[Illustration: Typical French Soldier in Uniform. ] A Journey Through France in War Time By JOSEPH G. BUTLER, JR. Member of The American Industrial Commission to France. THE PENTON PRESS CLEVELAND 1917 [Illustration: inscription by author. ] Copyright, 1917, byJoseph G. Butler, Jr. , Youngstown, O. One hundred copies of this editionhave been printed of whichthis is number39 _Second Edition_ TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF FRANCEWHO AMID INEXPRESSIBLE SORROWSAND INFINITE CARES EXTENDED AGRACIOUS WELCOME TO THE AMERICANINDUSTRIAL COMMISSION ANDTO THE AUTHOR THIS BOOK ISGRATEFULLY DEDICATED ***** CONTENTS CHAPTER IOrigin of the Purpose of the Trip. CHAPTER IICrossing the Atlantic. CHAPTER IIIBordeaux and Paris. CHAPTER IVMeeting England's Premier. CHAPTER VThe Birthplace of Lafayette. CHAPTER VIA Great Munitions Plant. CHAPTER VIIArt and Architecture of Aries. CHAPTER VIIIAlong the Mediterranean. CHAPTER IXTowns in Southern France. CHAPTER XThe Creusot Gun Works. CHAPTER XIApproaching the Front. CHAPTER XIIWithin Sound of the Guns. CHAPTER XIIIThe Story of Gerbeviller. CHAPTER XIVOn the Main Front. CHAPTER XVReims and the Trenches. CHAPTER XVIBack to Paris. CHAPTER XVIIOn the Way Home--England. CHAPTER XVIIIOn the Broad Atlantic. CHAPTER XIXThe French Steel Industry in War Time. CHAPTER XXWhere War Has Raged. CHAPTER XXIGeneral Joffre. CHAPTER XXIIThe Work of Reconstruction. CHAPTER XXIIIFrench Business Organizations. CHAPTER XXIVThe Carrel Method of Treating Wounds. CHAPTER XXVA City in an Army's Path. CHAPTER XXVISome impressions of France and the French. ILLUSTRATIONS Typical French Soldier in Uniform Photograph of Commissioners, Taken on Train Leaving Paris for Limoges The Author's Passport Autograph Signatures of the Commission Grand Theatre, Bordeaux. Closed Until the War Ends Miniature French Flag Carried by the Author Through France. The Waving of This Flag by an American Aroused Much Enthusiasm Lloyd George, Who Says "England is Fighting a Battle for Civilization" Miss Winifred Holt, "Keeper of the Light House of France" Ancient Bridge at Limoges--Built by the Romans Two Thousand Years Ago and Still in Use Tapestry Workers at Aubusson Lafayette's Deathbed, With Commission's Flag and Flowers Monastery of St. Michael, at le Puy Silk Tapestry Menu Used at Dinner to the Commission at St. Etienne Col. Rimailho With 155-mm. Gun (upper) and Famous 75-mm. Gun (lower) Perfected by Him Women Employed in Munitions Factories Arlesiennes--Types of Southern France Old Roman Arena at Aries--Still Used for Bull Fights and Other Amusements Shore of the Mediterranean Near Marseilles. In the distance Chateau D'If, Made Famous by Dumas Types From the French Provinces Monastery of Chartreuse New 520-mm. Gun, Carrying Projectile Seven Feet in Length and Weighing 3, 100 lbs. , Seen at Creusot Works German Prisoners Passing Through the Village of St. Etienne The Lion of Belfort Battlefield of La Chipotte, Showing Monument and Markers on Graves Ruins of Gerbeviller Sister Julie Cathedral at Nancy German Trenches Captured by the French The Reims Cathedral Before its Destruction Ruins at Reims. Upper and Lower Plates--The Cathedral. Middle Plate--The Archbishop's Palace Key of Archbishop's Palace at Reims and Bone From Twelfth Century Tombs Opened by German Shells Trenches Visited by the Commission King Albert's Address to the Belgians Photograph of King Albert of Belgium, with the Royal Autograph French Marines Operating 75-mm. Gun on Shipboard Nancy--Place Stanislas Ruins of Village--St. Die The Prefecture at Reims After Bombardment Portrait in Tapestry--General Joffre Ruins at Nancy Trenches Occupied by French Soldiers Proclamation Posted in Reims Just Before the French Fell Back to the Marne Arrival of Wounded Soldiers at Chalons, on the Marne Proclamation by the Mayor of Reims, Issued on the day the Germans Entered that City, September 4, 1914 First Order From the Invaders Second German Proclamation Citizens Warned of Danger Citizens Warned that Hostages May be Hanged Postal-card Painted by Artist Soldier in French Trenches FOREWORD Of all that has been written, or is to be written, by Americansconcerning the tragedy overwhelming the Old World, much must naturallybe descriptive of conditions in France, since that country is, amongthose affected by military occupation, most accessible and most closelyin sympathy with American ideals and American history. While the ground covered by these pages may be, therefore, notunfamiliar, the motives prompting their preparation are probably unique. It has been undertaken at the request of friends, but not entirely fortheir pleasure; since the author hopes that those who read it may see inthe patriotic devotion and courage of the French people something of thespirit that should animate our country, whose aspirations toward libertythe French aided even before they were themselves free. Written in hours snatched for the task amid the press of other duties, these pages endeavor to present a simple, intimate and personal story ofexperiences enjoyed and impressions gained under most unusualcircumstances and herein shared with my friends as one of the mostinteresting incidents of a long and busy life. * * * A Journey Through France in War Time ORIGIN OF THE PURPOSE OF THE TRIP In the Autumn and Winter of 1915, a body of distinguished andrepresentative Frenchmen visited the United States, their object beingto make an investigation of conditions here, having in mind the greatneed of France in war munitions, the steel in ingot and bar form verymuch needed for the manufacture of war materials, and the numerous othercommodities necessary for prosecution of the war, which had been inprogress more than a year. The finances of France were also very much in evidence in the minds ofthe visitors. The names and occupation of this French Trade Commission appearfollowing: Chairman--Monsieur Maurice Damour, Secretary of the French Deputies' Commissionon Appropriations. Monsieur Jacquez Lesueur, Delegate of the Ministry of Agriculture. Monsieur L. Trincano, Director of the Horological School of Besancon. Monsieur Jacquez de Neuflize, Banker. Monsieur M. Chouffour, of the Credit Francais. Monsieur L. Vibien, Director of the National Bank of Credit. Monsieur E. Delassale-Thiriez, Secretary of the Syndicate of Spinners. Monsieur M. Saladin, Delegate of the Creusot Factory. Monsieur Joseph Guinet, Delegate of the Chamber of Commerce ofLyons. This Commission visited various parts of the United States, principallythe great iron and steel centers, Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Chicago. Much attention was shown the party in their journey through our land. An introductory luncheon to this French Commission was given by TheAmerican Manufacturers Export Association at the Hotel Biltmore, NewYork, Tuesday, November 23rd, 1915. This luncheon was attended by arepresentative number of American manufacturers and bankers, and theobject of the visitors fully discussed. On this occasion it wassuggested by Mr. E. V. Douglass, the efficient secretary of the ExportAssociation, that a return visit of Americans would be in order andwould assist in accomplishing the object of the visitors. Thissuggestion was followed up early in 1916 and took form later on in theappointment and selection of the members of "The Commission IndustrielleAmericaine en France", the expedition being organized and financed underthe direction of The American Manufacturers' Export Association, locatedat 160 Broadway, New York City. This association has an active membership of over five hundredmanufacturers, firms and corporations engaged in the production of allkinds of fabricated materials, from steel to women's lingerie. The president of the association, Mr. E. M. Herr, of Pittsburgh, closelyassociated with the Westinghouse interests, was the moving spirit increating and selecting the organization and formulating the plans andpolicy of the Industrial Commission, even to the extent of selecting thechairman. The membership of the commission, their occupations, business andprofessional status, is given herewith: M. W. W. Nichols, President; Vice President "AmericanManufacturers' Export Association. " President, Adjount du Conseild'Administration "Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. , Inc. , " New York, N. Y. M. J. G. Butler, Jr. , Fabricant de fer et d'acier, Vice-president"Brier Hill Steel Company", Youngstown, Ohio. M. A. B. Farquhar, President "A. B. Farquhar Co. , Ltd. , York, Pa. "Vice-president "National Chamber of Commerce of the UnitedStates. " M. G. B. Ford, New York, Urbaniste-Conseil. M. S. F. Hoggson, Conseil-Expert en matieres et materiaux deconstruction; President "Hoggson Bros. & Co. , Inc. " New York, N. Y. M. F. J. Le Maistre, Ingenieur-Chimiste-Conseil E. I. Du Pont deNemours et Co. , Wilmington, Del. M. J. R. Mac Arthur, President Mac Arthur Bros. , Co. , New York, N. Y. ; Ex-Sous-Secretaire du Department d'Etat, Washington, D. C. M. Le Dr. C. O. Mailloux, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, Ingenieur-Electricien, New York, N. Y. , Ancien President "AmericanInstitute of Electrical Engineers. " M. C. G. Pfeiffer, Vice-president "Geo. Borgfeldt et Co. , " NewYork, Importateurs et Exportateurs; Member of "National Chamber ofCommerce of the United States. " M. J. E. Sague, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. , Ingenieur-Mecanicien. AncienNew York Public Service Commissioner; Ancien Vice-president"American Locomotive Co. ", New York, N. Y. M. E. A. Warren, Expert en matieres et precedes textiles;Vice-president "Universal Winding Co. ", Boston, Mass. M. E. V. Douglass, Secretaire General; Secretaire "AmericanManufacturers' Export Association. " M. E. Garden, Secretaire Francais. [Illustration: Photograph of Commissioners Taken on Train Leaving Parisfor Limoges. ] This roster is taken from the previously mentioned booklet, "TheCommission Industrielle Americaine en France. " The object of theCommission is carefully set forth in the opening, in French, and for thebenefit of readers who speak English only, a translation follows: The American Industrial Commission in France, organized under theauspices of the American Manufacturers' Export Association, withthe cordial approval of France and of the United States, principally for a sympathetic study of industrial and commercialconditions in France. At the time of the visit to America by the French CommercialCommission in the winter of 1915-1916, the idea was proposed todifferent American industrial and commercial associations, toorganize a similar mission for the purpose of returning this visitto France. This idea was taken up by the American Manufacturers' ExportAssociation, which, incorporated in 1911, numbers among itsmembership more than five hundred organizations of great importancein the American industrial world. This organization is co-operativein character, with the general idea of developing and maintainingcommercial relations between the United States and foreigncountries. The importance of the proposed mission becomes more apparentthrough a detailed analysis of its program, which comprises a studyof the most practical means of utilizing the resources andexperience of America for the reconstruction which France desiresto make of its communities and of its industries, during and afterthe war. The Association has succeeded in organizing a commission made up ofmen well qualified to render the service desired. The American Industrial Commission in France will strive toestablish an active co-operation with its French associates, with aview of developing the commercial and industrial relation alreadyexisting between the two nations and to make them more cordial andmore satisfactory on both sides. The Association hopes to succeed through the work of the Commissionin contributing in some measure to this happy result, and at thesame time strengthen the friendship and sympathy which has existedbetween these two nations for more than a century. A circular issued by The American Manufacturers' Export Association isof interest in this connection and was sent to members underconsideration and to manufacturers, soliciting subscriptions for theexpenses of the Commission. This circular is herein reproduced. * * * AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION TO FRANCE August-September, 1916 OBJECTS Primarily, to make a thorough and technical investigation ofpresent conditions in France looking to the reconstruction andre-organization of her communities and industries which will takeplace during and after the war to an extent unparalleled inhistory, and further, to determine the best and most completemanner in which the United States may contribute from her resourcesto accomplish these results; to arrange for largely increasedpurchases of French products and fully reciprocal commercialrelations. In the cause of a thorough neutrality, it should be distinctlyunderstood that this undertaking is based upon cordial proposalswhich came to us unsolicited, and that we stand ready to dolikewise in all other directions under similar conditions. METHODS Commissioners of known technical experience--members of theAmerican Manufacturers' Export Association and others--will bechosen to investigate the present industrial situation in France inorder to aid by American brains, energies and facilities therehabilitation of a structure seriously damaged, and in manyinstances destroyed, by the ravages of war. Extraordinary and unprecedented facilities have been granted by theFrench Government to aid the Commission in its endeavors, affordingevery assurance of a successful outcome. An official account of the Commission's visit, with a summary ofconclusions regarding each phase of its investigation, will laterbe reported and published for general distribution under theauthority of the American Manufacturers' Export Association. REPRESENTATION It is intended to include all the industries of the United Statesconcerned in French trade under the following classifications: I. Prime Movers: (Steam, Gas and Oil Engines; Pumping Engines, Steam and Hydraulic, Turbines, Condensers, Generators and all other adjuncts. ) Heavy Machinery: (Rolling Mills, Iron and Steel Products, etc. ) II. Machine-Tools, Wire, Transmission and Textile Machinery. III. Milling Machinery: (Flour and Saw Mills; Cement, Milling, Smelting, Agricultural andRoad Machinery. ) IV. Electrical Apparatus. V. Transportation: (Locomotives, Cars, Naval Vessels, etc. ) VI. Importers: (Textile, including Laces; Dry-Goods of all kinds; Porcelains, Groceries and Wines; Toys. ) VII. Synthetic Products based on chemical processes; Chemicals, Explosives, etc. VIII. Bankers. IX. Factory Architects, Engineers and Contractors. PERSONNEL Commissioners of broad experience in their respective lines will bechosen--men of national reputation who will lend dignity andstanding to the enterprise and guarantee a result both conclusiveand effective. ITINERARY With the co-operation of the French authorities an itinerary hasbeen tentatively prepared covering the principal industrial citiesand sections of France and consuming, together with ocean passagesapproximately 60 days. A definite program is being arranged withthe cordial aid of French chambers of commerce and the greateconomical associations in the localities to be visited, and thiswork is now proceeding with the authority and full approval of theFrench Government. Railway and other transportation throughoutFrance will be provided for the American Commission by theGovernment. The proposed visit has aroused intense interest onevery side, and extensive plans have been made for the receptionand instructive entertainment of the American delegation. MANAGEMENT One of the commissioners will be appointed to take general charge of theCommission on behalf of the American Export Association and it will bethe duty of this representative to collaborate with the Frenchauthorities, appointed for this purpose, in the consummation of plans;to assume executive charge of the work of the Commission; and toorganize the details necessary to the preparation of the official reportto be issued for the full benefit of American industry. To insure absolute regularity and efficiency of progress theCommission as a body, will be subject to this Commissioner General. * * * My connection as a member of the Commission came about through thesuggestion made to Mr. E. M. Herr, by Mr. James A. Farrell, President ofthe United States Steel Corporation, Mr. E. A. S. Clarke, President ofthe Lackawanna Steel Company, and Mr. Willis Larimer King, Vice-president of The Jones & Laughlin Steel Company. I was not the first choice, however, as a number of gentlemen had beenpreviously considered and had either declined the honor or had beeneliminated from the list of candidates. The pressure upon me fromnumerous friends in the steel business to accept the task was persistentand continuous, and upon receipt of a telegram from Mr. Farrell, tellingme, within a week of the proposed sailing of the Commission, that if Idid not accept, the great iron and steel industries of the United Stateswould be unrepresented, the matter was settled and I decided that it wasdue to my fellow manufacturers, many of whom had been kind to me over along period of time and who had helped me in many ways, that I shouldaccept the position. I notified Mr. Herr to that effect just one weekprior to the date of sailing. [Illustration: The Author's Passport. ] I had intended to take an active part in the political campaign pendingand such a trip involved keen disappointment in this connection, as Ifelt that a change of the administration was necessary for the bestinterests of the country. I had voted for every Republican presidentfrom Lincoln to Taft and wanted very much to be somewhat instrumental inthe election of Mr. Hughes. The McKinley Birthplace Memorial needed my attention, as well as othermatters of a public nature, to say nothing about the various businessenterprises in which I am still active. All these obligations were temporarily abandoned and hurriedpreparations were made for the long and, as thought by many, dangerousjourney. II. CROSSING THE ATLANTIC The French Line was selected by the sponsor for the trip as being thesafest route and somewhat as a compliment to the French nation. Passagewas engaged for the entire party on the Lafayette, booked to sail fromNew York, August 26th, 1916, at 3 P. M. , destination, the French PortBordeaux. I reached New York Friday morning, August 25th, and immediately setabout getting my passport properly vised by the French Consul. This wasaccomplished with less difficulty than one would imagine and theprecious document finally made ready. A luncheon was given the Commission at the Hotel Biltmore at noon by Mr. E. M. Herr, which gave the members their first opportunity to becomesomewhat acquainted. Addresses were made by Mr. Herr and othersconnected with the launching of the enterprise. We were told to beneutral, and this was emphasized by the chairman from the day of sailinguntil the journey was over. I received this admonition with a decidedmental reservation. It impressed me as being incongruous and entirelyout of place for a delegation of Americans to plan a visit to France andnot be in accord with that sorely stricken people. It occurred to mealso, then and there, that if the Commission expected to accomplish itsobject it would be necessary to show a genuine sympathy with the Alliedcause, and I acted on this theory during the entire journey. A majorityof the members cherished the same sentiments, which most of them managedto conceal with more or less success. Arriving at the dock of the Compagne General Transatlantique, soon afternoon on Saturday, August 26th, an inspection of the luggage was made. This was a tedious and thorough process, requiring the unpacking andrepacking of all the contents of the trunks and valises, therebyinsuring the absence of dynamite, bombs and other destructive material. Numerous devoted friends were on hand to say good bye and "bon voyage", but they were permitted only on the dock. Passports were carefully examined by a group of inspectors and thevoyagers were permitted to go on board the waiting steamer. The members of the Commission were next grouped together, photographedand motion-pictured, thus beginning the publicity considered necessaryfor the success of the enterprise. The departure of the Lafayette was a stirring affair. Promptly at threeo'clock P. M. The vessel moved away from her moorings, amidst the din ofthe band, the waving of flags, the whir of the movie machine, theblowing of whistles and the cheers of friends of the passengers. Soon after sailing the members of the Commission were formallyintroduced to each other and, strange to relate, with but a singleexception, no two of the party had ever met before beginning thejourney. It was discovered that several of the commissioners--myself not amongthe number, spoke excellent French. This proved a great advantage to theFrench-speaking members during the journey and, incidentally, to themembers who understood English only. Among the passengers aboard and attached to the Commission was Mr. Harrison Reeves, a noted war correspondent, formerly connected with TheNew York Sun. He had been several times at the Front in France in arepresentative capacity, had lived a number of years in France, spokeand wrote the French language fluently and has a fine personality. Hispresence was much appreciated, his knowledge of recent events in Franceand his large acquaintance with men of affairs proving invaluable to thecommissioners. On Monday, August 28th, a meeting of the Commissioners was called fororganization and consultation. At this meeting various committees wereagreed upon and appointed by the chairman. It was also arranged thatdaily sessions were to be held and the work of the commission laid outso far as possible in advance. The chairman had prepared an address outlining the duties of theCommission, which is here reproduced. * * * Aboard Steamship "Lafayette"En-route to France, August 28th, 1916. To the Members of theAmerican Industrial Commission to France. Gentlemen: We are bound on an errand of constructive friendship. Through theencouragement of the authorities of France and the public spirit ofAmerican business men, we are enabled to go on this mission of goodwill and service. France, in her griefs and her joys, is always a land ofinspiration; she is the classic creator and promoter of the artswhich make for civilization. In many ways American life is thericher because France exists. What greater service can a representative company of thinkingAmericans render to their land than to visit and touch at firsthand the sources of so much that is valuable to the world, and tocarry home lessons and messages which may easily be potent informing stronger ties in the old time intimate relationship betweenour country and France. Primarily, we go, then, to learn in meeting our oversea friendsface to face, and, if our errand succeeds, to be of any servicepossible. The great question then becomes: how can we serve best?By keeping our eyes, ears, minds and spirits open and alert to thefacts and the possibilities founded on such facts which unfoldbefore us in the course of our visit. Our trip has been announcedas an investigation or survey of the industrial situation inFrance. Our mission appears to be to examine the present economic life andactivities in France, and, in a study of such life as we find it, endeavor to ascertain what the future is likely to bring forth forindustrial France. It is obvious that an intelligent examination of the rich economicdevelopment of France must yield valuable byproducts of observationand instruction. The human values in this economic structure are offundamental importance; civil, social and general economic progressproceeding from the French economic effort will be of wide interestto us. Undoubtedly in the coming years France will make extraordinarystrides in industrial progress. She is planning--indeed has alreadyunder way, many projects of manufacture, transportation, housing, labor-conservation and municipal life; projects of deep interestand importance to every American business man and citizen. It maybe our special privilege to be taken behind the scenes of thistremendous expansion, see some of the beginnings and, if we arefortunate, to make such contribution as France may desire from thegood will, experience and certain peculiar knowledge we can offerfor her use in any way that may enable her to attain the end sheseeks. In this commission we represent something more than a body of menwho have been selected because of special distinction in fields oftheir own. Each commissioner touches large circles of interest andcapacity. If the opportunity comes to us to indicate to Frenchbusiness up-builders how to come into sympathetic working relationswith the enterprise and progressive affairs of our own country, weshall achieve the high purpose of our Commission. (Signed) W. W. NICHOLS, Chairman of the Commission. * * * Before leaving New York a handsome booklet had been prepared andprinted. The brochure contained the names of the commissioners, theirpublic records, halftone portraits and a carefully prepared statement ofthe objects of the expedition. Twenty-five hundred copies were printedand were to be delivered on board the Lafayette by the printer. Aftersailing, it was discovered by a thorough search that the much neededbooklets were not on board. These documents were for distribution afterour arrival in France and were sorely missed. Subsequently the booklet was produced in Paris, but in somewhatdifferent form, and it was near the end of the journey before theduplicate copies were ready for distribution. The loss of the Americanmade edition was a serious handicap. A word or two about the personnel of the Commission. Mr. Nichols, thechairman, is a man about sixty with a grave, clerical appearance, formerly a professor or teacher and at one time superintendent of theChicago Telephone Company. A man of various business experiences, atpresent connected with the Allis Chalmers Company in its New Yorkoffice. He is excessively cautious and delivered a daily lecture onneutrality, fearing evidently that some of the members might break awayfrom his idea of being strictly neutral and thus thwart or defeat theobjects of the Commission. Mr. Nichols is thoroughly honest andconscientious; he had the success of the venture very much at heart andlabored from his viewpoint to that end, priding himself in his brokenFrench. Mr. John R. MacArthur was a member of the Philippine Commission, is afine French scholar, a ready conversationalist in both English andFrench, and has a keen sense of humor. He was a constant help to thenon-French speaking members of the Commission. Dr. Mailloux is an electrical engineer of established reputation andlarge experience. He had been in previous commissions to all parts ofthe world; a thorough French scholar, he had lived many years in Franceand had done much work for the French Government. His knowledge of theFrench people was invaluable to some of his fellow commissioners but wasnot utilized to its full extent. Mr. Edward A. Warren, of Boston, represented the textile industry and iswell posted in that line. He was the modest man of the commission, rarely asserting himself and deferring too much to the views of hiscompanions. He is possessed of rare good common sense, but, as stated, kept himself too much in the background, thereby lessening his influencein the work of the commission. Mr. James A. Sague, at one time vice-president of The AmericanLocomotive Company; is a technically educated man, genial andcompanionable, and was a useful personage on the commission. Mr. A. B. Farquhar, is a real veteran of the Civil War, nearly eightyyears of age but possessing remarkable physical vigor. He was thefriend of Lincoln, heard the Gettysburg address delivered, saved histown (York, Pennsylvania) from destruction by the Confederates, and hadmuch to do with the reconstruction period after the War. He laboredunder the difficulty of defective eyesight, this somewhat impairing hisusefulness on the Commission. Mr. N. B. Hoggson, a gentleman of infinite jest, genial and persuasive;a great mixer and constant worker, proved a very useful member of thecommission in diving after facts and making notes thereof. Mr. Geo. B. Ford, a well known architect of the firm of Geo. B. Post &Company, New York, was a rather quiet undemonstrative member, but aworker and investigator in his particular line. His observations andrecommendations should have great weight in the work reconstructing andrebuilding the destroyed portions of France. Mr. F. J. LeMaistre, a chemical engineer, quite scientific; notparticularly unselfish in his dealings with his fellow commissioners, was nevertheless a useful member of the commission, contributing much toits success. He is connected with the duPont Powder Company in animportant capacity. His chemical knowledge came into good play in thejourneyings of the Commission. Mr. C. G. Pfeiffer was, physically, the giant of the Commission. Anexporter and importer, a splendid French scholar, utilized on alloccasions when a knowledge of French was needed; a hard, conscientiousworker, quite close to the chairman and of decided use to the head ofthe Commission from start to finish--he frequently steered the ship fromshallow shoals and dangerous rapids. Mr. E. V. Douglass, the efficient secretary of the Commission, isentitled to much commendation. His work was heavy and unending. To lookafter a body of men, many of whom he had never previously met; to dealwith their idiosyncrasies and at times somewhat unreasonable demands, and come through with success, was no mean task. Mr. Douglass lived inFrance and had a wide acquaintance. His knowledge of the French languagewas of very great service. I think all members of the Commission willunite in saying; "Well done good and faithful servant. " Mr. Emile Garden, the French secretary of the Commission, was veryhelpful to Mr. Douglass as well as to the chairman. Mr. Harrison Reeves, a well known writer and newspaper correspondent, had special charge of the publicity work of the Commission and waspresent and took part in all the meetings of the Commissioners, atrusted attache of the enterprise. Monsieur Henri Pierre Roche, a French soldier, on leave of absence, oneof the editors of the Paris Temps, was also a valuable attache. Heaccompanied the commission on its travels and returned with thecommissioners to America for the express purpose of translating intoFrench, for final distribution in France, the report of the Commission. Our first news from home came by wireless on Tuesday, August 29th. Itdisclosed that Germany was reaching out for Rumania. We also got more orless news about the railroad troubles. At one of our meetings Mr. Nichols presented a letter which GovernorHerrick had written to him and which proved to be quite useful. Wefound, wherever we travelled abroad, that the name of Governor Herrickwas a household word. This letter is reproduced as follows:-- * * * August 24th, 1916. Mr. W. W. Nichols, The American Manufacturers' Export Association, 50 Church St. , New York, N. Y. My dear Mr. Nichols:-- It gives me great pleasure to take advantage of your kindinvitation to send by the American Industrial Commission of theAmerican Manufacturers' Export Association, a message to IndustrialFrance. France has met in a way that evokes the admiration of the wholeworld, even of her enemies, the recurring emergencies of thisgreatest of wars. The patriotic self-sacrifice, the valor, theuncomplaining endurance, the ingenuity which the French people haveshown during these two years of war reveal what is in truth the"birth of a new nation". To an extent which scarcely seemedpossible, France has discovered within herself the resources ofmen and materials with which to meet the demands of the struggle. Europe has learned many important lessons, not only in militaryscience but also in industrial efficiency, since 1914. She has muchto impart to the United States in these matters. Yet such has beenthe wide-spread destruction of men and property that France, andindeed all Europe, must needs call upon other countries after thewar for assistance in rehabilitating her industrial and commerciallife. France will need to draw upon our stores of food until allher fields are again producing; she will need our materials forreconstruction where war has brought waste and desolation; she willneed our machines and implements to carry on the manifold pursuitsof agriculture, manufacturing and commerce. To France, as to allthe countries where war is causing destruction, America opens hervast stores of goods. The American Industrial Commission will be doing service not onlyto Europe and to America but to all humanity, if it can discoverthe ways by which the wealth that nature has so lavishly showeredupon the New World, may be most effectively poured out for therestoration of the Old World. Very sincerely yours, (Signed) MYRON T. HERRICK. * * * The time on the boat was largely occupied in meetings of thecommissioners and the formulation of plans for the work in hand;committees were appointed and a great deal of work done. Among the various discussions, the subject of people living to a greatage in Bulgaria was brought up. Specific instances were noted; one, apair of Bulgarian twins both of whom lived to be one hundred and twentyyears of age and both died on the same date. It was suggested that thetwo oldest members of the Commission, Mr. Farquhar and myself, shouldemigrate to Bulgaria and take a fresh start. The Lafayette had, mounted on its stern, one of the favorite French gunsknown as a 75-millimeter. The captain told us he had orders to fire onthe Deutschland if the submarine happened to turn up. The first officer, under instruction from the captain, showed the operation of the gun tothe commissioners. This was very interesting; everything was done exceptto fire off the gun; all the maneuvers were gone through and wediscovered on the lower deck enough shells to fight a good sized battle. On Saturday, previous to landing, a bazaar was held on the boat for thebenefit of the French hospitals. This was a very successful affair;contributions were made or supposed to be made by all the passengers. Among other things, I donated a quart bottle of champagne. This was soldat auction, the first bid was one dollar, made with the understandingthat the last bid was to be no higher, but was to get the champagne. These bids continued until the bottle finally brought seventy-fivedollars. It turned out to be a very good article with all that. We were also informed before entering port that we were protected by twosubmarine destroyers. [Illustration: Autograph Signatures of the Commission. ] We discovered on arising, Sunday morning, September 3rd, that we were inthe Bay of Biscay and two cruisers were circling around and graduallyescorting us into the port of Bordeaux. We were told subsequently thatthe wireless apparatus has been disconnected and we had been chased by asubmarine. The first land seen was the shore of Spain, the course of the vesselhaving been diverted on account of pursuit by the submarine. At four P. M. On Sunday a commission from Bordeaux came out in a tug boat to meetus. This delegation consisted of the prefect of Bordeaux district, themayor of the city and other notables. They boarded the boat and weentertained them with a dinner party. We reached the Bordeaux dock aboutten o'clock on Sunday evening, but did not land until the followingmorning. III. BORDEAUX AND PARIS Upon going ashore, we discovered on the docks a number of stalwartlaborers. We wondered why they were not in the army, but were told theywere Spaniards. The docks were covered with motor trucks from Cleveland, piles of copper bars, and also very large quantities of munitions andbarbed wire made by The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company and the AmericanSteel & Wire Company. We also saw on the docks steel bars furnished byour own Brier Hill Steel Company. We were first impressed by the very large number of women employed. Wevisited several telegraph offices and all were "manned" exclusively bywomen. We also saw women driving large army trucks and milk carts, andwomen selling newspapers, some of them anywhere from seventy to eightyyears of age. Newsboys are apparently unknown in France. We were given a reception by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, and quitean address was delivered by the president. We then visited the docks, which are extensive. The improvementscontemplated will make Bordeaux one of the great world ports. In goingabout the streets we were struck by the number of women in mourning; infact I can hardly recall any women, except the servants in the hotel, who were not in mourning. The shop windows were filled with mourninggoods and people passing on the streets were either women in mourning orsoldiers home on leave of absence, many of them crippled. We were next taken to the prison camp where the prisoners of war wereheld. We happened to reach it when the prisoners were having a siesta. There were about four thousand in the camp, some hired out tocontractors. We talked to some of these contractors, who in turn hadtalked with the prisoners, and were told that a great many of them weresuch voluntarily; that is to say, they were very glad to surrender whenthe opportunity presented. The prisoners were mostly Germans, but therewere some Austrians and a few Bavarians. The French people never speakof them as Germans; they always call them "Boches", which, rendered inEnglish, means vandal. They were fat and healthy and apparentlycontented. [Illustration: Grand Theatre, Bordeaux. Closed until the War Ends. ] In the evening at Bordeaux a banquet was given in honor of MonsieurGaston Doumergue, Minister of Colonies. All the commissioners wereinvited. On my left was Monsieur Etienne Hugard, Vice-president of theChamber of Commerce and a soldier who had been in battle within a weekprevious. On my right sat Monsieur G. Chastenet, Senateur de la Gironde. Very choice wines were served and the champagne was reserved for thelast. There was a speech by the Mayor and a response by the Minister ofColonies. We were given information as we went along and some of this Iwill record. We were told that a great many submarines had been capturedby the French in nets. The popular impression is that when captured thesubmarines are left under water six or seven days, then brought up tothe surface and the bodies of the officers and seamen, who in themeantime have died, are either burned or buried. The submarine is thenmanned by a French crew and thus turned into the French service. We made some inquiries in regard to the labor situation and we wereinformed that before the war a common laborer received four francs perday, about eighty cents of our money, and that they are now receivingfive francs. The women received two francs before the war and they arenow receiving three. There are no labor unions in Bordeaux or in thevicinity. We had here our first visit from newspaper correspondents. A number ofimportant Paris papers were represented, with the New York Herald, theChicago Tribune and other leading American papers. We met the general ofthe Gironde and the marine official. We were told that at any of thesefunctions we were not to mention the names of the officials to whom wewere introduced, and this enabled us to talk quite freely. One of thegenerals whom I met at this banquet said that the war would end inDecember, 1917. On Tuesday, September 5th, the Bordeaux Fair was dedicated. Thecommission was invited and we took part in the exercises. These fairsare an annual event in many parts of France. There is a very largetheatre in Bordeaux, which has not been opened since the war. We weregiven an invitation to enter it. It is certainly finer than any theatreI had seen previously. We were then taken to the celebrated wine vaults of Bordeaux, owned byJ. Calvert & Co. And Bardin & Gustier. Some of these wines date back tothe early