The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-12-09

line, on the right. bank of the Mouse,
nor did they take Hill 3O4 or Dead
Mans Crest, on the left bank. Every
division in our army came to YER
dun to be decimated. France lost
there the best of her blood. Enfeebled
to a point of exhaustion. yet she re-
manned on her feet. sustained by those
young soldiers entering upon their
careers" as our "Marseillaise" says.
their elders no more. Sending back
our wounded to the firing line di-
rectly they left the hospital. sacrifice
ing. without considering a moment.
an irreplaceable elite of character
and brains. leaving the cultivation of
the soil to women. old men and chill
dren. France succeeded in modifying
90 per cent sof her male population
between the ages of IS and so. A
prodigious effort and one only
equaled in the domain of war mate
rial production.
English Organize
Meanwhile, ON their side our Eng
lish comrades were organizing them
selves powerfully. The spring of
1917 was to witness the dawn of free
dom. Well. l shall omit retrospec-
tive criticism. Let each one make his
own examination of conscience. |
only mention the offensive of the
Chemin des Danes to illustrate the
terrible shock France sustained. Ger
many thought that the moment had
come to finish us, though circulating
treacherous peace offers the while.
Defeatism among us worked havoc.
But aPetain rest ored confidence to- the
armies as he had restored the situa-
ton at Verdun. The nation dealt
with the pusillanimous and silenced
bad citizens. France breathed and
lived again.
In 1918 America had entered the
war. The enemy grasped that the
arrival of your troops would mean
the Knockout blow for him. He would
have to act beforehand. HindenburE
announces to the world that France
had dug her own grave" and brings
back half million men from the
east. troops liberated by the Russian
debacle. He bombards Paris. He DEF
uges the English lines with mustard
gas. He breaks through We hur-
riedly stem the flood that threatens
to submerge us. None the less we
are paralyzed by the loss of vital rail-
roads In that terrible danger to
our ally and ourselves we assemble
all our forces under single COM
mand. The troops are as always adj
mirably heroic and the nation retains
its calm. The Germans would cross
the Marine. Large strips of territory
before Paris and Calais pass into their
hands. But the hour of victory is
about to ring for the entente. In two
months all the lost ground is re-
gained.
Such are the trials we have been
through. At the armistice France
was "all in" as you say, but she was
alive because she had iwilled that she
should survive.
Cost to France
The war cost our country $50 mill
iards of francs and . further POO
milliards in damage to property and
individuals. Almost all our foreign
investments, constituting a goodly
portion of our national wealth. had
to be realized. From being
largelSa creditor and lending nation,
we became heavily indebted. Above
all. we lost 100000 of our children
and 100000 were mutilated and
100000 wounded. France made all
these terrible sacrifices with one
heart because she knew that defeat
would imply destruction. Germany
had proclaimed the fact, through its
Emperor, through its cnancellors.
through the declaration of its great
industrial and agricultural assocla-
tons, through its inteIlectuals. that,
victorious, she would annex the iron
mines of Briey, the coal of the north
and the Pas de Calais, the coast line
from Belgium down to the mouth of
the Somme. plus the hinterland. In
order to give the ports involved their
full Importance economically and
strategically. finally, Toul, Verdun
and Belfort. The inhabitants were
| to be dispossessed. Nor did 1t suf-
LEW ha. Lsro n ta u a
from her the provinces providing a
| third of her wealth. she was TO be
| left without resources of any kind.
| FIN the interest of our own existence
| we must weaken this country politi-
| cally. 1t is necessary to impose a
| big war indemnity on France without
l<exhibiting any regard for her"
recall this, phrase-taken from a
| secret memorandum forwarded to the
German chancellor by the League Of
| IndustrialD and Agriculturals. the
| league of the middle classes, in order
| to emphasize our own moderations.
| Not an inch of German territory an
neged, not protesting deputy In
Iour Parliament, no economic servi-
tude, no war indemnity. Nothing but
reparation.
EntftIed to Co-Operation
A nation like France that has
| proved in a superhuman way her de-
| sire to live has the right to obtain
from her war allies the cooperation
necessary for the execution of the
| pace conditions. 1t does not suffice
to sign peace, you must realize it. So
| long as the last shocks of war have
not trembled away, there Is no room
for an individualism putting into
question once more all the victories
SO dearly won in common. To realize
| the new order all must cooperate.
France will not as much as remind
| her allies Of her promises made to
| her. and which have never come to
anything. She declares herself proud
| ly decided to keep all the engage
ments entered into by her. She asks
only one thing, that she shall not
succunib through the passiveness Of