France after the War;

              54 HASKINS & SELLS May
France After the War
By HOWARD P. GARNER
Manager, Paris Office
A T the signing of the Armistice on
November 11, 1918, France forgot
for a day the four years of war through
which she had passed. It is doubtful if
many realized to the full the disheartening
task ahead of turning the energy, which
for four years had been concentrated on
one purpose, back into the channels of
industry and commerce. However, France
is a country of surprises. She surprised
the world by her prompt payment to Ger­many
of the indemnities for the war of
1870; again she surprised the world on
the Marne and at Verdun; and perhaps we
are due for another surprise in the progress
she will make in her recovery from the
effects of this war.
During the war industries and transpor­tation
facilities were under the control of
the government and were used for war
purposes to the exclusion of commerce and
the individual. The army had its officers
in control of the railway stations. The
civilian could travel only if facilities were
not needed for the transport of troops or
munitions. I recall that as late as Christ­mas
Day of 1919 we received a highly in­dignant
protest because we ran a special
train of soldier football rooters to witness
their team play. The service rendered by
the French railroads during the war was
remarkable, when it is considered that they
had practically no repairs during the war,
and that their able-bodied men had gone
to the front. When the Americans arrived
in France, women were trucking the freight
in stations and were even switching cars in
the yards. One remarkable switching crew
that I noticed during those times was com­posed
of an American soldier, a French­man,
a Frenchwoman, and an Austrian
prisoner.
Living conditions for the civilian popu­lation
of France behind the lines were very
trying. Food, bread and sugar particular­ly,
were difficult to get. Fuel was rare and
costly. Cities were in darkness at nine
o'clock in the evening. Amusements were
few. Hardly a family but had lost a father,
brother, or son, and during the German
drives in 1918, when no mail was received
from the front for days or weeks, they
looked forward with dread to any news,
fearing it would be bad. The strain had
almost reached the breaking point It was
at this time the American support began to
make itself felt, both at the front and in
the morale of those behind.
To the American soldier who knew
France during those times and who now
returns there the changes that have taken
place are truly remarkable. He can­not
at first realize that it is the same
France. When he becomes somewhat ad­justed
to present conditions, he wonders if
the past could have been real. For France
has shown an energetic spirit in doing
away with outward indications that war
ever existed, and has set to work resolutely
to mould her industrial and commercial
future.
If our returned soldier visits one of the
busy base ports at which he landed in 1917,
and where he embarked for home in 1919,
he will find activity, but it will be a changed
activity. The business of war has given
way to the business of peace. The camou­flaged
transports that lay in the harbor are
replaced by sober commercial boats. Sol­dier
stevedores on the docks are gone. In
their places are civilians. The hundreds
of army trucks that made the place seem
like a beehive are still there, that is, those
that are needed. The others have been
distributed to aid in the rebuilding of the
devastated districts. When he goes out to