part of the last century and the vintages are all the way fromfive to ninety years old. There were sixty thousand casks of wine storedand about ten million bottles of champagne. The money value of thestocks is very large. We were told that America was one of the bestcustomers for these high grade wines. In the evening we attended a reception to the Minister of Colonies atVille de Bordeaux. This was a very enjoyable affair and we met somenoted French people. Wednesday, September 6th, was the birthday of Lafayette. We had beeninvited by the American Chamber of Commerce to assist in theircelebration at Paris, but were unable to reach that city in time. Instead of going to Paris on this date we visited the Chateau Margaux, built in 1780. We were shown through the private vaults. We met theDuchess, a most charming personage, a grandmother at the age ofthirty-five, a very plain, unassuming lady. I supposed up to the time Iwas introduced to her that she was a newspaper correspondent. During thetour through these private vaults, the guide discoursed on the making ofwine, from the planting of the vines to the bottling and sellingprocess. This was all very interesting. The different sized bottles of wine were described as follows: halfpints for sick rooms, pints, and then quarts, with all of which we werefamiliar. He then told us of the magnum, holding two quarts; theJereboam, holding three quarts, the imperial, holding five quarts, andthe Nebuchadnezzar, holding the Lord only knows how many quarts--prettynearly as big as a barrel. In the port of Bordeaux were a great many neutral boats. On the sides ofthese boats in very large letters, appeared the names of the boats andthe flag of the particular country, also the name of the country. We sawvessels from Italy, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Holland. We weretold that no nation at the beginning was prepared for war exceptGermany. It seemed to be the unanimous opinion that the war would lastat least one year longer. Monsieur Gustier, president of the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, departed at one o'clock for Paris in a de luxe car. This car was the oneusually occupied by President Poincaire and known as the president'scar. Before departing we were given a noonday luncheon at the Hotel Terminalby the "Committee General Franco-American Society. " We were now for the first time told that we were being entertained bythe French government, through its different chambers of commerce. Onthe way, two of the general officers of the railroad company boarded thetrain. We noticed on passing through the country, that all the people workingon the farms were either old men, women or children, the young men allbeing in the army. One of the things, earnestly desired by the French people is to increasethe birthrate. A bonus system has been proposed as well as all sorts ofplans for increasing the size of families. We learned here that four million men and women in France were engagedin the wine industry. We arrived in Paris at 10:30, September 6th. The only light visible wasthe moon. The Hotel de Crillon, formerly a castle occupied by the Frenchnobility and transformed into a very comfortable and aristocratic hotel, was our stopping place. Early on Thursday morning, September 7th, I paid my first visit to theAmerican Ambulance. I met Dr. Metcalf, a former Youngstown physician. Hehas charge of the New York and the Frank H. Mason wards. At the time wewere there six hundred soldiers were under treatment. Deaths run abouttwo per cent. This was my first visit to an army hospital and the impression willnever be forgotten. There were men in all different stages of wounds, some of them convalescent; others on the dividing line; with others thetreatment was just starting. This American Ambulance is considered thebest managed hospital in all France. General Frank H. Mason, who hadbeen consul general and in the consular service more than thirty years, had charge of it up to the time of his death. He was succeeded byMonsieur Benet. It is a thorough business organization. On this same day I visited Mrs. Frank H. Mason, the venerable widow ofGeneral Mason. We drove out together and I again visited the Ambulancein her company. She has been active in benevolent work for many yearsand was greeted everywhere with signs of affection. She took great pridein the ward named for her husband. In this ward most of the soldiersunder treatment are officers. I also met at the Ambulance Major Kipling, the head of the "flyingcorps". They have there about a dozen military ambulances that go to thefront and bring back the wounded. Over seven thousand have been broughtin since March. Two trips are made daily. I also met at the Ambulance Mrs. Benet, a society woman, but in nurse'sgarb and actively at work. [Illustration: Miniature French Flag carried by the Author throughFrance. The Waving of this Flag by an American Aroused muchEnthusiasm. ] I next visited the Church of the Holy Trinity. This is the Americanchurch in Paris. It was built in 1842 and is now in charge of Dr. Watson, well known to all Americans who visit Paris. In the urn room arethe remains of General Mason and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Judge Birchard. Her husband was in partnership with the late Governor Tod, and it was inJudge Birchard's office that Governor Tod studied law. On Friday, September 8th, the commission was given a reception by theAssociation Nationale De Expansion Economique and the Paris Chamber ofCommerce, jointly. There was an animated discussion at this luncheonwith members of the Paris Chamber of Commerce, all of it in French. Someof the commissioners got badly tangled up, but we got through by the aidof our French-speaking commissioners and matters were pretty wellstraightened out. We were given a luncheon on this same day by the Paris Chamber ofCommerce at the Armenonville. We met at this luncheon a great many Parisnotables, many of them members of the French parliament, and othersprominent in business and finance. In the evening I visited the Rejane Theatre and saw some wonderfulmoving pictures, taken by means of periscopes; they showed the inside ofthe trenches, prisoners being taken, big guns firing, one mineexplosion, the visit of King George and also of King Albert of Belgium;in fact it was the representation of a real battle and most thrilling. On Saturday, September 9th, quite to the surprise of many of thecommissioners, we were invited to inspect a noted dressmakingestablishment, the Callot Saurs, otherwise the Callot Sisters, at No. 11Avenue Marigon. We could hardly understand what this visit to thedressmakers had to do with our investigating French industrialestablishments, but light was thrown on the subject when we learned thatthese sisters had three thousand employees, principally women. I madethe remark that I supposed Worth was the French authority on women'sgowns, but was told that Worth was a back number. It was a remarkableexperience; we were taken into a large room and for a period of morethan two hours were shown marvelous creations in the way of women'sgowns. It really looked like a play. There were some lightning changes. We timed some of the models and they changed their entire costumes inless than three minutes. It goes without saying that some of thecostumes did not cover enough of the models to require very much timefor a change. It was really quite an experience, and some of thecommissioners wondered if we could not go back again the next day. In the evening we were invited to the aviation camp in the suburbs ofParis. This is a school and turns out three hundred aviators monthly. We were given a special exhibition and saw as many as thirty of theaeroplanes go through maneuvers. I was struck by the deafening noisemade when the machines arose. One accident occurred while we were there;a machine got out of order and fell to the ground, seriously injuringtwo of the aviators in charge. The average is one death daily. Duringthe maneuvers a real war call came from the front and four of thelargest machines started off. These aeroplanes travel at the rate ofover one hundred miles an hour and can reach the front in from twelve tofifteen minutes from Paris. Since these aviators have been guardingParis, the Germans have given up sending their machines over that city. The plant at the camp manufactures fifty aeroplanes daily. After this notable aviation exhibition, we called on Robert Bliss, Charge de'affaires at the American Embassy, Mr. Sharp being absent. On this day we had our first experience in government automobiles. Fivemilitary automobiles were placed at our disposal with soldiers forchauffeurs, two in charge of each machine. These automobiles are largeand powerful and hold seven persons. In them we saw many interestingsights about Paris and in that section of France, only a few of whichmay be described. IV. MEETING ENGLAND'S PREMIER On Sunday, September 10th, I had the good fortune to meet Lloyd George. He had been paying a visit to General Joffre, and was registered at thesame hotel as the Commission. Through his secretary, and through thepersistence of some of the commissioners, arrangements were made to meetthis celebrated man. I happened to be the first one of the commissionersintroduced. During my youthful days, while a clerk in a company store atNiles, Ohio, I had learned some Welsh, and in this language I greetedLloyd George. He seemed surprised and was kind enough to remark "That isvery good Welsh". This put me in close touch with him and I had quite aconversation. He fired questions quite rapidly. He asked me whatbusiness I was in and at the same time what chances Hughes had for beingelected. I told him I had been in the steel business for a great manyyears, and that I was a delegate to the convention which nominatedHughes. I told him I had heard Mr. Hughes' father preach at MineralRidge, a suburb of Niles. All the other commissioners were introduced. During the interview, Mr. George made this remark: "I hope your mission will be successful and help France; I hope youcan also help England, and when we have settled our littledifficulties, help Germany. The world is big enough for us all. " Mr. George spoke very kindly to me of both Hughes and Roosevelt, and atthe close of the interview said with earnestness: "We are fighting the battle for all civilization. We are fightingfor you as well as for ourselves, and you are deeply interested. " I had the impression that the famous Englishman was of large stature, but was mistaken. He is a man about five feet, five inches tall, ofslender build, with keen, penetrating eye and somewhat nervous manner;he is certainly one of the great men of the world. In the afternoon with Dr. Mailloux, a member of the Commission, I paid avisit to General Gosselin, formerly chief of munitions, who had been inAmerica on business for the French Government. He spoke very highly ofthe steel material furnished by the various American manufacturingplants, and said it would have been impossible for the French to succeedas they had without this help. He urged the shipping of steel oncontracts with all possible dispatch. General Gosselin is an importantpersonage, quiet and modest. I was told he had already been of greatservice to his country. [Illustration: Lloyd George, Who Says "England is Fighting a Battle forCivilization. "] In the evening we visited "Le Phare de France, " or "The Light House ofFrance. " This is one of the noblest of the many humane institutionsbeing maintained in France by American means. It is under the managementof Miss Winifred Holt, who represents the New York Association for theBlind, and is doing an angel's work among the men blinded in battle, ofwhom there are more in this war than in any other in history, owing tothe many new methods employed and the manner in which battles arefought. Miss Holt is known as "Keeper of the Light House, " and is muchbeloved in France. She is a most engaging young woman and deserves allthe kind things said about her by the admiring French. Miss Holt is ablyassisted by Miss Cleveland, the charming daughter of the late PresidentCleveland. This institution is under the direct patronage of the President ofFrance and a committee composed of the highest officials of thatcountry, although the funds to support it are contributed by wealthyAmericans, prominent among whom are the Crockers, of San Francisco. Init the men whose sight has been destroyed are being taught usefuloccupations and cheered with the hope that they will be able to earn aliving. They are also taught to read letters for the blind and thus someof the everlasting darkness to which they had been condemned by thehorrors of war is dispelled. It is said that many men who could withdifficulty be kept from committing suicide in their despair have becomecheerful since entering this institution. [Illustration: Miss Winifred Holt, "Keeper of the Light House ofFrance. "] On Monday we visited the famous china establishment Sevres. This is oneof the oldest works of the kind in France and its product is knowneverywhere. The plant has now been taken over by the government and usedfor making gas containers and other accessories used by the army. Following the visit to Sevres we were entertained in Paris at luncheonby the Circle Republican. On my right sat David Mennet, President of theParis Chamber of Commerce; on my left sat Monsieur Laffere, DeputyMinister of Labor. Much valuable information was obtained from both ofthese gentlemen, but it was not of a nature to be recorded. In the afternoon we visited the famous Renault automobile plant. Thisplant has been taken over by the government and is employed in makingwar materials, automobile trucks, automobiles for military use andmunitions. The plant employs twelve thousand men and five thousandwomen. They are engaged twelve hours daily, with one hour off at noonfor luncheon. This was our first visit to a munition plant and we werecautioned to be careful in what we might record concerning what we saw. I was struck by the earnestness of the workmen; the expression on theircountenances could be universally interpreted, "We are working forFrance". After this visit to the Renault plant we inspected the plant ofAndre Citroon, a Hollander, but a generalle in Paris. He manufacturesmunitions only, employing seven thousand, five hundred women andtwenty-five hundred men. In both of these plants we saw piles of steelmade in America and labeled "Youngstown", "Pittsburgh", "Harrisburg" or"Cleveland". In the evening we were given a banquet by the American Chamber ofCommerce at the Hotel Palais d'Orsay. On my right sat Consul GeneralThackara, whom I had known for a great many years. His wife was adaughter of the late General Sherman, who said, it will be remembered, "War is Hell". In view of what we saw later I think he was quite right. On my left was First Secretary of Legation, American Embassy, ArthurHugh Frazier. The Herald gives an account of this banquet as follows: Between ninety and a hundred members of the American colony inParis met at the Hotel Palais d'Orsay yesterday evening at abanquet given by the American Chamber of Commerce for thedelegation of the American Manufacturers' Export Association, whichhas just arrived in France. The large dining-hall of the hotel was tastefully decorated withroses, carnations and dahlias, and hardly a seat was vacant whendinner was served, about eight o'clock. After an excellent dinner, which began with "Tortue clair" and went onby easy stages from "Langouste muscovite" and an excellent "Baron dePauillac" to the "Parfait glace Palais d'Orsay", and dessert, JudgeWalter V. R. Berry, Vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and acting as chairman in the absence of the president, Mr. PercyPeixotto, addressed the company, as follows: We have all heard so often about the caravels of Columbus and aboutthe Mayflower that, perhaps a hundred years from now, in abrand-new Palais d'Orsay Hotel, an eloquent member of the Chamberof Commerce will refer to nineteen hundred and sixteen as the yearin which the good ship Lafayette brought over for the first time agreat American Industrial Commission to explore Darkest France. Anyone who views with a philosophic mind the tremendous cataclysmthat is convulsing the world must reach this conclusion: that itsresults will be more profound, more far-reaching, more epoch-makingthan were the results of the Revolution of 1789. Where, under the new conditions, will the United States finditself? It is a difficult problem to solve; but if one cannot answer, itwill be at least a step forward to put the right questions. Gentlemen of the Commission, it is for you, on your return toAmerica, to formulate these questions. Heretofore it has been impossible to get together in Europe adelegation of Americans, each one of whom was ready to sink hisprivate interests. This is the first time that an AmericanCommission has come abroad, forgetting the individual, lookingonly to the welfare of the State. Gentlemen, I congratulate you on your public spirit and yourpatriotism. I congratulate you, too, on your opportunity, themagnificent opportunity of bringing home to the American people theurgent necessities that confront them. After the sustained applause had subsided Mr. W. W. Nichols gave a briefaccount of the objects for which the American Industrial Commission cameto France. He referred to the impetus which had been given to the wholeidea by M. Damour, the French deputy and leader of the French Commissionwhich recently visited the United States, and declared that therepresentatives of French and American manufacturers and industriesmight help mutually in solving the industrial problem which affected thesister republics. "Our aim, " said Mr. Nichols, "is reciprocity inpersonal conduct and co-operation which will lead to the solution ofmany minor difficulties. Our possibilities are enormous. " Mr. Nichols concluded with an expression of thanks for the welcome whichthe Commission had received in France and an acknowledgment of theservices which the American Chamber had rendered both to France and tothe United States. On Tuesday we visited the school for maimed soldiers in Paris. At thisplace the men who are unable to return to the front are taught allkinds of trades--barbering, soap-making, shoe making, etc. On Wednesday, September 13th the Commission made a trip to Rouen. Women in knitting mills there earn four francs daily, working elevenhours; in the webbing mills they earn five francs daily, working elevenhours. There are no unions. A great deal of the product had beenmarketed in Germany but this market was lost. At Rouen we saw a largeBritish steamer loaded with soldiers enroute to the front. They salutedthe American flag. The harbor was full of shipping. The boats drawtwenty feet of water. I met J. M. Belin, a manufacturer of tubes used in flying machines. Ihad a very interesting talk with Monsieur Belin. He told me there wereten thousand German soldiers being killed daily on all the fronts andthat seventy per cent of the iron and coal formerly belonging to Francewas now in the hands of the Germans. On Thursday, September 14th, we left Paris for Limoges, arriving thereat five P. M. We were given a reception by the mayor of the town and thepresident of the Chamber of Commerce at the Chamber of Commerce Rooms. We were driven through the town, across the River Vienne. We saw anancient Roman bridge, said to be more than two thousand years old. [Illustration: Ancient Bridge at Limoges--Built by the Romans TwoThousand Years Ago and Still in Use. ] Also a very old cathedral. A very interesting sight, which I had seen inoil paintings, was that of women washing on the banks of the river. Theriver was lined for nearly a mile with women all occupied in this usefulway. Limoges is the center of the porcelain industry in France. Its exportsto the United States are very large. The consul at Limoges wasinstructed to do all possible to aid the Commission, and, per contra, the Consul at Rouen was instructed not to accept any invitations orrecognize the Commission in an official way. We visited the Martin china works and saw a veritable "Bull in a chinashop", that is to say, there was a pair of bullocks hitched to a wagongoing through the warehouse while we were there. We visited the celebrated Haviland plant at Limoges, and met Geo. Haviland, who is well known in America. With him we had quite adiscussion regarding the manufacturers at Limoges increasing theiroutput of low grade wares. At noon on this day we had a conference with the Chamber of Commerce ofLimoges. At this conference I was permitted to say a few words, whichwere translated for the audience as follows: Gentlemen, I have been criticised by my fellow Commissioners fornot taking part in the discussions. I speak English only, and havehesitated to enter these arguments. It seems to me, though, thatinstead of trying to enter on the increase of your common product, such as any china manufacturer in the United States can make, youshould increase the production of your high grade product. Thereare high grade porcelains made in Austria and a lot of this comesto us from Germany. Your product is known all over the world--thename "Haviland" is a household word. In my opinion if yourmanufacturers here at Limoges went into the production of thecommon qualities of porcelain, it would lower your reputation. My recommendation, therefore, is that if possible you increase theproduction of the artistic porcelains. In the evening a banquet was given us at the Hotel Rue de Lu Paix. On myright was Eugene L. Belisle, American Consul, and on my left was LeonPinton, Vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce. The banquet table was a beautiful sight. French and American flags wereentwined. Speeches were made by members of the Chamber of Commerce andresponses by Mr. Nichols in broken French. I had a most interesting talkwith Consul Belisle. He said that one year ago the French would havemade a much better settlement of the war than today. They are now betterprepared and would demand the return of territory, including AlsaceLorraine, the French people being educated up to this point. He saidalso that he had come in contact with German prisoners and they werediscouraged and would be glad to surrender. We met at this banquet General Comby, district commander of the twelfthregiment. Dr. Mailloux and Mr. MacArthur had a very interesting talk with GeneralComby, Thursday night after the banquet was over. General Comby was inactive service at the front after the opening of the war. He describedto us particularly what he had seen of warfare at the time of the battleof the Marne. He said it was called the battle of the Marne because ofthe lack of any other name to give it, but the battle took place over aperiod of some thirty odd days and covered a considerable region, muchof which was far away from the Marne. He informed us that the freshtroops who have not before experienced the severity of battle go into adesperate fight with the greatest valor and heroism; that after troopshave seen a long session of fighting, and have been through thehardships of many engagements they lose, and he thinks it is naturalthey should lose, much of the spirit that accompanies them in theirfirst engagements. He told us of the very severe losses that were suffered in these firstactions of the war; greater than at any other time. Mr. MacArthurunderstood him to regard this so-called Battle of the Marne as perhapsthe bloodiest and most terrible of all battles in history. He informedus that it was not one single battle, but a succession of almostcontinuous struggles, day and night, over a period of three or fourweeks. General Comby had under his immediate command 18, 000 troops, of whom helost 13, 500 in these engagements. He said, however, that in spite ofall these losses, he had never found himself nor his troops in theposition of defeat; that defeat is largely a matter of sentiment andvalor. An army with comparatively slight losses might consider itselfdefeated if it chose to do so. An army of troops like some of those hehad could be cut almost to pieces, and yet, if there was a remnantsufficient and disposed to come together again, they formed a stillundefeated and effective body. The general spoke particularly of a battalion of zouaves that he had, numbering about 1, 000, and which was cut down until there were only 280left. Yet they came together undefeated and effective troops. He saidthat since the Battle of the Marne the war has taken on a differentcharacter. He considered the German defeat as taking place at and byreason of this battle. Had they not been checked then, and turned, thereis no telling what the Germans might have done. But they were checkedand turned, which constituted their defeat, and all operations that haveand are now taking place are simply operations to follow up the victorythat was realized at the Marne. On Saturday, September 16th, we arrived at Aubusson, the centre of thetapestry industry of France, as it has been for the past five centuries. Aubusson is located in a beautiful country. On our way to that city wenoticed women attending sheep, just as we had seen in pictures byMillet and other painters. These women, with only a dog as companion, knit as they tend their flocks. We arrived in Aubusson at 10:30 A. M. We were first taken to the townhall, where there was a general exhibit of the products of the districton view. I was greatly impressed with a portrait, in tapestry, ofGeneral Joffre, the great French commander, idolized by the Frenchpeople and hero of the Battle of the Marne. It did not occur to me atthe moment of examining this tapestry portrait that it might bepurchased; but afterwards, while we were at luncheon, I thought possiblyit might be bought, and asked Monsieur Damour, who sat next to me, whathe thought about it. He expressed the belief that it was not for saleand would not be permitted to go out of France. He said, however, thathe would make an investigation, and sent his secretary, who came back ina very short time with the information that the portrait would be soldto an American only. The price was named and without any furthernegotiations I accepted the offer, making only one condition, that itwas not to be duplicated. I had the portrait taken from its frame andbrought it with me, having it retrained upon my arrival home. It iscertainly a beautiful piece of work, as well as unique; no one but anexpert could tell at first glance that it is not a portrait done in oil. It was copied by one of the greatest tapestry artists in France fromthe oil painting made of General Joffre by a noted French artist. [Illustration: Tapestry Workers at Aubusson. ] We visited a number of the manufactories owned by different corporationsand individuals. I was personally impressed by one piece of tapestrywhich had been in the making for a period of four years and wouldrequire at least one year longer to complete. It depicted the marriageof Napoleon and Josephine. This piece is about thirty feet by twentyfeet in size, and contains forty thousand shades of color. It was notfor sale, and we were told it was to be held to take part in acelebration of the Allied victory in the Champs Elysees. The Frenchpeople are so confident of victory that the windows facing the Arc deTriomphe have already been engaged to view the event. We noticed there in the textile factories old women winding yarn, manyof them eighty years of age, but still vigorous and hard at work. Aphotograph of a group of young girls was taken by one of theCommissioners and is reproduced in these pages. A little incident occurred at the luncheon before mentioned which isworthy of record. I noticed a coarse looking American flag suspended in the dining room. Imade inquiry of the woman who waited upon us at the table and she saidthat she had never seen an American flag, but had read about it and hadreproduced what she thought was a copy from memory. It was made from apiece of awning containing stripes, with blue stars sewn in. Thiswaitress said she had worked at night on it and got as near as possibleto her idea of an American flag. While it was not a work of art, it wasa homely representation of the Stars and Stripes and a tribute from anhumble citizen of France to America. In our wanderings about Aubusson we came across an old man who said hewas so old that he had forgotten his age. However, in a broken way, hetold of having taken part in the Franco-Prussian war, and rememberedhaving seen the great Napoleon. Inquiry made of some of the citizensrevealed the fact that his age was supposed to be upwards of one hundredyears. We visited a very old church with the distinction of having two bellswhich ring simultaneously. As we left this historic place it was an inspiring sight. Nearly theentirely populace was present and gave us any number of cheers as themilitary automobiles took their departure. At seven P. M. We arrived at Bourboule and had dinner at the PalaceHotel. We met here Col. Cosby, military attache of the American Embassyin Paris. This is a watering place and contains a very largeconvalescent hospital where soldiers, largely officers, are sent tofinally recuperate before going back to the front. The waters containarsenic, are highly medicinal, and known the world over. We saw at this place the adopted child of Helen Gould. We also metanother bright youth about eleven years of age, who spoke some English. He asked one very pertinent question, "Why don't you Americans send yournavy over here to help France?" We were served at dinner by an Amazon waitress. Without measuring herstature, I should say that she was six feet, four inches in height andformed in proportion. Nevertheless she was very alert and active on herfeet. She waited on the entire Commission without help, quickly andefficiently. The chief decoration was a large American flag in the center of thetable. This was made of flowers and was unique and beautiful. Bourbouleis in a mountainous country and early the next day we were taken to thetop of a mountain, a distance of nearly a mile, on what was termed the"Funicular Railroad". We were served luncheon at the Hotel de Funicular, on the top of the mountain, back of the town. The view from thiselevation was wonderful and worth the trip to France. When the war isover this locality will no doubt be a leading watering place. In the afternoon we motored to Clermont-Farrand. We stopped at Mont Doreand at Royal to see the baths, which are noted for their cure forasthmatic affections. We were given a reception at both places, andwaited upon by very handsome waitresses wearing most artistic hats. Itried to secure one of these as a souvenir, but without avail, as I wastold they were made especially for this institution and were of aspecial design. On this journey we saw many interesting sights. Carts with donkeysattached, resembled somewhat the jaunting car in Ireland. Wild flowerswere in great abundance and we stopped many times by the wayside topurchase them from the little girls. We stopped at Salvador Rock andlistened to an echo which was remarkable; standing on the crest of therock, tones almost a whisper could be heard reverberating for some time. The rock was surrounded by trees resembling very much the pine inArizona and the Lake Superior region. Next we visited a fine old castle, Chateau Miral, and arrived atClermont-Farrand at seven P. M. Here we were given a banquet at theGrand Hotel by the Chamber of Commerce. We met a number of prominentpeople, among others Ferdinand Ferryrolles, who manages several hotelsat Monte Carlo. We also met Emmanuel Cheneau, Henri Roche, editor of theParis Temps, Etienne Morel and Leon Bernardaud. We left Clermont-Farrand early on Monday, in military automobiles forSt. Etienne. V. THE BIRTHPLACE OF LAFAYETTE The question of visiting the birthplace of the immortal Lafayette cameup at this time, and some of the members insisted on a trip to thishistoric spot. The majority carried and we made a detour of nearly onehundred miles to reach St. George's D'Aurac, near which stands thestately Chateau Chavagnac, object of our reverent curiosity. At the timeof our visit it was owned by Mr. De Sahame, son of the niece ofLafayette, bearing the title of Marquis of Lafayette, and residing atNeuilly, near Paris. We were met by the mayor of the small village, quite near, and the caretaker of the Chateau, which was in a very goodstate of preservation, but not at that time occupied. The prefect of thedistrict appeared soon and the Commission presented to the ownership ofthe Chateau two very beautiful flags, one an American and the otherFrench, together with a large bouquet of palms and roses. These flagsand the floral offering were placed in the bed where Lafayette was born. Mr. Nichols, our Chairman, then made the following address: In a large sense, this auspicious occasion is the most appropriateevent of our trip, because it brings us closer to that which hasbeen a constant bond of sympathy between the French and Americanpeople. We are more than happy to stand here in the home of ourWashington's intimate friend, where he spent his days of peace, andwhither he retired when cares of state weighed too heavily uponhim. It is not hard to believe that here also was the birthplace ofhis greatest thoughts, the beginnings of his noblest aspirations. Lafayette, the apostle of liberty, came to struggling America atthe opportune time, and in ways that every school child at homeknows, cast his lot with ours in that perfect sympathy whichconstituted Washington's greatest support. History's record, complete as it is, cannot account for the countless thingsLafayette did for us, which many times perhaps changed the courseof events in our favor and brought us that freedom of thought, thatliberty of action, which he ever craved. When we stop to reflect that it all began here, our souls may wellbe moved beyond the mere expression of words. After a century and aquarter we treasure Lafayette's memory and it grows with anincreasing realization of the merit of the assistance he renderedus. Our two nations today are the embodiment of the principles hestood for, perhaps was a great factor in inculcating in the mindsof our ancestors, to be transmitted by inheritance to us. Werejoice that he lived; that a land like France gave him birth; thatthe friendship he began continues to make the world better. May we realize the dream ever present with him, to judge from hisactions, which speak more insistent than words, of a mutuality ofour national interests; that hand in hand the two great republicsmay together work out their great destinies, together set anexample for the world worthy of its emulation, an example of afraternity of purpose and attempt which by its very strength willcompel the better things of life. [Illustration: Lafayette's Deathbed, with Commission's Flag andFlowers. ] Gentlemen: In reverence to the memory of our great compatriot, letus devote a moment to silent contemplation of the great thoughtsthat inspired the great deeds of our great brother, Lafayette. There was a response by the prefect and the mayor of the nearby village. This visit was an historical event. I had made up my mind, and so talkedwith another member of the Commission, that it would be a fine thing topurchase this property, endow it with a fund which would keep it alwaysopen as a museum and present it to the French Government. Since ourreturn to America the property has been acquired by a group of prominentAmerican men and women, headed by Mrs. William Astor Chanler, for thesame purpose that some of the members of our Commission had in mind, amost worthy project. This birthplace is known as The Chateau deChavagnac-Lafayette. It is the hope of the purchasers to make it "AFrench Mount Vernon". The Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette was born at the Chateau de Chavagnac, in the French province of Auvergne, on September 6th, 1757. It is somefour hundred miles from Paris, in southern France. The crowningarchitectural feature of this little settlement of some five hundredsouls, it stands, sentinel-like, among the sixty red-tiled roofs of thevillage. The little church at which Lafayette worshipped is only a stepfrom the Chateau gates. The original Chateau de Chavagnac dates from the fourteenth century. Itwas destroyed by fire in 1701, but was very soon afterward rebuilt fromthe original plans. It is the purpose of the French Heroes' Fund to make this Chateau inFrance a complement to Mount Vernon. In it are to be kept records ofColonial days, as well as those of the present war. There is to be aroom dedicated to the British; one to the Legion; another to theAmerican Ambulance and still another to aviation. It is also to be madea home for orphans and for soldiers who have been disabled. After a collation, we visited the reception room, which contains anumber of old-time engravings, facsimiles of the Declaration ofIndependence, a bronze bust of Lafayette, a marble bust of Lafayette anda bronze bust of Franklin. Overhanging the bed in which Lafayette wasborn is a fine portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Although Lafayette died inParis, the bed in which he died was brought to the Chateau, and we wereshown this also. Among other things in the reception room was a large placard with theheading "North American United States Constitution Explained". There wasalso a billiard table which looked as if it had seen much service. I have alluded to this visit to the birthplace of Lafayette in a littleaddress which I made at Besancon, and which will appear later. Some photographs of the Commission were taken before leaving. Quite alarge sum was raised among the Commissioners and given to the mayor tobe distributed among the poor of the village. Our next objective was LePuy, where we arrived at 4:30 P. M. And hadbreakfast, so-called, although the detour to the birthplace of Lafayettemade us about ten hours late. We were met by the prefect, the mayor andthe president of the Chamber of Commerce. We visited a church built onthe top of a rock, the ascent to which was by three hundredperpendicular steps, two feet wide. It was said that these steps werebuilt in this way as an opportunity for penance, it being a very hardoperation to climb to the top. Some of our people made the ascent, myself among the number. When we reached the top we were rewarded by amagnificent view of the surrounding country. At the highest point is astatue of the Virgin Mary, made of Russian cannon, recast after captureby Napoleon. While at LePuy we were shown the only spot where the immortal Caesar wasdefeated; otherwise his reign was triumphant. Leaving LePuy we arrived at St. Etienne at midnight, after a mostperilous ride. A banquet had been planned at St. Etienne, but had beenpostponed. On the following day we visited the establishment of theGiron Brothers, ribbon manufacturers. This establishment dates back tothe very early part of the Nineteenth century, and at present has twothousand employees, nearly all women. Its trade is largely with theUnited States. On account of the labor situation the factory is workingonly half time. The men are at war, the women in the munition plants andfactories. Wage earners make four, and not to exceed five, francs perday and consider themselves well paid. [Illustration: Monastery of St. Michael at Le Puy. ] We also visited the silk manufacturing plant of P. Staron, Jr. We sawhere the most beautiful silks and brocades. Among other fine things wereribbons in the Fleur de Lis design, the national flower of France. Onaccount of the war the employees at work were few. Here we met Mr. Wm. H. Hunt, American consul and the last appointee ofPresident McKinley before his untimely death. At St. Etienne I went into a barbershop to get a shave, sat down in thechair, and a youth not over twelve years of age started to lather me. Isupposed, of course, that he was getting me ready for the barber, whowould soon appear; instead of that he proceeded with the work himself. He spoke a little English, telling me his father was in the army and hewas running the business. He gave me one of the best shaves I receivedin France. My