The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-25
FRENCH CONTINUE TO
BURN U. S. SUPPLIES
Millions Lost in Destruction
of Property Abandoned
by Yankees.
SOCIALISTS IN PROTEST
Government Assailed Over Re-
fusal to Accept Stores
as Gift.
By a stag Correspondent Of TIE sUS.
Copyright, 1919; all rfohts reserved.


PARIS, July 24.-American war ma
terial to the value of millions of dollars
Is still being burned and destroyed. ac-
cording to tho testimony of NJ. Barabant.
Socialist Deputy, In the Chamber OF
Deputies yesterday during debate on the
financial situation.
The question Of the destruction OF
American stocks, which has been going
on for several months, and which be-
came inextricably bound up with the
French Governments economic policy,
for the moment under the fire of press
and public, has thus been brought be-
fore the Chamber In the form of an in
terpellation.
Although It has been declared that the
value of the material being destroyed IL
small Barabant. speaking from his seat,
declared he had personally witnessed tho
obstruction by fire in the American sup
ply depot at ls-sur-Tille of stocks which
he estimated to be worth hundreds of
millions of francs. He accused the
French Government of having caused this
destruction of material so sorely needed
by the French In reconstruction work
through the refusal to permit the Amer
lean Government to sell 1t, or even give
it away to the communities wherein 1t
was stored.
L'Humantte publishes a photograph Of
huge heap of American motorcycles
and sidecars reduced TO battered
debris. The title over the picture is
How American stocks are liquidated.' q"
The article accompanying the picture
says the destruction took place at Ro-
morantin and adds that bicycles and
typewriters were also destroyed. The
Mdtn this morning publishes a despatch
from its correspondent at Beaune, for
merly the seat OF an immense American
hospital, and the centre more recently
of an A. j.. +. university, stating tnat
this whole vast institution. which has
been taken over by the French. is being
sent to destruction through the deliber-
ate neglect of machinery. including the
dynamos which gave power to the whole
area. He says that motor cars and sup
plies OF all kinds are left standing in the
open air and that the metal parts are
already thickly covered with rust Some
of these stocks. he writes. have been car
ried away.
The accusations in the Chamber were
directed principally against the Ministers
OF Finance and Industrial Reconstruc-
ton. and resulted in stirring up consider
able agitation. The Socialists say they
are dissatisfied with tho answers of these
Ministers Ferdinand Brun. Socialist,
accused the Minister of Industrial Re
construction OF having deliberately pre-
vented the sale of thousands OF Ameri-
can automobiles because OF the protests
OF French manufacturers, who sold ma
chimes at three times the prices asked
this during the period when France was
in crying need of transportation.
The allusion of Finance Minister
Klotz yesterday to the $500, 600. 900
which the Government hoped TO realize
from the sale of war stocks brought forth
the query from the Socialists whether
it was with the Finance Minister'S au-
thorization that American stocks were
being burned. Klotz referred his ques-
toners to the Liquidation Commissioner
II is expected the question will be
threshed out more fully before the pres
en-; parliamentary debates are finished
and that new light will be shed on the
ruthless destruction OF American ma
terals.