STRAUSS, PAUL:

French senator; born at Rongchamp, Haute-Saône, Sept. 23, 1852. He studied at Paris, and was graduated from the Faculty of Medicine. In 1876 he entered the field of political journalism, becoming a regular contributor to "L'Indépendant," the "Droits de I'Homme," the "Radical," the "Voltaire," and the "Petite République." In 1883 he was elected town councilor of Paris, and a member of the legislative assembly of the department of the Seine. He continued to serve in these capacities until 1897, when he was elected a member of the French Senate, which office he still holds (1905). Strauss has been mainly influential in reorganizing the French system of public charities, and it was chiefly through his efforts that departments were established for the care of deserted children and for pregnant women. He was instrumental also in founding the Asile Michelet and the Asile Ledru-Rollin, the latter of which takes care of women who are convalescing after childbirth.

Strauss is the author of the following works: "Le Suffrage Universel" (Brussels, 1878), with a preface by Alfred Naquet; "Paris Ignoré" (Paris, 1892); "L'Enfance Malheureuse" (1896); "Dépopulation et Puériculture"; "La Croisade Sanitaire" (1902); "Assistance Sociale, Pauvres et Mendiants"; "La Loi sur la Santé Publique"; and "Les Habitations à Bon Marché en Allemagne." In 1897 he founded the "Revue Philanthropique," which he still conducts.

Bibliography:
  • Journal de la Mutualité Française, 1900;
  • La France Contemporaine, 1904, iii.
S. J. Ka.
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