Williston graphic., 1919-04-17

WILLlsTON
Of those who had returned from the
war seemed to be to get back to work
and this they were certainly doing.
Abaeo and LosIaiAe
In Alsace and Lorraine We found
the food supplies more abundant than
in either France or Germany. It was
quite apparent that France had made
special effort to supply the people Of
Alsace and Lorraine with everything
needed in the way Of supplies Of food
and clothing. France 10 leaving moth
ing undone to gain the goodwill and
loyalty Of the people Of Alsace and
Lorraine. At Metz . good meal could
be bought for about one.third Of what
the same meal would cost in Paris.
Throughout France, while the food
prices were considerably higher than
in the United States, there was .
plentiful supply Of food stuffs, ex.
cepting sugar and fats. The same
was true in Germany as to the sup
ply of food stufs. Food prices in
Luxembourg and in Germany were
lower than in France. In Belgium
we found = most plentiful supply Of
food stu6s Of all kinds but with prices
from twenty-five to fifty per cent
higher than in France. In England,
the visible supply Of food stuffs, with
the exception Of sugar and fats, was
plentiful with the prices somewhat
lower than in France. In q long
conservation at the Hotel Grillon in
Paris with Herbert C. Hoover, Uni
ted States Food Administrator, CALL
ed his attention to the abundant food
supplies which were visible through
uot the sections Of France, Belgium,
Luxembourg and Germany, through
which l had visited. Mr.. Hoover
explained that his information SUBJ
stantiated my observations but that
the people of Europe were now con-
suming their reserve food supplies
and that at the rate of consumption
which is now taking place with very
little production of new food supplies,
there was the probability of serious
shortage later in the year.
At General Headquarters
From Metz we motored through
the St. Mihiel territory, where in
August the Germans were so quick
ly mopped up and driven out Of this
salient by the American Army un-
der command of General Pershing. In
an endeavor to locate some of our
North Dakota boys, l drove from St.
Mihiel to Toul and thence to Amer
ican headquarters at Chaumont. At
the latter place, l had a good visit
with Lieutenant Colonel Mudgett, of
Valley City, whose excellent service
in the Army has won him high pro
motion. Colonel Mudgett has been
assigned to duty at General Head.
quarters and is there in charge cf
the personnel of the Army. Through
Colonel Mudgett l learned consider
able of the distribution that had been
made of North Dakota troops in
France. l tried to get into COM
munication with Colonel Frame and
Colonel White but was unable tc do
so. While at Chaumont, talked over
the long distance telephone with Ma.
jor Biting, who is the Judge Advo
cate of the American Army at Toul
Major Biting has made fine rec
ord in his work in the Army and has
been highly recommended by his su.
perior officers for promotion. l had
expected it would be quite an easy
matter to locate our North Dakots
soldier boys in France but found or
the contrary that they were scat.
tered from one end of the country to
the other and that it would take sev'
eral days and much travelling to 10.
cate any particular one that had
hoped to be able to see.
Reconstruction Problem
Everywhere throughout France II
seemed that the people had no heart
! to take up the usual everyday work
of life rs before the war. We talked
to many laborers, merchants and
manufacturers and all alike seemed
to have in mind that it was only nec'
essary for them to wait without do
ing anything and that the govern
ment would in some way provide fol
| them. Individual initiative and self
| dependence seemed to have" lost
and they had the attitude Of helpless
children and aims takers. The same
| condition appeared to prevail among
the laboring classes throughout Eng
land. This mental state of helpless
dependency on the part of the great
majority of the people seemed to be
the most serious problem that con-
fronts England and France at the
present time in the work of after wa,
! reconstruction.
The Doughboy
While the American who visits
France is thrilled with pride at the
marvellous work that was accom-
plished in so short time in the
| building of great docks and wharves
great training camps, connecting rail-
roads and wonderful supply depots
for our Army, his greatest pride is
IL - 49,. h,,< - <ho Cho po cfnr onH