Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-06-15
Anti-O~ Occupation
Sentiment Strong
In Three Cities

Dusseldorf, Germany, May IT.
(Mail. 1.-THE anti-occupation senti-
ment is much stronger In Dusseldorf,
Ruhrort and Duisburg. the cities Of
Rhenish Prussia recently occupied by
the French. than in Mayence, Cob
LEM and Cologne. which. also have
been under foreign occupation for
more than two ears by the French,
Americans and British.
AS n crosses from the left bank
OF the Rhine n enters recently &C.
cupied territory the mood Of the
population becomes more sullen. their
behavior more aloof and their hatred
much more pronounced.
The reason may be that the French
are occupying that part Of the right
bank Of the Rhine that they hold near
the Ruhr in real military fashion and
the occupation iB much more severe
than hat on the left bank.
The hatred Of the population is d.
rected more especially against the
French n children are being
brought up in a constant terror and
undisguised scorn of the occupying
forces which gives but little promise
that the real brotherly love between
French and Germans will be achieved
with coming generation.
Occupations bring out the witty
d OF the occupied populations and
books have been written about the
good jokes which the Belgians per-
petrated on the Germans while the
latter were ruling their country by
force OF arms. The Germans are now
in the same position toward the
French as the Belgians were toward
them and they have not failed to
take advantage Of the situation and
a sense of humor has been developed
among the Germans as an occupied
country which they totally lacked
when they were the occupying forces.
VIII Not Speak French.
The. absolute refusal to speak
French even by persons well
acquainted with the language il one
Of the most common ways in which
Germans show their dislike Of the
French military men. The corre-
spondent walked into a cigar store
the other day, while a French officer
was attempting to make the woman
in charge understand the brand of
cigarette he wanted. She seemed alb
when the correspondent translated the
omcers request In English. After the
offcer had departed she told the cor
respondent in purest French: "I
understood him the first time but I
would not give him the satisfaction"
Many shopkeepers have forsaken
good sales by the same reluctance to
speak French.
Few women in Dusseldorf, Ruhrort
or Duisburg will be seen in the COM
pany Of a uniformed French soldier
or officer in the streets. The few who
t~ransgress the unwritten law are
promptly c~atalogued at the German
city headquarters and are marked for
reprisals. In same cases the diff
Guilty is avoided by the occupying
swain adopting civilian clothes, which
seems to be satisfactory all around.
In the wine cellars of the most
fashionable restaurants Of Dussel-
dorf there is a corner called "the oc-
cupation corner" There are de-
posted all the bottles of win which
have been refused by the German GUS
toners as having soured owing to
defective corks. When. a party Of
French officers puts in an appearance
they are always served with two or
three bottles of the special wine
which they promptly reject. as a
Frenchman's taste for wine is in
,fallible. but by the time a real good
bottle of wine is reached "the French
cannot taste the good of it," as one
head waiter put It.
The entrance of a party of French