| OCR Text |
Show IA NATION LAUGHS. All France is laughing at a hoax which was a masterpiece of satire. It was aimed at one of the Frenchman's most amiable foibles, his proclivity for crowding his streets with statues to anybody and everybody. "La Gazette de Jfollande" tells the story of this "ingenicuse mystification," which, freely translated, means "a clever fake." The "French statuo-mania can be as- cribed to a number of causes. There arc in mauy localities people who seek to provide points of intorcst for trav-elcrs. trav-elcrs. One of the easiest methods is to decorate public squuros, parks and boulevards with statues. Then again, Ihe Frenchmen is fond of the pomp and circumstance of tho dedication. Minis-tors Minis-tors of state, senators and minor off i-cials i-cials like to deliver flamboyant ora-lions, ora-lions, not so much to commemorate the honored dead as to win fame for them. Paul Brjault, the author of the hoax, was keenly alive to this sham, and ho laid his plans well to make the nation laugh, lie proposed that a memorial bo erected to Hcgcsippc Simon. When Briault started his campaign Hegesippe Simon was unknown to fame. Now he is the most famous man that "never" B When asked who Hegesippe Simon B was by the few who had the courage to admit their ignorance, Briault eaid H ''he was a fecr and educator, ono of tho glories of our democracy. Wan it not. ho who was tbo author of that pro-B pro-B found thought, 'the darkness taken 1 flight when tho sun rises.'?" Then Briault. printed a little circu-B circu-B lar headed "Inaugural Committee of H tbe Centenary of Hegesippe Simon." He sent the circular to many promt nont men and invited their signatures as honorary members of the Hogosippo Simon committee. Senators, mombors of the chamber of deputies and municipal munici-pal councilors hastened to sign. . Briault promised every signer that ho might dellvor nn address at tho un-veiling un-veiling of the ntatue. and he caught within his net many conceited notables, nota-bles, among them a former vice president presi-dent of tho senate, who demanded biographical data to put in his discourse; dis-course; a senator who wanted to die-tato die-tato the list of members of parliament who should bo invitod to tho ceremonies; a former president presi-dent of tho council of ministors, who sent in his application for membership mem-bership and apologized In advance for not being ablo to accopt an invitation to tho proposed banquet; a count who is a senator and was formorly an embassador; em-bassador; a former minister of labor, who wroto that he was glad to associate asso-ciate himself with a movement to hoor that "glory of our democracy"; M. Maurico-Faurc, vico president of the senate and former minister of public instruction, who sent an enthusiastic letter, and many others. Briault prepared Ijb trap with groat elaboration. When ho was found ont tho trap was ready to spring. Somo of the parliamentarians sohcitert to join the committee, notably Leon Bourgeois, 5 smelled a rat. It transpired that ono jj of them, having discovered tho hoax, E had had a sufficient sens of humor to 5 keep silent until Briault could oompleto : his work. 5 When the hoax was revealod a uni- z versal laugh went up. Everybody : thought the joke excellent except the : public men who had been duped. Somo : of tho victims, however, were shrowd : enough to laugh with tho rest of the country. Othors got angry, and as a s result only increased their humiliation. |
