivers of 

 Paris, who were worked from fourteen to seven- 

 teen hours a day, and demanded a uniform 

 working day of twelve hours at the same wages. 

 They first formed a syndicate or union, and ap- 

 pointed a committee to present their grievances 

 to the managers of the omnibus company, which 

 has a monopoly of the service for the whole city. 

 Although the law provides that either employers 

 or employes may form unions and delegate a 

 committee to act for the body, the managers of 

 the company refused to recognize the syndicate 

 or treat with its delegates. Despite the general 

 inconvenience caused by the strike that ensued, 

 the public sympathized with the men. The 

 places of the striking drivers and conductors 