next experience with the youth of France was with a boy chauffeur. Our military automobiles had disappeared for the time being and Iengaged a taxicab. [Illustration: Silk Tapestry Menu Used at Dinner to the Commission atSt. Etienne. ] The boy who ran this was not over eleven or twelve years of age, but hedid the work well. On the evening of September 19th, we were given a banquet by the Chamberof Commerce at St. Etienne. It was a very successful affair. I met hereTheodore Laurent, a prominent steel manufacturer whom I had met atBrussels in 1911, when the American Iron and Steel Institute made itsfamous visit to England and the continent. At this banquet we met alsothe prefect and other notables. VI. A GREAT MUNITIONS PLANT Wednesday, September 20th, we left St. Etienne for St. Charmond to visitthe plant at which Mr. Laurent is director general. His company ownsseveral plants, this being the most important and one of the oldestmanufactories of cannons and munitions in France. We met here ColonelRimialho, who is the inventor of the seventy-five-millimeter gun and hasgeneral charge of the artillery and munitions manufactured in France. The plant at the present time makes only cannon and munitions. There areno blast furnaces at the works. They use the Siemens-Martin process andmelt about seventy-five to eighty per cent. Scrap. They also use aquantity of vanadium steel imported from America and furnished by theAmerican Vanadium Company. We were told that France produces fivehundred thousand shells or projectiles daily. This plant turns outtwenty-eight thousand of this number, besides one hundred and twentythousand fuses, or detonators. Before the war the works produced onehundred and twenty thousand annually; they now make this number daily. They have sixteen thousand employees, five thousand of whom are women. We saw here a number of Amazonian Junos doing men's work while wearingleather aprons, and were informed that they were fully as efficient asmen and are paid the same wages. We saw at these works a number of the now famous "caterpillars", anarmored car moving on a broad track which it lays down as it goes. Thismachine was invented by an American, and I have seen it at work on thePacific coast. After an examination of the works, we were taken to the suburbs of thetown and a special test of the big guns was made for our benefit, thefiring going to the hill. We were instructed to put cotton in our earsand keep our mouths open, and faithfully observed this injunction. Theseventy-five millimeter fired twelve shots in thirty-six seconds, by mywatch. The target was brought to us afterwards and we were shown thatthe projectiles went straight through without a side dent. We were alsotreated to the firing of some of the very large guns, and by the timethis was over I was ready to visit an ear doctor, if there had been oneconvenient. When this interesting exhibition was ended we were entertained for thefirst time in a real French home. Mr. Laurent took us to his home andgave us a luncheon. We met Mrs. Laurent and two daughters, but the foursons had joined the colors. Two of them had already lost their lives inbattle. We met at this luncheon Sir Thomas Barclay, of London, who has taken anactive part in the humanitarian work of England, with headquarters inParis. [Illustration: Col. Rimailho with 155-mm. Gun (upper) and Famous 75-mm. Gun (lower) Perfected by Him. ] The party reached Lyons at 6:20 P. M. By military automobiles and at oncehad a conference with Mayor Heriot. It appeared that there was somediscussion between this official and the president of the Chamber ofCommerce as to who should head the entertaining. We were greatlyimpressed with M. Heriot, but he took a night train for Paris and wewere left in the hands of the Chamber of Commerce. We were given areception by this body, and spent the night at Lyons. On the afternoon of the following day we visited the textile museum. Wealso visited the government munitions plant, which was formerly theLyons fair, but had been taken over by the government, stripped ofeverything and made the most efficient munitions plant in all France. Wemet Thadee Natanson, Director General. He is a wonderful character. Ourimpression of him was very good and he later addressed us in strong butbroken English and said he hoped he would learn something from us, and, if we had, in visiting the plant, any suggestions to make, he wanted tohear them. The plant employs twelve thousand, one-half women and theremainder men. The product is shells, cartridges, fuses, and detonators. We were told that this is the only place in France where a projectile isentirely completed, ready to fire. We met Andre Foulcher, engineer ofthe plant. The production of this plant is twenty-eight thousand shellsand twenty-five thousand fuses daily. We were told that here the womenwere more efficient than the men. At these works we were taken into themost dangerous part of the plant, where frequent explosions haveoccurred. We met here George Martin, editor of the Paris "Progress", and alsoCapt. J. Barret, who had recently lost in the army his only son. Our tour of Lyons included the Lyons electric light and gas plant. Onthis side trip we met an entire regiment of Algerian soldiers, black asthe traditional ace of spades, but fine specimens of manhood. Theiruniforms were almost identical with the uniform worn by our soldiers inthe Civil War. They wore light blue overcoats, such as Governor Todfurnished the first company which marched from Youngstown. Over the door of the gas plant were the words "Defense D'Entrer", withskull and cross bones underneath and with the further words, "Danger deMort". At this place we received our first home letters, which were verywelcome. In the evening we were given a banquet by the Chamber of Commerce. Theinvitation received from the Lyons Chamber, translated, is as follows: Lyon, Chamber of Commerce. The Lyons Chamber of Commerce beg you to be so kind as to accept aprivate invitation at dinner which it will give to the members ofthe Commission of the United States on Thursday, September 21st, 7o'clock P. M. At Berrier and Millet, 31 Bellecour Square. Business dress. R. S. V. P. We were welcomed in English by the vice-president of the Chamber ofCommerce, and discussed the following menu: Supreme of Lobster A l'amiral Tenderloin a la bearnaise Artichoke Hearts Chantilly style Roast Truffled Bresse Chicken Scotch Salad Havana Ice Desert Wines Fleurie (Beaujolais) in Decanter Pouilly (Maconnais) in Decanter White Hermitage 1904 Chateau Vaudieu 1904 Saint-Peray frappe On my right was General d'Armade, one of the noted generals of theFrench army, who had seen service all through the present war. On myleft was M. Farrand. My talk with General d'Armade was most interesting. He said the best soldiers of both the French and the German armies weregone; that they had been destroyed in the early part of the war and thatthe soldiers now fighting were civilians who had been trained for twoyears. He declared that a French soldier was always a French soldier. Hehad no doubt of the ultimate victory of the Allies. In addition toGeneral d'Armade's experience in the present war, he had been in Moroccoand the Sudan with important commands. On Friday, the day following, we were entertained by the directors ofthe Lyons Fair. On my left was Charles Cabaud, Russian Consul General. On my right sat Dr. Jules Courmont, who in time of peace is Professor ofthe faculty of medicine and physician to the hospitals of Lyons, but whonow, in time of war, is in the War Department, has the rank of general, and is charged with the hygiene of the army. We found him a very competent and interesting gentleman. He accompaniedus in the private car which the railroad furnished us, and went southwith us some distance to where there is a large government garrison, andwhere he had an inspection to make. During the trip on the train Dr. Courmont told us many interestingthings about the hygiene of the army. He said that the warfare of todayis very different from the warfare of former times in respect to thehygiene; that contrary to what was commonly supposed, the hygiene of thetrenches is excellent; that the soldiers are in better condition, mostof them, than they are in time of peace. They are more regularly andbetter fed, and are strong, well nourished and hearty. The experiencehas been the regeneration of very many of them physically. This is due, he says, to the fact that they have their food served to them regularlyand abundantly; whereas in former wars it was a matter of the greatestdifficulty for troops to be provisioned. We asked him whether or not the water in the trenches was harmful to thesoldiers and he replied that they had very little rheumatism, and themen did not seem to suffer from it. He said there was almost, or infact, no smallpox, and there was comparatively no typhoid. All of thesoldiers are innoculated against typhoid, receiving on the firstinnoculation three or four injections, and subsequently beinginnoculated about once in every six months, receiving then twoinjections. This is for soldiers, whereas civilians are usuallyinnoculated about once every three years, if it is desired that theyshould be kept immune from typhoid. He says they use with best resultsthe system of Dr. Vidal, of Paris, employing a serum in which thebacteria have been destroyed by heat rather than by boiling. They findthe effect of this serum much better than that of others. He says thattuberculosis does, of course, exist, because tuberculosis exists amongmost civilized peoples. There is even more tuberculosis now among thetroops than at the beginning of the war; but this is not due to anincrease of tuberculosis, but is due to the fact that the later leviesof troops have included many soldiers who at the beginning would nothave been accepted, because they either had the disease or had atendency toward it. He then spoke about the effect of various weapons in use. He was askedwhether the modern rifle wound was serious. He said it was either soserious as to kill the soldier by passing-through the brain, the heart, or some other vital part, or else it was a matter of more or lessindifference. If a rifle ball went through the fleshy part of the body, you could pretty safely say it was not a grave wound, because thebullets passing through the air are so cleansed and heated that whenthey go through the fleshy part of the body they leave no germs and dolittle harm unless they fracture a bone. We asked if they did not carryinto the wound infected pieces of the soldiers' clothing, and he saidno, that they did not find that to be the case; that the bullet wentthrough so quickly that it separated the clothing, and went through theflesh clean. He even stated that a bullet could pass through the lungs;that the wounded soldier would spit up blood, but that when attended toat once, and the wound dressed, it would be a matter of only eight orten days when he would be again in fairly good condition. He said, however, that wounds from fragments of shrapnel were of quite adifferent character; that they were ragged, unclean and usually gavemuch concern. He said, also, as a matter of fact, that the gun or riflewas performing a less and less important function in warfare. That manywere even in favor of abandoning the rifle entirely as a weapon. Thatthe war, as carried on today, is carried on in personal assaults mainlythrough the effectiveness of the grenades, handknives, revolvers andsimilar weapons; that the trenches and trench warfare are not suited toclose hand-to-hand encounters, as there is not usually room enough tomanipulate a gun and bayonet. (This agrees with what was told us by ourNegro friend, Bob Scanlon, whom we met at Clermond, and who said all hewanted and carried in an assault or a fight were grenades, a knife and agood club, preferably of iron. ) The doctor said that for the warfare of today reliance is mainly uponthe mitrailleuse, which fires 300 shots a minute. He says that nothingliving within the range of these guns, and exposed to them, can possiblystand. This is the small arm which had such great effect for the Frenchin the first days of the war. The Germans had very few guns of this kindin the beginning, but they have since provided themselves with them. Hesaid that outside of these guns the most effective are the famous 75 mm. And the 155 mm. Rifles. He asked us to recall the fact that both ofthese guns were fired for our benefit at St. Charmond, under thedirection of Col. Rimailho, whom we had the pleasure of meeting there, and who was one of the important men co-operating in building the "75", and who was, himself, the inventor and author of the "155". These arethe guns of lighter caliber which do such effective work in the field. Of course, in addition, the French are also using guns of very largecaliber, for instance the 350 mm. These, of course, are for thereduction of forts, and the enemy's line prior to assault. [Illustration: Women Employed in Munitions Factories. ] Dr. Courmont wanted to know whether we had seen the new armoredcaterpillar cars which they were preparing, and we told him we had seenthem at St. Charmond. He said they were to be equipped with one "75" gunand with two or three mitrailleuses (the rapid fire gun), and that anequipment like this, armored against the shrapnel of the enemy, woulddoubtless be most effective for the French, as a similar caterpillar hadbeen for the English. VII. ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF ARLES We left Lyons for Arles, in the military automobiles, passing throughand stopping for a brief time at Tarascon, made famous by Daude in hisnovel, "Tartarin of Tarascon". Here we were given the usual receptionand pretty much the entire population of the town turned out to greetus. The following leaflet by the Arles Chamber of Commerce outlines theprogram: * * * Reception of the Economical Commission of the United States Friday, September 22nd 5 o'clock 25' P. M. Reception of the Commission at the stationby the Chamber of Commerce andthe officials of the City of Arles. 7 o'clock 45' P. M. Dinner given by the Chamber of Commerce(Hotel Du Nord). Saturday, September 23rd 8 o'clock 30' A. M. Leave the Forum Square for the visitof the monuments and museums of Arles. 11 o'clock 25' Luncheon given by the Chamber of Commerce(Forum hotel). 1 o'clock 10" P. M. Leave Forum Square for the station. * * * At the evening banquet at the Hotel Du Nord, on my right was J. E. Agate, an English army officer. He had been in the quartermaster'sdepartment, engaged in purchasing supplies for the English army. On myleft was M. Bonnet Guillaume, vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce, and who lives at Tarascon. We met at this banquet Henri Brenier, advanceagent of the Marseilles Chamber of Commerce. He distributed a handsomebooklet prepared by the Marseilles Chamber. [Illustration: Arlesiennes--Types of Southern France. ] Mr. Geo. B. Ford, of the Commission, delivered the following addressbefore the Arles Chamber of Commerce: Yesterday afternoon I went to the Arena alone, and climbed up ashigh as I could and studied it while the sunset shadows crept highand higher and the great arches gradually faded into gloom. The wonderful history of Arles passed before me. I saw it as thegreat imperial Roman city dominating the valley. I saw it duringthe Christian times in the building of the portal of St. Trophime, and saw it during the Gothic times leading in the history of theChurch, and then again in the Renaissance presenting the world withthe most beautiful example of the work of Mansard, the City Hall. It seemed that most that was best in the history of architecture inFrance was epitomized in the monuments of Arles. To the connoisseurin America, Arles is well-known. I remember many years ago theirpointing out to me the portal of Trinity Church in Boston, sayingit was inspired from a church called St. Trophime in a town calledArles in France. The architect of that church, Richardson, ourgreatest American architect, was a great lover of Arles. He camehere often for inspiration. Through him, Arles had a greatinfluence on American architecture of the time. Recently there was in New York City a competition among leadingarchitects for a great court house. The design which won wasfrankly admitted by its author--Guy Lowell--to be inspired by theArena of Arles, of which he is a most enthusiastic admirer. A number of outdoor theatres have sprung up of late throughoutAmerica. The Roman theatre at Arles is their model. There is an impression prevalent in France that the averageAmerican thinks only of business; that the higher things of lifehave no interest for him. It is far from true. The members of thisIndustrial Commission are truly representative of the averageinterest and point of view of the American business man, manufacturer and technical man, and yet each one of them has goneout of his way to express his delight in his visit to Arles. Allconsider it one of the most valuable parts of the trip. Yes, amarked change is coming over the American business man. He isrecognizing that there is far more in life than being tied to hisjob without a let-up. He is relaxing now and then, and in hisrelaxation he is discovering the France that his wife and daughterknow. He should come to Arles. He has begun to come a little. Wehope he will come in far greater numbers in the future. It remainsfor you to spread broadcast the virtues of Arles. We sincerely hopethat you will miss no opportunities to do this for we believe itwill tend to weave another important bond of understanding andsympathy between the two countries. We visited Angna Castle in Arles, to which the Popes were once exiled, even yet known as the "Home of Popes", or "Popes' Castle". Arles contains convalescent hospitals, and Red Cross girls, with theircans, having a slot, were collecting coins everywhere. Arles is anancient Roman town. We visited the famous Hotel de Ville, or Town Hall, which dates back to the Seventeenth century. The architect was Mansard, for whom the Mansard roof, known in America, is named. The Town Hall iscovered by a curious roof, with supports which hold up the entirebuilding. In the square is an Egyptian obelisk four thousand years old. We visited another ancient museum and were shown among other things avery ancient lead pipe six inches in diameter and in a good state ofpreservation. In a sarcophagus of the second century were the remains ofa Roman musician, with an inscription thereon. In addition there was astatue of Emperor Augustus and a statue of Venus of Arles, with someoriginal and some restored jars and vases more than two thousand yearsold. We visited an old church founded by St. Trophime, noted in the Bible inthe epistles of St. Paul. Barbarossa, Emperor of Germany, was crowned inthis church. I was struck by a tablet of "Moses crossing the Red Sea" onone of the walls. This tablet, a most beautiful and interesting piece ofart, reminded me of an experience of my younger days which served to fixin my mind the celebrated passage of the Israelites in a manner theeffectiveness of which would be envied by the average Sunday Schoolteacher, even if it was not entirely due to reverence. I had often toldthis story to my friends and again told it that evening to some of themembers of the Commission, who seemed to enjoy it well enough to justifyits repetition here. About the close of the Civil War in 1865, I paid a visit to a youngerbrother who was managing a small charcoal blast furnace in Tennessee. Ihad never been in this part of the South before and had received minuteinstructions as to how to find the place. Embarking at Nashville on a Cumberland river boat, after a day's ride, Ileft the boat in accordance with my brother's instructions at a smalllanding and, crossing the river on a ferry, remained over night at acabin occupied by a pious old Negro. A horse was sent me at this humbleabode the following morning. Some little time after finishing a hearty meal composed almost wholly ofcorn pone, the old gentleman brought out a time worn Bible and read twoor three chapters. He then announced that we would all unite in prayer. We all kneeled down. He invoked the Divine blessing upon the rulers ofthe earth, the President of the United States and almost everything elsemovable and immovable, on land, under the sea and over the sea. After hehad prayed fully a half hour, tired and sleepy, I became impatient andnudged the half-grown boy next to me with a query as to how long theprayer would last. Meantime the boy had fallen asleep. However my nudgewoke him up and, repeating my inquiry, I was answered with thequestion:--"Has pap got to where Moses crossed de Red Sea"? "No, he hasnot got to that yet, " was my answer. "Well, when Pap gets to where Mosesdone crossed de Red Sea, he am jes half through. " We saw also in this church the tomb of Montcalm, grandfather ofMontcalm, the French general who fell at the taking of Quebec in theFrench and English war during the Seventeenth century. We visited Roman walls and ramparts built by Julius Caesar, and saw anancient cemetery directly opposite a munitions factory, which we thoughtwas a very appropriate location. This cemetery had been pillaged and theancient things carried away as relics. We also visited, while at Arles, a convalescent camp, and saw a numberof Moroccan soldiers. A point of great interest is the ancient Roman Theatre, built byAugustus Caesar and containing a statue of that Emperor. Another is theArena, built in the first century, restored and reconstructed, and nowused as an outdoor theatre. Sarah Bernhardt played there two years agoin a Shakesperian representation. It was used in the olden days for theentertainment of royalty, for gladiatorial contests, and battles of wildbeasts. It is frequently used now for bull rights, as this part ofFrance is near the Spanish border. In front of the Hotel Du Nord is the statue of Mistral, the great poetof Provence. We visited the Palace of Constantine, Roman Emperor in the fourthcentury. In this place remains a pool with means for heating water whichwould be considered in good form at the present day. Arles is a famous centre of architecture and has been visited by all thegreat architects of the world. Here many received high inspiration, asstated in the address given by Mr. Ford. En route to Arles we had noticed an old Roman theatre in the village ofOrange. We noticed also, which seemed to be common in South France, thatthe horses wore a leather horn on the tops of their collars. This issaid to be a usage handed down from the Middle Ages. In this region wepassed whole train loads of grapes, which looked from a short distancelike carloads of anthracite coal. Our next destination was Marseilles, and here Henri Brenier met us. Westopped at Martique, which was the home of Ziem, the great Frenchpainter, now deceased. We visited the Ziem museum. The lake of Martiqueis where the new port of Marseilles is to be located. This town datesback six hundred years B. C. We met here the president, Adrien Artaud, and the vice-president, Hubert Giraud, of the Chamber of Commerce ofMarseilles. [Illustration: Old Roman Arena at Arles--Still Used For Bull Fights andOther Amusements. ] VIII. ALONG THE MEDITERRANEAN Arriving at De Rove, the south end of the tunnel, on Saturday, September23rd, I had my first view of the Mediterranean. It was a most beautifulsight, and the water as blue as pictured in paintings. We were rowed ina small boat across an arm of the Mediterranean to the town ofMarseilles. We first visited the new part of Marseilles; then the old. Upon our arrival there was a tremendous gathering to greet us; not lessthan ten thousand children were shouting "Viva la Amerique". The wholecity was decorated with American and French flags intertwined. The crowdlined upon the wharf so thickly we could scarcely pass through it. Thisreception was the greatest we had received anywhere in France. Wevisited the Hotel de Ville and were greeted by the mayor, with aresponse by Mr. Nichols, interpreted by Dr. Mailloux. We were then takento the Hotel Regina and in the evening given a banquet by the Chamber ofCommerce. This chamber was organized in 1599 and is the oldest chamberof commerce in the world. Our invitation to this banquet read as follows: * * * The President of the Marseilles Chamber of Commerce begs you tohonor him by your presence at the luncheon which will be given tothe members of your Commission on Monday, September 25th 12:30 P. M. At theRestaurant de la Re'serve. (31 F Promenade de la Corniche) * * * At this banquet, on my right sat Maurice Damour, French deputy in chargeof the Commission, and on my left Hubert Giraud, vice-president of theChamber of Commerce. He made a fine address and I asked him for a copy, which he gave me. It is reproduced herewith: * * * Mr. President--Gentlemen: I am desired by my President to give you in your own language thewelcome of the Chamber of Commerce of Marseilles. You willcertainly lose more than gain in hearing me instead of PresidentArtaud, and I must apologize, as my knowledge of English is farfrom being adequate to my task. Anyhow, it is possible my words maybe by a few of our guests more easily translated than if deliveredin French. Gentlemen, the oldest Chamber of Commerce in France, and maybe inthe world, is exceedingly proud of entertaining tonight the highlyqualified representatives of the American Commerce and Industry. Weare most thankful to your party to have agreed to spend some ofyour valuable time in our city. We are sorry to say that we havenot this good fortune as often as we would like, and that yourfellow-citizens generally pay very little care to our old harbourand town. They are rather exclusively attracted by our greatcapital, Paris, and when coming to enjoy the splendid winters ofthe French Riviera, they reach it direct by rail or by sea, andseem to be quite ignorant of Marseilles, where they could find atleast what is our city's glory: LIGHT, LIFE and LABOUR. I think that Marseilles deserves more attention, and that the oldties between America and Marseilles should be better known. I wouldrecall that our history, especially the history of our Chamber ofCommerce, records the old sympathy of Marseilles for America. It isas old as your nation herself. At the end of the eighteenthcentury, when the stars of young America just appeared on theAtlantic horizon, French warships fought for your fathers'independence. Some ships of Admiral d'Estaing's French squadronbore names such as "LE MARSEILLAIS", "LA PROVENCE". In the year1782 the French fleet was increased by a new warship of 118 guns, built and armed at the expense of the Chamber of Commerce ofMarseilles. Her cost was 1, 200, 000 francs, a very small sum ofmoney in our days, but rather a large one in those remote times. She was offered to King Louis XVI for the very purpose of helpingin the American war, and she was named by the King "Le Commerce deMarseille. " Gentlemen, it is for the successors of the "echevins" of the year1782 a great joy to meet in Marseilles the sons of the glorioussoldiers of the Independence War, sustained so many years ago withthe assistance of the warship bearing their own name. Gentlemen, Marseilles may be somewhat ignored, but France was notforgotten by America. I need not mention the numerous proofs ourcountry has received of your country's sympathy. But I only fulfilla duty in emphasizing the very great help we have found in Americain the course of this terrible war, the greatest human cataclysmwhich ever stormed the human world. All of us are aware that Francefound in America another kind of help than material, steel andgrain. France found amongst you any sort of goods, but also--andover all--kindness and pity. American ambulances, splendidlyorganized, afforded invaluable relief to our wounded on the front. May I mention not that American airmen rendered to our army themost useful services, and that American lives were lost for France. America helps us by sea, on land and in the air. Your country knowsthat France is not fighting for power or profit, but that she ispouring the best of her children's blood for Freedom and Humanity. Gentlemen, we used to say in France that good accounts, that is goodsettlements of business, make good friends. I believe that the words maybe reversed and that good friendship may lead to good business. I trustthat after this war, trade between America and Marseilles will belargely extended. We have shown you that, notwithstanding the presentworries and difficulties, we are pushing on our harbor improvements andpreparing large accommodation for shipping and industry. We stronglybelieve that, in the near future, Marseilles must become the mostimportant harbor and center of commerce for the whole Mediterranean Sea. We think that the American trade will find in our city the best centerof distribution for your large exports of commodities such as petroleum, harvesting machinery, tobacco, and that they should be forwarded throughMarseilles to all the Mediterranean shores. I have no doubt your visitin our city will allow you to observe that you can find here produce ofour land or of our industry, most convenient for American requirements, and that in the mutual interest of your and our cities the trade betweenMarseilles and American ports will be proportionate to the friendship ofthe Nations. Mr. President, Gentlemen, I propose your good health and the goodhealth of your friends, and the prosperity of our sister Republic, The United States of America. * * * [Illustration: Shore of Mediterranean near Marseilles. In the DistanceChateau D'If, Made Famous by Dumas. ] There was greeting by M. Artaud, president of the Chamber of Commerce, and a response by Mr. Nichols. We were given an ovation by the mostrepresentative people of Marseilles. We met at this dinner, A. Gaulin, American Consul General, and he was most cordial. The next day was Sunday. In the afternoon we visited the Marseilles ArtMuseum. We saw a bust, recently found, which dates back to the Secondcentury; it resembles very closely the work of Rodin. In this museum wesaw an old bell, labeled 1840, and an old straw hat, labeled 1820. Wedrove all over the city, visited the old docks and noted thecosmopolitan conglomeration of people in streets. We were taken to the Chateau D'If, which is a quarter of a mile out atsea, made world-famous by Dumas in the noted novel "The Count of MonteCristo". We all resolved, right then and there, that when we got home wewould re-read "The Count of Monte Cristo". In our drive we saw Longchamppalace, which resembles very much the court of honor in the NationalMcKinley Birthplace Memorial at Niles, Ohio. The entrance to the port ofMarseilles resembles the Golden Gate at San Francisco. We gatheredconsiderable information in our talks with the people we met atMarseilles, being told among other things, that all the officials of theFrench government are to hold over until the war is over, that is tosay, elections are suspended for the time being. The efficiency andpreparedness of the Germans was enlarged upon, it being stated, as isvery well known, that Germany was the only country prepared at the timethe war broke out. We visited at Marseilles the birthplace of Rouget de l'Isle, the authorof the Marseilles hymn. This hymn was first sung by a lady at an eveningparty in Straussburgh, Germany, and it was then called the "Hymn of theSoldier from Marseilles", but afterwards became known as "TheMarsellaise Hymn". It is the national anthem of France; the words areinspiring and no one, whether American or French, can listen to themusic of this hymn without being stirred to the depths. We heard much of the vast stores of zinc and iron ores in Tunisia andAlgeria, and were given much information about French colonies. France, including its colonies, has nearly one hundred million people. TheTrans-Africa Railroad takes in a population of more than two hundredmillion people along the Mediterranean, including France, Spain andItaly. One of the largest dams in the world, "La Durance Dame, " 429 feetacross, is in France, not far from Marseilles. Before the war Germany marketed a large amount of its coal in France, three hundred thousand tons annually. Bauxite or aluminum ore is mined in France, and 60 per cent. Of theoutput of the world is French product. Algeria contains millions ofacres of virgin forests, ready to be explored. The cork oak is one ofthe important trees. Large exports of iron ore are made to England. Atthe end of the war the French expect to market ore and coal from thefields of Lorraine. In our travels through Marseilles, we did not observe anywhere playgrounds or amusements of any kind for the workmen. Marseilles has a number of convalescent hospitals. We saw in the streetson Sunday, soldiers wandering about, English, French, Russian, Tunisian, Algerian, Hindu-Chinese, Moroccan, Australian, Canadian, Corsican;natives of Madagascar and Negroes from South Africa--soldiers fromeleven different nations. There is a plan projected to connect Marseilles with a system of Frenchcanals, so as to afford direct water communication between theMediterranean, the North Sea and thus to the English Channel. Marseillesantedates the Christian era by five hundred years. In 1782 a man-of-warmounting one hundred and eighteen guns, named "La Commerce deMarseilles" was built at the expense of the Marseilles Chamber ofCommerce and presented to Louis XVI for the fleet sent by the FrenchGovernment to fight for American independence. Marseilles, later on, became prominent in the French Revolution and gave its name to theFrench national hymn. The largest tunnel in the world is now well under course ofconstruction in France, its object being to give the city of Marseillesconnection with Paris and the interior in general by rail and water. This tunnel will provide an ample waterway for barges. The entireproject involves the building of a new harbor and the cutting of a shipcanal, actually tunneled through solid rock for five long miles, joiningthe old harbor and the Mediterranean to the River Rhone. The Rhone'supper stretches are placid and already are used extensively for bargenavigation, but near Marseilles the stream is far too turbulent forcommerce. A range of hills had prevented the construction of a canal indays gone by. Now, with France energized by the war, and with thenecessity for the canal emphasized thereby, the tunnel is being pushedand the canal will soon be opened. It will connect Marseilles with thenetwork of canals which extends throughout the country. There are longertunnels in the world, but none so large, for this is seventy-two feetwide and nearly forty-seven feet high. The work was begun in 1911-12 andhas been continued through the war. The project is being put through bythe Marseilles Chamber of Commerce, which found $8, 000, 000 of the$18, 280, 000 required to do the work. The balance will be paid by vesseltolls. The canal runs from Arles to the Mediterranean, a distance offifty-one miles, making a navigable waterway to the usable portion ofthe Rhone and the Saone, opening 337 miles of water capable of bearing600-ton lighters. By this canal and links already available, barges canbe sent from the Mediterranean to the English Channel. On Monday, September the 25th, I called upon the Consul General A. Gaulin. I found him a very agreeable gentleman and quite devoted to hiswork, a great deal of which consisted in helping needy Americansstranded in France. The Commission was invited to luncheon at the Hotel Reserve, overlookingthe Mediterranean and the Chateau D'If. On my right sat the president ofthe Marseilles Chamber of Commerce, Adrien Artaud, and on my left satLucien Estrine, former president of the Marseilles Chamber of Commerce. At this elevated hotel, tradition has it, the Count of Monte Cristo andhis bride had their wedding breakfast. In the afternoon an open meeting was held by the Chamber of Commerce atthe Regina Hotel. This meeting was attended by citizens of Marseillesinterested in the import and export business. The question of creditswas pretty thoroughly discussed. It was stated by a number of Frenchmenpresent that the coveting of the iron ore and coal deposits of France bythe Germans was the real cause of the war. IX. TOWNS IN SOUTHERN FRANCE We left Marseilles on Tuesday, September 26th, at 6 A. M. For Grenoble. The sunrise was very beautiful; along the way you can see trees, thetops of which have been chopped off. We were told that the annual cropof fire-wood in France is just the same as the annual crop of wheat orany other product. Fast growing trees are planted and the branches andtwigs are utilized for fuel. We were met at the Grenoble station by eight entirely new Dodgeautomobiles. At Grenoble, we visited the glove factory of Perrin & Co. This firm iswell known in the United States and we were informed that our country isits best customer. In normal times the concern employes twenty thousandmen and women, equally divided. The product is twenty million pairs ofgloves annually. Much of the work is taken home for execution. The shopis well lighted and the sanitary conditions seem to be all of the verybest. We visited the Raymond button factory and the candy factory ofDavin & Company. This was a very interesting experience. At the close, or rather before leaving the factory, we were permitted to witness thedecoration of a workman who had been in the employment of the companyfor thirty-five years. It was really an affecting sight. We were toldthat in all that time he had not lost a day from sickness and the timehad arrived when he was entitled to a pension. He was decorated by thehead of the firm. At the close of the ceremonies he was surrounded byhis family, relatives and members of the firm, and greeted in the usualway of the French with their own countrymen, that is to say, by kissingand embracing. On Wednesday, September 27th, at seven in the morning, we left Grenoblefor the French Alps. We had as a guide John Steel, an American who hadbeen in France for fifteen years and had become a French citizen. Hegave us much valuable information. He said, among other things, thatwhen the railroads in France take freight they guarantee the time ofdelivery, if desired, and include an extra charge in the rate. On thistrip we passed three companies of mounted guns, the technical name beingmountain artillery. This was an interesting sight. A portion consistedof donkeys with all the paraphernalia of a soldier strapped to theirbacks, together with rapid firing mitrailleuses. The soldiers wereunusually fine looking men from the Alpine district, a portion of Francenear the Swiss border. [Illustration: Types from French Provinces. ] We visited a paper mill where the entire product was cardboard. Wepassed the "Escole de Garcons, " otherwise a school for teachingwaiters. We were told by Mr. Steel that in the valley adjoining that inwhich we were driving anthracite coal exists in abundance but has notbeen worked to any great extent. We passed mountain villages and noticedthe cultivation of the sides of mountains almost perpendicular. It was awonderful ride, amid splendid scenery, with numerous waterfalls, snowand glaciers in great abundance; in other words, we were going throughthe Switzerland of France. We passed a flock of sheep, more than fivethousand in number, cared for by a head shepherdess, with severalassistants and a number of dogs. We had luncheon at the Grand Hotel Bourg D'Oison and stopped briefly atthe hotel de La Meige. On our return down the mountain we visited an electric manufacturingplant, the products being aluminum, magnesium, sodium, peroxide, sodium, oxolyte, calcium, and hydrated calcium. In this factory one of thecommissioners had a narrow escape from certain injury, if not death, byattempting to taste the chemicals. He was stopped just in time. We then visited the Chateau Vizille, built in the seventeenth centuryand at one time occupied by Casimer de Perier, President of France. Vizille was one of the three great marshalls of France, and the chateauis called the "Cradle of Liberty". The first French Revolutionarymeeting was held here. The castle contained old cannon