A CASE FOR THE LEAGUE

There is much to wonder at in the newly-proclaimed secession of the Isis Saint Louis from the domination of Paris and "bourgeois Commercialism." In America, the habit is clearly to include as many towns, islands, suburbs and cities as possible under a single municipal government. In France, as one may see, these things are done differently--for there are now two independent republes within the Parisian walls--Montmartre, and the Isle Saint Louis.

And certainly, the reasons for this latest withdrawal are sound and sufficient: Arbitrarily attached to the Fourth Arrondissement "without due consideration having been given to its geographical situation as an island entirely surrounded by the Seine, or to its political position as a residence of artists, poets and medical students, or to its ethnology and history as the original home of the Lutetians who resisted Caesar--a people to whom Parisians are allen in spirit and in fact, being but recent immigrants from the provinces," the Isle Saint Louis felt its humiliation deeply; and in this bold proclamation of freedom, the descendants of the Lutetians have vindicated their spirited ancestors.

Unhappily there is, within this warlike island; another party, whose outcries sound strangely familiar. These excited folk insist on making their new Republic "100 per cent French." Already there are more than 10 per cent of foreigners, mostly Americans, who spoil all the walters with their ill-proportioned tips, and all the landladies with regular payments. Almost as bad, "American is the language most commonly and most vociferously spoken" in the cafes and restaurants. In view of these outrages, the Isle Saint Louis proposes to appeal to the League of Nations. Americans who may visit Paris in the near future will doubtless take notice.