Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1943-01-07

between them and the Parisians. A
former Germanophile, whom l
bumped into recently in front of the
National Library, said to me: 81 bow
before their military genius, but as
for the rest, what have they got that
we haven't got? In what way are
they our superiors?" That is the ex-
preston of what is now the general
opinion. In two years, seen close-to,
they have alienated the sympathy or
the attraction which sprang up at the
beginning. And at the same time
hate has been growing-the old
hatred, but hundred times stronger
today. A real hatred of race. It is
creeping in even among the gentle.
It is curious how the older people,
who, have lived through other wars,
always conclude discussion of the
present miseries with the formula:
Everything will turn out all right. "
1t is a peasant, an earthly point of
view, skeptical toward the trepida-
tons of humans. A friend said:
Everything will come back again
except our youth" Is it perhaps
that foreboding which incites the
frivolity of a certain portion of our
young people who are giving them
selves up to the restless agitations of
"swing?"
Jews wearing the yellow star are
seen infrequently on the streets. They
are mostly old people, women and
children. The rest are in camps. The
yellow badge was officially given
to 10000 Jews in Paris and the sub
urbs. How many are there in the
whole of France? Three to four
hundred thousand, they used to say,
but in the window of the Student
Fascist organization, they display the
generous estimate of 100000, in or
der to play up the danger" Their
slogan: do you want to die Jews
or live French?"
In the subways, without any Of
| fetal order having been given, the
employees have already been told to
keep the Jews out of the first-class
the rear car. You see an unaccus-
toned number of regional insignias
on lapels. 1t is manner of express
| ing solidarity among the non-Jews.
The wearing of the yellow star to
show sympathy by non-Jews is Sc
verely punished. One girl of seven
teen, student, was given six months
in prison for the offense. Nine. NJ,
whose husband has recently joined
the Fighting French, bought badge
resembling the star of David. A
police officer charitably warned her
that if she were caught wearing it,
it would mean six months in Jail
and three years during which she
would be considered Jew.
AT a meeting not long ago Deaf
said: 1.-THE franc has never been as
secure as since it was taken off the
gold standard" The evening before
the meeting a cartooniSt in the news
paper L'Oeuvre" had drawn ragged
individual standing before the counter
of pawnbroker holding out bill
and saying: How much for this
thousand franc note?" It was the
cartoonist who was right. You need
only look at the menus in the res
taurants, the shop windows, the tags
in the food shops. Prices are climb
ing slowly but steadily upward, des-
pite laws, controllers, tribunals.
Theres is a general flight from
money. People buy anything they
can find. There are no dealings to
speak of on the stock exchange be-
cause no one wants to sell. The few
buildings which are sold through nee
essity find buyers at exhorbitant
prices, even with an annual revenue
of one per cent or even less. Bicy-
cles, tables, books, postage stamps,
clothes, everything is bought eagerly
at fantastic prices on the black mar
ket.
The Vichy government has appealed
to the armistice commission several
times for reduction in the indemnity
paid to the Germans for the costs Of
the occupation. With this indemnity
lite organizations are pumping the
substance out of the country. Goods
are disappearing, leaving behind only
paper money, French and German.
Purchases exceed the indemnity,
which itself exceeds the actual costs
of the occupation by large margin.
Redistribution of wealth goes on
at dizzy pace. Industries working
for the Nazis-the government reck-
ons that they are doing 80 to 80 per
cent of the total production-are
making millions. Whenever they run
short of raw materials they buy it
on the black market at high prices.
For the black market is not entirely
matter of surreptitious exchange
under the counter of back-alley
stores. All big industries and big
and little business make use of it.
The invoice for the sale is made out
at the official price, but there is a
complement" of as much as five to
fifteen times the legal price. And