The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-08-24
More War? mo-

What is the feeling of the true rulers
of France, the peasants? France is a
pivotal nation and upon it largely de-
ponds war or peace in Europe. That is
why the Kenosha Evening News sent
Milton Bronner, representative of the
NEA Service, to go out upon the high
ways and into the villages of France
to talk to the French peasants and to
ask them, what if war comes?" This
is his first in series Of articles.
BY Milton Bronner.
Tours, France.-The peasant farmers
of France-the people who feed the
country and create its real wealth, and
who, in the last analysis, have to supply
the men forlthe army-are against mil
itarism, against big armies and navies,
against big taxes. Moreover, they are
looking forward with keen expectancy
to 1924, when they will elect new par
lament and have chance to turn out
the present reactionary "Bloc Ma
tional." They think the radical parties
of the Left will come into power, cut
the size Of the army, shorten the term
of enforced service in it's ranks, reduce
naval expenditures, and make serious
endeavor to reduce taxation.
I didn't gather this information from
armchair theorists or propagandists in
Paris, who don't know what the peas
ants are thinking. l went away from
big cities and walked the highroads.
talking to the peasant farmers, to the
jewellers in the tiny villages, to the viii
lage schoolmasters, TO the old women
who served me a. cup of coffee in the
little wayside debts" where the farm
laborers gather to sip their wine and
play game of MANTLE" before resum-
ing tasks which keep them occupied in
the fields until long after nine o'clock
at night.
The Heart of France.
The section of France chose for my
Investigations was the very heart of
France, that section which has always
been called its garden spot-Touraire
Here the French blood is least adulter-
ated by infltration from other races.
Here, in the old days, France of the
monarchy. found its supreme express
sion. When the great revolution famed
up, it was the peasants of Touraine who
helped proclaim the birth of democracy
and destroyed many vestiges of royalty.
Touraine helps supply the bread and
the wine of France. My walks took me
past endless fields of golden wheat. On
all the terraced hillsides were growing
the white grapes from which is made
vouvray-the golden wine of Touraine
1t is rich country despite the fact
that it has been cultivated for more
then 1000 years. Endless manurine and
ceaseless labor have kept the fields fer
tile. And they are such tiny fields com
pared to our American holdings. A
farm has 5, 10, Is or 20 acres, but every
inch of it is made to produce some
thing. And the melancholy fact il the
people one sees at work on these little
farms are mostly the old and middle
aged. The young men went away to the
war and never came back; were so mu-
tilated they can't work on farm, or
else got the fever of restlessness in
their blood>an went to the cities,
l didn't find much worship of the
glory of war among these simple, kind
". hospitable, Industrious folks. They
are sick of war. They are aghast at
the very idea of another conflict. And
they would never dream of it again if
they could just be sure that the Ger
man neighbor was also henceforth de.
voted to the ways of peace and indus
try.
The Ex-Soldier.
got my first Slant on the situation
from a village schoolmaster. whose
name | suppress because his frankness
might cost him his job. This little
man, who had to study hard at teehni-
cal schools before getting his post. is
paid pitifullv inadequate salary. The
pinch Of poverty showed in his shabbv
clothes, his cotton shirt, his rough
shoes He was 44 when the war broke
out. He went away as a soldier, while