The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1919-04-03
AMERICANS MARRY FRENCH.
Subject is Interestingly Discussed by
An Army Nurse.

mits she's slightly jealous, furnishes
perhaps the first really thoroughgo-
ing and expert opinion on the Fran
co-American marriage situation in
France. After year and half in
France this American girl finds
French femininity "delightful." with
q knowledge of captivating masculine
hearts that would put most Ameri-
can girls completely out of the run
ming. She suggests the advisability
of presenting President Wilson with
a petition to send all American troops
home at once, in the name of Ameri-
caa debutantes." Her letter written
to a relative in New York appears in
the New York Evening Sun:
You seem rather incredulous about
so many OF our American boys hav-
ing married Frenchwomen. Why, l
worder? I don't see any reason why
they should not. The Frenchwoman
Is a delightful creature. Even we
American and English nurses can see
that. much as we should like at times
to see otherwise, for we're still hu-
man and still feminine, and 1t goes
rather hard with US to see some OF
the finest of our soldier lads marry
ing pretty little Alines, Maries and
Ninettes.
We think we could find better
mates for them, and some of US think
that a few could be found without
even going outside of France. But
still they are being captivated-We
cali it "captured" when we talk
among ourselves-by the Frenchwo-
men. Louise told me last night that
she had it on positive authority that
in the neighborhood of 100000
American soldiers and sailors had
married Frenchwomen over here! No
wonder we are jealous don't
tell anybodv that we are, for maybe
I'm the only one of US who is ready
to admit it even to herself.
Still as I've just said, don't
blame the boys. These girls are real
" almost irresistible, and they un-
derstand the art of Irritation better
when they are born than the average
American woman understands it al
ter her fourth divorce. They know
how to dress, too, to bring out the
very littlest as we'll as the greatest
of their charms. And they know how
to talk to our soldiers with their
eyes and hands and shoulders better
than we Americans can talk to them
in their own United States. They
speak asuniversal language-the Ian
guage of appeal-and they never fail
to make themselves understood.
Besides this more or less superb
cial charm, the ,Frenchwoman Is tru-
ly a woman. They make wonderful
wives and mothers. I've been here
long enough to see that They make
even better wives and mothers than
they do sweethearts. They're won
derful housekeepers, although, ex-
cept among the upper classes, they
do run to too much furniture in their
parlors and too much garlic In their
kitchen, to suit my plain tastes. But
how they do understand food conser-
vat;on and economy. Mr.. Hoover
could learn quite few lessons from
them if he cared to study them.
And on top of all this femininity
they are fighters. They are the brav-
est women as class, believe have
ever known, and the most consis-
tently patriotic. Their patriotism Is
so deep, so much part of them, that
they never think of saying anything
about it. If you separate French
woman from her love of France and
her desire to serve France, you would
have to tear her limb from limb and
pick. her to pieces, it goes all through
her. and enters subconsciously into
everything she has done since she
has been Frenchwoman. You know
something of What they've done since
the summer of 1914 from your read
ing of the papers and magazines, but
that full history can never be writ
ten.
So, why shouldn't our boys love
them, and marry them? Anyway,
whether they should or should not,
they're doing it. Cant you do some
thing to persuade the government
to have them all brought home?
We're thinking about presenting a
petition to Mr.. Wilson while in
France, begging him In the name of
American debutantes. to send ocr
boys home.