The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-04-13
Head of a Paris Export
House Says Capital Dis
counts Long-Range Gun
COAL AND LABOR
ARE VERY SCARCE
American Troops Popular, But the Air
plane Program Has Been DiSappolnt-
ing-People Face the Future with
Equanimity.

/, NEW YORK, April IA picture of
sterling spirit and morale in France,
the best since the low cbb just before
the battle of the Marne of satisfactory
food conditions and of the confident
belief of Parisians that the British,
French and American forces will use
their armies to the confusion Of the
Hun was drawn by w F. Follows, man
aging director Of the Paris house OF
CASTOR, Williams & Wigmore, who had
lust arrived direct from Bordeaux. He
| brought the news that France has
planted 20 wheat and potatoes the larg
est acreage ever put in and that her
people face the future with equanimity.
France is a little disappointed, =
said Mr. Follows, 'tover the small sup
plv Of airplanes sent over by America,
but the number of officers and soldiers
already IN her country has excited the
admiration of the French people. | m
a Britisher myself, although ! have
lived in Paris for 90 years, but | can
say that the American soldier is more
popular in Paris today than the individ-
Iual man in any other army.
Recounting his experience with aerial
itorpedoes aud long distance shells, Mr.
Follows said II sailed from Bordeaux
on March IS On the preceding Tues
dav one Of the shells from the enemy :
long range gun fell 30 meters from
mv house 1t landed III field and {
fragment that l picked up showed that
the she'll was n $40 millimeter or q.
inch rifled engine of destruction made
Of alloy steel.
1.-THE long distance shells in genera
lid little damage, but during the frs
few days the shells got on people :
nerves because they arrived at regula
intervals. As soon as the people ascer
tanned the nature of the hombardmen
and the fact that it caused less damag
than the new aerial torpedos used b,
the Huns, ,tAe Smelling was taken as
+ matter Of course The new aerial tor
pedo however. holds between 400 am
F. 800 pounds Of high explosive and ha
Y retarded fuse.
T. ''ro show the damage caused by sue
. torpedo. one landed on the top of
r even story building and passed throug
t. t. the concrete floor. under which Il
Q ersonS were gathered in the celia
Q che shell rested on this floor for a fu
g fyo minutes and then exploded, IL
: troying the entire seven stories, III
= strange to say no one in the cellar WI
> He'd :
e Owing to the bombardment Of Par
good many persons who had no pres
IS ing business IN that city-somc est
It mated the number at 20,e00-left t,
u he south and west, according to N
h Follows, who found great difficulty
n getting reservations to Bordeaux. /
ld said. nevertheless. that there was
G. eal anxiety and that the advance
+ he Germans threatened the city in ]
X way. ..Thc German game, = said Il
II Is to split the French and Briti
IS armieS, md failing that they viii ha'
ne acrifced hundreds of thousands of m,
or in vain
is Touching upon food conditions N
er Follows said: "There is a fair amou
IS IF food, if you have the money to p;
as or it. Vegetables are cheap and plen
p ful. There are no restrictions on me
at xeept the high price. Bread is a mi
turc At first the quality was We
Door. but recently the individual all
= nent Of bread was reduced to
rs rammes a day, and as the bread we
al down in quantity it rose in quality.
ny Eats and soups are very high in pri
cy Each person is permitted one pound
tn rugar a month. You cannot get a
ut pastry, any ices or any custard
m Coal is extremely scarce and di
,ro cult to get at any price. France
to he best forestry system in the wol
" and is making great efforts to incres
m the sale Of wood. There is no gasoli
kept for vehicles engaged in COVE