3 516 .H3 Copy 1 WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US By EDMUND HACKET MAJOR, U. S. A 2)-^ (,0^1 WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US By EDMUND HACKET/^ Major, U. S. A. Published by LA FRANCE An American Magazine 220 West 42nd Street New York -Ifil (o ,\\5 WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US HAVE Americans generally any real idea of what France did for us during the war? Every citizen of the United States, worthy of the name, knows exactly what we did for France ; but how many^ have any clear conception of the incalculable value of the service rendered by France in return? The question is of the utmost importance to every 100 per cent. American. No nation, no matter how mighty, can afford to deck itself in laurels which history must eventually wither to a sad degree. And yet in the smug content with which we of the United States of America have overlooked our debt to France, while preening ourselves in the belief that be- cause of our war services France owes us a debt she can never repay, we have done just that. To explain : Of what are we proudest today when we consider our part in the war? Our battle-field losses? Our sacrifices, whether of men or of money? Our vic- tories on the field of battle? No. Proud of them all we are, unquestionably ; but one and all, unless we lack ordinary intelligence, we must know that by comparison with those of our Allies they were not great. The thing we are really proud of is the fact that, iii less than a year and a half from the date of our entry into the war, we had mobilized, trained and equipped nearly four million soldiers; had actually landed half that number on French soil; had actually placed more than a million men in the firing line. A colossal feat, that; staggering to the intelligence of the old world, and an accomplishment beside which all other great f eatd of ^'g^^ into a certain in^gnificanoa-E-yg^ FEB181921 DOCUMEOT^^ ij. Vision I ie seem to pale WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US Best of all, from our American viewpoint, it was ex- actly what both government and people of the United States determined to do the moment they entered the war. To pour upon the Central Powers such hordes of armed men, such volcanoes of high explosives, such fogs of deadly gas, such overwhelming death in every form that resistance would literally crumple and die off — ^that exactly was what we all hoped or planned to do from the moment "our hat went into the ring". But when? In the summer and autumn of 1918? Of months, per- haps a year later? Never in our wildest dreams did we hope to do what we did do before the spring or summer of 1919. Draft after draft had been planned for ; our men of forty were certain to be called ; incalculable sums of money were admittedly needed; and hundreds of thousands of lives regarded as certain to be lost when victory came, months "to the good". To what do we owe that marvelous fortune ? News though it may be to the great mass of Americans it was France who made it possible for the American Army to enter the field of battle in 1918. For France with magnificent sacrifice, at a time when further sacrifice seemed beyond her waning strength, offered the one and only solution to a problem that seemed unsurmountable. That problem was tonnage — ships for transport. Eng- land with superb sacrifice had given of her ships ; agreed to keep the ocean routes clear of the deadly U boat. France likewise and Italy, too, had given what ships they could spare. And on this side of the Atlantic every ship that could stand an ocean crossing had been comman- deered for service. Still the tonnage was short; not 50 per cent, of what was imperatively needed. For if the ships were filled with men alone, supplies and ammunition could not be WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US sent; and without supplies and ammunition our men could not be regarded as of fighting value. Unquestionably the worst problem America had to face in the war ! And France solved it. In effect, France said : "Send over your men ! We will do the rest!" And for so long as it was necessary, instead of guns we sent men ; instead of ammunition we sent men ; instead of supplies we sent men; instead of aeroplanes we sent men ; instead of tanks we sent men, instead of gas-masks, gas or gasoline, we sent men. France, by that offer, enabled the United States to econ- omize ship space to the extent of several million tons. In support of the statement, herewith is a list of ma- terial actually furnished by the French to the "A. E. F." up to the day of the Armistice. 