The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-11-21

ship il non-existent. There are
only ants and more quinine.
There are houses for only q
small fraction Of the inhabitants,
swollen to many their usual num-
Der. The rush for a room which
becomes vacant is like bargain
day IN a ten-cent store. There Is
no butter and no milk; the tsetse
fly, carrier Of the dread sleeping
sickness. makes any cows impos-
sible. Meat that arrives here
must be shipped from afar and Is
10 stony II often cannot he eaten.
Because of the tsetse there are
no horses. and no dogs on which
young soldiers can lavish their af-
fections. only rarely Is there a
rangy. flea-oitten African dog
that has managed somehow TO
gain immunity. II Ii very strange
and very disquieting to see a
street absolutely empty Of four
footed animals.
Yet there In no complaint
among these men of France, sc-
customed to the protected lives Of
the city dweller In Paris and
Lyons or a peaceful farmland In
Lorraine or Burgundy. Here
there Is only gsyety and cheer
fuiness-the same genial philoso-
ply Of the American soldier in
the other world conflict with his
constantly repeated proverb. The
first seven years of a war are al
ways the hardest"
They know this Is merely a
preparation. They live only for
the day when they can move up
to the front. Wisely. the military
command keeps them here as
short a time as possible. When
their training is finished. they 20
off Immediately to Fort Archam-
bault or Lamy in the Chad. or to
the trackless deserts of Libya.
For men. like clothing. disintc-
CRATE quickly in these steamy
clearings Of the jungle.
BLOOD CHANGE OCCURS
In THOSE WHO STAY
THE trials Of the climate are
even more difficult for the
and civilian administra-
tors who must remain here To di-
rect the work behind the lines
and create an effective base of
supplies from which the troops
can operate. A definite physiolog-
ical change takes place in the
blood Of the residents here after
\ prolonged stay. The red cor
puscles which nourish the body
disappear: there re-
main only the white corpuscles.
the disease fighters. TO combat the
maladies which attack from every
Yet like the soldiers of |
the line the men compelled to re-
main go as gayly about their tasks
as though they were in their be-
loved Paris, with its music, and its
theaters. and its perfect dinners
In the Bots de Boulogne.
As a result Of the exceptional
character Of these leaders who
have come here TO take command.
their accomplishments have been
astonishing.
The colony. because Of its grim
reputation. was always regarded
by the French colonial ministry
as a troublesome stepchild. to be
neglected accordingly. When the
armistice came. and the group of
patriotic officers and civilian ad-
illustrators revolted and took
command from the Vichy subor-
dinates. they were faced with
problem of staggering proper
tons. Cut off from their mother
country which sentenced them to
Imprisonment and death. isolated
from the rest of the world in q
fashion perhaps without pareilel
In modern history. they were
compelled To start life again like
Robinson Crusoe on his desert
island
One by one. with intelligence.
with courage they have been
solving their difficulties. Their
troops. the first essential in war
time, are housed and fed and kept
moving. The huge annual deficit
of billions of francs In previous
administrations has been wiped
out. and the budget balanced.
The mining of gold and the pro-
duction of other exports that
might bring funds to buy arms
and munitions is being pushed
forward everywhere. Activities 10
aid in making this heart Of the
new France a healthier. happier