The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1921-12-23
OLD HOMES
French Peasants Repairing Oev-
astation Of War.
Cheerful Sights Seen in Districts Raw
aged by the Hun hordes-New
Villages Arising From
Heaps Of Ruins.

La France is IAN American maya
eine' which aims to promote Franco
American sympathy and understand
Ing, says the New York Times, and il
conducted by q group Of public-spirlt-
Ell citizens. Recent numbers have
contained notable records Of the re-
sivai of agriculture and industry in
the devastated region, photographs
showing the progress which has been
made in rebuilding churches and
canals, and significant statistics az to
the great recent increases in taxation,
thanks to which France hopes to fund
and eventually wipe out her wartime
debt. Most impressive of all, how
ever, is the story Of a French failure
rs told by Claude Riviere.
In certain devastated districts the
villages had been SO thoroughly pull
verified and the soil so completely
blasted that 1t seemed impossible to
'epopulate them: Not a house was
remaining, o a tree and instead OF
the familiar green heritage there, came
a curious yellOwish grass. utterly un-
ike anything seen before in this part
Of the country" With a characteris-
:ically dramatic instinct, the authori-
ties planned to keep these districts
as they were, and especially such
places as had been the scene Of signal
and memorable examples Of German
oarbarity- They were to be an exam
pie and q warning-the red zone"
But these dramatists reckoned with
1ut their herO-and heroine. Deep In
the heart Of the zone rouge, amid
scenes Of volcanic" devastation. NJ.
Riviere saw through his field glass q
tiny green square upon a distant hill
side. 1t proved to be q cultivated
field, ian oasis In the desert" Dis
regarding the new law which protect
ed" the zone rouge, a peasant had re-
turned to the site of his old home.
had himself removed the unexplOded
shells from his sOil-24 of them were
Sined up by the road-and so he had
established himself as a producer once
more, il only on a tiny strip. I'VE
nave always plowed the land" he said
70 II. Rivicre; 1--WE must pillow again."
In what was once the village OF Nan
.euil la F'Osse, NJ. Riviere found m
I'D wOman who vas somehow man
aging TO live alone In the dismal wreck
u her home. though she had to walk
ten miles to buy food. She safd sim
ply that she wanted to die IN Tier own
1ouse-"Je veux MOURN dams mi
Maison." A more cheerful sight In
The zone rouge Is a village which for
nerly housed 500 people. oil but five
" whom have returned.
A correspondent d the London
Times bears similar witness. The
most recent battlefield guide book con-
tains a picture entitled, AL That Is
Left OF Hooge-the Siynb0ard." But
the traveller finds that a new Ho0ge
s already rising upon this site VI SO
many bitter scene in the battles for
Ypres. Even the local guides have
thoir troubles. One Of them, having
announced to his tourists that Guile
mont was so completely destroyed that
no attempt could ever be made to re-
,uild It. discovered upon reaching the
lite that four houses had been erected
n his brief absence, and were already
occupied. the children playing in the
streets.
From the nation to which such
things are possible much + to be ex-
pected. Heroic as II was In wat. It
has equal vig0r and tenacity IN the
arts Of peace.