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Show SPOTS ON THE RIBBON. the French legion of Honor Discredited by the Many Recent Scandals. The long series of scandals during the past year or two in Paris have culminated cul-minated in the serious discrediting of the French Legion of Honor, or rather of Its management, which has failed to purge its roll from time to time. Nearly Near-ly every journalist who is now accused of blackmail, for instance, wears the coveted red ribbon. There is a council of the order which is empowered to cashier any member guilty of dishonorable dishon-orable oonduct. A chevalier who had, for instanco, broken his word of honor and failed to pay a gambling debt might be struck off the rolla This is the theory. In practice the council is content with expelling bankrupts, duelers duel-ers and fugitives from justica The attack on tho government for its shortcomings in this respect brought the present cabinet within an ace of defeat. de-feat. The critics quoted, among other cases, that of a well known company promoting baron, who had numberless difficulties in the French law courta Most of bis companies went to smash. A captain in the French army, ruined through his faith in the baron's prospectuses, pro-spectuses, gave him a horsewhipping. Tho baron kept the whipping investor's money and tho ribbon of the Legion of Honor. A deputy moved a resolution to call upon tho government to remind tho council of tho order of its duty to deal rigorously with unworthy members. mem-bers. The government declining to ao-cept ao-cept the motion, it was rejected by the narrow majority of 239 to 234. Parte Letter. |