and splendid oldfurniture, while the surrounding grounds were beautiful. On Thursday, September 28th, we visited the paper manufacturing plant ofBerges at Lancey. There is an immense water-power installation here, thecapacity of the plant being one hundred tons daily of all grades ofpaper. There are two plants, one a very old one, dating back nearly twohundred years, and the other a new one, not quite completed. We saw hereone machine which cost one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, aremarkable piece of mechanism, almost human in its workings. Thewaterfall is six hundred feet in a short distance. Adjoining this papermill was a small munition plant. Most of the employes were women, dressed in the American bloomer costume. In the afternoon we had a meeting with the citizens and the Chamber ofCommerce of Grenoble. The discussion took a very wide range--from thetariff question to the latest news from the front. Next the party visited a plant for the manufacture of sheet steel byelectricity. In the evening we were banqueted at the Grand Hotel. On my right sat M. Paisant, Director General; on my left was Mr. Thomas W. Mutton, Vice-consul of the United States of America at Grenoble; near was wasMr. Tenot, Prefect of the district. This part of France is noted for the amount of cement manufactured. Walnuts are grown in this section in large quantities. I discussedthese things with Mr. Murton. There was a discussion at the banquet over female suffrage and thebirthrate, and this grew very animated. On Friday, September 29th, we left Grenoble and stopped at Voiron andwere here treated, at 9:30 A. M. , with a "petit dejeuner". We nextvisited the monastery Grande. This was founded in the Twelfth century bySt. Bruno. The present building was commenced and completed in thesixteenth century and the community originally had forty-two monks orfathers. This monastery is where the celebrated liquor, "Chartreuse", was manufactured, the basis of which is brandy, distilled flowers, andherbs. This formula was known only to the monks. While at the monasteryin France each monk had an individual garden and an individual cell. When an extra penance seemed necessary special silence was given themand they were compelled to remain in their cells for months at a time. There were long corridors and in the basement places for servants andretainers. In the center of the grounds was a very beautiful place wherethe fathers were buried. We were told that the order was recruitedmainly from the intellectual class, many of them widowers. Special roomswere reserved for travelers without money and without price. [Illustration: Monastery of Chartreuse. ] The Carthusian order of Monks established themselves at Grenoble, France, in 1132. The original receipe for the famous cordial was giventhem in 1602 by Marshall d'Estress. Friar Jerome Maubec arranged thepresent formula in 1755, and it remained unchanged until their expulsionby the French Government, July 2nd, 1901. More than two hundredingredients go to make up Chartreuse, and nowhere else in the world canthis cordial be manufactured. Chartreuse is the unsolved enigma ofFrench compounders of liqueurs. Its manufacture has ceased. It is quitetrue that at Tarragona, Spain, the monks still continue to make cordialunder the name of "Peres Chartreux", but it is generally agreed that, owing to the change of locality and climate, the "Peres Chartreux" nowmade there is not equal to the old Chartreuse. There are a number ofpeople in Grenoble who make imitation Chartreuse, but it is not so goodas the real thing. The monastery library contained twenty-two thousand volumes. These monkswere also known as the Chartreusers, or Carthusian Monks. This was thehead monastery, but there were branches in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The fathers lived on a simple diet and no meat was allowed. They werenot allowed to speak to each other except twice a week, on Sunday andThursday. This old monastery is now used as a hospital forconvalescents. After this most interesting visit we were taken to luncheon at the Hoteldu Grand Som, and later for a ride of one hundred miles in the militaryautomobiles, through a mountainous country. We arrived at Annecy at 8 P. M. And stopped at the Imperial PalaceHotel. This is one of the finest watering places in France. A beautifullake surrounds the hotel, with mountains in the distance. The next morning we called upon the Mayor and went through the usualspeeches. We were given a boat ride on the lake. Then we visited an oldcastle. The coast looked very much like the coast of Maine between Bathand Squirrel Island. We were taken by boat from Annecy to Menthon andhad luncheon at the Palace Hotel. Here Mr. Damour made his first speech, which was received so enthusiastically that he was kissed by nearly allthe Frenchmen present. We then visited an electric steel plant at Acierils, the French namebeing the "Electriques of Ugine". We were greeted by, among otherthings, a couple of American flags, but they were upside down. We left Annecy at 5 P. M. For Lyons and stopped at the Terminus Hotel. We saw a number of tattooed soldiers, that is tattooed with powdermarks, they having seen service. On Sunday, October 1st, at 8 A. M. We left Lyons for Le Creusot, wherethe great French steel plant is located. A serious discussion was heldon the train about going to the front and the dangers were depictedquite vividly. We stopped at Chagny, after passing a very old churchdating back to the Tenth century. We saw, as we passed along, droves ofbeautiful white cows, with not a speck of color. X. THE CREUSOT GUN WORKS Arriving in Le Creusot we stopped at the Grand Hotel Moderne and had amost enjoyable Sunday evening. It was discovered that our Frenchsecretary, Emile Garden, had quite a tenor voice. He started in to singthe Marseilles Hymn, and it was not long until all the Commissionjoined, and then the hotel employes. Before we got through scores ofpeople came in from the street to see what was going on. The incidentwas telegraphed by the newspaper correspondents to the Paris papers, andit aided in the work of the commissioners by showing their patriotismand sympathy for France. We were told that there had been no strike at Le Creusot for twenty-fiveyears. The employes wear a special sleeve decoration which indicatesthat they are in the same class as soldiers; that is to say, they aremaking cannon and munitions and working for France. We were given a breakfast at the Schneider club house and then visitedthe plant. We were refused admission to the munitions plant. The worksemploy about twenty thousand men and two thousand women. The output ofthe plant is large projectiles, and for this reason the number of womenemployed is relatively small. A number of five hundred and twentymillimeter shells were shown to us; these shells are more than sevenfeet long and weigh a ton and a half. We were also shown the guns fromwhich they are fired, but these were not quite completed. This plantcontains four blast furnaces of very small capacity, making specialgrades of pig iron. The initial heat is not used, the steel beingreheated and repoured. A good deal of Vanadium alloy is used, and thisis made in America. At this plant we met Mr. Edmond Lemaitre, anengineer who had been in Youngstown employed as an inspector. All theemployes, both men and women, wear wooden shoes. We noticed an absenceof safety devices and safety notices. Armored cars were beingmanufactured for the government as well as armor plate, but this armorplate mill was away behind the mills in our own country. We had luncheon at the club house, but no speeches were made. None ofthe proprietors or directors of the company was present. We then visitedthe company hospital, a part of which was occupied by electric devicesfor treating the wounded. Then we came to the home where the orphans ofthe employes are taken care of. [Illustration: New 520-mm. Gun, Carrying Projectile Seven Feet in Lengthand Weighing 3, 100 lbs. , seen at Creusot Works. ] A great deal of attention is paid to the sanitary conditions and also tothe uniforms of the men, and a great deal that is done for the workmencould be copied in our American plants. The history of these works, the greatest of their kind in France, is interesting. Their former oresupply, or at least a large part of it, was captured by the Germans nearVerdun. The name Creusot was first mentioned in an old charter in 1253. In theyear 1502 coal was discovered there, and the year 1793 saw the openingof the Canal du Centre. During the French Revolution the plant was takenand exploited by the state and a little before the year 1800 was givenback to its owners. During the Napoleonic wars much work was done here. In the year 1815, gun making was stopped and only coal mining wasallowed. The dynasty of the Schneiders continued for four generations; the lastone, Charles Eugene Schneider, was born in 1868. The first French locomotive was built at this plant and, in 1841, thefirst hammer moved by steam power. In the year 1855 the Crimean war led to much activity at this plant. In1867 ten thousand workmen were employed. In the year 1870 the firstBessemer steel produced in France, was made here, although the processhad then been in use in the United States for six years. Since 1884 these works have been exporting guns to many foreigncountries. In 1897 a large plant was built near Le Havre for the manufacture ofnaval guns. In 1882 they built large naval works near Bordeaux, andsince 1906 they have been building the largest warships at that place. In 1909, at Hyeres, near Toulon, studying and making of torpedoes wasbegun, and this was followed in 1910 by submarines. Five plants are nowscattered through France for this kind of work. The Creusot works do not employ children under fourteen years of age. There are often three generations employed in this same kind of work, and some families have up to twenty members working in one plant. Theyhave always been spared epidemics of any serious nature. With sanitaryand prosperous homes, few deaths have occurred in the first year oflife. The rate of deaths at Le Creusot is only ten per thousand whilethe average in France is 16 per thousand, and in bad industrial centers25 per thousand. Eighty per cent. Of the children are nursed by themother. After the seventh month before birth mothers rest, and for aperiod after and during this time they receive the usual wages. The first school was opened here in 1787. At the age of fourteenchildren can become apprentices and those of other towns or villages areoften attracted. After they have a school certificate, entrance to theworks is optional. From the age of twelve to sixteen years they must domilitary preparation, with flags and musical band. The brightestchildren go to high school to become engineers, and they are taught bythe best professors in France. They pay back the cost of theireducation only when they have secured a good position. A thoroughmedical examination is necessary. Since the year 1875 savings banks for children have existed. The first domestic science school was organized in Europe in the year1865 at Goteborg. At first all the mothers were opposed to theseschools, but they soon favored them. One cannot enter these schoolswithout a diploma from the common schools. Each teacher is giventwenty-four pupils. The girls are taught to make their own apparel, gardening, cooking, washing, ironing, mending and keeping home expenseaccounts. There are three classes of workmen. Ten selected, twenty auxiliaries, thirty uneducated laborers. In January, 1912 there were twenty thousandmen employed. They all sign a full contract, after reading it, beforegetting into the works. The contract can be cancelled by either partywith one week's notice. No proprietor of a saloon can work in the plant. From 1837 to 1911 the salaries have increased 130 per cent. In the year1911 the total of salaries was nearly thirty-three million francs. Theannual donations amount to three million francs. Delegates are nominatedby the workmen for conference with the employers to suggest betterconditions and improvements in working methods. Sixty-six per cent. Oftheir suggestions or demands have been adopted and the result is peaceand confidence. The company provides swimming pools, divided into twoparts, one-half for adults and the other half for younger men and boys. The homes are subject to constant sanitary inspection and all unsanitarybuildings are destroyed. Safety appliances and all protecting apparatusare painted in brilliant red. There has been a constant study of theworkman's house, since the eighteenth century. In 1840 the company hadone hundred workmen's houses; in 1912 two thousand five hundred, and inaddition to this hundreds of these houses have been bought by theworkmen by slow annual payments added to the rent. The types of housesvary for one to four families. The rents are low and do not pay regularinterest on the investment. Ground space for gardens is furnished by thecompany, with annual competitions and rewards for the best results. Trees and seeds are furnished at nominal prices. There are two thousand, two hundred and fifty gardens under cultivation. The savings bank is managed by the company and safe investments are madefor the workmen, returns of from three to five per cent, on savingsbeing guaranteed. In the year 1911, eight thousand workmen's accounts reached thirteenmillion francs. The chief use of the savings is to buy homes. The totalamount advanced to workmen for building houses since 1845 was fivemillion francs, of which only eighty-three thousand, five hundred arenot yet paid back. Co-operative societies for reducing the cost of living are organized toenable the workmen to get supplies at cost. They were started andmanaged by the Schneider Company and gradually left in the hands of theworkmen themselves. Club houses are maintained with tennis courts, fencing bouts, games, gymnasiums, a children's theatre, gun clubs, rowing clubs and musicalsocieties. The time spent in rehearsing for orchestras is not deductedfrom the pay. Free medical attendance for the workman and his family isgiven. Emergency and base hospitals are provided by the company. Modernand up-to-date mutual benefit societies are managed by the workmen. Oldage pensions have been financed differently during the last century andare now supported by one per cent. From the workman, two per cent. Fromthe Schneider Company, and three per cent. From the State. Houses are provided for men over sixty years of age, and when it ispossible aged couples are kept together. We reached Dole at 9 o'clock P. M. On Monday, October 2nd. Dole is the birthplace of Pasteur, the great French scientist whodiscovered the antidote for hydrophobia. His name is known throughoutthe world. XI. APPROACHING THE FRONT After leaving Dole, the next stop on our itinerary was Besancon, fromwhich we entered the zone of actual hostilities. For us this town wasthe gateway to "The Front" and therefore a point of more than usualinterest. Here we were asked to sign the following paper, which allmembers of the commission did on October 4th, we having reached the townat midnight on October 2nd. Besancon, October 4, 1916. The itinerary arranged for the American Industrial Commissionincludes several days' sojourn at the "front", which is consideredof importance in the prosecution of its investigation, particularlyas preliminary to a conference in Paris with the "American Centralepour la Reprise de l' Activite Industrielle dans Les RegionsEnvahies. " The danger of such a trip is fully recognized and hereby admitted, and although the extraordinary risk inseparably connected with atrip to Europe at this time has been accepted by us all, yet, inthe present case Each of the undersigned by this means records for himself hisvoluntary assumption by him of all responsibility in connectiontherewith, and furthermore, asserts that neither by coercion, persuasion, nor even by suggestion on the part of the Chairman, orotherwise, has his course been determined. M. W. W. Nichols, M. J. G. Butler, Jr. M. A. B. Farquhar, M. G. B. Ford, M. S. F. Hoggson, M. J. F. Le Maistre, M. J. R. Mac Arthur, M. Le Dr. C. O. Mailloux, M. C. G. Pfeiffer, M. J. E. Sague, M. E. A. Warren, M. E. V. Douglass, M. E. Garden. We were met by the military automobiles at the station, two soldiers ineach auto. I was accosted at the station by a number of wounded Englishsoldiers. It seemed good to hear a little English spoken. One of thesoldiers reached out his hand as I passed and said, "How are you?" Wewere domiciled at the Hotel Europe. The windows were barred with ironshutters excluding light and fresh air. Early the following morning wewere treated to the sight of more than one thousand German prisoners, just captured and being taken to the camp at Besancon. This was the birthplace of Victor Hugo, who was born February 26th, 1802. Old Roman ruins were very much in evidence, among them an oldRoman citadel and a Roman theatre. By tradition, St. John the Baptistwas buried here. We visited the underground water works and theCathedral of St. Jean and saw in this church many paintings of the HolyFamily and other religious representations. There were two immense holesin this cathedral, the result of bombs fired from the German guns in1914, in the beginning of the war. [Illustration: German Prisoners Passing Through the Village of St. Etienne. ] I saw here a girl and a dog hitched to the same cart, hauling a load ofvegetables; they both seemed contented. Luncheon was served by the Chamber of Commerce at the Resturant DeBesancon. In the evening we were given a banquet at the Besancon Hotelde Ville. Up to this time I had been with the Commission five weeks, buton account of my patriotic utterances in private and my quite apparentsympathy with the French people, was not urged to speak. It had been, however, arranged that I was to talk at Le Creusot, but there was not arepresentative gathering to talk to there, and this Besancon banquetseemed to be the proper place. After some pressure of other members ofthe Commission I was requested to speak. This was really the first noteof human sympathy sounded. I first spoke in English, which not more thantwo or three in the audience, outside of the Commissioners, understood, although there were about one hundred present. At the conclusion of mytalk it was translated into French by Mr. MacArthur. When he gotthrough I was surrounded by the Frenchmen present and congratulated aswell as embraced by practically the entire audience. This address isreproduced by special request of some of the members of the Commissionwho heard it. Gentlemen:-- I am afraid my aeroplane French will not be understood by our goodfriends present. I tried it on a number of our Franco-Americanorators, and they, with one accord, said it was fine and beautiful, but they could not understand a word I was saying. I will, therefore, ask my fellow-traveler and sympathizer, Mr. MacArthur, to read the brief address I have prepared, apologizing through himfor the lamentable fact that I speak English only. This gives me an opportunity of saying that by special letter ofauthorization issued by Dr. Ricketts President of the AmericanInstitute of Mining Engineers, I represent that importantorganization during our mission in France. The American Instituteof Mining Engineers is composed of more than six thousand members, all technical, scientific and practical men. The organization hasbeen in existence more than a quarter of a century, and hasrendered invaluable service to our mining and manufacturinginterests in the United States. This scientific body of men standready to render such service to France as France may desire and itis hoped this suggestion may receive serious consideration. Gentlemen: When our good ship, the Lafayette, passed through theriver entering the port of Bordeaux, we beheld a most beautifulsunset, such as Cazin would have painted. As we beheld thisglorious vision, it flashed through my mind that France isfighting for its existence among nations, and my heart went out toall France in loving sympathy. As we landed and progressed on ourjourney, this feeling of reverence and affection for the Frenchpeople became intensified. The French spirit insures victory--avictory which, when gained, will be substantial and enduring, worthy of the great people who are pouring out their life blood andtreasure to attain this end. Everywhere we have been impressed with the earnestness of the womenin France. All the thousands we have seen at their employmentimpressed me with their desire to help save the country. In a word, as I looked upon their faces, all seemed to express the thought, "We are working for France". This slogan goes all over your fairland and is a mighty factor in the progress of the conflict. Signsof loss were everywhere from Bordeaux to Paris, and in ourwanderings since, but not a word of complaint have we heard. Our visit to the birthplace of your countryman, Lafayette, waslooked forward to with intense interest, and the visit was a keenrealization of the expectation. As our worthy President, Mr. Nichols, raised his glass and asked that we pause for a moment insilence and think of the great man who was the companion and aideof Washington, "first in war, first in peace, and first in thehearts of his countrymen, " there was not a dry eye in the room. Allpresent realized the close relationship between France and theUnited States--cemented and welded for all time to come by theearly sympathy of France for our struggling colonies, and the greatassistance rendered by Lafayette to Washington in our time of need, and which resulted in our independence. In the present struggle of France, we owe it to the French peopleto aid in all possible ways. I believe that a great majority of thecitizens of the United States are in sympathy with France andtheir prayers are for your success and freedom. It may not be out of place in this connection to mention, althoughsomewhat personal, that when Lafayette, visited the United Statesin 1824, my grandfather, whose name I bear, attended a receptiongiven the great Frenchman in Philadelphia, and has often told meabout it, dwelling upon the enthusiasm with which Lafayette waseverywhere greeted during his triumphant tour through the country. I have also in my autograph collection a three page patrioticletter written by Lafayette in 1824 during his visit. I prize thisletter most highly. Another fact I may mention, and it gives me profound pleasure to doso. France, in spite of her troubles, carried out her compact, andsent to the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco, amagnificent collection of paintings and sculpture. Many examples ofboth were loaned from the Luxembourgh, and there were a number ofpieces of priceless sculpture by Rodin, your great sculptor, whosework is famous the world over. The exhibit also contained manynotable examples of work by other French and Belgian artists. Afterthe exhibition closed we were fortunate enough to have thecollection exhibited at my home, Youngstown, Ohio, for a period ofthirty days, under the auspices of The Mahoning Institute of Art. We were told that some of the examples were for sale, and if sold, the proceeds would help the artists, and assist in the great workbeing carried on to aid the hospitals of France. We, therefore, made a common cause, buying a number of paintings and one piece ofsculpture, thus doing our bit to help the good work along, besidessecuring for our country some splendid examples of the art ofFrance. The exhibit was obtained through the courtesy of MonsieurJean Guiffrey, Minister of Fine Arts in France, and to whom we areprofoundly grateful. In this connection I may add that the UnitedStates is largely indebted to France for influence upon Americanart. Nearly all of our great painters and sculptors received theirinitial education in France and the influence upon American art andartists by French masters is incalculable. This is one of the debtsof the United States to France which can never be fully repaid. The commission is in France, first, bearing America's good will, and second, to investigate and render such substantial aid toFrance as may be in our power, having in mind always the greatfriendship existing between the two republics, and which we hopeour mission will strengthen. We venture to hope that our journeythrough France in war time will also result in the increasedexchange of commodities between the two countries, a consummationdevoutly to be wished. I thank you, gentlemen, from the bottom of my heart and bid you Godspeed in the great work of saving France. At this noted banquet there were several generals present, some of whomhad been in the service but a short time previous, and one of themfamous the world over. We were not permitted to mention the names of anyof the generals we met while in the war zone. XII. WITHIN SOUND OF THE GUNS On Wednesday, October 4th, we left for the front in militaryautomobiles. We passed through a farming district and through severalsmall villages. Nearly all who were at work in the fields were women. Itall seemed quite peaceful, considering that the battle fields were sonear. We stopped at Monte Billiard, in the Champagne district, where wewere addressed by the mayor and a response was made by Mr. Pfeiffer. Cuvier, the great French scientist, was born here in the year 1769, anddied in 1832. We were now, as I should have mentioned before, in thatpart of Alsace-Lorraine again in possession of the French. We visited atMonte Billiard, a Fifteenth century castle and a new hospital. Red Crossgirls were very much in evidence, a number of them American and English. We were quartered at the Hotel de la Balanie, built in 1790. We visitedthe factory of Japy Freres. This concern makes a specialty of steelhelmets, canteens and porcelain ware for the use of the army. We arrived at Beaucort at midnight, and after settling down to rest, were awakened by the booming of cannon, which was continuous during thenight. We were aroused the following morning by the town crier, passingalong the street, wearing a peculiar uniform, beating a drum and callingout the news. At Beaucort we were shown through a castle now occupied as a hospital. It was originally a chateau, and at that time a citadel with moat anddraw-bridge. In company with Mr. Warren, I visited the village blacksmith, beingreminded of my boyhood days. He had old-fashioned bellows and, with anassistant, was in a small way finishing up some work for the army. We arrived at Belfort at about noon, and first saw the "Belfort Lion" byBartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Itis seventy-three feet long, forty-three feet high and is carved in acliff below the citadel. This statue celebrates the stubborn resistanceof the town of Belfort, which has never surrendered, although besiegedon numerous occasions. Belfort has been exposed to German guns, lessthan ten miles away, for two years, and it is much shattered frombombardments. Many of the citizens are still engaged in their ordinarypursuits, but live in the cellars of their domiciles. We were quartered at the Le Grande Hotel, and could hear the cannonsroaring as we sat at luncheon. We were warned not to go out of the hotelwithout a companion. There was a cave underneath with both an inside andan outside entrance and we were told that in case the shelling wasresumed we should get into this cave. There had been, however, noshelling for eight days. The town was shelled immediately after thedeparture of the Canadian Industrial Commission, which had recentlyvisited Belfort. [Illustration: The Lion of Belfort. ] The shutters of the hotel were closed at six P. M. I was taken to myroom by the chambermaid and handed a candle and a box of matches. Withall the lights of the hotel out, the cannon could be heard boomingduring the entire night. Belfort is under martial law, or, as it iscalled in France, military control. Just before retiring for the nightwe were reminded that the city was frequently shelled and that nearlyall the inhabitants slept in the caves, a pleasant thought to go to bedwith. However, strange to say, I had a most excellent night's rest. No one was permitted outside the hotel unless he had with him a card toshow the police of the town. Belfort contains numerous monuments. One series of statues is of threegenerals who defended Belfort during the three sieges successfullyresisted. Two of these sieges occurred during the time of Napoleon andone during the Franco-Prussian war, 1870-1871. We walked about in abody, escorted by a military officer and a number of soldiers. Wevisited a large part of the city and at nearly every corner there weresigns showing the entrances to caves and stating the number of personseach cave would hold--all the way from twenty to seventy. Evidence wasall around of bombs dropped from aeroplanes by the Germans and shellsfired by them from many miles away, there being hundreds of shatteredwindows and holes in the sidewalks. We remained in Belfort two nights. The morning after our departure thecity was bombarded and some fifteen or twenty people killed. On Friday, October 6th, we left Belfort in the military autos, undersealed orders, and knew not where we were going. We passed severalsquads of German prisoners, among them one very large company. We werefrequently challenged by sentinels in passing, for miles, along thefront of Alsace-Lorraine. Alsace-Lorraine has had forty-five years of German rule. The elderpeople are not Germanized, and it is quite evident that France will notbe satisfied until the whole province has been restored. We stopped for luncheon at Remiremont, in the Vosges mountains, andwhile here visited an old church dating back to the Eleventh century. This church contained, among other things, a statue of the Virgin Marycarved in cedar, the gift to the church of Charlemagne. There is also atthis place a Thirteenth century arcade, through which we passed. Webought a few relics and then left Remiremont at 4:30 P. M. For a dashinto Alsace and close up to the battle-front. We arrived at Bussane at 5 P. M. , after being held up several times. Wenext reached Thann, a village once in German hands and two miles fromthe German lines. This town had been bombarded by the Germans early inthe war. The destruction was fearful to look at; buildings were damagedbeyond repair, and one church nearly ruined. As we passed along in adense fog, one of the guides ran past each machine saving; "Shentlemen, this is a beautiful sight, but you can't see it. " At Thann we were shown the spot where the son of Prime Minister Borthon, of France, was killed by a bomb. After an inspection of Thann, we drove to Gerardmere to spend the night. It was bright moonlight and we were told there was a great deal ofdanger from German aeroplanes. This was a long night ride, butconsidered much safer than going through this part of the country inday-light. We experienced great difficulty in getting back to the French line fromAlsace-Lorraine. In doing so we passed through a tunnel enteringAlsace-Lorraine territory, within a half-mile of the German firing line. We saw a hill which has been taken and retaken a number of times and wasthen in possession of the Germans. We were exposed to the German gunsfor half an hour and could hear the roaring constantly. At this pointthe soldier chauffeurs put on steel helmets and placed revolvers neartheir right hands, taking from boxes in the machine a number of handgrenades. This was all very cheerful for the occupants of the car towitness, inasmuch as we did not have any helmets or hand grenades oranything else which would enable us to help ourselves in case ofconflict. We reached Gerardmere in time for dinner and stopped over night at theHotel de la Providence. This was a most interesting French village. Wewere called the advance guard of tourists and were really the first tohave visited the place. Signs of war could be seen everywhere. We sawhere pontoon wagons. We also saw immense loads of bread being hauledaround in army wagons and looking like loads of Bessemer paving block. During the night of our stay in Gerardmere, we were awakened by thebooming of cannons. We left Gerardmere, going north and, passing a hill named "Bonhomme", over which French and Germans have fought back and forward. It is now inpossession of both forces, armies being entrenched on either side of thehill and within one mile of the summit. We passed through a number of small villages completely riddled; onevillage had but a single house left untouched. Our next stop was at St. Die. This is the village where the word"Amerique" was first used in France. A tablet recalls thiscircumstance, the wording on it being as follows: Here the 15th April 1507 has been printed the "Cosmographic Introduction" where, for the first time the New Continent has been named "America. " Leaving St. Die we began a trip of more than fifty miles along thebattle front. This trip required two days, and we were never beyond thesound of the guns. Our first stop was at the battlefield of La Chipotte, where was foughtone of the most sanguinary of the earlier battles of war, resulting in agreat French victory, but entailing terrific losses on both sides. Inthe greater part of this region we saw forests which had been strippedby shells and the trees of which were only beginning to grow again. Insome places they will never grow, having been stripped of every leaf andlimb and finally burned by the awful gunfire. The battle of La Chipotte was fought in 1914. Sixty thousand Frenchdrove back a larger army of Germans after several days of fighting. TheFrench loss was thirty thousand, and no one knows what the German lossamounted to. The woods are filled with crosses marking burial places, where often as many as fifty bodies were entombed together. The Frenchburied their dead separately from the German dead, but the communitygraves are all marked in the same way--with a simple cross. Some ofthese crosses recite the names of the companies engaged, but few of themgive the names of the dead. Most of them simply record the number ofFrench or Germans buried beneath. At a central part of the battlefield the French have erected a handsomemonument, with the following inscription: "They have fallen down silently like a wall. May their glorious souls guide us in the coming battles. " After leaving the battlefield of La Chipotte, we next reached thevillage of Roan Estape. It was full of ruins and practically deserted. Beyond this village we passed for miles along roads lined on either sidewith the crosses which indicate burial places of soldiers. The battlefront here extended for a long distance and the fighting was bloodyalong the whole line. Much of this righting was done in the old way, trench warfare having only just begun. [Illustration: Battlefield of La Chipotte, Showing Monument and Markerson Graves. ] Next we came to Baccarat, where nearly all the houses and the cathedralwere utterly wrecked. For twenty miles beyond this town we passed alongthe battle front of the Marne, within three miles of where the mainstruggle had taken place, and saw everywhere graves and signs ofdestruction. It was surprising how the country had begun to resume itsnormal aspect and green things begun to take hold again. Our next stopwas Rambevillers, where we had luncheon at the Hotel de la Porte. XIII. THE STORY OF GERBEVILLER After luncheon at Rambevillers, we drove to the famous village ofGerbeviller--or rather to what is left of it. This little town is talkedof more than any other place in France, and is called the "Martyr City". Its story is one of the most interesting told us, and to me it seemedone of the most tragic, although the residents of the town all wanted totalk about it with pride. While on the way to Gerbeviller we had to showour passes, and it was lucky they were signed by General Joffre, sincenothing else goes so close to the front. We were made to tell where wewere going, how long we meant to stay, and what route we would takecoming back. Prefect Mirman, of the Department of Meurthe and Moselle, one of themost noted and most useful men in France, escorted the commission onthis trip. Gerbeviller is located near the junction of the valleys of Meurthe andMoselle, and occupied a strategic situation at the beginning of the war. This and the heroic defense made of the bridge by a little company ofFrench soldiers, was, the French believe, responsible for its barbaroustreatment by the Germans. In the other ruined towns the destruction waswrought by shell fire. Here the Germans went from house to house withtorches and burned the buildings after resistance had ceased and theywere in full possession of the town. The French say it was done inwanton revenge and it looks as if that were true. Here is the story asit was told to us in eager French and interpreted for us by one of theparty. A bridge leading from the town crosses the river to a road which goesstraight up a long hill to a main highway leading to Luneville, fivemiles away. We passed over this bridge and were asked to note itswidth--only enough to permit the passage of one car at a time. Two roadsconverge at it and lead to the little town. During one of the important conflicts an army of 150, 000 Germans wassent around by way of Luneville to cross the river at Gerbeviller andfall upon the right flank of the French army. The French had been ableto spare but few troops for this point, but they had barricaded thestreets of the town and posted a company of chasseurs, seventy-five innumber, at the bridge with a mitralleuse. This was an excellentposition, as there was a small building there which screened thechasseurs from view. [Illustration: Ruins of Gerbeviller. ] At 8 o'clock in the morning the German advance body, twelve thousandstrong, appeared at the intersection of the road near the top of thehill across the river. They advanced in solid formation, marching inthe goose step and singing, to the music of a band, their war hymn, "Deutchland Uber Alles. " It was a beautiful morning and the sunglistened on the German helmets as they came down the slope, anapparently innumerable army. In this form they reached the end of thebridge opposite to where the chasseurs were located. The captain of thatlittle band of French ordered them to halt, and they did so, the rearranks closing up on those in front before the order could be passedalong by their commander. In a moment, however, the column began to move again and then thecaptain of the chasseurs waved his hand and the mitralleuses opened onthe advancing host. The range was point blank and there was absolutelyno protection. The hail of bullets mowed down the Germans and they brokeranks, fleeing back up the hill and out of range. All was quiet for half an hour and then a detachment of cavalry, evidently ordered to rush the bridge, came down at a gallop, having beenformed in the shelter of a road branching off the main highway a shortdistance from the bridge. They were met by a hail of bullets and nearlyall went down before they reached the bridge, while the few who did sofell on it or tumbled, with their horses, into the river. The whole German force was delayed until a battery could be brought upfrom the rear and trained on the small building sheltering the chasseursand their machine guns. For some reason, the gunners could not get therange on this small building, and after firing a few shots in itsdirection, turned their guns on the magnificent chateau, a shortdistance down the river. At this point there was a small foot bridge, and the German commander evidently meant to try to rush it. Before doingso, however, he was going to make certain that the Chateau, whichcommanded it, did not conceal another band of defenders. This seems tobe the only explanation for the bombardment of the Chateau, which wasone of the finest country homes in France and entirely unoccupied. Atany rate, they fired shell after shell at the building. I secured apicture of this which shows the work of the guns. But, as the French tell the story, no effort was then made to cross thefoot bridge below the town. A battery was swung down the hill to the endof the