Evening star., 1935-08-25

Welcome Sign" was put out only
when tourists had plenty of money to
spend-on luxuries, wines and amuse-
ments-is evident from the Indifferent
reception given to the few thousands
of Americans who still remain abroad.
For the mild contempt in which they
are held by the majority Of Frenchmen
the American tourists have partly
themselves to blame. They invaded
France at time when Europe was
groaning under the aftermath Of four
years of war. Knowing little Of what
the French people had gone through
or the Germans, Italians, English,
AuStrians, YugoslavS or Hungarians,
for that matter-and scarcely touched
by the struggle at home, except for
the wartime prosperity, the American
nouveaux riches did many stupid
things. When the French franc drop
ped to around so for a dollar, in the
Summer of 1926. they lit cigarettes
with 10-franc notes and pasted So
franc notes on their luggage, along
with hotel stickers.
OF course only few unthinking
travellers did such things. but the
publicity was as great as If it had
been done by thousands. The Ameri-
can philanthropist who went on an
international mission to Greece, car
rying q suit case full of 81 bills for
personal distribution among the
refugees, did not do his fellow coun-
trymen who came along afterward a
favor In France the inevitble result
OF misdirected prodigality and uncom-
plimentary disregard for the sensibili-
ties of the people in belittling their
currency (Which ironically now can
give the once-proud dollar a 20 per
cent margin), mide it easy for many
Frenchmen to follow their government
in reputation of a national debt. A
nation which had so much money
did not need to press its debtor, the
French felt. A great many, 1t is
true. felt the national disgrace of
default so keenly that they sent their
per capita share to the American EN-
bassy as a protest. Premier Edouard
Herriot resigned rather than default
But the French as a whole felt other
wise, and still do today.
Make Light Of New Deal.
In general public opinion in France
Is badly divided over the United
States. On the one hand the news
papers-especially those of Paris
seek constantly to make light of the
New Deal" and Washington's eco
nomic and financial policies. In theil
fight to maintain the gold parity o.
the franc, and avoid revaluation ol
imitation, the French-and Swiss
Dutch and other pseudo gold bloc states
naturally try to make their people
believe that currency depreciation i:
undesirable and useless as a remedy
for the depression. The battle between
the gold bloc and the deprecated dol.
lar and pound sterling has not yet
been won, although the odds are or
the side of the pound-dollar. Ir
hammering down wages, salaries, pub
lie expenditures and prices naturally
Premier Laval has to meet heavy in.
flationist opposition. It Is easy fol
him to blame Washington and Londor
for blocking currency stabilzation. Or
the other hand, the same newspaper.
which so 1ciously attack America
and Americans-for political pur-
poses lean over backward In advo-
eating O hands across the seas
policy.
The absence Of American tourists In
France-they used to swarm over in
tens Of thousands instead of hun
dreds-and the departure of other
thousands who once made their semi
permanent home in Paris and along
the Riviera, also has had a bad effect
upon the tempers OF the French hotel
keepers, tradesmen and others who
prospered on the transient trade
Scores of hotels and de luxe shops
have closed their doors or gone out
Of business.
As the depression deepens-ard
conditions are still getting worse in
stead of better in France-the resent
ment against the tourists who no
longer come, or those who come but no
longer spend, is all too evident. It
must not be assumed that France Is
not still the grandest place in Europe
for Americans to play about In lex
cept for the cost for all the country's
beauty and charm and romance re-
main. And individually Frenchmen
who are not touched by the drying
up Of tourists dollars, are unchanged.
But to the casual traveller, who does
not get OF the beaten paths, the
vaunted French hospitality does not
appear at its best when American
visitors spend sous instead of francs;
when they argue over prices instead
of dispensing lavish tips, and when
they look for cheap restaurants and
hotels instead of complaining that
the best Is not good enough.
English Act Superior.
In Great Britain the attitude of the
average Englishman toward Amer
icans-and toward British Colonials
from Canada, Australia and South
Africa as well-has apparently under
gone no great change basically. The
air of bored superiority to any one not
Q native of the tight little isles" per-
haps will last as long as Englishmen
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