The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-10-03
EUROPEAN TRIP
OPENED EYES
Board Comes Back From
Tour Glad He's Not
European.
OLD.TIME DEMOCRAT
Will Have Nothing to Do
With Party That Seeks Our
Influence in Europe.

The allied nations of Europe no
longer require Americas financial
aid or manpower, in the opinion of
Mandy Board, president OF the FIX
change National bank, as published
in the MtSkogee Times Democrat
of recent date. Mr.. Board, with
party of Muskogeeans, has just re-
turned from a two months tour OF
England, ireland, Scotland, France,
Belgium, Switzerland and Italy.
THE countries are being rapidly
rehabilitated. due to the oxtraordi-
nary thrift of the people and the
production OF big crops this year has
made these war-torn nations inde-
pendent of the United States" said
Mr.. Board, who is a dyed-in-the-
wool democrat. He says:
II want to say that ! will sever
all affiliations with any party that
ever attempts or encourages Amer
lean influence or interference with
European politics.
"Over in Europe we asked many
natives OF their Impressions Of Amer
lea. They told US that America en-
tered tho war too late. 1t was not
very long until we had seen and
ly We we're sorry that America ever
entered the war,
we travelled from one battle
Scared nation to the other. or
course, the terrible ruins of the re-
cent bloodshed made a deep impress
sion upon us, but what we saw was
only remnant OF the worlds great
est tragedy. Take France, for ex-
ample, with a loss OF two million
men who met their end on crimson
fields during the very prime of life.
France today is a nation of SO, 6,Q00,-
900 inhabitants OF whom only 49,
100000 are men. She is the only
country of those engaged In the war
in need OF manpower.
Women Feeding Nation.
I'm France the production OF food
supplies is now chiefly the duty Of
the women. They do the planting
and the harvesting. The manpower
Ia 30 insufficient and the nations
agricultural production 80 limited by
fertile fields having been trans
formed into waste by battle, that
most OF the men are employed In
reclaiming the land.
our party witnessed four French
wheat threshing crews at work. Two
Of the crews were composed entirely
OF women. In another crew there
was one man and in the fourth there
we're but two. The nation is now
engaged in the titanic task OF con-
yerting its fields OF carnage to fields
OF food. The worn is very irksome
and the process and progress slow
because OF the hundreds OF high eX-
plosive shells that remain intact In
the ground. No machinery of any
kind can be employed TO hasten
the work, because plow or tractor
striking a shell that was fired dur
ing the war and which did not ex-
plode, would be certain TO deal be-
lated deaths.
Land TILED by Hand.
For this reason the work Is done
entirely by shovels. The torn fields
are nicely levelled. the shells and
countless other implements of war
are carefully removed and the lands
productivity restored, II is amazing
the millions OF tons of barbed wire
entanglements that the tourist
finds In France. 1t is piled up at
the edge OF former battlefields to u
height OF 20 feet Ravines and
gulches are crammed full with It.
Thousand and thousands OF acres OF
land are still impossible and idle
because Of the curious system OF
wire entanglements that yet remain.
What France will do with the barbed
wire Is question. II is In such II
tangled mess that 1t can never be
used again. 1t cannot be wound on
spools or packed satisfactorily for
shipment to some reclamation plant.
II Is too far inland to be dumped
into the sea.
Belgium needs to be educated on
agriculture. The average farm in
Belgium is two and a half acres. 1t
Is TILED with a spade. Only occa-
sionally does n person see a horse