bridge, apparently to shell the defenders from that point. Themachine guns barked again and every man with the battery fell. Scoresmore were killed before it could be withdrawn and the way cleared. Owingto the steep banks it seemed hard for the Germans to locate a battery inan unexposed position, and they considered again. Finally they shelledthe Chateau some more and then sent a detachment to take that bridge, expecting to get around in the rear of the chasseurs. A machine gun hadbeen sent to the footbridge in the meantime, and the Germans did notget across it until the ammunition ran out and two hundred of them werekilled. When they did cross, the little band at the main bridge, of whomone had been killed and six wounded, retreated to the main army, andthen the Germans crossed in force and started to burn the town. The heroes of the bridge had held the German advance guard, numbering12, 000 men, from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, and in themeantime the great battle they had expected to win had been fought andlost. Naturally the Germans were angry, and apparently they vented theirspleen upon the village. The great Chateau, its pride and chiefattraction, had been destroyed, but the conquerors at once begun to burnthe little town, evidently determining to reserve only enough to make aplace for headquarters for their general. They did burn it, but not socompletely as they had intended. [Illustration: Sister Julie. ] Here is where Sister Julie comes in. Sister Julie is the most popularwoman in France as well as the most famous. We heard of her long beforewe got to Gerbeviller and long after we left, but we were not fortunateenough to meet her, as she was away at the time the Commission reachedthe town. Although a member of a religious order, she has been decoratedwith the grand cross of the Legion of Honor--the highest decorationFrance confers upon her heroes. To pin this on her habit PresidentPoincaire journeyed all the way from Paris with his suite, and nowSister Julie will not wear it. She says that religeuse do not weardecorations--they are doing the work of the Lord. In describing Sister Julie and her work the people of Gerbeviller areeven more enthusiastic than in recounting the manner in whichseventy-five Frenchmen stopped twelve thousand Germans. It seems thatwhen the German forces crossed the bridge and began to burn the housesthey met with little resistance until they came to the convent whereSister Julie and her companions had a house filled with wounded, including the wounded chasseurs. The sister met them at the door anddefied them to burn her convent. She ordered them off and made a such ashow of determination that they went. No, they will tell you, theseFrench people, Sister Julie is not an Amazon. She is a little woman. Hervoice is usually mild and sweet and she smiles all the time. But whenthey tried to burn her temporary hospital, it was different. She scaredthem off and they did not come back. Not only that, but she made the Germans carry water and put out thefires they had started in the neighborhood, and made them fill wash tubswith water and leave them in her hall, so they would be handy if morefires threatened. Besides that, she organized the men and went to the barns where cattlehad been burned and had these dressed and the meat prepared for use. Then she made great kettles of soup and fed the people who had no homesand nothing to eat. In all of this she defied the Germans and told theircommander to mind his own business--she was going to attend to hers. When some of the German soldiers came and wanted to take the foodprepared for the homeless people, Sister Julie ordered them away andmade them go. There were five other nuns in this convent. Under the leadership of thisheroine they did a tremendous amount of good in the stricken community. They used the building next door to the convent for a hospital and therecared for hundreds of wounded soldiers. They assumed charge of thedemoralized town and kept the people from starving. No one gives themgreater credit than Prefect Mirman, who has also done great work in hisdepartment. We were shown through the convent and hospital under the care of thesesisters, and saw many places where bullets had penetrated the walls, these were fired by the Germans after they crossed the bridge. In thishospital the sisters cared for the German wounded as tenderly as for theFrench, and they won the respect of the invaders in this way, otherwiseit would have probably been impossible for them to do the work they did. We saw the camp chair on which Sister Julie sat all night in front ofthe hospital and kept the Germans out. The Commission spent the greater part of the day in Gerbeviller, visiting the bridge where the seventy-five chasseurs held up the Germanadvance, as well as that where one lone chasseur--a regular "Horatio atthe Bridge", kept back the attacking party at the Chateau. We went through this chateau, which is owned by a resident of Paris andwas one of the sights of the village. It is seven or eight hundred yearsold and is a very large building, handsomely finished in the interior. Before the bombardment, which was a ruthless and unnecessary piece ofvandalism, it contained many fine tapestries and countless preciousheirlooms of the Bourbon times. The great strength of the walls resistedthe effects of artillery, but the interior was entirely ruined by fire. The grand marble staircase was splintered, but the Bourbon coat of armsabove it was not touched. Strewn about in corners and on the floors werefragments of vases and art work that must have been priceless. Eventhese fragments were valuable. We secured a number of small pieces, someof which I brought home as relics. While viewing the ruins of the chateau we could hear the guns booming. It was while we were still here that we received news that bombs hadbeen dropped on Belfort that morning, twenty-four hours after we leftthat place, and that a number of persons had been killed, among themsome women and children. Gerbeviller is an almost complete ruin. Beyond the convent and hospital, and a few buildings saved for headquarters for the commanding general bythe Germans, all the rest of the town was destroyed. The people whoremain there are living in temporary buildings or mere sheds built onthe ruins of their homes, which they do not want to leave under anycircumstances. This little town, which has won its place in history, wasone of the most interesting and melancholy sights we saw in all France. On the following day, Saturday, October 7th, we visited the villages ofLuneville and Vitrimont. We were now in the "devastated region" forsure. On every hand was evidence of the ruin wrought by shells, withlong lines of trenches that had once been filled with soldiers. Some ofthese were green again, but the trees presented a woeful appearance. The next stop after leaving Rambevillers was the little town ofVitrimont. This is a small village in France, almost wholly ruined bythe Germans in 1914, preceding the battle of the Marne. We found thereMiss Daisy Polk, of San Francisco, a wealthy, young and attractivewoman, whose work is being financed largely by the Crockers, of SanFrancisco. She is living in one of the small houses untouched by the Germans. Shehas undertaken the rebuilding of the village of Vitrimont as a modernsanitary proposition and to serve as a model for what may be done inrebuilding all the destroyed parts of France. She is thegreat-granddaughter of President Polk. It is a splendid work and shouldreceive support. I have since received the following letter from Miss Polk: * * * Vitrimont, par Luneville, Meurthe etMoselle, France. October 18th, 1916 Dear Mr. Butler:-- Your note, with the Commission booklet, received and I want tothank you for remembering me. The visit of the IndustrialCommission was a most delightful surprise to me here in the midstof my ruins and it is very nice to have a souvenir--especially sucha nice souvenir, with all the names and photographs. Vitrimont looks very much as it did when you were here except thatthe work is a little more advanced in spite of the rain. We are nothoping any longer that the war will end this winter--so we are sad. Especially when we have to see our men go back to the front aftertheir all too short leaves. This has happened three times since youwere here, all three going back to the Somme, too, which they allsay is much worse than Verdun ever was. However, they have thesatisfaction, as one of our men said today, (a fine industriousfarmer) of hoping that if they don't come back, at least theirwives and children will have their homes rebuilt. This is my hopetoo. Thanking you again for your letter. Very sincerely yours, (Signed) DAISY POLK. * * * Miss Polk is a most charming young woman, filled with enthusiasm. Shelives in a small house with but two rooms. XIV. ON THE MAIN FRONT We arrived at Nancy October 7th, at six o'clock P. M. And spent theevening at a reception given by the Prefect L. Mirman. We met here MadamMirman and her two daughters. In the entrance to the prefect's residencewere several large holes which had been blown out by the German shells. During the reception we were shown an embroidered sheet, filled withholes. This was taken from the window of a hospital, fired on by theGermans, July, 1916. The name of the hospital was Point Au Mousson. Thesheet was hanging in a window when the shrapnel was fired into it. Thiswas considered ample proof that the hospital was fired upon with thefull knowledge that it was a hospital. This visit to prefect Mirman's home was a red letter event in our trip. He is one of the important men of France and is devoting much of histime to the care of refugees and other good work. As we stopped at the entrance of Nancy, we saw an aeroplane flying overthe town. This aeroplane was intended to convoy us to our destination. Next day we were driven to the village of Luneville. At this place, asin nearly all the towns of France, there is a public market house, withstalls usually presided over by women. Late in September the Germansdropped from aeroplanes a number of bombs on this market house. Theentire building was destroyed and forty-one women killed, besides anumber of children who were playing about. We saw the ruins of themarket house. This sort of battle waging is called "German terrorism", otherwise, a "stepping stone to kultur". There is an immense palace in Luneville called the Palace of Stanislaus, occupied by a former King of Poland. Our headquarters were at Nancy, where we remained for two days. We wereshown every possible attention by the prefect and under his guidancevisited various parts of the city. Among other places "The Golden Gates"of Louis XVI and the gate of the old town erected in 1336. We visitedthe park and were shown a hole where a German shell had penetrated, thehole being fully fifty feet deep. We visited the cathedral of St. Elmeand were shown where the beautiful stained glass had been blown out ofthe windows. We visited the Ducal Chapel, which dates back to the Tenthcentury, where the princes of the House of Hapsburg are entombed. Sandbags were piled up everywhere to prevent further ruin to this ancientplace. We were shown the ruins of the cooking school reported byGerman aviators as a military building and for that reason destroyed. [Illustration: Cathedral at Nancy. ] Practically one-half of the town is in ruins. The military barracks arenow used for housing and caring for refugees from all over France andthis is done with great system. The expense is figured down to one francper day for each person. We saw there a children's school, playground, orphanage and Cinema show, and attended church services at which werepresent several thousand refugees. We could hear the cannon boomingduring the entire services. Many of the refugees were at work makingbags for the trenches and embroidering. We visited the museum and wereshown tombs and urns dating back to the Second century. During aluncheon at the Cafe Stanislaus an impassioned address was made by theprefect. We left Nancy at 2 P. M. For Chalons on the Marne, one of the threeimportant military supply centers of France. En-route we passed a numberof ruined villages with scarcely a house left and with but fewinhabitants. We passed through Bar Le Duc also, another distributingcenter. On this memorable part of the journey we skirted three battlefronts, Verdun, Somme and the Marne. We noticed numerous trench soldiersin squads, enroute to and from the trenches. The discipline of the French army is very much different from that ofthe English and Germans. The officers and the French soldiers arecomrades. The German and French soldiers have no tents, they sleep intheir overcoats. I expected that when we got into the war zone we wouldsee tents everywhere, but there was not a tent in sight. The distance from Nancy to Chalons on the Marne is 108 miles. All thisdistance we travelled close in the rear of the French army and much ofit near the German army. In the early part of the year this ground wasoccupied by the Germans, being afterwards retaken by the French. We wereclosest to the trenches when passing St. Miheil, where the famous Germansalient was still held. We reached Chalons on the Marne at 10 o'clock on the evening of October8th, after a busy and most interesting day. We were quartered here forthe night and remained part of the next morning. During our stay wecould hear the booming of guns continuously, and saw many evidences ofmilitary occupation. At this time the Germans had been forced back aboutthirty miles from Chalons on the Marne, and their shells were no longerfeared in this immediate vicinity. The cannon we heard along the greaterportion of the route after passing Bar Le Duc must have been Frenchguns, although the German big guns can be heard for fifty miles underfavorable circumstances. At Chalons on the Marne an incident occurred which made a deepimpression on me, although it was in itself simple enough. It was mycustom to go about much seeking to see whatever was to be seen at all ofour stops. Usually I had a companion, but sometimes went alone. On thisoccasion Mr. Warren, of the Commission, was with me. We had entered theCathedral of Notre Dame, to inspect its interior and arrived just as afuneral service was ending. It was one of those pathetic funerals, nowcommon enough in France, at which the body is not present, in this casebeing that of a young man killed in the army and evidently an only son. The services ended with a procession around the church and this broughtthe mourners to where we were. We fell in with them, this being ournatural impulse and also, we believed, the proper and courteous thing todo, rather than to rudely retire. When the party reached the main aisle, the friends gathered around the father and mother and two daughters, weeping with them and kissing them in the demonstrative way the Frenchhave of showing both grief and affection. Before we knew just what todo, the mourners melted away, taking with them the mother and daughters. Mr. Warren also had disappeared and I was left practically alone withthe father of the dead boy. He approached me and extended his hand, having perhaps read in my face something of my feelings. He knew noEnglish and I knew no French, but the language of human sympathy isuniversal. We grasped hands and the only word uttered was my crude"Americaine. " None other was needed. I could tell by the pressure of thehand holding mine that my sympathy was appreciated, even though I wasfrom across the seas and an utter stranger, and any doubts I had feltabout the propriety of remaining were thoroughly dispelled. [Illustration: German Trenches Captured by the French. ] Funerals such as this are very frequent in France. Scarcely a family buthas suffered its loss, and in some cases several sons have been takenfrom one home. Among the hundreds of personal cards brought back with mefrom France, an astonishing number are bordered deeply with black. Theseare the cards of the most prominent people in the places we visited, themembers of the Commission having met few others, and the mourning borderon so many of them shows that in France as well as in England, the upperclasses have borne their full share of the terrific toll levied by thewar. Before leaving Chalons on the Marne we visited the canal, the banks ofwhich were lined with flowers and ivy. We crossed here a bridge built inthe Seventeenth century and still in good condition. XV. REIMS AND THE TRENCHES Some time during the forenoon of the day following our arrival atChalons on the Marne we left in the military automobiles for Reims. Thiscity is on the south branch of the river Aisne, on which the Germansmade their stand after the battle of the Marne, and had been withinreach of their guns constantly since they stopped retreating after thatbattle. It is about ninety miles from Paris. The city was at that timeless than two miles from the actual battle line, trenches extendingclose up to its edges. The Germans were very busy and there was abundantevidence of the fact in the sound of cannon. It was here that we were tobe allowed a visit to the trenches. On the way we passed a large number of Hindu-Chinese and Russiansoldiers. We saw two captive balloons, used by the French to directartillery fire on their enemies. Thousands of soldiers were coming andgoing between the trenches and the encampments behind. On this trip we passed through and stopped briefly at an aviation camp, where the aviators were tending their machines and waiting to be calledfor duty in the air. A short stop was also made at a large encampment, where there must have been at least twenty thousand French soldiers. This was the largest number we saw at any one time. Here we were shownconcealed trenches and batteries so skillfully hidden that they couldnot be seen until you were right upon the guns. We also saw on this rideseveral illustrations of how bridges and other military works can behidden from aviators by painted scenery and the use of trees. By 11 A. M. Of this day we had come within five miles of the German trenches, behindwhich, we were told, were more two million German soldiers and acrossfrom them at least an equal number of French. Of this vast number ofwarriors we saw at no time more than twenty thousand. Many were in thetrenches and others in encampments on both sides, within easy reach ofthe lines but secure from gun fire. We came to the top of a ridge near Reims, and just before reaching thesummit orders were given by the sentinels to separate the automobilesand run them half a mile apart, as they would be within range of Germanguns and might draw the fire if seen in a company. At this point twomembers of the Commission suddenly lost their interest in the scenesahead and refused to go any further. From this time until we enteredReims, batteries, many of them concealed, with other signs of real war, became more numerous. [Illustration: The Reims Cathedral Before Its Destruction. ] At 11:30 A. M. We entered the famous Champagne district, known all overthe world as the locality where grapes for making champagne can beraised better than anywhere else. We saw here farmers and women workingin the fields and vineyards within a mile of the actual front. They werewithin range of German guns and in great danger, but they worked on, seemingly careless of the fact. We passed many "dugouts" occupied by soldiers, and saw soldiers diggingtrenches. All the time the guns were roaring, apparently just beyond thecity of Reims. This ground had all been at one time in the hands of theGermans. We reached Reims at noon and were taken direct to the City Club. Herethe Commission was entertained by Robert Lewthwaite, the head of thegreat wine firm of Heidsick & Company. At this luncheon we met Col. Tautot, chief of staff under General Lanquelot, commander in the Reimssector. Col. Tautot represented his superior, who could not be present, probably because of more important engagements with the Germans. We alsomet Captain Talamon, a staff officer, and Jacques Regnier, sub-prefectof the Reims district. Col. Tautot had been invested with the ribbon ofthe Legion of Honor and within a week of our visit had been in activeservice. Out of fifteen members originally on the staff, he alonesurvived, all the others having been killed in action or died of wounds. In the room where luncheon was served at the City Club was a great hole, made through the wall by a shell and not yet closed. We were told thatthis shell had arrived a few days before our visit. This was quiteappetizing information, but our hosts assured us that we werecomparatively safe, as there had been no firing for some time. I tooktheir word for it and enjoyed the luncheon after the long and keenlyinteresting ride. At this luncheon a curious toast was offered by thehost--"I looks toward you. " The proper response was--"I likewise bows. " After the luncheon Colonel Tautot and the sub-prefect led the Commissionto inspect the ruined cathedral. This was a pitiful and fascinatingsight. This once famous cathedral is practically a wreck. I doubt verymuch if it can ever be restored. We were taken into the interior andwere shown how wonderful stained glass windows had been blown out. Wepicked up a number of the pieces of fine glass from the ground. Themaking of this glass is a lost art and the coloring is most beautiful. Ibrought home some of the glass and had it used as settings for a numberof rings which I presented to friends. The sub-prefect presented me, asa relic, a bone--the front part of a forearm. This cathedral was theburying place of number of archbishops and ancient royal personages, and all these tombs were blown up. [Illustration: Ruins at Reims. Upper and Lower Plates--The Cathedral. Middle Plate--The Archbishop's Palace. ] Adjoining the cathedral was the archbishop's palace, famous the worldover, and its contents priceless. This was utterly destroyed. One of ourparty, in looking about the ruins, picked up a large sized key, whichproved afterwards to be the key to the archbishop's residence. He wasgiven permission by the sub-prefect to retain this, and I subsequentlyacquired it. We also visited the market place and the old Notre Dame church built in1149 by Charlemagne. This was a most beautiful church, the windowsalmost equalling those of the Cathedral of St. Elme at Nancy, butinferior to those in the Reims cathedral, said to have been the mostbeautiful in the world. In this church we saw a statue of Jeanne D'Arc, and a very fine painting of the "Ascension". We were taken to the city hospital at Reims, which had been fired uponand almost completely destroyed by the Germans while occupied by Frenchwounded. The range was obtained by the aviators, and then incendiarybombs were fired. These bombs set fire to the buildings with which theycame in contact. We were told that hundreds of French soldiers werekilled with this mode of warfare. We could hear the bombs on the Aisnefront exploding while we were visiting the ruins of the hospital. Wewere next shown around to view the ruins of the town. Twenty-fivehundred acres of houses were almost blown to pieces. We were told thatthousands of bodies of men, women and children were still under theruins. In an isolated part of these ruins, absolutely alone, we foundand talked to an old French woman, still occupying her house. She hadrefused to move and insisted upon staying in her little home, one or tworooms having been left. Following this visit to the ruins we were permitted to enter thetrenches. A number of the party did not go to the end of the trenches. However, I concluded to see all there was to be seen, and with DeputyDamour and Mr. MacArthur, went, escorted by a staff officer detailed forthat duty, to the extreme limit. We went through the trenches to withinone thousand feet of the German firing lines. We could see the Germansentinels through periscopes, and were told to be careful and not showour heads, which admonition was religiously obeyed. This visit to the trenches was one of the most interesting parts of thetrip, and in spite of the danger, I was very glad that I had gone andhad nerve enough to go to the limit. We entered what is known as a"communication" trench, leading from the edge of the city toward thefront. This was necessary, as the terrain was open and under range ofthe German guns. Going down through this long trench we encountered anetwork of others, apparently leading in all directions. Our guide knewthem well and led us forward until we could, by means of a contrivancefor that purpose, look over the top and see the German trenches, lessthan one thousand yards away. We saw few German soldiers, althoughoccasionally we were shown where a sentinel was on duty, carefullyconcealed to save himself from French bullets. The trenches in this section are irregular in width and depth. As ageneral thing they are not more than three feet wide at the bottom andabout five feet deep. The earth is thrown up at the side next to theenemy. At short intervals along the trench holes are scooped out, intowhich the soldiers can go when fighting is not actually in progress. Some of these caves were quite large and had in them straw and sometimesa bench. There were cooking utensils and buckets for water. The bottomsof the trenches are generally dry, or were when we saw them. In someplaces they have boards on the bottom. The sides are steep and areconstantly crumbling. Some of the trenches we entered had been made by the Germans, others bythe French. Those close up to the front seemed to have been dug but ashort time, but farther back they were already beginning to lookancient. In some places grass was growing in the sides and here andthere flowers. Some of these trenches had not been used to any extentduring the summer. They are so arranged that each line is connected withthe one in its front and rear by cross trenches, and it is through thesethat the soldiers enter and leave the actual fighting zone. [Illustration: Key of Archbishop's Palace at Reims and Bone from TwelfthCentury Tombs Opened by German Shells. ] We saw many French soldiers in the trenches. They seemed to be well fedand comfortable. At the time we were there there was no actual fighting, of course, but an occasional shot rang out across "no man's land, " whensentries on either side thought they saw a chance to do execution. Theground between Reims and the battle line is a complete network of thesetrenches, and years will be required to level it again after the war isover. From the advanced trench toward the German lines, at the points where welooked, there was no sign of war except an occasional shell hole and thebarbed wire entanglements. The country was green and seemed to be atpeace, except for the sound of the guns. It was hard to believe that wewere looking across a narrow strip, on the other side of which weremillions of armed men and every form of death and destruction that hasbeen invented. Yet all this was there. Upon coming out of the trenches we were unable to find our automobiles, the military authorities having ordered them to separate, so that theywould not prove an attraction to the German aeroplanes, otherwise theywould undoubtedly have been fired upon. [Illustration: Trenches Visited by the Commission] Following this visit to the trenches, we were taken to the famous winecellars of Heidsick & Co. , containing twelve miles of undergroundvaults. A few days previous to our visit a German bomb had struck theHeidsick wine cellar and destroyed forty thousand bottles of champagne, believed to be the largest number of bottles opened at any one time inthe history of the world. These vaults, during the bombardments, whichwere numerous, are a safety place for the inhabitants and thousands takerefuge in the wine cellars. We were told that there was not a singlebottle of champagne missed, a testimony to the honesty of the Frenchpeople. This visit to the wine cellars was intensely interesting. While driving about the ruined town, the automobile in which I happenedto be was guided by a chauffeur unfamiliar with the location, and hedrove us across the German lines within three minutes ride of the Germanheadquarters. The major in charge of the automobile squad discovered theerror. We were told afterwards that we had a narrow escape from beingmade prisoners. While at Reims we were at all times within twenty-fiveminutes walk of the Germans and within ten minutes ride in the motor. The population at Reims before the war was one hundred and eighteenthousand. It is now reduced to eighteen thousand, the other hundredthousand having become refugees, soldiers and "missing". We visited aTwelfth century cathedral which, strange to say, had not been touched. While in this cathedral we could hear the guns booming. We returned to Chalons on the Marne the same evening, arriving there at8:30 P. M. , it being considered unsafe to remain at Reims. After ourdinner at Chalons on the Marne, Dr. Mailloux timed the firing of thecannon and announced that for a space of half an hour there was onefired every two seconds. We left Chalons on the Marne at 11:30 A. M. On the following day byrailroad. The train was filled with officers returning from the front. We saw a number of Red Cross girls on this train. One had a doubledecoration. As we passed along we saw thousands of soldiers enroute tothe front, among them one full regiment. We also saw a large detachmentof German prisoners being transferred, with the letters "P. G. " quitelarge on the back of each prisoner. "P. G. " means prison garb. In the railroad trains in both England and France appears thefollowing:-- Be Silent! Be watchful! Hostile ears are listening to you! Issued by the Minister of War. XVI. BACK TO PARIS We arrived at Paris at three o'clock P. M. , October 17th, and herereceived our first news of the submarine work off Nantucket. In theevening we met Antoine Borrel, deputy from Savoy, on six days' leave ofabsence from the Alsace Lorraine district. He entered the war a commonsoldier and now has the Legion of Honor on his breast. On Wednesday, October 11th, we visited Consul Thackara and arrangedabout our passports. I succeeded in securing some fine war relics and a partial line ofFrench war posters which I brought home with me. On Thursday, October 12th, with Mr. Weare, of the United States SteelCorporation, I called upon Consul Thackara, Charge d'Affairs Bliss, andother friends at the Embassy. We also visited the general offices of theSchneider Company. On Friday, October 13th, a meeting of the Commissioners was held and, although our passage had been engaged on the Rochambeau of the Frenchline, it was decided to cancel the passage and return to America by wayof the American line. This was a disappointment to some of theCommissioners, although the change appeared to be inevitable. Thesecretary of the Commission then set about to get us safely across theChannel. We were told we would be convoyed by a British vessel, usuallyused in carrying soldiers. We were fed on this information for threedays, telegrams were sent to the American Embassy in London and a lot ofvaluable time wasted. The whole scheme proved to be a myth, and we wereobliged to content ourselves with getting to England the same asordinary mortals. On Friday, October 13th, Charge d'Affairs Bliss gave a luncheon to someof the members of the Commission, and this was an enjoyable affair. We were informed in the evening that accommodations had been secured onthe steamer "Philadelphia", of the American line, sailing October 21st, from Liverpool. Deputy Damour was greatly disappointed, as he hadplanned a farewell dinner at Bordeaux and great preparations had beenmade by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce for this event. An informal supper was given Deputy Damour at the Hotel de Crillon atwhich some of the members of the Commission were present. [Illustration: King Albert's address to the Belgians when he tookcommand of the army A neighbour haughty in its strength without the slightest provocationhas torn up the treaty bearing its signature and has violated theterritory of our fathers because we refused to forfeit our honor. It hasattacked us. Seeing its independence threatened the nation trembled andits children sprang to the frontier, valiant soldiers in a sacred cause. I have confidence in your tenacious courage. I greet you in the name ofBelgium a fellow citizen who is proud of you. King Albert's Address to the Belgians. ] Notwithstanding the war, we noticed some signs of gaiety in Paris. OnSaturday evening I visited the Follies Bergere, where there was finemusic and some dancing. The audience contained principally soldiers onsix days' leave of absence from the front. On Sunday, October 15th, we had a joint meeting with the AmericanChamber of Commerce and discussed the tariff question, credits and otherthings too numerous to mention. On Sunday afternoon I visited the American Ambulance for the third time. I paid particular attention to the pathological department. I was showna piece of spine with an imbedded bullet visible, and other specimensentirely too realistic for me to look at. I was shown an electricapparatus for locating bullets and shells, without X-ray treatment, Isaw a badly wounded soldier undergoing the Carrel treatment. Dr. Sherman, chief surgeon of the Carnegie Steel Company, had spent twomonths in France investigating this treatment. He was most thoroughlyimbued with its usefulness and enthusiastic about introducing it in thehospitals of the Steel Corporation in the United States. My own beliefis that this is an advanced stage in surgery and, in fact, is an epochaldiscovery. It will no doubt be adopted, not only in the militaryhospitals of the world, but in other hospitals. A description of thetreatment was furnished me by Dr. Lee, of the University ofPennsylvania, who had spent several months in Paris hospitals, and alsoby Mr. Bennet, who was the superintendent of the American ambulance. These descriptions follow in later pages, the subject being of vastimportance to those interested in the cause of humanity. On Monday, October 16th, we met, at the Hotel de Crilion, the BelgianChamber of Commerce. This was a notable gathering. The president of theChamber of Commerce, Rene Nagelmackers, made a passionate and forcefuladdress, thanking all the United States for the aid and assistancerendered the Belgians and setting forth their needs. He said a line ofvessels had already been arranged for and financed, and that it was theintention of the Belgian Government to bring to France and deposit wherethey could be quickly reached, machinery, tools and everything needed toimmediately rehabilitate Belgium. The intention was to have these inreadiness so that restoration can be promptly effected and all Belgiansreturned to their native soil. The president and other members of theChamber expressed a belief that all Belgium will again be restored toits rightful owners. On materials and machinery they will want fairprices, but they will be in need of large quantities of these and theUnited States will, on equal terms, be given the preference. A number ofother members of the Belgian Chamber of Commerce spoke, some of them inEnglish and some in French. Victor Haardt, a member residing temporarilyin Paris, suggested that the meeting was important and should be broughtto the attention of the Belgian Government. When it became known thatI was a personal acquaintance of King Albert, a number of the delegatessuggested that I write to him and give an account of the conference andthey would in turn write an official account of it. This I proceeded todo, the King's military address having been furnished me by one of themembers. I gave the King in my letter full particulars of the meetingand in response received the following letter from his secretary soonafter my arrival home: [Illustration: Photograph of King Albert of Belgium, with the RoyalAutograph. ] * * * La Cambre, Belgium, October 29th, 1916. Office of the Secretary to the King and Queen. Mr. J. G. Butler, Jr. Youngstown, Ohio. Dear Sir:-- I was particularly pleased to read to his Majesty your good letter, and to receive the pamphlet. I am charged by the King to thank you for the sentiments which youhave expressed and for your sympathy for Belgium. Our Sovereign wishes you to know that he recalls with pleasure themeeting with the Directors of the American Iron and Steel Instituteat Brussels. I beg you to accept, dear sir, the assurance of my highest regards, J. INGENBLECK, Secretary. * * * I spent a good part of the following day in buying war relics, many ofthem made by the soldiers in the trenches out of such material asexploded shells, buttons from the uniforms of dead soldiers, etc. Ipurchased some unique postal cards, painted by hand in the trenches bysoldiers who were artists. Other relics consisted of hat pins, napkinrings, bracelets and finger rings, all made as before stated, from warmaterial. A copy of an English publication was brought to my attention during theBelgian conference, and I was struck by a paragraph which is quoted:-- SUBMARINING AMERICA What Germany is Doing now is Submariningthe Monroe Doctrine and that is Submarining America. In this connection there was some discussion and I was surprised tolearn that the French, even those who are at the head of things, have avery hazy idea of what the Monroe Doctrine is. I explained to them thatit was a statement made in a message to Congress by President Monroe in1823, in which he laid down in a few words the principle that America, because of her history and the form of government established in thewestern world, was not a proper place for the exploitation of despoticgovernments, and that any attempt on the part of European nations togain a foothold or to extend their territorial interests on the Americancontinent would be regarded as an act unfriendly to the United States. Iexplained that this statement was never questioned and had become anaccepted principle. The explanation seemed to please the French andBelgians to whom it was translated, and they apparently approve of theidea. Coming back to America, by the way, I found that there was no occasionto be surprised at lack of understanding of the Monroe Doctrine abroad, as few of us understand just what it is at home. On October 17th, I visited the American Embassy and met there, amongothers, Captain Eugene Rosetti, a captain in the Foreign Legion. ThisLegion was recruited from friends of France who were not Frenchmen, butlargely Americans. When the war broke out this body was thirty-sixthousand strong, and on the date I talked with Captain Rosetti therewere but thirteen hundred survivors. The Foreign Legion was largely inevidence at the early part of the war and stories of its bravery wereheard everywhere. In the evening Dr. Veditz made an address before the Commissioners, telling of the work he was engaged in and what he had accomplished. On October 18th, the Commission gave a luncheon to Wilbur J. Carr, Consul in Europe with headquarters in Washington. Some very plain talkwas in evidence as to the inefficiency of some of the American consuls. Consul Carr delivered a very forceful address. He had been in theconsular service for nearly a quarter of a century and is working, withmuch success, to better the service. XVII. ON THE WAY HOME--ENGLAND On this date, October 18th, the commission left Paris for Havre at 4:50P. M. , its destination being London, by way of Southampton. We boardedthe boat at Havre after a very rigid inspection of passports, baggage, etc. It was a rough night and many were seasick. The boat was crowded torepletion and the trip was a very uncomfortable experience. We had beenescorted from Paris to Havre by Captain Sayles, of the American Embassy. This was one of the many courtesies shown us by the American Embassy inParis under the direction of Robert Bliss, Charge d'Affaires, in theabsence of Ambassador Sharp. I had a very interesting talk with CaptainSayles. His first question came out quickly and rather abruptly. "Whatmost impressed you on your trip?" I replied, without hesitation: "Thespirit of France and the morale of the French soldier and the Frenchpeople. All France is thinking