3,834 Cannon 2,300 tons of vegetables 10,000,000 Shells 78,000 " " oil 3,800 Aeroplanes 50,000 " " fire-wood (fully equipped) 2,100,000 cu. meters of 240 Tanks lumber 136,881 Horses 45,000 tons of forage 5,000 tons of bread 19,000 hectolitres of 6,000 " " meat gasoline 15,000 " " potatoes Hundreds of thousands of machine guns, automatic rifles, grenades, etc. A total saving in transportation necessities of 3,381,507 marine tons was what France saved the United States; and exactly what that meant, in solving our greatest war problem, any schoolboy may judge for himself by com- paring it with our own transportation accomplishment. The total amount of tonnage transported from the United States to France during the war was as follows : From June, 1917, to May, 1918 — 2,156,228 tons. From June, 1918, to Nov., 1918 — 4,059,635 tons. In other words, France not only furnished the "A. E. F." more than a third of the total amount of material WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US and food supplied to it up to the Armistice but actually supplied it over a million tons more than we were able to transport to France in our first year of the war. Other items still unmentioned in the modest bill of par- ticulars covering French aid to the United States during the war show that, for training purposes, France supplied 1,500 French officers in France and 500 in America ; that she turned over to the "A. E. F." all her military schools, seventeen training camps, six artillery training camps, forty-three armories, and thirty-five cantonment zones — a surface space of 15,750 square kilometers. And finally she supplied for our sick and wounded no less than 30,000 hospital beds, 100,000 places and 300 trains per day. Nor does this, even, fully indicate the importance of the aid she rendered. For on the day the Armistice was signed, the official American report shows that all the field artillery and howitzers used by the American Army at the front; all the shells of 75 m.m. and 155 m.m. calibre; all the tanks ; 81 per cent, of the aeroplanes ; and 57 per cent, of the long range guns had been furnished by the French. That same report admits not only that "our demands were formidable, continued and urgent," but that "every- thing supplied the American Army represented a restric- tion on the French people and their heroic Army." It might have added that "our demands" were in addition to the demands of France's other allies, all of which were promptly met, for guns, ammunition, etc., amounting in value to no less than 4,037,993,897 francs. England, Italy, Roumania, Russia, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Poland, Czecho-Slovakia, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Montenegro, Finland, Spain, Japan, Estho- nia — all drew on the marvelously prolific factories of France for war supplies, and France responded by an effort which, expressed in figures, was as follows : 6,568 field pieces, heavy guns, trench artillery, 37 m.m. guns WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US 28,440 machine guns 14,570 military wagons 82,882 automatic 181,025 harnesses rifles 3,632,000 gasmasks 1,472,035 rifles 1,353,200 gas shells 150,250 revolvers 8,000 tons gas 1,553,019,000 cartridges Summing it all up with reference to the aid rendered America only, the conclusion is irresistible that were it not for France an American Army could not have mate- rialized on foreign soil in time or in sufficient numbers to be a deciding factor in the battles of 1918. What was spared its in men, in money and in misery by being there in time is the measure of the service France acttoally rendered its. How France Fares Today In our blindness to this great truth, to what as a nation are we shi*:tting our eyes? What shame are we not in- viting for future generations of our own people ; what dis- dain and hatred from those of other nations? And, to look not beyond the present, what frightful injustice to a nation that by every right is justified in asking of us what she will, are we not a party to? What, for instance, do we of the United States actually knew of the real situation in France today? How many of us care a "snap of our fingers" what it is? What she has done to recover from the effects of the war ; what constitutes the weight which impedes her re- covery ; what her chances are of lessening that weight ; of such things we know practically nothing. When the war ended, this is what France, the victo- rious, was "up against". Killed — 1,365,735 men (16% of the men who went to war or 5% of the total population of France in 1914). Woundedr—SfiOOyOOO men (Of whom 791,700 are unfit for active service or pensioned). WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US Destroyed — One-fifth of the Nation's productive wealth. 