New-York tribune., 1918-02-25
Arnerica--France

After the war we shall have closer rela-
tlons with France than with any other
country Of Continental Europe Our armies
will have fought there our dead will be
buried there. Several millions Of Ameri-
cans will have come into direct contact
with French life and the French people
which is a vastly different experience from
that casual knowledge of the sights and
show places of Paris acquired in the old
days by the average American who paid a
visit to France.
The United States and France have long
been good friends. But their friendship
has been matter Of sentiment and tradi-
ton. 1t has remained official and formal
One might truly say that it has Aourished
IN inverse ratio to the breadth of contact
between the two peoples. The French have
come here in small numbers. They have
made no attempt to stimulate our interest
IN their culture. There are thirty times
as many German language publications in
this country as there are French language
publications Frenci Canadian nowspa-
pers excluded. Almost the only link we
have had with the French-speaking world
has been the ancient axiom, recognized in
most young ladies' boarding schools, that
a polite education must include a certain
amount of Ollendorffian chatter and a
passing acquaintance with the French ir-
regular verbs
But American ignorance of France and
French ignorance of America have re-
mained abysmal. A French woman. Mile.
Marguerite Clement, who has just come to
this country to promote the circulation of
French literature, has testified candi(lly to
this two-sided ignorance. She says:
'The average American cannot name
three French generals, excluding Joffre. nor
does he know that Loucheur, Claveile and
Thomas are the three civilians who have
done the most important work during the
war In France we have heard of Wilson
and Roosevelt-but that is about all As to
the difference between Democrat and
Republican, we know nothing"
There is no exaggeration in this. Take
out Joffre, and most Of us are stumpcd t,
name three French generals of the first
rank. Careful readers Of the war news
would think of Foch first, perhaps; then Of
Petain, and then of Castelnau or Nivelle.
But who else would? AS for Louchcur
and Claveille, their names mean nothino to
any of us.
Yet the average American knows OF
Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Mackensen, Fal-
kenhayn and Kluck. He has heard of
Bethmann-Hollweg, Scheidemann, Lieb
knecht, Michaelis and Hertling Ask him
about French civilians most in the worlds
eye, and he will probably mention Bolo
Pacha and Joseph Caillaux.
Here is the whole case in nutshell. We
are shut off from intimate knowledge Of
France and France is shut off from init
mate knowledge Of us. We are friends in
theory, but strangers in fact And the
great barrier has been and still is the iso
lation imposed on each country by its lack
of knowledge of the others life and lam
guage. The French are now beginning 10
learn English. The war has forced them
into intimate daily contact with their
neighbors across the Channel. We shall
benefit eventually by that. But our effort
to break down the language barrier has
been almost 'tI Our schools have been
teaching German on large scale. and.
more recently, Spanish. But we still
neglect French
Mile. Clements mission here is to inter