Evening star., 1942-10-22
BY HELEN LOMBARD.

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The intelligence branches OF all
the services agree that not much
relevant information is flowing into
this country from Europe-even
through neutral channels.
One of the chief difficulties lies in
the lack of trained agents. Having
neglected, before the war, to build
an information network in the now
Axis-occupied countries, the Allies
must rely principally on reports
from an occasional observer who is
smuggled in and out the occupied
regions with great difficulty.
1t is easier to find individuals who
are at home in France than it is to
find trusted observers for the other
Axis-occupied areas. 1t also is
easier to land on the coast of
France than anywhere else.
Occasionally very factual report
on conditions in France is smuggled
out OF that country. Several weeks
ago two observers came out after
spending months on a fact-f1nding
tour which also included variety
OF dramatic experiences which sound
like novel. The report covers
everything from the effect of Anglo
American broadcasts on French
listeners to the scarcity of shoe
laces and ink
Black Market Flourishes.
The French are going in for illicit
buying on a national scale. It is
considered patriotic to patronize the
black market. Anything that is
bought in the black market is some
thing that does not fall into the
greedy hands of the Nazis-so rea-
son the French. There is also the
French joy in breaking regulations.
Now directed against the enemy in
stead OF their own government, it
is causing the Nazis some worry.
For instance, the sickness" rate
In the st. Etienne coal mines rose
81 per cent during the fine summer
months. The workers were going
of on their bicycles to scour the
countryside for food which the
peasants were concealing in order
TO sell it at black market prices
There is as much bartering as there
is selling. The peasant prefers to
be paid in kind
Without the aid of the black
market, which is frequently winked
at for consideration by the Nazi
authorities, the French population
would be on starvation level.
provincial French doctors reported
that the brown, sour bread had
about 4 per cent flour content.
A substance called liam" is sold.
but it is thin and watery and has
/ an unpleasant taste.
There are shortages in almost
everything. Cigarettes are limited
to four a day. The French all keep
their cigarette butts and reroll
them by hand. The Ersatz prod
ucts which were derided as a Nazi
lake and as a sign of the impend-
ing collapse of Germany before the
war, are a postwar necessity in
France. The only difference is that
there is no food value in the French
substitutes and many of them are
actually dangerous. For instance.
the shops in Lyon sell a brand of
salad dressing called S. o. S. which
becomes poisonous if kept long.
Traffic on Gas Substitutes.
Some Frenchmen still ride in
automobiles. Twenty per cent of
the pre-War automobile traffic rolls
along, although only 2 per cent of
the gasoline supply is available
This is due to the development of
substitute fuels. No less than 1000
Paris buses are running on low
grade pressure gas. At the various
terminals there are taps in the
street from which the long cylinder
on top Of each bus Is recharsed.
Charcoal. wood, coal and a mixture
OF coal and wood are also used to
run motor vehicles. Tires are BEING
steadily requisitioned by the French
authorities and by the Nazis and
many Frenchmen risk heavy penal
ties by hiding their tires. English
Crossley tenders, with the letters
Raj showing through a coat of erav
paint, can be seen taking Nazi Off
cials about.
Much of the rolling stock of France
has been sent into Germany and for
the whole of France only 20 per
cent of the pre-War services are in
operation. Special carriages are re-
served for the occupying forces and
the trains run on time.
Paris today is like large and un-
interesting provincial town. The