El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-01-10


Z But here, even now. there IS little 20
Z tell Of war; there viii be less next
I spring or summer. For the country
/ is rich farming land as the dough-
I boys VIII remember VINO charged for
/ ward through waving wheatfields.
Reckoning Farms
And the thrifty French farmer has
labored day and night, roofing out
I the wire and filling in the trenches
ard the sheu holes and blowing the
! ground again, taking the risk, often
{ fatal results TO himself. that his pillow
Z max strike an unexpected shell or
] grenade and send it off
On the great plain Of the Somme,
3 fought over three and four times. ]
have just seen how hollow were the
3 prophecies Of those who said that
Q this land had been blasted and
Z spoiled for generations by the mill
lions Of SHELLS their upheaval Of the
subsoil and by the poisonous
cteInleais thar were 70 alseoura5e
grow IN these places OF death, we
were told by reports
Fiath Justified.
The patient tiller Of tie sol in
Picardy has in one year shown that
his land is justified. Returning TO
find his village blOtted from the map,
he has crawIed into a cellar pre-
emptied an abandoned army hut. or
accepted a shack from a welfare unit
Somewhere. / don't know where he
has obtained horses and farm imple-
ments, and with awe inspiring
diligence he has set TO work
The government helped, OF course
but the government could do little
without the prOverbial hard work OF
the peasant, and OF his wife and
children too. There have been hordes
Of German prisoners employed in the
stricken countries, helping TO repair
the damage they did. but most OF
towns and the farmer has had little
good Of them
Three days ago 7 saw as fine a
piece Of rich farm land. uloWed in
clean even burrows with splendid
black earth showing where the blade
and turned it back. as have ever
seen az home. It was a field situated
right En- the middle OF the Hindeuburg
line, near Croissiles, where the 2fth
and 3uth division charged Is months
ago. That field proved TO me. once
and for all. that nothing man can do
10 good land can make q bad land,
IL after the storm passes there is
patience and willingness 20 work
Need Materials.
In many cities men told me OF how
contracts for reconstruction have
been let for months. but with no re-
suits because the contractors cannot
get the steel, the bricks, or the ma
chinery needed.
Everyone in Europe these days
looks 10 America for help when
anything goes wrong and in the
ruined cities they say pathetlcally.
elou have 80 much over dheref
why cannot you send Us some Hnd
help usE1
Arras especially, found. hopes for
American aid. and is disappointed
that 70 is not already on the way. ]
hadn't the heart 70 tell the dignitaries
with whom lunched there that. 50
far as I knew, the American cities
which had enthusi astically proposed,
unofficlally Of course, 20 adopt
Arras. had, new that the excitement
Is over, forgotten all about their gem
erous suggestion The great rail-
way company OF the north is rebuild
ing Its shattered Arras station. where
for three years Il was death TO show
oneself in daylight: but IN a eTami-
nation Of the city I saw only Two or
three building operations in progress
that were other than temporary re-
IN Similar Plight.
Rheims. a larger town than Arras
and more knocked about, is In similar
plight Until the government helps
them. the citizens with the best VIII
in the world can co L0LulA@- me
cathedral. being a great national
monument, is under the care Of the
authorities in Paris. and the work o.
making it safe is proceeding slowly
but with methOdical care.
Ever before the Germans retreated
protective work was carried ont
under she'll fire. and the skeleton OF
the charred masterpiece Of the mid
die ages was reinforced TO prevent
the whole structure from collapsinE-
Little restoration has been done az
Verduu- while the Belgians at Npres
have confined themselves TO build
ing wooden shacSs for the homeless.
The government rents these comfort
able little standardized houses at
rate which viii make Americans wish
TO move 20 devastated Flanders a
house with three rooms costs 81 q
month; one with five rooms, $3.50. At
Ypres. there seems to be some con-
flict between the BelEians. who want
TO leave the Cloth hail and cathedral
as ruins but restore the rest Of the
city. and the British.
It is England's desire TO have the
site OF fpres kept as a sacred
memory % the 100000 Britons who
fell fighting around il in the three
great campaigns Of 1914. 1915 and
1917. The British do not want the
ground built upon at all. and pro-
pose the inhabitants be given free
land nearby, pointing out that as