1,129,000 tons of shipping 550,000 houses (including badly damaged) 460,000 tons of industrial material (stolen) 1,300,000 head of cattle 300,000 agricultural machines 1,800,000 hectares of land (rendered unfit for use) 2,245 kilometers of railway 1,160 tunnels, bridges, culverts, overhead cross- ings, etc. 1,075 kilometers of canals 1,100 kilometers of highway factories mines Indebtedness — 200,000,000,000 francs (approximately) To be paid in i 5:20—45,000,000,000 francs Taxation, 1920— 20, 600 fiOOfiOO francs (State budget) (An increase of 319.3% from 1913 to 1920) Pensions — 4,000,000,000 francs per annum In other words, France had to start her work of re^- construction with one out of every five of her able-bodied men lost to her ; with nearly as many more unfit for work ; with her shipping and inland transportation crippled; with mines, factories, farms, railways, etc., representing 27 billion dollars of national wealth, demolished; with pensions payable to widows and maimed amounting to billions of francs per year ; and with a total indebtedness to be met, including war expenditures, of about 71 billion dollars. Did she falter before the task? Not for an instant. A year only has elapsed and already her ruined steel and mining, chemical and textile industries are prepared to resume their place in the world. Her agriculture, transportation and shipping are also regaining strength ; and the following figures will show what has been accom- plished in the reconstruction of the devastated areas. WHAT PRANCE DID FOR US Public Works, Of 2,245 kilometers of railroads destroyed, 2,028 are now open to traffic. Of 1,160 tunnels, bridges, culverts, etc., destroyed, 656 are reconstructed. Of 1,075 kilometers of canals destroyed, 700 kilo- meters are open to traffic. Of 1,100 kilometers of highway destroyed (requiring for rebuilding 65,000 tons of various material) all are reconstructed. Agricidture, Of 1,800,000 hectares of land rendered unfit for culti- vation, 400,000 hectares are again under culti- vation and 200,000 hectares are cleared of pro- jectiles. Ten million square meters of barbed wire have been removed and trenches, requiring 55 million cubic feet of earth, filled. Of 300,000 agricultural machines stolen, 200,000 havf* h^pn T*eT^ljicpd Of 1,300,000 head of cattle lost or stolen, 200,000 havp hppn i^enlaced Of the 3,220,000 horses in France in 1913, there is practically a full complement now. Houses and factories. Of 550,000 houses destroyed or damaged, 60,000 have been made habitable ; 60,000 more are under con- struction ; and part of the remainder have been replaced by 15,000 barracks and shelters. Of 1,820 factories forced to suspend operation for various reasons, 835 have resumed production. Industrial material. In addition, 460,000 tons of industrial material stolen by the enemy have been located in Germany or Belgium, and about 180,000 tons have been re- stored to their owners. (Of stolen objects of every description, France has obtained restitu- tion to a total value of 8 billion francs.) Actually, France has accomplished no less of a miracle in her first year of peace than in her first year of war. High prices, an inflated currency, insufficient produc- tion, a lack of transportation, labor troubles and profiteer- WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US ing, these and their kindred evils are still hers, of course, but with help her complete recovery in the very near future must long ago have been a foregone conclusion. But help has been denied her and, unable to export, the situation she now faces is in many respects worse than the darkest days of the war. For daily in the financial markets of the world exchange in foreign countries rises against her; the value of the franc sinks lower and lower. At the moment, its value in American money is less than half what it was in 1914 ; and the cost of American products has doubled. The purchasing power of the franc in the American market today, therefore, is just about one-fourth of what it was before the war, while France, with vital need of our raw materials, is practically denied credit. Without credit, France is helpless. Despite the tremendous strides she had made toward reconstruction she trembles at the imminence of a fate which seems about to overtake her in common with all of continental Europe. In the words of an international authority in finance and economics, "that fate must be a complete breakdown of credit, of exchange, of commerce and trade ; and that in the not distant future unless the entire problem is soon dealt with." More than anything else, the war has brought wealth and glory to the American nation, and both, to an ex- traordinary degree, are the result of French sacrifice and French assistance. Yet America remains unmoved while France implores financial aid. What We Can Do for France During 1920 it is estimated that France will have vital need of wheat, cotton, oats, coal and machinery of the value of 3,000,000,000 francs. She will have to buy these in the United States. 