Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1922-11-24
CLEMENCEAU HERE.
To EXPLAIN FRANCE
TIGER WILL TELL AMERICA
WHY HIS COUNTRY MUST HAVE
THE PREPARATION MONEY.
SAILED ON ARMlsTIcE DAY
Work Of Reconstruction In the War
Devastated Region Goes on Slowly
and Funds Must Be Obtained for
Material and Labor.
BY EDWARD 8. CLARK

haSningIOn.-On AFmlSuCe Jay, NO
vember IL, Clemenceau, "The Tiger"
of France sailed from Havre for the
United States TO present here the cause
of the French people and. as 1t has
been announced, to make clear the ex-
act position In which the French find
themselves today.
This aged but still stalwart French
man will come TO Washington and here
will meet the President, the secretary
of state, and others. Ii is expected
that in private conversation he will
say some things to the American Off
Gals which he will not say upon the
public platform.
1t may be that the visitor will bring
his heaviest guns to bear In what
may be called this private action. All
of France is not in sympathy with
Clemenceau's intention to lay the cause
before the American people, but Wash
ington hears that in a general way
France hopes that some good may
come of it.
The writer of this spent two months
in France during the summer that has
just passed. There seems to be some
ignorance today concerning the exact
condition of the countryside of France
Americans generally do not seem to
know just how much reconstruction
work has been done nor do they seem
to know just why 1t is that, as some
people have put it, the French are act
anratr ot-ixx fCat fhn nf
disarmament and on some other mat
ters which have produced little fric-
ton with the countries WHICH were the
allies of France in war.
France Is Acting Humanity.
Some American officials have visited
France recently, and unquestionably
they have told their chiefs In Wash
ington just what they have found In
the land of the sister republic. Every
body who makes the least study of con-
ditions in France must find the same
thing, and that Is that whatever France
has done or is doing is prompted by
the dictates of human nature. Some
OF the things which the republic has
done and for which it has been criti-
cised probably would be done by any
other country under like conditions
The human nature equation is strong
as factor in the whole problem.
Reconstruction and reclamation, as
they apply to France, may be said TO
be different things. Reclamation has
to do with the reclaiming of the fields
their retllling and their replanting with
crops. Reconstruction has to do with
the rebuilding of the farmhouses and
the thousands of hamlets, villages
towns and cities which were de-
stroyed during the war.
1t can be said that about nine-tenths
of the agricultural acreage of France,
which it was impossible to till during
the war because of military operations
and of the destruction inflicted, have
been reclaimed. During the season
which has just passed, France raised
enough cereals to feed itself. and
France eats an enormous amount Of
breadstuffs.
Reconstruction Is Slow.
Stories have been printed to the eff
feet that reconstruction work In France
was going on rapidly. 1t Is going on,
but not rapidly. Village after village
through which one passes If he
visits the once embattled front are
still level with the plain. 1t would
take long time to rebuild the de-
stroyed structures in France even IL
the man power of the country was at
the pre-war mark. Moreover, building
construction in France is solid CON
struction. The French build for all
time. The work necessarily would be
slow under any conditions. Today
neither the man power nor the money
TO rebuild is Forthcoming, and there
fore, except for temporary shelters, a
considerable part of the population of
northern France still is homeless and
still has no place in which to transact
the mercantile businesses Of the coun-
try.
1t is believed that Monsieur Clemen-
ceau will set forth these conditions
when he comes to the United States
and will make them the basis of a
statement that the reason France is
so inSlStent on immaculate repdratfon
money is that unless 1t is paid quickly
France cannot go on with its building
operations.
France has imported into the coun-
try a good many italian, Spanish and
Portuguese laborers. They are taking
the place of the French youths who
were killed In the war. These men, of
course, must be paid, and building ma
terial must be paid for, The French
government is undertaking the pay
ments, but the money is based on
the promise Of the reparations money,
and II this Is not forthcoming there
probably will be something like finan-
cial chaos In the European republic.
The whole thing. SO far as the French
viewpoint IL concerned, 10 simple.
vn,,,ehodv has taken AWAY what tho