The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-12-25
FRANCES TEXTILE
PLANTS RUINED BY
HUNS OPERATING
Total Of 100000 Persons at
G. Work in Mills Raced Or
Looted by Enemy Recovery
Almost Miraculous.

LILLE, France, Dec 25.--Forty thou
SAND persons are at work In the French
textile mills which only few months
ago were razed or looted by the Ger
mans OF their wonderfully delicate ma
chlnery The correspondent of the AS
ISOLATED Press was given the facts with
reference to this industry today by
French authorities who have arranged
= "Trip to show him the strides made by
the nation In reconstruction.
within year government officials
ana manufacturers agree, production of
textiles VIII reach half Of the pre-war
total, and within two years these men
forecast, the 1914 output viii be sur
passed,
The wool industry Is said TO be re-
covering most rapidly, with cotton in
second place Linen weaving is re-
ported to be slowest in getting back
70 normal because of the shortage of
tlax, formerly obtained from Russia.
In Lille and the adjoining cities OF
RoubatN and Turcoing, where the tex
Tie manufactures are conferred, il Is
estimated $4,000 men, 'somen and chill
dren now are busted with combing spin
nIng and weaving, and apparently TO-
900 are employed In the smaller mills
Of surrounding towns. where progress
y slower but Is being pushed with equal
vigor
Statistics compiled by the government
from necessarily accurate statements,
upon which factories are paid re-
construction lndemnites, show that
IN the I'M, Eille , district a. on on Oct,
| sons working IN 1872 textile plants,
| compared with l06 066 employed before
| the war In 26b factories In all of the
4sl textile mills Of the liberated region
there were employed In August OF this
year only 2l027 of the 152,94S persons
at work four years ago.
| Reconstruction of the textile industry
was declared by manufacturers few
| months ago to be almost o hopeless
task. At least they said II would be 80
| SLOW that France would lose her world
| trade In textiles, Now however, a
brighter view is being taken, and gov
| eminent figures show the industry has
| reached two-rifth Of normal production
| Manufacturers themselves concede that
| thet output Is at least one third of that
before the war. All agree that rehahii-
tation Is proceeding more rapidly eaCl
month as the looted machinery is being
retua'ned from Germany or new installa.
tons are coming from England and the
United states
Some Of the equipment was not re.
| moved but merely damaged by Tho
Germans, and this Is being repaired.
This industrial recovery, which
seemed unlmposing at fret, has beef
| Hlhuc through tne tuIDllfu 0libItH N
| the government and plant owners
against difficulties that appear NOR,
formidable the closer they are exam
med
Direct damage to the textile indus
try Is estimated by the ministry of re
construction at 90 600 000, 900 francs Il
this section OF France, the heart Of tn,
industry. mills for the most part wer
knocked to pieces and the rest wer
damaged All of the electric machin
cry. betting shafting and similar equip
ment were taken by the Germans an,
seven tenths Of the ,spndles, loom
and Sau;aaTE which ijossossc5 Amos
human dcxterity were either shipped I
Germany or pounded into utter useless
ness
Two out Of every 100 machines wcr
left intact packed and tagged for ship
ment, but were abandoned by the Ger
mans in their strategic retreat VI Thes
, machines witch were not removed wcr
stripped Of all brass and copner parts
and delicate nicces were mutilatcd, re
4 outring months TO replace, The eN
III tremolv thorough stripping Of coppC
parts from the machines Is an impot
liant factor IN delaying work. as
4 might almost be said that the Frcnc
use copper and brass except when sue
metals viii not possibly answer III
purpose
The labor problem is not at this tin,
particularly embarrassing to TEXT
manufacturers The task NJ rcplaCin
the remarkably skilled workers. man
| Of whom are among frances milllo
and half dead war heroes, IS said
he IN the way Of n solution becaus
women always were largely emploYe
and they are moro keen than ever fC
such we'll paid work pinco many
l fbRta widows