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Show RED TmPc iN fRANCfc. While Official Are Tied Up With It th Statue of Puet Is Miuus a Nose. British red tape? sin is had to beat, but the record just now is with Paris. There the front of the Ecole cies Beaux Arts is adorned with a statue of Pnget, the once famous tenor. Four years ago a passerby made the discovery that the statue's nose had come off. He called the attention of the policeman on duty to the fact. The policeman reported to his brigadier, who reported to the commissary com-missary of the quarter, who reported to the prefecture of police. The prefecture of police decided that the nose had dropped drop-ped off the statue and had not been maliciously knocked off. The matter therefore concerned the prefecture of tbe Seine. It was then August, 1891. In October a committee of three was appointed ap-pointed to decide which department had to put thenoo on again. The committee com-mittee inspected the statue in January, 1892, and reported in December that they were unable to report In February, 1893, this report reached reach-ed the department of public works. The head of a room found it in June and made the lives of his subordinates so many burdens to them with it. Somehow Some-how or other it got into print that but for this zealous official there would b hardly a statue in France and in Navarre Na-varre with its nose on. In July he waa decorated for special services. Somebody else took up the report. Between January Jan-uary and December, 1894, it had got into parliament. On Feb. 25, 1895, the bouse Eat upon it, and JIM. Jaures and Carnaud got off some virulent attack upon the government for its want 01 public spirit. The next day the sama passerby who had reported absence of the nose happened to pass by again. Ht discovered that the nose had not been replaced. re-placed. He reported to the policeman on duty, who, etc. The nose of Puget is in for another round. Pall Mall Gazetta |