The Cordova daily times., 1917-01-04
RED|V|S|ON N OF PARIS ID TAKE
 PLACE


 ing from 1799, has been condemned by nearly all French statesmen as in adequate for modern France. A strong movement that has, since the war, de veloped into an effective experiment in the organization of regional eco homie consultative committees" may bring about a political redivision oi the country into something like Is administrative and legislative Ire gions."
 The object of concentration of re gional interests now scattered among the departments, with a decentra1iza tion of administrative measures. II would bring the French republic into closer analogy with the government of the United States by giving the proposed regions Independence as to local regulations and economic pro blems such as the S6 departments have never had.
 The man who has directed the move is one of the younger men in public life. Jean Hennessy, deputy for the de- partment of Charente and a member of the well known Hennessy family of Southwestern France. He introduced a bill to that end in the chamber in 1913. It was still unacted upon when the mobilization was ordered, and M Henessy joined his regiment. In the interval before the government re turned from Bordeaux to Paris. he had earned the French military medal and the British distinguished service or ment he came back to push his pro ject and succeeded in passing a com promise measure for the organization of economic cOnculting committees in each of the 19 military regions of France. A committee of the chamber has reported that the results of the experiment are excellent; they have furnished fOrceful argument in favor of M. Hennessys original propo- sition.
 "The task of the French citizens af- ter the war will be a hard one." said NJ. Hennessy to the Associated Press, and they must not be handicapped by a superannuated system of govern mental administration that centralizes the administrative machinery in the capital, despite the S6 departmental divisions, and cramps the economic life of the country. Heretofore every thing has gone to Paris or by way of Paris. All the big railway lines conyerged upon the capital and left the provincial regions out of touch with each other and without adequate direct communications with foreign countries.
 This standardization has prevented France from adapting herself to the economic transformation of the epoch. She failed to profit from her incom- parable geographical position and she left a great part of her enormous na- tural riches unexploited; her economic were too slow in devel- Oping. her waterways were neither properly developed nor organized; in dustrial organization was perfected in only isolated cases and not general ized; several hundred thousand horse power in natural waterfall was ne- glected; agriculture even did not pro- duce the maximum; there was no CO., operation between scientists and prac- tical business men: our capital was mostly applied to the development of other countries than our own.
 The only cure for all that is the cutting of the red tape that binds those regions to the capital and pre- vents the free play of local initiative.
 The interests and occupations of different regions of France are quite as varied as those of the United States; their customs are even more varied; they should have the facili. ties for looking after their own inter, ests - legislating for themselves and by a regrouping politically into re gions that are homogeneous in their natural resources, occupations and re quirements, left free to pursue their economic development unhindered by the local considerations of other re gions that have not the same inter ests.
 "Of all the great belligerent coun tries, France is the only one in which younger generations will not be ready to repair the losses and replace the social work of those that are dead. | will take us at least twenty years tC bring our adult population up to tha of 1914 This deficit of population, i we are not careful, will weigh heavily upon our destiny; all the more st since the war will result in an in creased activity in the entire world It will not only transform the pOliti cal map of continents, but will have upon the development Of countrie which are engaged in it, as upon neu tral countries. immense consequences A new world will emerge from tn great convuision.
 "The French must no longer reve in words; they must act. The goverr ment and representatives of the state