Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-22

soo' Correspondent OF the EvENiNG
LEUGER in France.
PARIS, May 22.
General Joseph Joffre is to come back"
-. v,Il again. un:ess all signs fail as
= chief command of the armies Of
france.
rrosh from the notable ovation accorded
commander Of the Marne in America, he
= ,,elv TO land on his native soil at the
..rt the Chamber Of Deputies calls him
", ~ the high command Of the field ar
-. from which he was displaced several
nl..,he ago to make room for younger
aors I'm the actual charge at the front
rho chamber of Deputies meets tomor-
prosDects are that the present Minis
.U ~, of war, headed by NJ. Painleve. will be
s,s,ained by substantial majority vote,
sS,, that interpretations will be numerous
"a ,yiu compel the recall of Marshal Joffre
a. dominate again the fighting line. In
Commentary and other official circles here
,So view prevails that interpretations Sena-
,ors have announced they will make, some in
= critical or even censorous spirit, will
a.cessitate readjustment of personnel and
,nodihcations of strategy. l am assured
Nv those in a position to know, whose opin-
,.ns I hold credible, that one of the chief
,naiters for debate and settlement will be
further reorganization Of the grand COM
mand Of the forces
JOFFRES RECORD
All this points positively to the restora-
,on of military control to Marshal Joffre
Tbe people the army. the Allies so far as
san he learned uno1ically from their rep
reeentatives at the capital, feel that Joffre's
,olderly qualities. his magnetic personality,
b,s nopularity with the rank and file his
record in Madagascar, Algeria and on the
MarAasare too precious to be left lying
fallow in an advisory capacity to the Min
stry of War, when the harvest Of victory,
which he helped to sow, is rpening toward
the reapng,
Marshal Joffre is the idol of France
poIlus, peasants Parisians of the boue-
Yards, Of Montmartre, of the Latin Quar-
Ter politicians. army officers, diplomats all
classes of society are unanimous in their
alteration. France has had no such idol
since the first Napoleon. Not only does
France idoze Joffre--it idealizes him. Mil
lions of homes have as their wartime deco
ration. aside from the revered tricolor, the
famous picture of Joffre on the Marne, with
the marshal inspecting a map in the fore
against military background.
Americas reception Of Joffre as the hero
Of France rejects French feeling. Yet it
Is felt and known that he is more than a
mere spectacular parsonage. He is no
Boulanger or Henry RoChefort. filling the
nublC eve ana the pubic lrlntS. lie lS,
first Of all, plain FrcnChman devoted to
his nation and its great democratic ideals,
its present battle for humanity against not
only the PTussiansm that has devastated
France but in a larger. more vital sense,
the Potsdam autocracy that would rule the
whole world from Wlhclmstrasse and the
palace of Sans SouC.. Then he is the
practiced soldier in whom the nation trusts
Finally, he is PAPA" JoffIe, whom the
nation loves
That all America received Joffre with the
distinction given to Lafayette is simply
taken here as recognition OF his greatness
outside his own land and confirmation of
the French judgment. He is a prophet
honored in his own country.
That judgment is now on the eve of the
reassembly of the Chamber, united in a
profound and serious, but not hectic or
eamorous demand for restoration of Joffre
10 his cd chieftaincy. There is somewhat
general dissatisfaction with the conduct Of
the offensive on the Aisne and Champagne
lines Joffre Is regarded as the nfallible
solution to the new military problem pre-
tented by the great AnglO-FrenCh spring
drive.
When the Allied War Council decided on
reorganization of the actual fighting conf
mand and Joffre was relegated to the semi
Ministerial post he held before being dis
patched as the Gallo envoy to the United
strategy was a determining factor in the
saving Of Paris in the early days of the
war, was made field Chief of the fighting
forces, His regime was marked by some
successes, mainly Of dash and vigOr, op-
posed to the "nibbling policy" of Joffre, by
when the Marshall planned to retrieve
every acre of French soil from the invader
ihe NlNelle inCumbenCy was short lived,
however. 1t Is known here, from reserved
comment and soon may be an open secret
hat there was friction between the French
ana British high commands Relations be-
tween Sir Douglas Hag, commander of the
British forces in the field. and General
NNelle lacked ia cordially Complete CO.
operation was out of the question.
The result was the supplanting of Nivelle
aiter the very recent visit of Lloyd George
10 France, by General Petain, the heroic
and militant defender of Verdun This
enange of leaders, though occurring as Il
dld only this month. has not been entirely
fallsfyng to all interests 1t has beer
painted out that Nivelle won only a PyrrhiC
victory, in which the French gains in area
were not commensurate with the man-los'
ana the expenditure of resources. Because
nag really gained ground, his faction II
Auled counsels won.
NOW the same charge of great losses and
Seant territorial advance is made agains
retain. II there is to be nibbling policy
observers say, let it be conducted by 6
master Of these Fabian tactics, the man who
Seated them for the purpose of this war
narshal Jotfre, the idol of France, recog
"1eo as its greatest soldier.