Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-12-22

| tnoro 10 NO org9nl8ouou 70 Duy S0ooo
man II contact with their fellows Tor
the exchange Of ideas and experience.
Nearly 1000 American sxpsditionary
force men were released here and II 10
estimated q fourth of these have set.
tied down to work here. The others are
Visiting. sight seeing or have gone
home after q discouraging look at
business prospects.
OF the 1000 or 30 who are hard
after French franco. according to
American business men here who
know most about the new ventures,
several hundred found employment
with large concerns, chiefly American
Arms preparing TO do business In the
devastated regions. Another group
took various small places TO pay their
way while studying. The majority OF
tho men. 1t was said. started to make
good by capitalizing American meth
DDS. Very many OF them saw what
they considered defects in French life
| and made ready to furnish the sup
ply. and, II necessary, create the de-
mand.
Most Of them agree that easy money
10 not one Of the natural resources OF
France but few have proved that 1t
IL. A negro made $4,000 francs buy
Ing and selling army and navy sup
piles at Brest. His case Is vouched
for by a well-known American COM
mercial executive.
The most striking success reported
J Is that Of "the fox-trot kings Of Paris"
as they term themselves. Gerald Kiley.
who drove the Chicago Press CLUB am
bulance. and Harold Fitch Of st. Paul,
who was at the wheel Of one OF Mrs.
w. X. Vanderbilts ambulances and
later went to the front
| Kiley and Fitch, the former said.
got their start over here when the
wife of an American banker In busi-
ness here pressed 500 francs on u.s.
when they played in . three-man jass
| band at q dance she gave. They or.
| ganized a Wilson Welcome ball at q
( leading hotel when the president ar
| rived In Paris and Melted more than
! 10000 francs on the affair. This sue
cess, they said, they often duplicated
at "The Dixie Club" dances they or
ganized with an admission charge OF
20 francs person.
Knowing that "good. things" must
not be overworked, the men took over
the ice-cream making equipment OF
the Y. NJ c. A.. which has a capacity
Of 1000 gallons an hour, and late in
! October began wholesaling Dixie ice
! cream" cutting the market price 80 to
100 per cent. They said they invested
| 100 600 francs in the venture.
| Some Of the most interesting Of the
American business experiences here
are those OF men who married French
girls. Three OF these are farming east
of Paris. making more money than
they ever thought possible in the
United states" their business adviser
said. One man married into a dairy
shop. Another returned TO his trade OF
tailoring in the same way. Scores OF
American boys are In business with
their French fathers-in-law.,
Rebuilt" typewrlters. familiar to
Americans. have been introduced to the
French by Lieut.. ]. L. Mccain. Of
I Tuscaloosa, Ala, and George e. How
ard. Of Pasadena, Cal. Their Difficult
ty Is too much business. With typical
aggressiveness they are buying
American used machines from French
dealers to sell to other French dealers.
Meantime. Howard said. they are pre-
pairing to open '.the American steno-
graphic bureau" because. he said. an
American business man IL up q blind
alley trying. to ind public stenogra-
pher or to get out his correspondence
when an "English-spoken" variety can
1 be located.
| Isadore Court, who was . paper
hanger, boldly set himself up In the
decorating business In Z fashionable
suburb.
Lieut.. Stevens L. Tyler, Of Memphis,
began as an import and export broker
but became merchandise broker
while awaiting better shipping factii-
ties and more familiarity with the
mysteries Of French trading.
Harry L. Drucker, a newspaper
photographer. returned to his trade,
adding commercial work.
Importing and exporting. according
to an American executive In that line,
OF them gave 1t up as a bad Job when
they ran into the mess Of intricacies
delays and financial difficulties for the
beginner.
One man who wanted to bring In
carloads Of automobiles and bicycle
tires turned defeat into success by
opening q tire sale and repair shop
Another one with tho same idea IL
awaiting arrival Of a real quick repair
and steam -vulcanizing plant to give
Paris taste of fast work. He said
virtually all tube repairs here now are
made with cement patches instead OF
vuloanizing and take week instead
Of an hour.
MANY men, an American officer
st.ll in service said, "are working tenn.
porary good things while seeking rea
openings. The favorite method 10 get.
ting hold Of army canteen goods and
reselling them to the French at sew
eral times cost. Many men make 81
much as 200 francs week.
Newspapermen seem to have landed
on their feet most quickly. Nearly al
OF those who stayed are developing
some qdea" outside OF office hours.
Several thrifty discharged solideri
made temporary wealth buying dol
lar checks" sold to service men at
rate lower than the dollar was quoted
One man. formerly on "The Stars ant
Stripes" Is credited with making Q
small fortune in that way.
Army pathos and bathos. put in booi
form by Sergeant Melvin Ryder. O.
schenectady, became a best-seller ant
passed the 100000 mark.
Ideas for great wealth are bsinl
mulled over by number OF men ant
may result in the establishment OF
chain of hotels and restaurants alonl