and working and trying to do what theycan to help save France. " Captain Sayles said it was a tradition thatwhen events required it, France always rose to the occasion and passedthe crisis successfully. He said also that the battle of the Marne, ashas been said previously by many others, settled the war. That theKaiser and the Prussian militants knew then they were beaten and havebeen trying for a year and a half to find a way out. There is no doubtin the opinion of Captain Sayles, that the German people are deceivedand still think that Germany will win the war. They are fed upon falseinformation. In this connection I had a talk with Allyn B. Carrick, an American whohad spent several months in Germany during the past year and hadrecently returned from there. He was an American and understood German, and was a good listener. He said the people in Germany are talking amongthemselves, criticising the government, especially the Kaiser and theCrown Prince, and he felt that some day something would happen whichwould bring trouble. He said there was great distress all over Germany. Mr. Carrick got his information by keeping his ears open in cafes, railroad stations, hotels and passenger trains. When the conflict is over it is my judgment that international law willbe overhauled and some of the German methods of war on innocent womenand children will be eliminated, such as the shelling of non-combatantsand bomb-throwing. Terrorism in ghastly forms is now a part of theGerman method of fighting the enemy. The Kaiser has for many years considered himself a Charlemagne, Frederick the Great and Napoleon the First rolled into one. Results aredeveloping which put him in the class of Napoleon the Third, or evenbelow that monarch in ability. We arrived at Southampton on Thursday, October 19th, at 9 A. M. There wasmuch red tape in evidence and many questions asked the commissioners. Wewere warned that no letters could be carried for delivery, and that aviolation of this order would result in arrest of anyone guilty. After some little delay and much needed assistance from friends ofAmerica, our baggage was registered and incidentally "greased" throughto London. We arrived in London at 1 P. M. Considerable evidence was hereapparent of the recent visit of the Zeppelins. One had been captured andpartially destroyed, and I was fortunate in securing some pieces asrelics. I met here Dr. Sherman, who has been in close touch with andassisted Alexander Carrel with reference to the Carrel technique, therecent antiseptic discovered for wounds and injuries, used sosuccessfully for the prevention of blood poisoning. The fluid is asolution of bleaching lime with bi-carbonate of soda, filtered or pouredthrough the wounds. Thousands of lives have been saved by thisdiscovery. The method has been adopted by the Italian, French andBelgian governments, and is being considered by the English government. On the day following our arrival in London, I called upon Consul GeneralSkinner and found him busy at work. Inquiries resulted in receiving amost excellent account of his stewardship. He is very much alive toAmerican interests. I also met H. W. Thornton, formerly a high official in the PennsylvaniaRailroad system, but now in charge of the Great Eastern Railroad inEngland. He is an important personage, and, from information obtained, has made good. He is one of the counsellors in close touch with the wardepartment. While in London we were at the Savoy hotel. I was struck by a noticeposted on the bedroom-door. DEFENCE OF THE REALM ACT. Important notice. Visitors occupying rooms are now held responsible by theAuthorities for the proper control of the lights in the rooms theyoccupy. It is absolutely necessary that they should see that the blinds andcurtains of the rooms they occupy are closely drawn so that nolight can leak through. It is imperative also to switch off all lights before attempting toopen or close a window, if this necessitates drawing the blinds. These regulations apply to all rooms occupied, including bathrooms. I attended the Hippodrome in London, walking through the darknessescorted by a friend. The show was pretty much with reference to thewar. I was attracted by the notice at the bottom of the program, whichis copied below. [Illustration: French Marines Operating 75-mm Gun on Shipboard. ] Arrangements have been made that warning of a threatened air raidwill be communicated by the Military Authorities to this theatre. On receipt of any such warning the audience will be informed, witha view to enable persons who may wish to proceed home, to do so. The warning will be communicated, so far as possible, at least 20minutes before any actual attack can take place. There will, therefore, be no cause for alarm or undue haste. Those who decide to leave are warned not to loiter about thestreets, and if bombardment or gunfire commences before they reachhome, they should at once take cover. By order of The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. New Scotland Yard, S. W. The anniversary of Trafalgar Day was celebrated while we were in London. This was one of the most decisive battles in the history of the world. As an English view of the battle of Trafalgar I copy below the editorialfrom the Daily-Graphic, and might add, in my own words, that but for theBritish navy our sea-coast cities, both on the Atlantic and Pacific, might easily have been wiped out before this time. TRAFALGAR DAY To-day is the anniversary of one of the most decisive battles inthe history of the world. Our minds rest naturally enough onWaterloo as the battle which finally destroyed Napoleon's power in1815, to the great relief of France, as well as of all the rest ofEurope. But it was the battle of Trafalgar, ten years previously, which secured to Great Britain the command of the sea and soprepared the way for Napoleon's downfall. The same factors thatoperated a century ago are operating today. There has been noTrafalgar to wipe the enemy's ships off the sea, but our seasupremacy was so well secured before the war began that the enemyhas only once ventured to challenge it, with disastrous results tohimself off the Jutland coast. The effect of British sea supremacyhas been felt from the first day of the war. We were able by ourintervention at once to prevent Germany from carrying out herscheme of a naval descent on the French coast. The same sea-powerhas since enabled us to transport in safety armies probablyaggregating over two million men to France, the Dardanelles, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Salonica, the Cameroons and German East Africa. Thelarger portion of these armies has naturally been drawn from theUnited Kingdom, but large contingents have come from Canada, Australia, India, South Africa and the West Indies. None of thesemovements of troops would have been possible unless we had securedthe command of the sea. In addition, our sea supremacy has enabledus to maintain our commerce with the whole of the world, whileblocking German commerce wherever we chose to use our power. TheBritish Navy is the force which has determined the final defeat ofGermany, and so long as we maintain that force at adequate strengthwe can face without flinching any danger that may threaten us fromany part of the world. Saturday, October 21st, was the day of sailing from Liverpool. We leftLondon at 10:20 A. M. On the London & Northwestern Railroad for Liverpooland arrived at the latter place at 2:30 P. M. We boarded the steamerPhiladelphia, of the American line, and noticed on the side of the boatan immense American flag painted in colors, as well as the words"American Line". There was also a row of electric lights, visibleseveral miles distant, surrounding the flag and the name of the boat. There were five lights on each side of the boat and each light had fiveincandescent bulbs, making fifty lights in all. The flag painted on theside of the steamer was 8 x 15 feet. The Philadelphia left the dock at Liverpool at 4 P. M. On a rough sea. Mr. E. A. Warren, a member of the Commission, stopped over a day inManchester and was in close communication with friends in that city. Manchester has a population of half a million people. It is the centerof the cotton manufacture of the world. Mr. Warren is a manufacturer oftextile machinery and represented the textile industry on theCommission. He reported that all the manufacturers of textile machineryin England are running on war munitions. The entire steel industry inEngland is under the control of the government, and the sale of steelfor any purpose cannot be made without governmental consent. Mr. Warrenreported also, as coming from friends, that England was at that timegrowing uneasy over the fact that the United States government requestedthat British war vessels keep away from our coast and then allowed theU-boat 53 to land at Newport and obtain information in regard to thesailing of vessels, which it then proceeded to torpedo. This occurredabout the time of the blowing up of vessels off Nantucket. The Manchester stock exchange has a membership of ten thousand and isopen every day except Sunday. There are no auction sales, no excitementor loud talk, no gesticulating, as is the case in New York, particularlyon the curb. The business is all done in a quiet, conversational tone. Cotton is the principal commodity traded in. A feeling is growing in England that the United States should haveentered the war, which the English believe they are fighting for thecause of civilization and for the preservation of the liberty of theUnited States as well as of England. The feeling is also somewhatprevalent that the United States is only interested so far as makingmoney is concerned. This feeling was apparently very bitter. England today is an armed camp. From end to end of the country there ishardly a man, woman or half-grown child who is not working, makingammunition, guarding the coast, doing police duty, watching forZeppelins, making uniforms or shoes, or moving provisions or supplies ofall kinds for an army of five million men, with the British navy thrownin. There are two thousand munition factories in England and more underconstruction. I was told of one plant being built in units extending foreight miles. These munition factories employ one million men and women. There are other works being built to make aeroplanes, cannons, machineguns and hand grenades. All this since the war opened. Great Britain hasmobilized the ship yards and they are working overtime to build vessels. This has more than offset the loss of vessels destroyed by the Germans. America is doing a great deal in the way of Red Cross and relief work, but it is a mere bagatelle compared with the activities of England inthis direction. The women of England are as fully awake as are the womenof France. Thousands are at work in hospitals and caring for therefugees. Girls are at work making horse-shoes for the army horses. These girls are cultivated, aristocratic women, members of golf andhockey clubs. Others are working on farms, handling teams, pitching hay, or driving cattle to market. Thousands of women are occupied aschauffeurs at the various fronts. Hundreds of English women are livingthrough all kinds of weather in tents just behind the firing lines, acting as stretcher bearers and driving ambulances. [Illustration: Nancy--Place Stanislas] While in London I met a number of old friends, many of them incidentallyconnected with the government and very much alive to the situation. Theconcensus of opinion of these friends is that failure of the Allies towin the war means the death-warrant of France and the British Empire;that there is no middle course; that the war will be fought to a finishand the Allies will be victorious; that the Kaiser and the Prussianmilitary system will be annihilated, the German people will arise, andthe Republic of Germany will be the result. Among other things spoken of there was the incident of Dewey at Manilaand the near clash over Samoa. It will be remembered that Dewey fired ashot across the bows of a German vessel. To people in London theVenezuelan embroglio proved that the Kaiser had in mind smashing theMonroe Doctrine. Germany yielded to us in both cases. PresidentCleveland was at the helm when the Venezuelan controversy came and theimmortal McKinley was in the chair when Manila was taken. Cleveland, Harrison and McKinley all stood up for our rights and Germany backedclear down, facts which the English have not overlooked. XVIII. ON THE BROAD ATLANTIC During Sunday following our sailing we passed through the Irish Sea, which was very rough. The davits were taken down and the passengersordered below. On Monday the sea was somewhat calmer. During the day Imet Dr. Lee, who had been in the service of the American Ambulance for ayear and a half. He is quite familiar with and believes in the Carreltreatment. He said that nearly two million British soldiers had beeninnoculated against typhoid fever and only twenty-five had died out ofthis vast number during a period of eighteen months. On Tuesday, October 24th, we encountered another very rough sea. Oldocean travelers said it was the roughest day they had ever experiencedin crossing the ocean. I was loath to admit seasickness, but when Ifound the dining room vacant and everyone on board, including some ofthe crew, unable to be about, I was forced to recognize myself among thenumber so affected. On this day the ocean was a sight to behold. I couldsee the dashing waves break high, not on a rock-bound coast, but on topof the ship, inundating my cabin. The waves were at times fully fiftyfeet high; stanchions on deck were crushed and the passengers wereordered to their cabins. Thursday, October 26th, found the ocean calm and the sun shining. Onthis date I was expected in St. Louis at the semi-annual meeting of theAmerican Iron & Steel Institute, and was booked for an address. All Icould do was to send a Marconigram: "Gary, American Steel Institute, St. Louis: Absence regretted. Kind wishes for all members. " Friday, October 27th, was a bright, clear morning and the boat wasmaking good time, with prospects of landing early Sunday morning. Withthe aid of Mr. Roche I completed the translation of the Le Creusotwelfare book. I had the pleasure of meeting on the boat Mr. H. P. Davison, a member ofthe firm of J. P. Morgan & Co. He is a plain-spoken gentleman with astrong personality. He is one of the leading partners in the firm of J. P. Morgan & Co. And talks and thinks in millions. On the boat I talked with an Englishman who saw the last Zeppelin comedown near London. He said the English aviators have solved the problemof destroying Zeppelins. The Zeppelin contains a large amount of liquidexplosives and firing with incendiary bombs it takes but a few minutesto destroy the huge air vessel. We reached the dock in New York on Saturday evening and remained onboard over night. Early Sunday morning the quarantine officer appeared. The good old Philadelphia docked at 9 A. M. And after the inspection ofbaggage, which was more rigid than usual, the journey was over. We weremet on the boat by numerous reporters. I gave an interview of which thefollowing is a copy:-- ALLIES WILL WIN WAR, SAYS MR. BUTLER "Kitchener Right Predicting Three-Year Conflict. " That the Entente Allies, by the greatness and efficiency of theirmilitary preparations and by their wonderful financial strength, will push the European war to a complete victory regardless of thecost in life and treasure, is the opinion expressed by Joseph G. Butler, President of the American Pig Iron Association, on hisarrival here today on board the steamship Philadelphia' of theAmerican line, from Liverpool. Mr. Butler was a member of the American Industrial Commission whichwent abroad late in August to study economic conditions in France, and hence had excellent opportunities to see the great militarypreparations being made by France. He was one out of the twelvemembers of the commission who returned today by the Philadelphia. A Vast Military Camp "All France is a vast military camp, " he said, "and her people fromthe President down are deadly in earnest and determined to continuetheir victories regardless of the cost in life and treasure. England is fully as much in earnest as France and has buckled downto the task of winning the fight for civilization, as Mr. LloydGeorge phrased it in an interview I had with him in Paris. "I firmly believe that the Allies will win. I feel certain thatthe Kaiser and the Prussian military authorities realize that theyhave lost and are casting about for some means of bringing the warto a close, hoping that better terms can be obtained now than lateron. The German people must sooner or later learn the real conditionof affairs, and then I believe they will make themselves heard inno uncertain manner. Will Never Let Up "The battle of the Marne settled the controversy in favor of Franceand her allies, " he continued. "Earl Kitchener predicted athree-year war, and I believe he did not underestimate it. "The Allies will never let up until they have won a complete andfinal victory. "I am more convinced of this now than I have been on the ground andlearned first hand not only of their complete equipment of men andmunitions, but also of their wonderful financial strength. We inAmerica know altogether too little of the astonishing richness ofboth England and France, and the sooner we wake up to ouropportunities and encourage in every way the increasing of ourtrade with them the better off we will be. " I reached home early Monday morning glad to be again in my native town. Before landing I had written an account of the French steel industry inwar-time and had obtained permission from Mr. Nichols, as Chairman, tomake an advance publication of this document in the Iron Age and theIron Trade Review. I had in mind that something of this kind would beexpected by my fellow steel manufacturers, and if we waited until thefull report of the Commission was made, the information would be stale. This article appeared in many of the trade journals and is republishedin the chapter following. XIX. THE FRENCH STEEL INDUSTRY IN WAR TIME The individual report on the condition of the iron and steel industriesin France, referred to in the proceeding chapter, together with thecomments of The Iron Age thereon, were as follows: Joseph G. Butler, Jr. , Youngstown, Ohio, who represented the steel trade of the country onthe American Industrial Commission to France, arrived in New York on thereturn journey of the commission on Oct. 29. While the general report ofthe commission, which went out under the auspices of the AmericanManufacturers' Export Association, will not be published until late inthe year, The Iron Age is able to give its readers below Mr. Butler'sreport of his investigations into the war status of the iron and steelindustry of France. * * * W. W. Nichols, Chairman American Industrial Commission to France. My dear Sir:-- In accordance with your request, I beg to submit the followingreport, which is the result of observations and informationobtained, regarding the particular industry represented by me. Quite unfortunately, there were only a few visits to steel plantsof any importance and the information gained is rather superficial. I noticed a dearth of labor-saving devices, and quite prominentlythe absence of safety appliances. I also observed that notices tothe employees calling attention to probable dangers were not asplentiful as in any model plant in the United States. It is quiteprobable that there are many plants in France that are moreup-to-date than those we visited. I have information in regard to the condition of the iron and steelbusiness in France at the outbreak of the war, but we are onlyconcerned with its present condition and its probable conditionwhen the war is ended. The acquisition by Germany at the close of the so-calledFranco-Prussian war resulted, as in well known, in Germany takingover the tremendous fields of iron ore and coal located inAlsace-Lorraine. It is my belief that this absorption is largelyresponsible for the prosperous condition of the iron and steelbusiness in Germany and its being in second place in the world'sproduction. I am assured by men prominent in the iron and steeltrade in France, and by others connected with the government, thatthe war will not end until these valuable mineral deposits havebeen restored to France. It is remarkable that with this serioushandicap, France has been able to accomplish so much in the way ofsteel supplies for its munition plants and other plants making warmaterial accessories. From my observation, nearly all the iron and steel now produced inFrance is being turned into war material and materials required forother purposes have been furnished in a minimum and scanty way. Inother words, the whole of the iron and steel interests in Francehave been mobilized by the French Government. The last report I have seen on steel and iron production in Franceis dated May, 1915, but I am told on good authority that since thatdate the production has doubled. With the reacquisition of the Alsace-Lorraine iron and coaldeposits and possibly the acquirement of other fields which ourFrench friends seem to have in mind there will still be a shortageof coal. However, it is expected that after the war closes, Francewill necessarily be obliged to export a good portion of itsproduction of iron and steel, by reason of the increasedproductive capacity of its iron and steel plants. Incidentally I might mention that, when we were in Marseilles myattention was called by the Chamber of Commerce to the fact thatFrance would be in a condition to export large quantities of ironore from Algeria to the United States, and if this project could beworked out and return cargoes of American coal brought to France itwould be very desirable, meeting the shortage of coal, which isinevitable. The analysis of this Algerian ore shows the quality tobe such as would produce high-grade steel materials. A detailedanalysis will be furnished to any one who may be interested. It is interesting to note that in the departments of Calvados, Mancheand Orne, there are rich deposits of iron ore yielding in some cases 45to 50 per cent metallic iron. These deposits before the war were leasedby the Thyssen group of German steel manufacturers, but are now in thehands of the French sequestrators. I understand that quantities of thisore also were in great demand, and frequently shipped to the iron worksof South Wales. I examined the steel plant making steel by the electrical process, but the examination was very brief. I have assurance, however, thatthe manufacture of steel by electricity in France has been verysuccessful not only mechanically but financially and is sure togrow. There seems to be a large area in the eastern part of Francewhere water-power is available, and I think that many new plants, and much activity will prevail in this particular region, whenaffairs again become settled. The use of water-power will overcometo a large extent the shortage of coal. I think that when the war ends, the imports to France from theUnited States of iron and steel will be confined to special formsand that France will be able to compete not only with the UnitedStates, but also with other countries in the matter of exports ofgeneral iron and steel products. With the port improvements contemplated at Bordeaux and Marseilles, world-wide markets will be opened for France. The contemplatedimprovements at both these places will, no doubt, be fully caredfor in other special reports, or perhaps in the general body of thereport which the commission may issue. The canal at Marseillesshould receive special mention in the general report. The tariff question in France is in about the same condition as inthe United States, with the exception that in France custom dutiesare handled quickly and settled expeditiously by the government. Duties may be raised or lowered over night to meet contingencies. The labor in French iron and steel plants is paid very much lessthan in the United States; in many instances one-half and evenless. There are very few disturbances, and dictatorial labor unionssuch as we have in the United States are unknown in France. A large number of women are employed in France doing men's work, which keeps wages at a lower level than would otherwise bepossible. All the members of the commission have seen in theirtravels women doing men's work, and performing manual labor whichin our country would not be thought of for a moment. Employment ofwomen in steel and munition plants has, of course, increased thenumber of women workers since the war commenced. This, I think, islargely brought about by the patriotic feeling which prevails allover France. "Working for France" is a slogan rooted and imbeddedin the minds of the people, whether they are soldiers, or engagedin any other occupation which may tend to end the war and saveFrance. Cooperation in France among all manufacturers of iron and steel andin fact all other industrial works, is marvelous, and could well beimitated in our own country. The various special branches of metaltrades have both local and national syndicate organizations for thediscussion of their trade problems, and means of voicing theparticular needs of their trade, on which a majority sentiment hasbeen expressed. These chamber syndicates are in turn combined intoa National Union. These national unions are members of the Comitedes Forges de France, which is the cap stone of the tradeorganizations of the steel and iron industries. The most strikingfact to an American regarding the personnel of the governing boardand general committee of the Comite des Forges de France is that aconsiderable number of its members are in one or the other of thelegislative bodies, and practically hold positions at the head ofthe Government Committees, organized to look after the verybusiness in which they are engaged. In spite of the fact that at the beginning of trench warfare, France had lost behind the German line 80 per cent of her normalpig-iron production, and 70 per cent of her steel production, ithas been possible by the utilization of lower grade ore in otherdistricts of France, and which were not exploited to any extentpreviously, to increase the steel production of the country 100 percent over that of last year. The interesting fact regarding this isthat of the production which has been cut off the larger part inpig iron is of so-called Thomas iron (non-Bessemer), and in thecase of steel, mostly "Martin" or acid open hearth. Neither ofthese products enters to any considerable extent into themanufacture of projectiles. The plants in the center and southernpart of France were already producing the special qualities ofsteel required for artillery use, hence the amount of specialquality steel brought in from foreign countries, in both the rawand semi-manufactured state, was an immediate necessity for thecountry at outbreak of hostilities. It is also noticeable, andbased on information obtained from leading steel manufacturers, that many idle and in some cases abandoned plants have beenrehabilitated and utilized as far as possible. As a matter of fact, I am told that there is not a single idle plant of any kindformerly engaged in the manufacture of fabrication of steel thatis not now in full operation, either in its original form or bybeing transformed into a munitions plant. It is only too evident that the present pre-occupation of steelmanufacturers is to bend every effort to assist in the finalmilitary victory of the Allies. However, I met steel manufacturers, conversing with them freely, and their mental attitude is that whenthe military victory has been achieved and France has again enteredinto possession of her own, they are determined to succeed inproducing a close union with the British producers and thus preventa rapid return of German industrial prosperity. With this fact inmind, it seems clear to me that the United States will have to makeup its mind in which field it will choose to work. It certainlywill be impossible to continue to hold a position of theoreticalneutrality. Welfare work in Le Creusot is in a high state of efficiency. Comfortable modern dwellings are furnished the employees at lowrental. Hospital facilities are of the best and everything is doneto bring the workman in close and harmonious relations with hisemployer. It has been suggested that I embody in this report something withreference to the mines in France, but as the data concerning themhas been printed in public documents of the French Minister ofMines, I will omit this detail with the single word that thesereports include minerals of all kinds. I am indebted to John Weare, representative of the United StatesSteel Products Company in France, for valuable information in thepreparation of this brief report. JOSEPH G. BUTLER, Jr. * * * In the early part of December I was requested by the Financial editor ofthe New York Times to give my views on the present outlook and moreparticularly with reference to the condition of the American Iron andSteel industry, brought about by the war. This letter to Mr. Phillips iscopied. * * * December 20th, 1916. Mr. Osmund Phillips, New York, N. Y. My dear Mr. Phillips:-- I have before me your circular letter of the 8th instant and yourkind favor of recent date. In reply to your question--What is the outlook for business in theearly months of 1917? The outlook is good. Our mills and plants for several months couldnot nil the domestic orders even if the war orders were entirelywithdrawn. I am told that all the recent orders placed are firm andare to be filled regardless of the ending of the war. Will the end of the European war mark the end of the present periodof prosperity? This is a broad and doubtful question. I do not think the end ofthe war will end the present period of prosperity. There will be atemporary halt. I might add in this connection, that in my judgmentthe last overture from the Kaiser may result in the cessation ofthe war, but I believe this period to be quite a distance off. There are three parties in Germany. First, the Kaiser and thePrussian Military circle, who have been in charge and have carriedtheir own way up to very nearly the present time. Second, there arethe people of Germany who are the common people, the goodsubstantial people, the majority of whom have been kept inignorance of the real beginning of the war and the cause for itscontinuing. These people are commencing to get information and astime goes on will be in full possession of the facts. Third, thebusiness men of Germany. There are no better nor more substantialbusiness men any place in the world than those in Germany; thesemen are really responsible for the building up of Germany and it ismy opinion that these people are now responsible for the pressurethat is undoubtedly being brought on the Kaiser and the militaryparty for the settlement of the war. I believe that this pressurewill continue until a settlement is made. These business menrecognize that the longer the settlement is put off the harder itwill be for Germany. In your opinion, what proportion of the country's total trade, bothforeign and domestic, during the past year, was due to the war? I think about one-half of the trade of the country is due greatly, directly and indirectly to the war. Do you think that labor demands have exceeded labor's fair share ofthe increase in profits? I do not think labor demands have exceeded labor's fair share. Thehigh cost of living fully offsets the greater wages paid. Do you think present wage rates can be maintained? I do not think that present wages can be maintained indefinitely. There will undoubtedly be a reaction with a certain reduction inthe cost of living and labor will have to share in the reduction. What do you think of the important legislation passed in 1916affecting business, including the eight hour day, increase inincome tax, the shipping bill, retaliation against foreign tradeinterference, etc. ? The eight hour a day law was an abnormal affair undoubtedly forcedthrough for political purposes, and never should have been passedand should be promptly repealed. The increase in the income tax is all right. The shipping bill will be valuable if the right kind of men areput on the Commission. Some of these under consideration are whollyincapable. I believe this answers all your questions. Very truly yours, J. G. BUTLER, Jr. * * * When the special report I had prepared and published reached France Iwas favored with a number of letters from prominent people in thatcountry, containing comments on the same. There were probably onehundred of these letters, from among which I have selected the followingas of sufficient interest, either because of their comments or theprominence of the writers, to make them worthy of reproduction here: * * * French Republic. Mr. J. G. Butler, Jr. , Youngstown, O. Dear Sir:-- I thank you for the interesting data which you kindly sent me onthe development of the French Steel Industry during the war. My compatriots cannot be otherwise than sensible of the praisewhich you have given them. They will find in your report an authorized opinion of the effortswhich they have made to make secure the National defense. Yours very truly, A. MIRMAN, Minister of Commerce and Industry. * * * Consulate-General of the United States of America. 1, Rue Des Italians(28, Boulevard Des Italiens) Paris, December 6, 1916. Joseph G. Butler, Jr. , Esquire, Youngstown, Ohio, United States of America. My dear Mr. Butler:-- I am in receipt of your good favor of November 9, 1916, enclosing areprint of your report on the French Steel Industry, for which youhave my best thanks. I have read it with a great deal of interestand must congratulate you upon getting a great many solid factsinto a very small compass. In my opinion you have covered thesituation very intelligently and the information you give ought tobe of great value to our manufacturers in the United States. I cannot tell you how glad I was to see you over here and I onlywish that more of our people would come abroad to study conditionsat first hand. I have also received a letter from your friend, Mr. Warren, andfrom Mr. Douglass saying all sorts of nice things about me which, Ihope, were merited. Very sincerely yours, A. M. THACKARA. * * * Republican Committee of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. Paris, November 30th, 1916. Mr. J. G. Butler, Jr. , Member of the Industrial Commission of France. Youngstown, Ohio. Dear Sir:-- I acknowledge receipt of the interesting report that you have madeon your return from France, and I trust that this voyage will haveallowed you to learn to appreciate our fine country, and that theresults of your visit will be good and fruitful for the exchange ofour products with North America. You need not thank us for the reception that we have given to theAmerican delegation in France. It was our duty to receive heartilyour American friends; it was for us a cherished duty to tightenagain the bonds of cordiality which exist between the twocountries. Personally I myself have been very glad to be introduced to you. Yours Very truly, MONCURAND, Senateur de la Seine. * * * Meurthe & Moselle, Office of the Prefect. Nancy, France, November 28th, 1916. Dear Sir:-- I have read with the greatest interest the interview which you gaveupon your landing in America to the American newspapers. I feel very much impressed by your own remembrance and I myselffeel honored, as a French citizen, by your sympathy for my country. The poor city of Nancy has suffered since your visit. We buriedyesterday, the victims of the Friday bombardment. Big shells havebeen thrown on the city. One fell right in the center, in thisvicinity, in a populous street, many women and children have beenkilled, a mother and her two little girls--what a dreary sight iswar, the way of the war inaugurated by the Germans, for it is theshame of all humanity. We have inhumed our poor victims, washed theblood that reddened pavements, put in order the rubbish of thehouses and have come back again to our daily work. Yours very truly, MIRMAN, Prefect. To J. G. Butler, Jr. * * * Lyon, Le 28 November 1916. Consulat Imperial de Russie a Lyon Mr. Joseph G. Butler, Jr. Youngstown, Ohio. United States. Dear Sir:-- I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your favour of the 9November, and of the copy of your report respecting the FrenchSteel Industry. I thank you for same. I have read your report with high interest, on various questionsreferred to, and particularly the Comite des Forges de France, andthe works of Messrs. Schneider & Co. At Le Creusot. I should be happy if a further good opportunity could afford me thepleasure of meeting you again, and I remain, dear sir, Very truly yours, C. CALOR. * * * ChambreDes DeputesCommission du Budget. Paris, le November 30th, 1916. Mr. Joseph G. Butler, Jr. Youngstown, Ohio, U. S. A. My dear Mr. Butler:-- I duly received your favor of Oct. 31st, and of Nov. 10th, andalso the documents which you kindly sent me. I have read them withgreatest interest. Of course, I have at once communicated your report in French to theChambers of Commerce and I was pleased to place such a useful andwell established document at their disposal. I trust to hear from you soon, and with very kind regards. I beg to remain, Cordially yours, MAURICE DAMOUR. Depute de Lands. * * * Bordeaux the 29th November, 1916. Dear Mr. Butler:-- I beg to tender you my very best thanks for the copy of your reporton French Steel Industry in war time you so kindly sent me. I learned a lot by reading it, and it is comforting to know that onthe other side of the Atlantic, we have friends not sparing theirtime and their energy, for helping us through the tremendousstruggle we are fighting. Your flag is made of the same colors as our flag, both are the samesymbol of human rights and Liberty. Yours very truly, D. G. MESTREZAT. * * * Joseph G. Butler, Jr. , Esq. , Member of the American Commission to France, Youngstown, Ohio, U. S. A. * * * 11 Ironmonger Lane London 31st January, 1917. J. G. Butler, Jr. , Esq. , Youngstown, O. My dear Mr. Butler:-- I have received your lines of the 29th ultimo, and your mostcharming verses which accompanied them; also your report on theFrench Steel Industry, which I read with very much interest. The people on your side do things in a very thorough manner. Forinstance, I do not think that we have sent a deputation to considerthe state of trade in France, but numerous committees, dealing withvarious important trades of the country, are conferring in regardto "trade after the war conditions"--I hope with advantage. I trust that out of all the trials of war time there will emerge aperiod when the angel of co-operation with healing in his wingswill again have a chance of being heard. My wife sends you her kindest regards, as I do also. I have mostpleasant memories of my visits to the United States and of thehospitalities which you and your hospitable brethren invariablyextended to me. Believe me, Yours sincerely, WM. R. PEAT. Lyon, Nov. 23rd, 1916. * * * Ministere de la GuerreInspections Generales5e ArrondissementLyon 9, Rue President Carnot My dear Sir:-- I beg to thank you sincerely for that reprint of your report on theFrench Steel Industry, which I have read through with greatpleasure and most interest. Besides, I am glad to take such an opportunity to remember the timewe spent together so agreeably in Lyons, and remain, dear sir, Yours very truly, A. D'AMAND. Paris, Dec. 27th, 1916. * * * Mr. J. G. Butler, Youngstown, O. , U. S. A. Dear Sir:-- I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letters of November6th and 9th, in which you send to me the text of the report of yourtrip in France and an interview that you have granted to arepresentative of a newspaper before landing. I thank you very kindly for this information and I wish to testifyto the pleasure afforded me by the good impression which youbrought back of your trip. I beg you to be so kind as to excuse mefor delaying so long in answering your letter--a delay caused bythe work that we give to the intensive effort toward the productionof war material. As you have made the request of me, I shall tell you very franklythe few observations which have been suggested to my by the readingof your report. First of all you have noted the lack of any safety apparatus in thefactories and the lack of placards by means of which, in the UnitedStates, the attention of the laborer is called to the probabledangers of his profession. The last part of the observation isparticularly well founded, but you must not forget that workingconditions in France are quite different from those existing in theUnited States. In our country, the metal workers are taught moreslowly; as a rule they start their apprenticeship earlier and theirprofessional education wards them against the dangers of the plant. As to the safety apparatus, perhaps they have been neglected insome workshops erected during the war, but they are required by lawand always installed in times of peace. I can tell you that as far as the Schneider's establishments areconcerned, special safety regulations were established twenty yearsago, with such care that they are actually in use almost withoutmodifications up to the present time. I have had looked up, some records on the fatal accidents in theFrench and in the American metallurgical factories. I notice that, according to the report of conditions of employment in the Iron andSteel Industry in the United States, the percentage of fatalaccidents in America was 1. 