9 WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US How, with her money so cheapened and without credit, is she to make those purchases ? "The American state, as a government, cannot advance and will not advance this sum." No less a French authority than Eugene Schneider, who headed the French Economic Mission to this country recently, is quoted not only as recognizing that fact but as stating further that "the day of State loans to a State is over. It is essentially a war measure and its continua- tion would paralyze initiative." Both abroad and at home, in fact, it is recognized that the granting of large credits to Europe through govern- ment machinery is impossible. Not only would the issuance of bonds, in such amounts as would be required to make such loans, result in further inflation of credit and consequently in higher prices ; but the increased export demand, which would be certain to result, would inevitably compete with our domestic de- mand for commodities; and in the absence of a surplus of those the effect of this, too, would be to drive prices higher. Obviously, it is not a case in which our government can act or should be expected to act. It may assist, and doubtless will support, any efforts France may make to obtain credit from private sources. But the problem itself is not governmental. That is for our bankers, our exporters and our investing public to solve. They alone can meet the responsibility; theirs, therefore, the duty of bringing aid to France. France must have wheat; she must. have coal ; she must have cotton ; she must have machinery. And to get them she must have credit — American credit. French Claims to Credit And now it is to be asked: On what actually does France base her claims to credit? Sentiment aside, is she 10 WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US really entitled to it? In other words, if the great Ameri- can public should decide to absorb a French loan what real security would there be behind that loan? To preface the answer, a few words about what peace must eventually do for France. Foreign Investments. Before the war, France had invested abroad 38 billion francs, of which two-thirds are not paying interest at the present moment. Peace should restore most of this wealth to its normal value. Loans to Allies, During the war France lent 10 billion francs to its allies. With peace fully restored it is logical to conclude that these credits will at least pay their interest charges. German Payments. France has assumed for war pensions an indebtedness approximating 4 billion francs per annum. With the Treaty of Peace in force, France will charge this sum to Germany and lighten the annual budget by that amount. Iron — Pig-iron — Steel. The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France will double the nation's production of iron, pig-iron and steel, and place it first among the European nations, and second among the steel producing countries of the world. Out of an estimated production of 45 million tons of iron ore, 17 million tons will be available for export ; while of a production of 9 million tons of pig-iron, one and one- quarter million tons will be exported. Steel production will run over 8 million tons, of which more than a quarter will be sold abroad. Rich Potash Fields. Alsace-Lorraine will also bring to France extremely rich potash fields which will not ®nly permit her to supply her own needs, but to export a surplus at considerable profit. 11 WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US Cotton and Woolen Exports. Again Alsace-Lorraine will enable France to double her exports of cotton products. One million spindles and 45,000 looms have thus been added to her former equip- ment. In the woolen industry the outlook is equally bright, for to this Alsace had added 500,000 spindles. Sufficient raw material alone will be needed to double the amount of pre-war exports of woolen materials. Of the other tex- tiles, such as linen, jute and hemp stuffs, of which the export balance amounted to 50 million dollars before the war, it is certain that their production will rapidly out- grow every requirement of France. And Alsace-Lorraine brings oil to France — 50,000 tons per year from the Peschelbrom district. Hydraulic Power, During the war France harnessed her water power in order to save coal. Already 300 million dollars have been spent in such development, of which during the war alone 120 million dollars were subscribed. The result at the moment is 1,200,000 H. P. against 700,000 H. P. before the war. In 1921, it is espected that 1,600,000 H. P. will be effective, which means an annual saving of 8 million tons of coal. The Chemical Industry. In the chemical industry, France ranked fourth before the war, contributing 13 per cent, of the world's output. During the war, military requirements produced large de- velopment, and while the expansion was not so great rela- tively as in America, due to lack of labor, it is true that the production of sulphuric acid was increased threefold in France whereas in the United States its production was only doubled. French agricultural needs, naturally, will absorb a large part of her increased production but a certain amount for export may reasonably be counted upon. 12 WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US Restored Tonnage, Of ships France made many sacrifices during the war. By purchases abroad, however, it has ah*eady suc- ceeded in raising its tonnage to its pre-war figure of 2% million tons, and it is planned to increase it to 6 million tons gross. Docks are being enlarged and numerous piers for large ships have already been