The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-08-30
is GAINING Al
VICTORY OF PEACE"

New York, Aug. 29.-France s'vic-
tory of peace" in her reconstruction
mails the lie that her people are not
working" Herbert S. Houston. New
York publisher, declares after
period of research at Paris whence he
recently returned.
Offering statistics showing remark
able rehabilitation in former devas-
tated regions, where German divis-
ions wrought havoc In industrial,
farming and mining sections, Mr..
Houston characterizes the recovery of
the French people as another "mir-
acle of the Marne." In an article in
the current issue of the Worlds Work
he says:
With government support, includ-
ing loans totalling 1909, ,0S2, ,916
francs for agricultural and industrial
reconstruction in devastated depart
ments,n the French people have re-
opened 5345 out of GAS schools ex-
istant before the war; built or rebuilt
28, 200 temporary wooden and 16,800
permanent stone dwellings,. and erect
ed 28.500 wooden barracks to replace
houses destroyed; cleared 1899 600
hectares Ca hectare is about 21k
acres) out of 3.950.000 of barbed wire
and trenches; employed 1900 men
pumping out and cleaning up flooded
mines; rebuilt Ats out of 500 railroad
bridges, with 80 more in course of
construction; reopened virtually all
of 100 kilometers Of canals destroy
ed and rebuilt 1876 wharves and built
% new ones.
To-day, less than two years from
the armistice, the population of the
invaded regions has grown from less
than 100000 to more than 1000 900
approximately three-quarters Of the
pre-war population" Mr.. Houston
says, adding that the return was "not
that of the prOdigal son"
American committees have done
much to help France rebuild. Hr.
Houston declares, adding that intro
duction of farming machinery to the
French peasant probably was Amer
ica's best contribution
Gas a result to a considerable de-
gree of this machinical assistance,
greatly increasing the producing pow
er Of the fewer workers, the devas-
tated regions in 1920 will raise enough
crops for food" he predicts.
On the industrial reconstruction Of
France, Mr.. Houston asserts that
800, 900 workers now are employed in
French mills and 2627 of the 3508
factories destroyed in the war have
resumed production. During the war
fthe destruction in mill centers was
very great, so per cent Of the textile
mills In Lille having been destroyed;
tall 40 mills in Armentieres wiped
out; in Fourmies only $4,000 bobbins
remained out of 100000 and Roubaix
and Turcoing .shad the same degree
of destruction"
$50 it was throughout the whole
/ industrial region of the north, the
great workshop Of France Mr..
Houston says. ssThe tale Of rebuild
ling, now to be added to Frenchmen's
annals, viii always be q chapter Of
achievement, almost as important and
vital as the defense against the Ger
man invasion"
By 1922. Dir. Houston asserts,
France hope sto have her mines pro-
Iducing again, with about 5000 miners
working where 1900 1abored before
the war. Within five Or six years after
that she expects to be working up to
three-quarters Of before-the-war pro-
duction.
@The lie that France is not at
work should be scared OH the lipe Of
leveryone who utters it. writes Mr..
Houston. s1If she is not at work, how
can she be reclaiming her fields, re-
building her roads and houses and
factories and towns, and re-establish-
ling the shattered life over one-fifth
of her territory? That she IS doing
that, anyone can see who visits
France or who takes the small trouble
to look up the facts. And she is do
ling it before she has received the In
demnity pledged to her By the peace
treaty and re-pIedged again and
, again by every one Of her allies
Il