The sun., 1919-07-17
REPORTS FRANCE is
COMING BACK FAST
Ninety Per Cent. of Railroads
Rebuilt Already, Says
Baron de Neufiize.
MORATORIUM DEBTS CUT
| Thinks French Loan Here Is
Necessary to Buy Raw
Materials.

France already Is we'll on with her
work of reconstruction. This report was
presented inspiringly by Baron jacques
dc Neufiize at a luncheon given yester-
day by Maurice Casenave. French High
Commissioner, in the Hotel AvIgnon,
Park avenue.
Her own internal needs, great as they
are. Baron de Neufiize says. already arc
being cared for amply by the French
themselves. But she must buy raw ma
terials and she must maintain the franc
at Its real value created by the mass
OF French equity behind 1t. and not
let II fall ficttiously, as II has done, on
the mere question OF exchange
He compared France to a perfectly
solvent railroad corporation facing the
refunding Of large debt and large
issue of equipment trust securities
France, he says, will take care of the
refunding herself. but the equipment
trust Issue must of its nature be taken
care Of abroad, In the United States, and
It Is 90 large that it cannot be handled
by the bankers alone. He believes that
tho American commercial public must
b aroused to tho point OF absorbing
a large issue of French bonds.
"In 1914" he said. "our friends who
loved US looked on us with sympathy
and said Poor France But she cannot
fight this out To-day they look at us
and say again with sympathy. Poor
France She cannot work herself back
on her feet Well, in 1914. we showed
the world that we could fight. In 1919
we will show you that we can work
ourselves back on our feet We are
already doing II.
Good Business to Help.
You may come to our aid at first
out of sympathy, but you, with your
keen power of observation, soon will see
that 1t is very good business.
The people of the devastated regions
already are at work. / recall we'll the
thrill Of pride and surprise which came
TO me when some months ago 1 saw the
frst trade acceptance drawn by a manu-
facturer Of Lille on his customer for the
delivery of his first goods The factories
Of Lille and Lens and Rubaix are ac-
tually at work. Some of them have oil
paper ceilings and canvas walls and old
machinery. But they are at work turn
ing out goods on which they earn a
profit and that profit Is going to reestab-
lish French business
He begged his hearers not to think of
boiled eggs as they observed all OF
Frances broken in a bowl.
Thing of a deliciously Drowned ONE
let" he remarked.
France. he recalled had been plunged
into war at a time OF general world de-
preston, while the United States cana
in after an unexampled period of pros
perity. Frances war expenditure werc
larger than those of the United States.
Though her wealth was only one-hfth of
Americas. Had America losses Of men
been on a plane with those of France
every single man who wore the Ameri-
can uniform would have been killed.
Under these circumstances. he said.
the French Government, facing a fall at
a moments notice should It lack a par
liamentary majority, was compelled to
proceed with the utmost caution With re-
gard to her fiscal problems. The Peace
Conference being in Paris. he said. had
resulted in an exagBeration of French
nervousness because of their nearness
TO the problems and the necessity Of an
exaggerated censorship shot with Cos
sip. The Bolshevist and extreme radical
minority in the Parliament he character
lied as noisy and we'll organized blu,
never capable OF mastering enough ties
The present Parliament will have to face
a general election this fall
He declared that under the cir,lIn,-
stances II was practically impossible &C
modify the French system of taxation
during the war when all effort had
to be devoted to defeating the Germans
This. he said. was particularly true ir
France because there are no large IN.
comes. as In the United States. which
might be confiscated. The wealth 1,
more infinitely sub-divided and income
taxes thereby are less popular.
Hence. he said. as the war taxation
OF France, must be spread over man,
years to come. II Is imperative that Il
be designed from the beginning on care
full. scientific lines which will carry fai
into the future as we'll as meet tn,
needs of the moment. This. he promised
Is being done.
He reminded his hearers that wher
1T