New-York tribune., 1919-04-03
Hons fPeace
By Chester M. Wright

French propaganda.
Where this anti-French propaganda cor
from in the first instance is a mrsterr
However, it gets around in whiperea ~,
hdences. Somebody passes Along to von
the confidential opinion that 9TH French
are reactlonary," or "the French are too
greedy" or "if it were not for tla orna
sition Of the French" this or that could h.
done.
1t is surprising to learn how many CIV,
posedly levelheaded persons are atfetaa
by this pounding with the padded harsor
1t Is not surprising however, to find Or
tain American radicals" passing along to
propaganda. They do this, of course, unds~
the guise of promoting American idealism.
1t is not matter of pride to say that
more than one American newspaper CORE
spondent has been blinded, at least tenn
porarily, by this subtle propaganda.
There is condition that helps along thu
nefarious work
Comes along one who has just paid IL
or ~ francs for 10 franc meal, who has
been held up by taxi robber and stung
with a volcanic cigar, and some one saws
to him, aren't the French a greedy lot >,
After while that sort of sympathy begins
to make its mark on the thoughtless. and bs
joins the chorus which chants about Paris
to the effect that they're making the Amer
leans pay the war debt"
1t does seem so at times, until yo, re-
member that the French are paving the
same prices, except for the fact that thew
know Paris better and don't invite robbery
as much as the tenderfoot
The truth is that prices are nainfu,,r
high in Paris, and that those who 90 70
have anything to do with the peace confer-
ence have to grin and bear it. The truth
also is. as any honest American must admit
that were New York where Paris is. with
the same shortage of materials and food
stutfs after more than four years of war
New York probably would lag not bit
behind the price lifting enterprise Of the
French capital. 1t would do this especially
if it were suddenly filled to overfowing
with great peace conference that crowded
every hotel and brought hundreds Of peo-
pie with purses filled with money
History records that many an American
city has done the job thoroughly with no
better excuse than a convention of cou-
pie of thousand delegates in its midst
Where many correspondents have put
themselves in a condition of "susceptibiltv
to the contagion" is in the very routine of
their lives adopted in Paris
Contrary to notion that is rather preva-
lent, correspondents out on job like this
are a hard-working, rather staid sort Of
crowd. They have got to concentrate on
their job. For the most party they actually
lead lives of work, sleep and eat Many a
correspondent now in Paris arises in the
morning, breakfasts, reads the papers and
goes to work; works hard all day and goes
straight back to his hotel by the shortest
route. He sees only so much of Paris as
may be seen between his own hotel and
the buildings he must visit in the course
of his work. He eats at such places as may
lie in his path of duty. If they are good
places he is fortunate-if they are not, he
takes it for granted that all the rest are no
better, and so fares badly. He sees nothing
of the French life, gets no sympathetic
viewpoint and knows nothing of the game
the French themselves are up against He
doesn't know the language and he has a
terrible time Of it every time he tries to
make a native understand him. lie doesn't
feel at all happy about France He is out
of lxck.
That is what is the matter with some Of
the Woodworking men who are telling
American newspaper readers whaV greedy
thing the French nation is-and how lack
ing it is the finer idealisms Of life. Fortu-
nAte1V If ien't that wov Will, oil
SO many Americans and English have
drilled into Paris to remain during the
conference that there has developed
shortage Of those handy little French-Eng
lish conversation books that help to make
life possible for the visitor Everybody and
his friends make Decline for some such
book about ten minutes after they are
dumped out OF the train at the Care du
Nord, or whatever gare they may arrive at.
Within the region traversed by the Amer
lean invasion it isn't strange to see some
one trying to dig out of his two-fIanc first
aid book the language wherewith to make
confusion worse confounded in dealing with
taxi driver, or ditto at restaurant,
though in the case of restaurants it isn's
hard to learn to say Tradition" which is
the main thing in all branches Of trade,
whether it concerns eats or wedding trips.
Nothing makes funner impression on
an American wanderer in Paris than to
have khaki-clad soldier halt him on the
street and begin an excited conversation,
the burden of which is that he wants to
find out how to get to some unpronounee-
able place.
1t is considered the best form to let him
rave for the length of his conversational
ability and then break it TO him gently thas
he'd better translate his remarks into PLAN
United States. This has way Of confus-
| haA cndld