Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-02
FRANCE UNIFIED
AS NEVER BEFORE
No Longer Is Republic Split Into
Jealous, Quarreling
Factions.
NATION is FULLY AROUSED
From Wars Horrors It Will
Arise Greater and More
Vigorous.

PARIS. May 1.-Just as France as a
country Will go out of this war greater
than ever, SO the French people, r. few
months ago split UP into n number OF
jealous quarrelins political factions.
VIII emerge greater, moro vigorous
nation than ever. conscious of the great
tasks that lie before them. but con-
sctous also of their own strength and
ability to solve these problems
Writing on this subject. Maurice
Barres says in the Echo dc Paris:
Nine months Of war and OF service
with their regiments have cngendcrcd
among our citizens who yesterday were
peasants. workingmcn, or bourgeois,
but who arc now soldiers, tho pro-
1oundcst and most elevated feelings.
Thcy nave awakened dormant qualities
IN their souls. When you have to face
every day the question of life or death.
your feelings cease to remain vague,
and take UP the task which nature has
assigned to them and the original vir-
t';es. from which every society arises,
come into evidence again
1T is grand subject this. The
teaches US to understand them helps
US TO anticipate what they will desire
In the future. 4 clear understanding
OF the transformation We have under
gone during this war will teach us the
main elements OF what France is going
to be after the war.
IT ts the men who now lighting
so patiently and heroicaliy In the
trenches who arc going to mold the
future OF France. and II could no, pos
sbly be In safer hands"
That the change in the character OF
the French people is even more evident
TO the casual visitor than TO one who
lives among the French is apparent
government Official:
What struck me most during my
trip through France" he writes, was
the seriousness OF all classes Of the
people. absolutely inconsistent with the
general idea OF the French as n gay
superficial and spiritual race Here IS
whcre the Germans committed grave
error. In Germany before the war
everybody spoke OF French frivolous
ness, OF Gailic supernciality, OF the
eVer-present menace OF n revolution.
and everybody believed that as soon as
the German eagle raised It's wings the
dust
GERMANS LED ASTRAY
ny TOURIST OPINIONS
The mediocre German psychologists
had allowed themselves TO be led astray
ny the Impression which tho average
German tourist had Of Paris as a CITY
OF vice, and those who read the papcrs
from the other side OF the Rhine firmly
believed
calculations.
German officers imagined that as
soon as the war broke out many on
GERS and men in the French armies
would refuse TO march against the
enemy. and that revolution would
break out in Paris. They expressed
the utmost contempt of the French
army. which was weakened BY social
ism end radical attacks, and they have
not yet recovered from their astonish.
ment at the splendid French discipline.
1T is not from its political theology
that one must judge a race 1t is true
that the French arc easily charmed bv
beauty. originality OF tbseEsnt and elo-
qucnce, brilliant colors Z "a morbid per-
fumes. blu; at the bottom Of his char
Setcr the Frcnchman is ingenious,
serious, energetic and industrious, and
emotions effect him only supcrncially
THE Germans made the great mis-
take or founding their opinion on what
they read in French newspapers. but
to form an idea OF what IL people viii
do In moment of danger. when the
t%sin alarms the whole country and
the horizon, is red with the flames of
burning villages. YOU must study their
history for AT such times they hrc NOT
g2Htrned' by newspaper writer's, hut
by their inmate instincts 4 pcop,e.s
soul is subject 20 atavistic influences.
ana the history of a race follows their
profound laws. No people in the world
has SO often appeared to play with its
future and location MS the French. but
no nation has ever given such splendid
proofs of. it's powers of rand trans
formation. At such critical times great
personalities have come forward as II
by magic. such as Joan OF Arc, Napo
leon and General Joffrc."
TELLS OF BEHAVIOR
OF GERMAN GOURMANDS
In the Bulletin des Armees. Able
Wctterle. the former representative of
the city of Colmar In the German Reich
STAG writes Of his former colleagues:
fhe chancellor and his cola bora
.ors Ee orally hold reception in the
official .alons ut 0 in the evening After
paying their respects to the host, who
as rule stands near the buffet, the
gucfts began to plumber the latter
This has always been a most amusing
sight to me. Looking at these people
you would really think that they had
not seen food for a week. judging from
tho stacks OF eatables they piled up on
their plates. They crowded together
around the big table. on which were
displayed all kinds of delicatesscn
from Westphalian ham to 'Berliner
Holzkuchon,' and each guest consci-
entiously sampled every single dish
placing without s:ruples on his plate
n leg OF ch':ken next to n cream roll
when 1t was impossible to pile any
more on the ~lates the members sat
down at small tblessaif there were any