Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-11-27
AMERICAN AND
FRENCH CONTRASTED
Mrs. Dorothy Garfield Fisher
Draws Word Picture of Diff
ferences Beteen Two Nations
and Asks Why Each Cannot
Take Some Others Virtues

Before a large audience in the high
school Friday evening. Miss Dorothy Can
field drew. in a most interesting way, a
picture of the differences between the
American and French people as nations.
Mrs. Fisher has brought back from
France with her an old peasant woman
who did her cooking while she was over
seas and she related some instances of
how this woman reacts toward the Amer-
can life. one thing of which she spoke
was the intense silence of tho American
countryside. for in France no one lives
far enough away so he cannot hear the
voices Of his neighbors. Also this French
woman had in her own country never
slept with her windows open and now she
has become accustomed to sleeping out
Of doors, although she doesn't want her
friends back home to know 1t. Mrs. Fisher
said that through this woman she had
made one remarkable discovery. When
they came from France enough wine was
stored in the Fisher cellar to satisfy
the peasant woman for she could not
drink water as 1t was. Gradually, she
drank less wine. colorng the water with
1t and now she has found she can drink
the water just as It Ia. She attributes that
fact to the purity of the water. but Mrs.
Fisher thinks IL is because the air of
America is so much more stimulating
than in France that no further stimulant
is needed.
There is one characteristic which Mrs.
Fisher has discovered in this woman
which is common to all of her nation
atty. That Is true love of her work
She Is only an ordinary cook, but when
she cooks anything she wants 1t discussed,
not praised regardless Of its worth, but
discussed fairly. To her 1t is work
OF art and she values 1t as such. This
Is true of all the French people, no
matter what their work. They like to
do the work as we'll as they can and
they take pride In doing it right. They
have not that desire so common in
America to get the work done as a neces-
sary evil. Their work is their whole
interest in life and because of that they
do not need such violent recreation as do
the people of this country.
1t has been said Of the French people
that they would long ago have died be-
cause of poor hygienic conditions were
it not for their excellent cooking and
of the Americans they would long ago
have died of indigestion II 1t were not
for their pure air.
Mrs. Fisher told as an example of the
French love for doing work well Of an
old couple over 10 years old, whom she
met at scissors. Although they were
really under fire, they kept up their
garden with its fruit trees so perfectly
that the Americans who saw the fruit
said they had not believed such per-
feet fruit existed unless it was Of wax
And they handled 1t with the reverence
a painter feels for his finest pictures
1t was the result Of long years Of work.
conscientious work
As an illustration Of the difference be-
tween the French and American bust
ness man, Mrs. Fisher read Fair Ex-
change" a story from one Of her latest
books. Home Fires of France" This
showed an energetic business man who
wanted to do something for France 60
ing over and trying to help a French
man. whom he discovered making a near
ly perfect cold cream. to get larger
business. The Frenchman rejected his
offer for he preferred TO have perfect
cold cream and sell only a small amount
and he also wanted TO spend his evening
with his family in content. unharra ssed
by business cares. To the American this
was lazy sort of life. Each admitted
however. that there was something in the
theories of the other.
AS another example of the difference
between the French and the Americans
in that respect, Mrs. Fisher told of
French woman who, desiring to keep the
French girls Of her neighborhood out of
the factories started a little shop where
they made handsome garments. This
business grew until 1t included all the
girls Of the neighborhood and then 1t
stopped. This" she said Is characters-
tic Of the French people
III this had been in America. that wom-
an would have been bounded by publicity
people until she toured the country tell
Ing everybody what she had started out
to do when she was interrupted. This
would of course help more people to learn
about her idea and perhaps this quick
interchange of ideas in American is worth
all II costs but II costs so much.
In France the trait we could we'll try
to copy is to love your work and to try
to be an artist in your line. while over
there they cc<id well copy our ability to
work together They are intolerant of
differences of opinions to surprising de-
gree. For instance, If you wanted some
plumbing DONE you wouldn't care what
the religion of your plumber was but over
there 1t would make a vast amount of
difference. There Is no neutral ground in
France. and yet while we criticize that,
aren't we just as bad on the question of
color?
THE French people DO not seem to get
herded together into mob action as easily
as We do. We get enthusiastic over one
thing and short time afterwards we
have dropped that and taken up some
thing else. They are stopped from doing
this by their spirit Of criticism. That spirit
Is what makes them a people of such
good taste. 1t is. however almost i'm
possible to make them take up hygienic
improvements. They consider IL any air
gets into their sleeping rooms at all that
they are sleeping as the Americans do.
Before the war all of the countries
across the sea were simply moving pic
lures to us. they were not peopled by
human beings, but now that we know
that over there there are people living,
working. and striving for better things
Just as We are why can't each of us take
some OF the others virtues? AS my
peasant cook says: IF you could take
America and France and shake them up
together and then cut down through the
middle what two splendid countries YOU
would have"
Mrs Fisher was introduced by Mrs.
j. A. waterman, president of the Athena
club.
HUGH-pRU(,l,n uAno,,