Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-12-01
Labor Saved France By Sacrifice

In these days Of threatened strikes
in coal mines, ship yards, packing
houses and on railroads 1t Is well 70
know how France was saved by the
willingness Of it's workers to save their
country by forgetting unionism during
the period of the war. Major ReQuin,
officer liaison of the French seherai
staff, speaking before convention OF
the American Federation OF Labor, al
Buffalo, said In part:
The Industrial war began only IN
October, 1914. with the development
Of trench warfare for the battle OF the
Marne was waged and Won with the
military resources OF times OF peace
and those resources diminished by for-
mer battles. In fact, we had to ngnt
the battle Of the Marine with only 4oo
rounds of ammunition per gun and we
had manufactured only $4,000 rounds
per day. At that time we had only SVo
heavy guns for the entire French army
and an insufficient number OF machine
guns. The strategy Of Marshal Joftre
and the indomitable energy OF an army,
which the enemy WAS MISTAKEN III
thinking defeated, assured our victory.
The day after the Marine. Instead OF
being able to end the war by complet-
Ing this victory. we were stopped by
the lack of material even more than
by the exhaustion of our troops. At
this time the order was given not to
fire more than ten rounds per gun per
day. l remember having begged in
person my chief of staff to give some
munitions to a division whose infantry
was being crushed by the German
guns. while its own artillery could not
even reply. One must have lived thru
those tragic hours TO appreciate the
value of the efforts realized later.
Conscious of our momentary inferi-
ority in material, the Germans attacked
furiously. 1t was then that the French
commander-in-chief asked of his army
the most painful sacrifice that CHEZ
has ever been forced to obtain. that OF
opposing guns with men while waiting
for heavy guns to be provided for them,
and to stay a tornado Of steel with hui
man breasts.
After the formidable battle OF Ypres
trench warfare extended henceforward
to the whole western front
~ would be wrong to think that
fare in all It's details, but she had, at
least, the advantage over us from the
point Of view OF material, for we had
lost our richest industrial provinces
ITO cut the harbed-wire entangle-
ments It was necessary to provide an
enormous expenditure OF ammunition.
For shatterine the machine gun shell
ters and the bomb-p proof dugouts( be-
cause for the latter the light field gun
is insuficienD we had to provide
trench mortars and heavier and heavier
guns. To adjust gunfre against such
objecttves, often inv!nc!ble from the
ground, a new development OF aviation
was necessary. To fight in the laoy-
rinth Of the trenches. where 1t Is some
times impossible to use rifles. hand
yrenades had TO be provided To in
crease the efficiency Of the infantry.
It was necessary to give them rife
grenades automatic guns, one-pound
guns. To transport the present weight
of ammunition, thousands Of trucks
and some complete systems OF roads
and railroads were to be built.
Finally, not to die poisoned before
the great day Of victory, We were
forced TO meet gas with gas, poison
with poison"
Workers Served Behind the Lines.
All these required an incalculahle
expenditure Of material and a still
larger use Of productive energy. This
productive energy was required from
the French at the actual moment while
our workers were modified and fight
ing on the front. - tr
They were asked TO leave their
brothers IN arms and TO return to the
factories In the interior. built or trans
formed for the war. But the workers
went from the trenches into the work
shop without thinking for one second
that they were abandoning the battle;
it was their glory and our strength.
Conscious Of the value Of time, every
minute Of which could be counted by
the number Of dead. anxious to save
the democratic institutions from Prus-
sian milttarism and the lives Of their
brothers. husbands. children from the
iron. steel. t1re gas and poison Of Ger
many, they set TO work with a will and
devotion. rising superior to the diff
culties between employer and en-
ployes.
They worked by night and day
shifts. and I do not think that I am
mistaken in saying that they asked
the suppression Of certain rest periods
to increase production during crisis
In spite Of all the activity shown. the