86 for 1000 laborers in 1909 and 1910, while in France it was only 0. 6 for 1000 laborers. The comparison of these figures will show you the accuracy of whatI have just indicated to you. As to wages it is certain that theFrench wages have nothing in common with the American prices, butthe cost of living is much less. One cannot therefore compare the figures according to the reportwhich gives the exchange between the monetary units of the twocountries. Finally, in the chapter "Collaboration between the Manufacturers"it is shown that the production of which the French industry hasbeen deprived, consisted entirely of Thomas, or Basic (Bessemer)Steel and acid Open Hearth Steel. In reality the East and North departments of France, which havebeen invaded, were producing chiefly Basic Bessemer pig iron andsteel. Open Hearth, Acid and Basic steel figured only as arelatively small tonnage. As you take an interest in the social question, I thought I wasdoing right in having addressed to you, by the same mail, a copy ofour pamphlet on social economy. I trust that the materials which you will find in it will allow youto complete the data that you have been able to gather in thecourse of your trip. Yours very truly, SCHNEIDER & CO. H. COQUEUGNOT * * * Paris, December 2nd, 1916. Mr. J. G. Butler, Jr. , Youngstown, O. Dear Sir:-- I have had the honor to receive your letter of November 9th and wasvery much pleased to note your very interesting report on theFrench Steel Industry. I thank you for sending this document which I immediatelycommunicated to our several metallurgical departments concerned. I thank you, too, for the kind mention you make of our relationsduring your stay in France and beg you to believe dear sir, in theassurance of my best regards. Yours very truly, SCHNEIDER & COMPANY. MAURICE DEVIES. * * * Arles-sur-Rhone, Dec. 10th, 1916. Mr. J. G. Butler, Jr. , Youngstown, Ohio. Dear Sir:-- I have received with your favor of the 19th of last November, thecopy of the report which you drew up following your trip to Franceabout the steel business in France during the war. I have had it translated, for, as I very much regret to be obligedto tell you, I do not know the English language, which deprived meof the extreme pleasure of conversing directly with you and obligedme to remain your silent neighbor, when I had the privilege ofbeing near you. The reading of your report has interested me very keenly andinformed us in France of many things about France. You have been so kind as to add a very elegant piece of poetryabout our two flags comprising the same colors that the sun blendsin its radiant light, but which none the less preserve theirsymbolical import. May they continue to float thus together asformerly for the glory of our two nations, which are actuated by acommon impulse, though differing in expression. I trust your visit to France at this unfortunate time through whichwe are living, will have a happy effect upon the continuance of thegood relations between our two countries. Thanking you deeply for your considerate attention, I beg to extendto you and the other members of your Commission the expression ofmy sincere regards, believe me, sir, Yours very truly, A. VERAN, Architecte des Monuments Historiques. * * * French Embassy. Washington, D. C. , Feb. 21, 1917. I offer you, my dear Colonel, my best thanks for the mostinteresting account you kindly sent me of your experience in Franceand of the sentiments inspired to you by your stay among mycompatriots. Sincerely yours, JUSSERAND. * * * Louis Nicolle17, Avenue BosquetParis December, 1916. My dear Sir:-- I am much obliged to you for the reprint of your report you kindlysent me. I have read through it with the greatest interest, and although Iam a textile manufacturer, I found some very interestingsuggestions in it, and at the same time compliments to my countryof which I am very proud. I hope some further opportunity may bring us into contact again andin the meantime, I remain, Yours very sincerely, LOUIS NICOLLE. * * * Reims, December 15th, 1916. Dear Mr. Butler:-- I thank you for your very interesting communication on the SteelIndustry in France and on its future. I am quite of the sameopinion with you and I congratulate you for what you have broughtto us. I cherish the best remembrance of the visit to Reims of theAmerican Commission and I hope to have the pleasure of meeting youagain. I forwarded your kind regards to Mr. Representative Damour, whobegged me to send you his regards. Ever at your service for all that could be service to you, I begyou to accept, dear Mr. Butler, the expression of my sympathy andof my most devoted friendship. JACQUES REGNIER, Sub-prefect, Reims. * * * Paris, Dec. 23rd, 1916. Mr. J. G. Butler, Jr. , Youngstown, O. Dear Sir:-- I duly received your letter of November 9th, in which you were sokind as to enclose a copy of the report on the French SteelIndustry which you made out following the trip which the AmericanCommission has made recently in France. After reading carefully this report which interested me verykeenly, I can tell you that it represents precisely the actualsituation of our Steel Industry. With my best thanks, I remain, Yours very truly, J. MAURICE. XX. WHERE WAR HAS RAGED In spite of the tremendous nature of the present war and its durationfor more than two years at the time of our visit, comparatively littleof France had been visited with the indescribable destruction markingthe struggle. No war in history has been so intense, and few wars havebeen so long confined to such small areas as that on the western front. It was about the first of October that we reached Belfort, and here wesaw the first signs of havoc wrought by gunfire. At Paris we had beenwithin twenty miles of the battlefield where the German hosts were firstturned back, but there was not much ruin wrought to buildings at theMarne. Men, unprotected by trenches or any of the later found defensivemethods, bore the brunt of the cannon there. At Belfort we saw signs of bombardment, but they were not so shocking. The shell fire had been at long range and was apparently brief andinaccurate. This seemed to be the case at all of the towns betweenBelfort and St. Die. Apparently the Germans had not used so many heavyguns in this region, or perhaps they had not yet become so desperate andruthless as later on. At any rate, it was at St. Die where we first sawa whole town ruined. The ruined portion of France extends in a narrow strip around thefrontier from the Alps to the North Sea. Very little of this section, about three hundred and twenty-five miles in length and varying from tento fifty miles in breadth, escaped the fearful blast of war. Few townslocated in it can ever be restored to their original condition. After the great German army had crushed Liege and captured Antwerp, onesection came up the valley of the Meuse and the other up the valley ofthe Schelde, uniting at a point between Namur and Mons. At the latterplace Sir John French had gathered his hastily formed army of onehundred and twenty-five thousand men, and with this made a gallantdefense. The British were soon forced back with tremendous losses, butthey delayed the Germans until the French army, hastily mobilized on theGerman frontier east of Paris, could be reformed on the Marne. The greatGerman machine drove rapidly down the valleys over the wide and splendidroads, forcing the English backward toward the sea and spreading out tomeet the French front so hastily interposed between it and Paris. Inthis way the German line became extremely long before the Battle of theMarne began. The Kaiser's army had spread itself out like a fan. I wasshown maps illustrating this mightiest of all military movements, andit was made plain how the English, hanging on the German flank, hadplaced the invaders in such a position that a skillful attack at theright time and in the right place forced them to fall back andstrengthen their lines. [Illustration: Ruins of Village--St. Die. ] It was while they were attempting to do this that the French attackedthem with all the fierceness of patriots defending their most belovedcity. Then what the German commander, Von Kluck, had meant to be only ahalt to reform his lines became a retreat that ended only when theTeutons had gained the hills beyond the Aisne. In their retreat theydestroyed, or the French were forced to destroy, most of the towns in asection fifty miles wide and two hundred miles long--the fairest part ofFrance--Artois and Champagne. The surge of battle--such a battle as the world never saw before--sweptover all these towns, but it was strange to see how much more some ofthem suffered than others. At Belfort, the town famous for withstandingsieges, comparatively little harm was done. Rambevillers, in the path ofthe stream of destruction, was almost unharmed. Gerbeviller, on theother hand, was entirely destroyed, probably out of revenge for thestubborn opposition of its defenders. St. Die was badly wrecked, as wereRaon l'Etape and Baccarat. It was the same all along the front. We saw some towns absolutelyruined, others very badly damaged, and still others in which the shellsseem to have fallen in places where they did little harm, or where, perhaps, there was not time for the complete shelling that had madeheaps of brick and stone of other thriving towns. The smaller towns appeared to have suffered worse than the large cities. Nancy was badly battered, but not entirely destroyed. Reims, which wasunder the fire of German guns for many months, and where the wonderfulcathedral was destroyed, apparently with malice, had lost aboutone-fourth of its buildings by fire and explosions resulting from thebombardment. In the country, the territory once occupied by the Germans and now inpossession of the French is seamed with trenches and pitted with shellcraters in all directions. To all appearances about every foot of it hasseen the tread of either French soldiers or their foes. Back from thelines a short distance in some cases, the fields had become green again, and the trees were trying to send forth new growth from then-burned andbattered trunks; but it will be a long time before this part of Franceloses all of its scars. The filling of the trenches and leveling of thefields will be no mean task of itself. Few farm houses, which in Franceare built in groups of half a dozen or so, are to be seen. Stone heapsfill their places. The roads over which we passed were in good condition, having been keptin repair. We were told, however, that many of the finest roads nearthe front had been badly torn up and that it would require much work torestore them. Hundreds of bridges have been destroyed, and most of therivers and canals, of which there are many, are now crossed by temporarystructures. We were given a glimpse of the complicated system of railroads, built inlarge part since the war and to supply the armies with food and othernecessaries. These roads were all laid hurriedly, but they seem to be ingood condition and are invaluable to the French. Some of them have beenlaid with rails taken up in other places where they were not so badlyneeded. In this system of railroads and roads one gets a strikingillustration of the huge task it is to feed an army. The Commission was given figures showing the total number of buildingsdestroyed in France, with an estimate of their value. These figures hadbeen compiled in July, 1916, and were reasonably accurate at the time wewere there, since the Germans had yielded little ground in the interimand there had been less wanton destruction than in the first months ofthe war. According to this official report, more than half the houseshad been destroyed, either by flames or gunfire, in one hundred andforty-eight towns. In the greater portion of these towns nearly all ofthe houses had been ruined. Besides this there were scores of townssuffering from gunfire which did not lose so large a part of theirbuildings. Among the buildings destroyed were two hundred andtwenty-five city halls, three hundred and seventy-nine schools, threehundred and thirty-one churches, and more than three hundred otherpublic buildings of various kinds and sizes. The mills and factories, like all of the larger buildings, suffered severely, more than threehundred having been totally destroyed. [Illustration: The Prefecture at Reims after Bombardment. ] Most of the towns suffering were of the smaller class, although fourcities of more than one hundred thousand people were bombarded or burnedby the Germans. These are Lille, Roubaix, Nancy and Reims. The sectionswept by the German advance and suffering even worse in the retreat isthe most populous in France. It covered about ten thousand square miles. No one has yet undertaken to figure the loss in property sustained inthis region. The Germans have still possession of about five millionacres of French soil, including seventy per cent, of the iron ore minesand a large part of the coal supply. The farmers are already back at work on a great part of the territoryravaged by the war. Farming under such conditions as we saw, where menand women worked in the fields within range of the guns and amid theirconstant roaring, or with the eternal white crosses for company, may bemore exciting than the usual occupation of the agriculturist, but itmust be a sad, discouraging and difficult task. XXI. GENERAL JOFFRE Perhaps no other man in France is so talked of so much as GeneralJoffre. Certainly he is the idol of the French people. They look on himas their hero and savior, and his name is mentioned among them with asort of half-worship. No other people have ever depended on theirleaders as have the French. They believe with the right sort ofleadership they can do anything. This is the impression you get intalking to them. They say that since the Franco-Prussian War they havelooked forward to the time when they might have a general withNapoleon's genius and some other name--for even the name Napoleon nowprevents a man from fighting for France, at least if he is of the royalline. You may be certain that we all looked forward to meeting this great man. We did not meet him after all at close range, having to contentourselves with a view of the busiest man in France as he rode by in anautomobile at top speed. General Joffre, as we learned, has been at the head of the French Armyfor two years before the war. He first came into notice when, at thelast grand maneuvers, he jarred military circles and greatly pleased thepeople by unceremoniously dismissing from their command five gold-lacedgenerals whose methods did not meet with his approval. But Joffre first showed what sort of stuff was in him when he met theGermans at the Marne. It will be recalled that the French, neversuspecting that Germany would invade Belgium and having all theirmilitary plans laid for mobilizing on the German frontier, were more orless demoralized when they found an entirely new line of defensenecessary. They had no railroads built to help reform their line, andthe moving of a vast army is a perplexing task. Without a leader in whomthe whole army had supreme confidence, and with the German host sweepingacross Belgium and hurling back the English, it would have been ahopeless situation. But while what the Kaiser called "Sir John French's contemptible littlearmy" was holding back for a few days the German onrush at terrificcost, Joffre was busy realigning his forces between the invaders and hisbeloved Paris, which seemed doomed to all but him. He had studied thesituation carefully and detected the fact that the long flank of VonKluck's army left an opening. This opening was found by the Army ofParis, augmented in every possible way and finally reinforced by everyavailable soldier, rushed from Paris in every kind of automobile to befound. The Germans were stopped at the Marne--twenty miles fromParis. Not only was the capital of France saved, but the invaders weresteadily driven back until they were sixty miles away before they couldmake a successful stand. [Illustration: Portrait in Tapestry--General Joffre. ] It was then that France found Joffre, so the people say. Up to that timethey had heard little of him and nobody knew who he was or where he hadcome from. At once they began to inquire. Few of the soldiers had everseen him, and there had been nothing much in the newspapers about theman who had managed all this. After the Germans had been forced across the Aisne and there was time tobreathe, the French decided to have a review of that part of the armythat could be spared. It was here that everybody watched for Joffre. TheFrench tell it in their own way and it is interesting to hear one ofthem explaining, with the usual gestures, just how the hero looked onthe day of that review. It was not much of a display of military style. The troops reviewed hadbeen in the thick of the fight and there was an enormous amount of mud. There was no reviewing stand except a muddy elevation, on which thecommander was to stand. Nobody seemed to know where he was or where hewould come from, but it was passed around that he was to be there andthe soldiers watched for him eagerly. Most of them thought that he wasa little, fat man. They had unconsciously absorbed this idea frompictures of Napoleon, and, forgetting the terrible stress of the pastweeks in the temporary flush of victory, they expected to see theirgeneral come to the stand with a blaze of glory. They looked for silkenflags and gaudy uniforms and a regular French military parade. This wasas little as they thought would do proper honor to the victoriouscommander of the Allied armies, and they were right, because GeneralJoffre is at the head of the greatest force of men ever gatheredtogether. As you are told about this in France, the day came and at the spotselected for the review, an open field somewhat back of the lines, withplenty of freshly planted crosses in sight and evidence all around thatthe peace and quiet had not always been there, a few generals andofficers gathered. Finally, a regimental band, playing the first martialmusic heard since before the battle of the Marne, swung out of the woodsat the head of a body of troops. Then a large man, tall and heavy and wearing an ordinary soldier'sovercoat, but with the laurel band around his hat that showed him to bea general, came out of the woods behind the little knoll and walkedrapidly toward the group of officers. Every hand went up in salute. Thenthey knew it was Joffre. He went to the muddy knoll, and stood therewatching keenly while the soldiers marched past, the bugles blowing andthe bands playing. In spite of their muddy uniforms and the hard fight they had just gonethrough, the French say that these soldiers looked spic and span as theypassed their general. Their rifles went up in salute as straight andaccurately as if they had just come from quarters and were marching overa level parade ground, instead of over fields filled with shell holesand slippery with mud--or perhaps something worse. Joffre is a silent man, they say. This does not interfere in the leastwith the adoration of the French, who are usually great talkers. Theybelieve in him to the utmost, and they will follow him to the limit ofendurance. So long as Joffre is at the head of the French army, thespirit of victory will remain. Since Joffre has become famous, of course much is known about him. Hewas born in the Midi, as they call the southern part of France. Trainedas a soldier, he saw service in the East, where he did that which he setout to do. There is no particular incident that points to the discoveryof his genius, although he must have done unusual things to get to thetop. He is known to have been a modest, quiet, home-loving sort of man, spending much time with his family at Auteil, and showing while therethat he was very fond of fishing. Fishing is a good recreation for theman who wants to think, and the French believe that while Joffre wasdoing that he must have been evolving plans for settling with the hatedGermans. He likes to fish yet, and when he can get away from the warzone, he hunts a small stream and spends his leisure hours along it. During his brilliant career since the war began Joffre has developedsome of the qualities notable in our own General Grant. There is not aparticle of show or bluster about him. He dresses as plainly aspossible, talks little and seems to prefer solitude. But his will isimperious and he does not hesitate when anything is to be done, whetherit is pleasant or otherwise. For his men he has the greatestconsideration, but they say in France that, like Lincoln, he has littleregard for Generals. Some of the things told about him remind you of thestory of Lincoln. In this story a Confederate raid had resulted in thecapture of two generals and a number of privates. When the story wasbrought to Lincoln, he said it was too bad about the men. Someonesuggested that it was a pity the generals had been taken, but Lincolnsaid that did not matter much, as he could make some more. Joffre hasmade it uncomfortable for the inefficient generals in France. Many ofthem have lost their commands and most of them live in fear of his quietbut inexorable discipline. Joffre does not look kindly on visitors to the Front, and nobody getsthere without his permission. He signed the passes on which theCommission traveled, but he did not seem overjoyed at our coming enoughto look us up while we were there. Apparently he regarded us as peoplewho could not help in his big job and who were likely in some way orother to become nuisances. When you talk with people who know this man you are at once impressedwith the fact that he appreciates his great responsibility and thatthere is nothing on his mind but how to win this war for France. Theysay he has a clipping bureau that saves for him all that is beingprinted about the war. He probably expects to read it somewhere afterthe war is over, but he will not likely be able to do this in theremainder of an ordinary lifetime. Time only will decide whether Joffre is really a great military genius, or whether he is merely a good general, conscientiously doing his bestand fortunate enough to become a popular hero. Modern war is sodifferent from old time variety that no one can judge results up to thistime. It is at least certain that Joffre has beaten the Germans back andback, slowly, but surely forcing them out of France. He says himselfthat he "has been nibbling at them. " There can be no doubt that at the time this is written he has reachedthe pinnacle of fame in France. He is the man in all France who is mosttalked about, most admired and most trusted. Were he to die now, asKitchener died, his place in History would be secure. What will happenbefore the war is over is another matter. But, having heard the Frenchtalk about "Father Joffre" so much and so lovingly, and having beengiven the most useful thing in France, if you want to see the front--apass by him in spite of the great cares resting on his shoulders, I hopethat fate will be kind to him and that he will remain the idol of hispeople to the end. As might be expected, France is full of the sayings of Joffre. Everyoneyou meet can tell you a new one. Some of the aphorisms credited to himthat I can now recall are: "Go where the enemy is not expecting you";"No soldier is expected to think of retreating"; "Now is the time tostand and die rather than yield". This last is said to have been hisutterance before the beginning of the Battle of the Marne. XXII. THE WORK OF RECONSTRUCTION While no estimate can be made of the cost of rebuilding the towns andcities destroyed in France until after the war is over and it is knownwhat further damage has been done, this matter is already receivingearnest consideration. The French are confident of victory and aresatisfied that they will soon be able to rebuild their cities andreorganize their industries. They are a frugal and thrifty people, andusually have more private means than the average American whose mannerof living would indicate that he is wealthy. On this account it is myimpression that France will recover very rapidly after the war and willsoon be as well off in property as before it began. The chief loss of the French is likely to be their young manhood. Housescan be rebuilt. Factories will spring up over night where there iscapital and faith to invest it. Even the fine old cathedrals may berestored or replaced with something that will serve equally well in apractical sense. But the young men--the flower of the Frenchnation--whose lives have been offered on the altar of nationaldefense--these cannot be replaced. Generations must pass before theterrific price of national existence will be fully paid in thisdirection. Most Frenchmen feel this way about the situation. From a materialstandpoint they expect to soon be as well off as ever. They do not seemto mind the loss in wealth destroyed by the great war. But they arebowed down with grief at the thought of the young men who have beenslain and the years that will be required to replace them. Although theydo not care to discuss this phase of the situation, the French havealready begun nobly to meet the problem of the lame, halt and blind whoare a part of the legacy of every war and an exceedingly prominent partof that left by this one. It is surprising to learn that the Belgians, whose little country hasbeen crushed under the heel of the invader so that its governmentretains only a narrow corner behind the British army, are even moreoptimistic than the French. They are determined that the Germans must bedriven out and are already laying elaborate plans for reconstruction oftheir farms and villages and cities. Almost before the Commission hadreached Paris we were asked by the Belgians to hold a meeting with theirchamber of commerce in that city in order to discuss the problems ofBelgium's rehabilitation. [Illustration: Ruins at Nancy. ] When this meeting did finally take place, on October 16th, we were allimpressed with the pathetic earnestness of the Belgians upon thissubject. Some of the most prominent citizens of Belgium took part in thediscussion. It was easy to see, even from the meagre translations wewere able to get on the moment, that the Belgians realize that they havebeen martyrs and expect the world to render them substantial aid whenthe time comes to restore their national entity and rebuild their wartorn country. In fact I was compelled to admit with reluctance thattheir enthusiasm was greater than their business acumen, for they seemedto have very little tangible information on which plans could be laidfor helping them. It was explained afterward that these Belgians have no means of securingthe information they need, as the Germans have almost absolutepossession of their country and are, as might be expected, notfurnishing any information as to the amount of destruction, or thequantity of materials which can be used again, or in any other way. Itis stated that the Germans have practically looted the whole country, carting off the machinery in most of the factories, and even forcing theBelgians to work on military defenses to be used against them and theirallies. Under such conditions it was not to be expected that the Belgianchamber of commerce would be in possession of definite information. Theimpassioned belief of these gentlemen in the magnanimity and wealth ofAmerica was inspiring, and I sincerely hope that when the time comes toreconstruct this stricken land our people will have as large a part asthe Belgians expect and one much more generous than they have had in thesaving of the Belgians from starvation. [Illustration: Trenches Occupied by French Soldiers] At this meeting I heard many kind things said about the Americans whoare working in Belgium and about how much this country has done to savethe people there from suffering. Great praise was also given to theEnglish, who have aided most nobly to prevent the absolute destructionof the Belgian nation. XXIII. FRENCH BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS To the members of our Commission one of the most interesting thingsfound in France was the organization of chambers of commerce, or bodieswhose purpose is to promote the industrial and financial welfare of thecommunities where they exist. Unlike the situation in America, wherechambers of commerce are purely local organizations, without power oreven much prestige in the regulation of municipal affairs, the Frenchhave a system of such bodies that is probably the most important singleforce to be reckoned with in the republic. We were entertained at almost every city where we made a stop by thechamber of commerce, and were given every opportunity to ascertain howthese organizations work. We found their system admirable, and manyfeatures of it should be copied in this country. Before this can bedone, however, we must have more liberal and sensible legislation on thequestion of co-operation among productive organizations. The French chambers of commerce are officially recognized by thegovernment and given certain powers which, to a large extent, placeevery community under their care, at least in so far as its businessinterests and development of its resources go. No chamber can beorganized except by governmental decree, and this provision naturallyprevents them from interfering with the legitimate prerogatives of thegovernment, while giving them powers that enable them to be of realservice to the community. Everywhere we went we found that the chamber of commerce was regarded asthe guardian of the public interest, and we were told how these bodiestook action frequently with much success in matters that in this countrywould be regarded as far beyond the scope of a chamber of commerce. Theyhave power to represent the towns where they exist in all mattersregarding industrial, agricultural and transportation problems. They areunder the direct control of the department of industry, and the charterof each is signed by the minister of commerce then in office. Theirmembers are elected much as we elect regular city officials, and thenumber cannot be less than nine or more than twenty-one, except inParis, where there are forty at this time. The number is fixed for eachchamber by government decree and depends on the population of thedistrict. The members must be thirty years of age and citizens in goodstanding. Bankrupts are not allowed to serve. In every way these bodiesare made thoroughly representative of the best citizenship, and it isregarded as quite an honor to be permitted to serve on them withoutpay. These chambers usually meet twice each month and they keep in closetouch with each other, working out plans that will be for the good ofthe whole country as well as for their special localities. Many of thelargest undertakings in France have been begun and carried out largelyby chambers of commerce. The new port at Marseilles, which will costabout two hundred million francs, is an example. For this work thechamber of commerce raised six million francs, the government provided alike amount, and with this the chamber was able to finance theimprovement, depending on tolls and other revenues to pay the balance indue time. The feature which appealed most strongly to me in these chambers ofcommerce was the manner in which they are dovetailed with the governmentin the performance of duties of a nature such as, in spite of theirtremendous importance, we Americans generally regard as nobody'sbusiness in particular, and which are therefore usually left undone. A national organization of chambers of commerce is maintained in Paris. Part of the expense of each chamber, as well as of this body, is paid bythe government. The secretaries of the local chambers have also anorganization, and all these seem to work in perfect harmony for thegeneral good. The secretaries are usually professionals, and specialcourses of training may be had in France for this work. We found that nearly every chamber had its own building and that allwere handsomely housed, well financed and extremely effective. They havebecome a most important part of the government, handling with successmany problems that are difficult for a government and which, at the sametime, require a certain amount of governmental authority if they are tobe disposed of in an efficient manner. In my opinion this country could copy the French system of chambers ofcommerce with much profit. We are in advance of them in many things, especially in the matter of industrial operations, but they are acentury in advance of us in the co-operation needed between the citizensand the government for the highest development of community life andprogress. XXIV. THE CARREL METHOD OF TREATING WOUNDS So much interest has been expressed in the new method of treating woundsdiscovered by Dr. Carrel and bearing his name, and the subject being ofsuch great importance to the cause of humanity and the preservation ofhuman life, I have thought it worth while to give here the followingauthoritative descriptions of this new and epochal discovery in thescience of medicine. It is now generally known as the Carrel-Dakintreatment. Reference has been made to meeting Dr. Sherman in London. On discoveringthat this physician had enjoyed considerable experience with the Carreltreatment and was thoroughly familiar with it, I invited him to deliveran address on this subject at my home town after his return from Europe. He readily agreed to do this, speaking to an interested audience underthe auspices of the Mahoning County Medical Society on Dec. 19, 1916. Anewspaper account of this address is appended. This will, in a measure, serve to show the importance of the Carrel treatment. Out of the horror and carnage that is raging across the seas someinconceivable good must come. This is the opinion of all who havebeen close to the din of battle, who have visited hospitals andseen with their own eyes the human wrecks wrought by grape shot, shrapnel and bursting shells. Dr. William O'Neill Sherman's visitto this city Tuesday night, when he opened the eyes of the medicalprofession here to new and greater things, is the first inkling ofone great good that is to come out of this war. To treat themillions of wounded and maimed, medical genius has been taxed tothe limit. As in all great times, great minds have come to therescue and found a way. The old saying that where there is a willthere is a way, has been clearly proven. Particularly is this true in the medical world. Dr. Sherman camehere from Pittsburgh, the invited guest of the Mahoning CountyMedical Society, at the suggestion of J. G. Butler, Jr. , who wantedhim to tell the physicians of this city and county the many thingshe had learned by close application and association with conditionsin European hospitals and trenches. Dr. Sherman was filled with anenthusiasm that he made every man who attended the annual banquetof the Mahoning Medical Society feel. Particularly was he anxiousto bring the local medical fraternity to a realization of themethods and treatments developed by the horrible carnage raging nowin the European countries. He drove home his point without gloveswhen he told physicians of Youngstown that medical men throughoutthis country were given too much to criticising new methods ratherthan investigating them. The Carrel method, he explained at length. It is simply a newlydiscovered antiseptic solution, conceived by Dr. Alexis Carrel, which sterilizes wounds and arrests infection and inflammationbefore they have an opportunity to spread and result in bloodpoisoning and death. * * * [Illustration: Proclamation Posted in Reims Just Before the French FellBack to the Marne. (See Chap. XXV. )] TRANSLATION REPUBLIC OF FRANCE CITY OF REIMS TO THE INHABITANTS At the moment when the German army is at our gates, and willprobably enter the city, the municipal authorities request you topreserve all your presence of mind, and all calmness necessary topermit you to undergo this trial. There must not be any manifestations, any riotous gatherings, anyoutcries to trouble the tranquility of the streets. Public Service, Charity, Health, and street maintenance should continue to be safe. You must co-operate with us. You must remain in the city to helpthe unfortunate. We shall remain with you at our post to defendyour interests. It does not devolve upon you, the population of an unfortifiedcity, to alter events. It does devolve upon you not to aggravatethe consequences. To this end it is necessary to keep silence, dignity and prudence. We rely upon you, you may rely upon us. Reims, September 3, 1914. DR. LANGLET, Mayor. * * * Mr. Butler said to visit European capitals is to witness arevelation difficult to convey in mere words. Soldiers of everynationality are treated by the expert and world famed in medicine. Human wrecks, victims of shot and shell, are repaired and rebuilt. It matters little whether a man is friend or foe, as long as aspark of life is there, he is picked tenderly from the trench andeverything known to medical science done to bring about hisrecovery. The mind is filled with horror and wonder of it all. New thoughtsbombard the mind as one looks on. A man is brought in. His face ispractically shot away. It seems that even should he recover he willbe so disfigured that life will not be worth the living. The Carrelsolution is applied. By plastic surgery and other means thedisfigured mass is shaped. In a few short weeks the man againbegins to resemble a human being and eventually is well, withlittle more than a few indistinct scars. Not infrequently hereturns to the trenches. Some of the things that shock the mind aremetal jaws, screened behind false beards, artificial noses, ears, cheeks, eyes and limbs. Sometimes when a man is facially disfiguredbeyond repair, that is, when nature can never replace thecountenance, a copper mask is fitted. These sculptors inflesh-and-blood do their work with such precision and accuracy thatit is startling and cannot be believed unless it is seen. The war has seen the springing up of many hospitals of specialcharacter. There are groups of institutions where only faces aretreated, eyes, ears and nose, maimed limbs, etc. Medical attentionin most cases begins in the trenches and the patient is carefullywatched while being transported to the hospital. By sterilizingwounds shortly after they occur, infection and pus are robbed oftheir chance to hinder nature and the patient recovers in a fewweeks from a frightful wound that if infected would take that manymonths. There are many things of today that help in thepreservation of human life. The highly developed X-ray has playedan important part in this great war. Electricity, new antisepticsand anaesthetics have been at the finger's end of the skilledmedical profession, to work what can honestly be called miraclesand wonders. One of the strange things of this great