The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-02-26
FRANCE iNDFRENCH.
AFTER Dl6C0NFLlCT.
Emile Boutrous Thinks Republic
VIII Come Out Of War
Better and Greater 3.

4 osophers, scientists and doctors. Emile
Boutroux, tho French philosopher,
thinks France will come out Of the trial
better and greater in spite Of all Of
the destruction of life and property.
$50 many human lives taken, 50
many masterpieces Of the past reduced
to powder, SO much artistic and ma
terial wealth annihilated, stupefies as
and leaves our souls in lheuIahie
pain" he says. IAN these sacrifices,
however, may in certain ways contri.
quite DIRECTLY to the bettermeut Of life
In our country 49, "a x H,
"Our cities and the country contain
great many unhealthy habitations,"
he declares, ''that we were unable to
decide ourselves to demolish. We hest
tated before the difficulties and before
the expense. War has put us face TO
face with the accomplished fact. IN
healthy and incomnodIous UuIIdiugs
have disappeared and will be replaced
by constructions conforming TO hygien-
ic laws and 10 te needs OF modern
life. Many detective conditions Of our
existence win thus be improved by the
reconstruction that will be imposed
| upon us. ....' IN,
Death Awakens Life ..E.,,>lr - /
(" Death swakeus life. After 1870
France pulled herself together and
pushed out vigorously in every direc-
ton. What shall be its power Of de.
yelopment after this terrible trial,
l'above all il the issue is favorable to
usi ss#''+'' II. I%S,-,. \
aThe cause of the low birth-rate, 4
Monsieur Boutreux thinks, nresides
primarily in selfishness and the dis
position to consider only the present
| or the immediate future. With conf
dence in the future, with a vast distant
perspective opened up, there is awak
ened desire to glorify one 3 self in
ones descendants 4 \ 4 A vast
career will open up before science, be-
fore art, literature and before practical
activity in all its forms. .,...
| Measures that are most contrary to
the indifference of yesterday are today
accepted without objection, such as the
prohibition sof the traffic in absinthe.
CiviIiaati0HS has been loaded down with
a thoasAhh fictitious needs foreign and
harmftf9 30 nature; a great many of
them are so many chains upon nature
anu dB nAnJ Cduboo VI lIakllbJ anu
weakness. Now, all at once, lacking all
these superfnities, We feel no sense of
priyation. We are conscious, on the
contrary, Of refentering upon fun pos
session Of our strength and Of being
better abIe, to dispose of it tor the nc
accomplishment of useful work.
War Teaches Virtues
f. War he says, "not only liberates
us from lse1fish passions but teaches pos.
| tive YiftGes; the value of decision, in
trepidity, sacrifices of life to honor and
to the ,fatherland; il requires of us pa
thence, and this people who were
thought incapable Of supporting Ia ST.
lenee long and painful trials, this peo-
pie of whom its enemies said that they
would come to their aid by insutree-
ton remained calm and fesolute r =
4 The French, IL was said, were not
apt to act collectively. Their incurabie
iindiviaualisrn precluded vipacity Of
mind aud talent except to combat one
another. Examples they have given of
unity and the efficiency of collective Ell.
\ Tort, Monsieur Boutrouk thinks,
"will have as important an effect upon
France of the future as any other Of
Il the lessons OF tho war.
From the medical standpoint, Prof.
Chauffard Of the Academy of Medicine,
before the Alliance d'Hygiene Sociale,
speaking Of the mobilization order and
comparing II TO one of tho great ply,
steal phenomena which constantly trou.
BILE the universe, like earthquakes,
tidal waves, ETC., says that "the man,
ner in which France supported the
shock augqrs wen for the health of the
race after the war.
French Are Adaptable r.
Adaptation, he says, "is the
greatest law Of biology, for we live aud
preserve our physical and moral life by
adaptations only He who Is incapable
of adapting himself suceumhs \ + +
The French race adapted itself admir-.
ably to this unforeseen danger, and to
realize this it Is only sufficient to re,
member what Paris aud what France
were at the moment the mobilization
order was published. For the calm con
fdenee with which each one went TO
his duty, we are indebted to a quality
that we did not know we possessed,
perhaps to that degree, nervous stabii-
ity, to the mastery of ourselves, TO the
control that we have not lost of our
nervous system.
"In a COLLECTIVELY, - he says, "th0re
are always a certain number of indy.
iduals who sufiee for their daily life,
but who are unable to accomplish a
more arduous task or TO support an uh-
foreseen shock. When the hour of the
trial arrives those snccumb. They lose
their heads. During the first days of
the mobilization number of such sub.
jects profoundly troubled mentally, ar.
rived at the hospitals, but in reality
their number in proportion to the mum
Ter Of healthy Subjects was verY smuli
and many of these troubles were Of
very short duration. The trial was Sc,
we're, but it was to our honor because
it bears witness that the French race
has not degeneTated.
What War Involves
1--WE knew by long experience that
war involves the outbreak of q great
, many diseases, and we were very agree,
ably astohished during the FIRST three
months Of this war that sickness waS
very rare in all our sanitary stations
The army in barracks reflects the state
Of health Of the, civil population with
/ :, u l.. re -