war is the fact that new, unheard of diseases are developed. It has tended to make commonrare diseases and greatly increased those that are usual. Thousandsdie, having no mark upon their body. Post-mortems held havedisclosed in nearly every case that such deaths were caused byshell shock. Bombs from the huge guns dropping near a company ofmen will often so disarrange organs that death follows quickly. Many who survive lose mind, sight, hearing, speech, and so on. Thishas become one of the common things of this great war. As a resultthe warring countries will find themselves confronted with a newand difficult problem when peace comes and normal times are againestablished. There will be hundreds of thousands to pension and nodoubt insane institutions will have to be enlarged. Rest is often asaviour. Men taken away from the fronts, minds blank, in the quietof home often regain their reason. There is the large percentagethat God in his goodness does not see fit to restore that will forman elephantine problem. There will have to be vast pension lists, for these men often have large families. The way men may be pieced and patched together is one of the findsof the new medical era. It has been discovered that bones in legsand arms practically shot in two can be brought together by meansof silver and vanadium steel plates fitted with screws and that thebones will knit and after a period the afflicted can walk almost assatisfactorily as if nothing had happened. Dr. Sherman while inthis city this week displayed a steel plate that he worked out andused with marked success in the hospitals of France. These platesare applied in what would seem to be a very simple manner. A manmay have a leg or an arm practically shot off. By placing thebroken bones together, after a treatment with the Carrel solutionto keep down infection, a plate is fitted on either side of thefracture and screws are applied. This holds the two members solidlytogether and in a few short weeks the bones knit. In time thisplace is practically the strongest part of the limb. What thismeans can best be told by explaining that before the discovery, anarm or a leg so badly shattered was simply amputated because thiswas the only safe and logical way to save the life of theindividual. In the olden days gangrene would invariably set in andthe patient die within a short time unless amputation was performedpromptly following the accident. Dr. Carrel has gone a long way to eliminate this danger. Having seen with my own eyes the wonderful results of this treatmentduring my visits to the American Ambulance and other hospitals inFrance, I requested Mr. Laurence V. Benet, superintendent of theAmerican Ambulance, to furnish me with an authoritative description ofthe treatment. The chief purpose of this is to enable medicalauthorities in this country, particularly those connected with hospitalsmaintained by iron and steel plants, to gain a reliable outline of thetreatment. Dr. Benet, in spite of the fact that he is one of the busiestmen in France, kindly agreed to furnish this information. In doing so heaccompanied the description with the following letter: * * * 1 Avenue De CamoensParis, October 26, 1916. Mr. Joseph G. Butler, Jr. , Youngstown, O. My dear Mr. Butler:-- In compliance with my request, Dr. Joseph Lawrence, of the AmericanAmbulance, has kindly prepared a short note on the Carrel treatmentof wounds, and this I am now enclosing. I trust that you will findit sufficiently explicit for your purposes, and that it will be ofuse and interest to you. Now that you are again home I hope that your wonderful trip inFrance will be less than a mere memory and that the labors of theIndustrial Commission will prove, as they should, most valuable tothe manufacturers and exporters of the United States. Believe methat it was to me a great privilege as well as a great pleasure tohave met you and your distinguished colleagues, and that my onlyregret is that I was unable to be of greater use to the Commission. I am, with very kind regards, Sincerely yours, LAURENCE V. BENET1 encl. * * * The Carrel Treatment of Wounds. The Carrel treatment consists in thorough irrigation guided by thebacteriological observation of the wound. For the irrigation of the wound, Carrel has chosen a certain sizeof rubber tube about 4 mm. In diameter into which he punches smallholes at intervals. The one end of this tube is shut, the other endis allowed to protrude from the dressing. On the surface wound, the tube is laid over the wound in thedirection of the greatest diameter of the wound with the open endtowards the most elevated part. In perforating wounds, the tube or several tubes, when the wound islarge, are passed through from both sides, or pushed into cavitiesor pockets that may exist. If the wound is not a perforating wound, but a deep wound, thetubes are planted deep into the cavity that may be formed. Thesetubes are always of sufficient number to thoroughly irrigate thebroken surface. Over the uninjured skin, about the wound, is placed thin strips ofgauze which have been steeped in vaseline, the skin having beenthoroughly washed before with soap and water. To keep these tubes in place, a bandage wet with Dakin's solutionis placed over them. The wound is flushed every two hours withDakin's solution. The amount of solution used per wound, varies inproportion to the size of the wound from 500 c. C. Per day up. Wounds are dressed daily. The bacteriological observation is made by taking a smear from themost vicious part of the wound at intervals of two or three days. The number of bacteria on these smears is noted and counted per oilimmersion field. A count of more than 75 bacteria per field isconsidered infinity. When there are less than 10 bacilli to thefield, and not less than 5 to the field, three fields are counted. When less than 5, and not less than 7, five fields are counted. When less than one, from five to twenty fields will be counted. A wound that retains a count of one bacillus to two fields or lessfor three observations, is considered bacteriologically clean, andsuitable for operation. If the wound is a compound fracture, it isadvisable to close the wound, converting it into a simple fracture. If this can be done without exerting too great tension on thesutures. If the wound is a flesh wound, and can be drawn together withouttoo great tension, its closure is indicated. [Illustration] The important parts of the treatment consist in thoroughirrigation, and careful bacteriological observation. Thebacteriological observations are charted on charts similar totemperature charts. Dakin's Solution. (Sodium Hypochlorite at 0. 50%) 1--To prepare 10 litres of solution, weight exactly: Chloride of Lime (Bleaching Powder) 200 grms. Carbonate of Soda (dried) 100 grms. Or if used in crystals 200 grms. Bi-carbonate of Soda 200 grms. 2--Put the Chloride of Lime into a large mouthed bottle of about 12 litres capacity. Add 5 litres of water (half the quantity) and shake well two or three times. Let this stand all night. 3--Dissolve in another 5 litres of water of two Soda salts 4--Pour this latter solution directly into the bottle containing the maceration of lime. Stir well and let the solution stand in order to allow the precipitate of Carbonate of Lime to settle. 5--At the end of half an hour, siphon the clear liquid and filter by means of a paper, in order to have a perfectly clear solution. This should be kept away from the light. 6--No heat should be employed in the manufacture of Dakin's and ordinary Tapwater should be used. * * * Preparation of Dakin Solution. Technique of Dr. Daufresne. The solution of sodium hypochlorite for surgical use must be freeof caustic alkali; it must only contain 0. 45% to 0. 50 ofhypochlorite. Under 0. 45% it is not active enough and above 0. 50 itis irritant. With chloride of lime (bleaching powder) having 25% ofactive chlorine, the quantities of necessary substances to prepareten litres of solution are the following:-- Chloride of Lime (bleaching powder) 25% CI act. . . . 200 gr. Sodium Carbonate, dry (Soda of Solway) 100 gr. Sodium Bi-carbonate. . . . 80 gr. Pour into 12 litre flask the two hundred grammes of chloride oflime and five litres of ordinary water, shake vigorously for a fewminutes and leave in contact for six to twelve hours, one night forexample. (Shake until dissolved) at least the big pieces aredissolved, large pieces float--notice only floating pieces. At thesame time, dissolve in five litres of cold ordinary water thecarbonate and bi-carbonate of soda. After leaving from six to twelve hours, pour the salt solution inthe flask containing the macerated chloride of lime, shakevigorously for a few minutes and leave to allow the calciumcarbonate to be precipitated. In about half an hour, siphon theliquid and filter with a double paper to obtain a good, clearliquid, which should always be kept in a dark place. Tritration of Chloride of Lime (Bleaching Powder). Because of the variation of the products now obtained in themarket, it is necessary to determine the quantity of activechlorine contained in the chloride of lime which is to be used. This, in order to employ an exact calculated quantity according toits concentration. The test is made in the following manner:-- Take from different parts of the bar a small quantity of beachingpowder to have a medium sample, weigh 20 grammes of it, mix as wellas possible in a litre of tap water and leave in contact for a fewhours. Measure 10 c. C. Of the clear liquid and add 20 c. C. Of a 10%solution of potassium iodide, 2 c. C. Of acetic acid or hydrochloricacid, then put drop by drop into the mixture a decinormal solutionof sodium hyposulfite (2. 48%) until decoloration. The number "N"of cubic centimeters of hyposulfite employed multiplied by 1, 775will give the weight "N" of active chloride contained in 100grammes of chloride of lime. The test must be made every time a new product is received. Whenthe result obtained will differ more or less than 25%, it will benecessary to reduce or enlarge the proportion of the three productscontained in the preparation. This can be easily obtained bymultiplying each of the three numbers--200, 100, 60 by the factorN/25 in which N represents the weight of the active chlorine percent of chloride of lime. Measure 10 c. C. Of the solution, add 20 c. C. Of potassium iodide1/10, 2 c. C. Of acetic acid and drop by drop a decinormal solutionof sodium hyposulfite until decoloration. The number of cubiccentimeters used multiplied by 0. 03725 will give the weight of thehypochlorite of soda contained in 100 c. C. Of the solution. Never heat the solution and if in case of urgency one is obliged toresort to trituration of chloride of lime in a mortar, only employwater, never salt solution. Test of Thetalkalinity of Dakin Solution:-- To easily differentiate the solution obtained by this process fromthe commercial hypochlorites, pour into a glass about 20 c. C. Ofthe solution and drop on the surface of the liquid a fewcentigrammes of phenol-phthaleine in powder. The correct solutiondoes not give any coloration while Lebarraque's solution and Rau deJavel will give an intense red color which shows in the last twosolutions existence of free caustic alkali. TECHNIQUE--Dakin Solution. The procedure is very simple. The solution, however, must bebetween 45 to 50% hypochlorite. Anything above this strength willburn and anything below is too weak. The edges of the wound shouldbe covered with gauze which has been well soaked in vaseline, thesolution should then be introduced into the wounds from anirrigator every two hours. A stopcock should be put on the tube andonly sufficient solution should be allowed to enter the wound tocompletely saturate all parts of the wound. In other words, thewounds should be bathed with the solution every two hours--do notmistake this and irrigate continuously. You can easily tell howmuch solution it takes to keep the wound wet. Rubber tubes are used. The end of the tube is tied off and six toeight small perforations are made so that the solution can run intoall parts of the wound. If the wounds are superficial, the samekind of a tube can be used to which a cuff of turkish towel iswrapped around the end of the tube. If you feel that the wounds are sure to be infected, it would bewell to lay them open freely and immediately start this treatment, be sure to have the skin well protected with the vaseline and gauzeand see that the solution does not run out of the wound on the bed. Just keep the wound bathed every two hours. I have been informed that a movement is on foot to inaugurate theuse of this remarkable discovery in the United States militaryhospitals, and that the Rockefeller Foundation has in view theerection at New York of a large hospital where the treatment may bestudied and still further perfected for the benefit of thiscountry. * * * [Illustration: Proclamation by the Mayor of Reims Issued on the Day theGermans Entered that City, Sept. 4, 1914. ] TRANSLATION APPEALTO THE POPULATION OF REIMS. Dear Citizens: To-day and in the days following, many from among you, bothprominent citizens and workmen, will be kept as hostages toguarantee to the German authorities the quiet and good order whichyour representatives have promised in your name. It is to your security and to the safety of the City and to yourproper interests that you do nothing which may break this agreementand compromise the future. Have realization of your responsibility and facilitate our task. Men, women, children, remain as far as possible in your homes, avoid all discussion. We depend upon you to be equal to this occasion. All riotous gathering is absolutely forbidden and will beimmediately dispersed. J. B. LANGLET, Mayor. L. ROUSSEAU, DR. JACQUIN, E. CHARBONNEAUX, J. De BRUIGNAC. Assistants. * * * XXV. A CITY IN AN ARMY'S PATH Few who read this book have ever been in contact with actual war. Inorder that they may have an idea of what happens to a city which findsitself in the path of an irresistible enemy, some account will be givenhere of what happened to Reims, a city about the size of Youngstown, having a population of one hundred and twenty-five thousand and beingsituated on the north bank of the river Aisne, in north-eastern France. When the Germans attacked France they hurled their great armies by threeroutes. Not only did they violate the neutrality of Belgium andLuxembourg, but they also sent an army across the frontier betweenVerdun and Belfort, this being the force stopped by the chasseurs atGerbeviller, as has been told elsewhere. France had trusted too much andwas in a desperate plight because her troops had been mobilized on thewrong front. The first Germans crossed the frontier of little Luxembourg on themorning of August 2, 1914. They were met by the Grand Duchess, whodisputed their passage and pleaded with them to turn back. Her littlearmy of four hundred and thirty men could do nothing, and when sheturned her car across the road the German soldiers gathered around and, on the order of their commander, pushed it to one side and passed on. The Germans entered Belgian territory at Gemmenich on August 3, 1914. The next day they attempted to take by assault the city of Liege, Belgium's greatest industrial center, and failed. This city, with itsring of nine forts, blocked the passage of their troops and held themain roads into Germany. After a most bloody and unsuccessful assault, the Germans brought up their big guns and blew the forts to pieces. Butthey had been delayed five days. Then their hosts swept across Belgiumand soon came in touch with the French and English. The English army ofone hundred and twenty-five thousand men met them at Mons. The Frenchmet them between Mons and Verdun. At this time the Allied lines swung like a huge gate from Verdun westtoward the sea, barring the Kaiser's passage. The Germans then had amillion of men, with hordes of the famous lancers, and clouds of thesehorsemen hung on the right flank of the English, swinging out and aroundthem so as to force Sir John French to fall back or suffer the turningof his flank. Von Kluck was in command of this turning movement, whichwas made possible by the fall of Namur, Lille and Charleroi. Things thenlooked desperately bad for the Allies. * * * [Illustration: First Order From the Invaders. ] TRANSLATION ORDER Having taken possession of the City and the fortress of Reims Icommand the following: Railroads, routes of communications, both telegraph and telephone, not only of the City of Reims, but also throughout the immediatelyoutlying districts, must be protected against all possibility ofdestruction; it is absolutely necessary to protect by a minutesurveillance the public buildings along the lines of communication. The City will be held responsible for disobedience to this order:the guilty ones will be pursued and shot; the City will be leviedfor considerable contributions. I add also that it will be to the interest of the population toconform to the foregoing commands, at the same time going abouttheir ordinary occupations; thus the inhabitants will avoid havingnew and serious losses. THE GERMAN GENERALCommander in Chief. * * * This notice on a white card, 45 by 56 centimeters, was posted on thewalls of the City of Reims by German authority during the occupation ofSeptember 4th to 12th, 1914. As they were forced back toward Paris, not so much by actual fighting asby the necessity to keep their lines clear and avoid the turningmovement of the swift German division under Von Kluck, the Allied armiesswung, like a gate with its hinges at Verdun and the outer edge at Mons, back until they stretched between Verdun and Paris. This movementuncovered the beautiful city of Reims, with its countless art treasures, its magnificent cathedral and its thriving population of more than ahundred thousand people, all of which, as the swinging movementcontinued, were left to the mercy of the German army. The Frenchevacuated Reims with nothing more than some rear-guard fighting and fellback southward to take their places in the great battle line whichJoffre had planned somewhere north of Paris--on the Marne, as it waslater evident. As the Allied forces swung backward to this then unknown position, theywere hard pressed by the advancing German hosts. Their retreat willstand as one of the most masterly in history, for during ten days thesevast armies retired more than two hundred miles on their left flankwithout disorder and without excessive loss of men or material. The English army occupied the side toward the sea in these grandmaneuvers for position. Sir John French moved swiftly backward, fightingas he went and constantly swinging outward to prevent Von Kluck fromencircling his flank. On the morning of September 3rd, he reached apoint between Paris and the sea, actually a little north of that city. Suddenly in response to orders from Joffre, he marched his tired troopsthrough Paris to Lagny, twenty miles east of the capital, where he tookup a position on the Marne front. Von Kluck was almost in sight of Paris in hot pursuit of the Englishwhen he found how he had been tricked. He could not attack the defenses, and it was urgently necessary for him to join the main army on the Marnefront. To do this he had to circle to the north, around the outerfortifications of Paris a much longer march than that of the English. The French government had packed its belongings and left for Bordeaux onthe morning of the day the English passed through Paris, and the peoplethought the Germans were about to besiege the city. All buildings in theline of fire had been destroyed, the civilian population sent south, andevery preparation made for defense. Joffre only knew the real plan. The Parisians were amazed when the Germans scarcely stopped in front oftheir city. They could not understand why Von Kluck should suddenlywithdraw to the east, because they did not know how badly he was neededon the Marne front. But Von Kluck must have suspected, for it is saidthat he told an aide that, "We have met with a great misfortune. " Von Kluck was right, for the masterly strategy of Joffre had won thebattle of the Marne before a shot had been fired in that historicstruggle. These facts were gleaned from military men whom we met in France. Theyshow how little the civilian population of a military zone, or even thesoldiers themselves, know of the movements in which they are engaged. Evidently Joffre had not confided his plans even to the governmentauthorities at Paris, preferring to have the seat of government move andthe population flee rather than take chances of these plans beinglearned by the enemy. So also at Reims. The French who had been stubbornly defending the city they love bestnext to Paris from German "Kultur, " were forced to move through Reimsand to the south to take their place in the great battle line on theMarne. They went reluctantly and the Germans followed them into thecity. This explains the situation shown in the poster on page 245. The Germanswere just outside of Reims on September 3rd, and the Mayor knew that theFrench army was moving south and leaving the city at their mercy. Hecounselled his people concerning their conduct, warning them tointerfere in no rear-guard action such as was likely to occur. Thisproclamation was dated September 3, 1914. * * * [Illustration: Second German Proclamation. ] TRANSLATION PROCLAMATION All authorities of the French Government and Municipal authoritiesare advised as follows: 1st--All peaceable inhabitants may follow their regular occupations in full security without being disturbed. Private property will be absolutely respected by the German troops. Provisions of all sorts suitable for the needs of the German army will be paid for as purchased. 2nd--If, on the contrary, the population dares in any form, whether openly or disguised, to take part in hostilities against our troops the most diverse punishments will be inflicted upon the guilty ones. 3rd--All firearms must be deposited immediately at the Mayor's office; all individuals bearing arms will be put to death. 4th--Whoever cuts or attempts to cut telegraph or telephone wires, destroys railroad tracks, bridges, roadways, or who plans any action whatsoever to the detriment of the German troops will be shot on the spot. 5th--The inhabitants of the city or of the villages who take part in the battle against our troops, who fire on our baggage trains or on our commissary, or who attempt to hinder any enterprises of the German soldiers, will be shot immediately. The civil authorities alone are in a position to spare theinhabitants the terrors and scourge of war. They are the ones whowill be responsible for the inevitable consequences resulting fromthis proclamation. Chief of Staff, Major General of the German ArmyVON MOLTKE * * * White card, 45 x 56, posted on the walls of the city of Reims by Germanauthority during the occupation of September 4th to 12th, 1914. On September 4th the Germans entered Reims, having met with noresistance. They occupied the city without interruption until after thebattle of the Marne, which historic struggle began at sunrise onSeptember 6th and continued along a front of about 140 miles untilSeptember 12th. In this battle, which was lost to the Germans because they had beenout-maneuvered and compelled to shorten their front so that they wererolled up on both right and left wings, two million, five hundredthousand men were engaged--the greatest number taking part in one battlein the history of the world. Of these nine hundred thousand were Germansand the remainder Allies, principally French, the English having only alittle more than one hundred thousand men in France at that time. Onaccount of their superiority of numbers, the Allies were able to extendtheir front and thus threaten the Germans with envelopment at both endsof the long battle line, which reached from Meaux, twenty miles east ofParis, to the fortress of Verdun. The losses in this tremendous battle are said to have been exceeded onlyby those of the battle of Flanders, which began October 13, and in whichmore than three hundred thousand men were slain. The losses at the Marnehave never been officially stated. * * * [Illustration: Citizens Warned of Danger. ] MAYOR'S OFFICEREIMS IMPORTANT NOTICE The inhabitants are requested to abstain absolutely from touchingshells which have not been exploded and are requested to notifyimmediately the police department, Rue de Mars regarding any such. The least shock may cause the explosion of the projectile. Reims, September 7, 1914. DR. LANGLET, Mayor. Notice posted in Reims by order of the Mayor, September 7th, 1914. * * * Next followed the battle of the Aisne, in which the invaders were againdefeated and forced to retreat. It was in this battle that the Germansmade their last stand south of Reims. They had prepared strong positionson the right bank of this river as they moved toward Paris and in thesetried to stem the tide of battle without avail. They were pushed backslowly out of these positions, some of which we were shown, and afterbeing driven to the north of Reims, they began, on September 20th, thebombardment that destroyed the famous cathedral and many of the fineststructures in the city. It will be seen that the Germans, on their entry into Reims, guaranteedthe safety of life and property. They had forgotten this when, onSeptember 15, the victorious French reoccupied the city. Five dayslater, without reason or any other motive than revenge, the Germans, nowmaking another stand in the trenches to the north of the city, openedfire on the cathedral and the bishop's palace nearby, destroying bothbeyond repair. * * * [Illustration: Citizens Warned that Hostages may be Hanged. ] TRANSLATION PROCLAMATION In case a battle takes place today or very soon in the environs ofReims or in the city itself, the inhabitants are advised that theyshould keep absolutely calm and are not to take part in the battlein any manner. They must not attempt to attack isolated soldiersnor detachments of the German army. It is formally forbidden tobuild barricades or tear up pavement of the streets in such afashion as to hinder the movement of the troops. In a word nothingmust be done which will in any way tend to hinder the German army. In order to insure sufficiently the safety of the troops and inorder to keep the population of Reims calm, the persons named belowhave been taken as hostages by the commanding general of the Germanarmy. Those hostages will be hanged at the least sign of disorder. At the same time the city will be entirely or partially burned andthe inhabitants hanged if any infraction whatsoever is committedagainst the preceding rules. On the other hand if the city remains absolutely tranquil and calm, the hostages and the inhabitants will be placed under the safeguardof the German Army. By order of German authority, Reims, September 12, 1914. DR. LANGLET, Mayor. * * * Both armies surged backward and forward over Reims twice, and it is notsurprising that the city suffered severely. Nevertheless, the Frenchofficer who gave us the information outlined above was firmly of theopinion that the cathedral had been wantonly destroyed in revenge forthe defeat and humiliation suffered by the German commanders at theMarne and the Aisne. Whatever may have been the motive, and regardlessof how great may have been the excuse, the two illustrations of thissplendid structure shown in a previous chapter are sufficient to stampits destruction as a crime that can hardly be justified by the plea ofmilitary necessity. Reims, when we saw it, with the story that is told by the proclamationsreproduced, furnishes strong evidence that General Sherman was rightwhen he described war. XXVI. SOME IMPRESSIONS OF FRANCE AND THE FRENCH In closing this work it is my hope that the reader will consider thatits inspiration and purpose have been stated with sufficient clearness, but in this final chapter I am venturing to record my generalimpressions of a truly great nation seen during a period which must beregarded as part of the most vital epoch in its history. This concludingchapter will have accomplished my purpose if it portrays the patrioticnationality of the French under existing conditions, in such manner asto be considered worthy of emulation in our own country. During the necessarily brief and hurried visits made by our Commissionto many parts of France, I met many notables, generals, under officers, parliament members, prefects, as well as great commercial leaders, butregret that owing to lack of time and my ignorance of the Frenchlanguage, opportunity for investigation and conversation with thebourgeoise was slight. Nevertheless it would be impossible to travelthrough afflicted France as our Commission did without experiencing anacute impression of the solidarity and quiet, determined patriotism ofthe French people. They stand as one to fight the war to a decisivefinish. They treat the war as some gigantic job, about which there is tobe no questioning, no weighing of sacrifices of life, comfort orfinances, and which simply must go on until finished satisfactorily. This development of the French character must come as a revelation tothose who have in the past regarded the French as a volatile, frivolous, impulsive people, virile, yet lacking the accredited determination andpersistency of the Teuton. This impression has been a great mistake. Thefaces of the men and women of France alike show no sign of vacillation. The French are counting the terrific cost, as becomes the thriftiest ofnations, expecting to collect a bill that in their opinion has beenrunning since the Franco-Prussian war and through the humiliating andirksome years which followed under the "favored nation" clause. From anyother standpoint I believe few Frenchmen ever permit themselves to dwellupon the ruin and suffering the present cataclysm has brought upon theircountry. Upon comprehending this attitude of the French, the thinking Americancannot avoid speculation as to what would happen in these United Statesshould a like emergency confront us. We may not dismiss such thoughtwith the statement that such an emergency is impossible. It is a mostunpleasant possibility and must be faced. We might be unconquerable, in the sense that Russia cannot be conquered because of her magnificentdistances and natural barriers against a foe; but without thepreparedness and the single-hearted patriotism of the French, an invaderwould find nothing in America to prevent him from working destructionbeyond calculation and inflicting humiliation that would be even worse. [Illustration: Postal-card Painted by Artist Soldier in FrenchTrenches. ] As these lines are written we are still at peace with all the warringnations. Our neutrality has been preserved only by submitting tooutrages such as have been endured without forcible protest by no othergreat nation in the history of the world. If our patience with Germanyserves as an example to the world of how a great and magnanimous nationmay make sacrifices to encourage peace, our policy will prove to bewise. If, on the other hand, it serves only to make the Germans believethat we are too mercenary or two weak-kneed to defend ourselves and thusencourages further transgressions, our peaceable policy will have been agreat mistake. After an opportunity to observe at close hand the methodsand motives of the German war party, I am frankly afraid that the lattersituation will prove to be the outcome. We shall be indeed fortunate ifwe can keep out of the war that has involved half the civilized world. Nations like men profit by experience. The French people have recordsof history and civilization extending beyond the days of the RomanEmpire, and that civilization has gone steadily forward through manycenturies. No wonder then that they excel us in many things; the wonderis that they do not excel in all. In architecture and the arts, Franceleads America. This must be admitted by any fair-minded person familiarwith the facts. But in industrial affairs the story is different. Our country has adopted more progressive and efficient methods in theindustrial field than can be found in France, where efficiency is notthe word so much as is the comfort of the workers. This is particularlytrue of the iron and steel business. We saw in France not a single steelplant that could compare in efficiency with the great plants of thiscountry. By this is meant that in none of the plants visited was theoutput per man nearly so great or the share enjoyed by the worker nearlyso large, as is the rule in this country. Since we did not see theplants to the north which had been captured by the Germans, perhaps itis not altogether fair to make this comparison. Nevertheless the sameimpression was gained in the inspection of other industrial operations. The French workman is more artistic but he does not move so rapidly orproduce so much as does the American. Neither of course, does he enjoyso large a remuneration. On the whole, wages are much less inproportion to individual production in France than in this country. To the resident of a country which has not had a war within the memoryof a generation, it is hard to convey by written or printed words a justconception of what a great war means to any country involved. Theoutward, visible evidence of individual restraint was one of the mostvivid things witnessed on our trip through France: at least this was thecase with me and, I believe, with some others of the Commission. In France the individual has disappeared; he has been swallowed by theState; the nation in its dire necessity, obeying the law ofself-preservation has practically obliterated the individual as such. Hehas become simply a small part of a great whole, a whole soinconceivably more important than any of its parts that all of them arecompletely subordinated. The average American citizen would resent with heat the regulationsregarded as a matter of course in France. He would fume and fret and allbut rebel, if asked to live as the French people are forced to liveduring the war. From what we could learn the submersion of the individual is far greaterin Germany than in France, but to a healthy American citizen, accustomedto doing about as he pleases so long as he is able to pay the price andinjures no one else, there is abundant restriction on personal libertyat this time in France. Possibly under similar circumstances we would asa people show an equal spirit of self-repression for the benefit of thenational welfare. The first great lesson taught by war to the death--as this war is forall concerned--is the great outstanding fact that people as individualsmust surrender their rights to the people as a whole. Obedience toconstituted authority must be absolute. Personal tastes and interestsmust be ignored or suppressed. The whole nation must work as one man, under the direction of one head, to keep it from being made subject tosome other nation having less regard for personal liberty and morerespect for efficiency. I took particular pains to ascertain directly and indirectly from allclasses the feeling of the French people towards Germany and theGermans. Prior to the declaration of war it is safe to say the feelingwas not wholly unfriendly. Only three months before war was declared asimilar commission came from Germany. The German commissioners weretreated with great consideration. Plants and industrial establishmentswere shown, views exchanged and entertainments were the order of theday, or rather of the night, and everything possible done by the Frenchto foster a good feeling, having in mind increased trade facilitiesbetween the two nations. But after war was declared, French territoryinvaded and the unspeakable and unwritable deeds of the German soldiersmade manifest, this previous feeling changed to one of hatred andrevenge which it will take generations to eradicate. In our intercourse with the French people a kindly appreciative feelingwas manifest towards the English and Americans; a feeling of deepgratitude towards England for the great part she has taken in the warand to America for the generous aid and assistance rendered in manyways. Hospital work and the great aid rendered by American aviators weremuch dwelt upon, the personal work of American men and women beingeverywhere in evidence. Since my return I have been asked by a great many people as to therevival or otherwise of religious feeling as the result of the war, alsoas to the food situation, the general appearance of the country inFrance, the manner in which the dwelling houses are built, themaintenance of public roads, the school system of France and itsefficiency as well as to the conditions prevailing now compared withformer visits. France has never been deeply religious. Catholicismprevails to a great extent at present and has for centuries, althoughcertain parts of France are Protestant. Such divisions and subdivisionsof Protestant churches as prevail in the United States are unknown. AFrenchman or a Frenchwoman is either a Catholic or Protestant. Religious feeling is no doubt deeper in the country districts than inthe larger cities, and this is particularly true of the Catholics. Fromthe brief talk I had with French people on this particular subject Ishould say the war has made no difference and the religious attitude isabout the same. The thoughts of the French people are so concentratedupon the war and its consequences that but little else occupies theirminds. During our sojourn in France, food seemed plenty and we heard nocomplaint of shortage. The French are proverbially thrifty and can anddo live comfortably upon the equivalent of what Americans waste. When aFrenchman finishes his meal there is nothing left on the plate, ondishes or in the glasses. This was particularly noticeable at all thebanquets and luncheons which we attended. We had but little opportunity of ascertaining prices. The market housesin the small villages seemed well stocked with provisions. Going to school in France is a governmental affair as all the schoolsare run by the Government, excepting only the convent schools, wherehigher education is taught to private pupils. France contains many highgrade "polytechnique" schools, arts, military and schools of mines, allregulated and managed through the government department of education. Ishould say the common school system is not as thorough as in Germany, where education is wholly compulsory. Military education and training inFrance is a part of the established system of the public schools and isrigidly enforced. There are schools for training of officers theequivalent of our own West Point. Children of the wealthier class inFrance are taught and trained by private tutors. Retired army officersare largely employed in the military schools. Our journey through France was largely through the devastated districts. I am certain that when this portion of France is rebuilt it will be doneon a more sanitary scale, as indicated by the beginning of thereconstruction by Miss Daisy Polk and her associates at Vitrimont. I was specially impressed by the magnificent scenery we saw and passedthrough during the latter part of our journey. The French Alps areconsidered in scenic effects equal to the world famous views inSwitzerland. We were treated by the authorities directing the movementsof the military automobiles with a perilous night ride from Le Puy toSt. Etienne. Starting about eight o'clock we were taken a distance ofnearly a hundred miles around, over and across gorges, steep inclinesand winding roads innumerable. We got through safely but were warnedfrom time to time by the peasantry that the ride had never previouslybeen attempted except in day-light. We were several times lost andtraced and retraced our steps time and again. But few of the party knewof the real danger we had passed through until told the following day. Concluding I may say adieu to the reader by adding that the Commissionhas issued a printed report of its labors, the information contained inthat book being the joint and collaborative work of all thecommissioners. I have availed myself of some of the informationcontained in the two chapters in this commission report "The Work ofReconstruction" and "French Business Organizations".