constructed. Machinery for handling freight, likewise, is being installed in larger quantities. Railroad Facilities. With regard to railroads, figures have already been given indicating the extent to which those destroyed have been replaced. Freight moved from French ports inland increased from 32 million tons in 1913 to 52 million in 1916 and considerably more in the last years of the war — a good indication certainly of how the country is now pre- pared to meet the transportation needs of peace. Colonial Wealth, No mention of French assets would be complete with- out allusion to its colonies. In surface ten times greater than France herself, their undeveloped wealth is enor- mous. In a few years, unquestionably, Algeria, Tunis and Morocco will be the granary of France. Northern Africa also produces fruit, wine and cattle; and cotton can be cultivated there. Her mineral wealth is considerable ; her trade amounts to more than 500 million dollars yearly; farming on an extensive scale can be carried on ; and the construction of new railways and the development of proper harbor facilities will increase her value to France enormously. So, too, with France's other territory — those prosperous countries of Indo-China, Madagascar, West and Central Africa and the French islands of the Pacific which are already sending to France in exchange for manufactured products meat, wheat, vegetable oils, lum- ber, cotton and ores. 13 it ti WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US A wonderful list of assets surely; and against it to be reckoned only the following: (a) France's loss in coal production, amounting tem- porarily to 20 million tons yearly. (b) France's agricultural loss, represented by needs for 1920, of: Wheat 1,000,000 tons Oats 200,000 Sugar 100,000 Meat 25,000 Is France entitled to credit? France is entitled to credit. Some Final Facts One or two more facts and the brief is finished. At the beginning of the war, France had from five to six billion francs in trade acceptances outstanding. The Moratorium "froze" those bills ; yet as this is written only 800 million francs of the total amount remain unpaid, and it is expected that not more than half that amount will remain unpaid for any length of time. V Five years of tragedy and ruin, and yet in less than one year from the signing of the Armistice only about two per cent, of those bills remain unprotected. French banks, furthermore, are really strong at this moment. They got themselves out of the Moratorium in one year; and their resources are now "in a sufficiently liquid state to afford their customers the assistance they need." A large, new institution to be called the "Credit Na- tional" had been organized with its capital fully sub- scribed, chiefly to make loans to the people of the devas- tated regions and discount the indemnities allotted by the French government. Immediately, its charter is ratified by parliament ; it will start its activities. The French investment market also is good ; industrial bonds and notes are easily absorbed ; the city of Paris has 14 WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US just issued a loan of 1,500,000,000 francs which is quoted at three per cent, premium. The advances of the Bank of France to the French government, notwithstanding heavy- expenditures for cancellation of war contracts and pay- ment of demobilization money, are progressively decreas- ing. For the first three months of 1917 there were 4,450,- 000,000 francs ; in June, 1919, only 944,000,000 francs. ^'Financially, indeed, France has only two big problems on hand; and the first, which is to finance the French Gov- ernment through conversion into long-term bonds of the short term securities and the surplus in^debtedness on the bank of France, concerns herself alone. It is a big job, but the French know how to do it" The second concerns America vitally for that is the problem of exchange and foreign purchases. To quote no less an international authority on banking than Baron Jacques de Neuflize, "France is in the same position as a railroad with a maturing bond issue. How does a good railroad pay? It has no money; it has only equity, therefore it has to borrow again until it can repay by instalments through a sinking fund what it owes. The railroad also issues equipment bonds to buy whatever ma- terial it needs to assure its traffic." The finances of France were evenly balanced before the war ; "she could even loan half a billion dollars a year to foreign countries." But during the five years of war, France neglected her export trade for the business of beat- ing Germany and thus accumulated an adverse foreign balance. "Exchange is bad at present because foreign credits are smaller than French needs, but France still has equity, good equity, lots of equity behind the franc, and if it was only a question of its intrinsic value, you would not get more than 11 francs for a dollar.'* There is "the case in a nutshell." Intrinsically, the value of French currency is almost as great to-day as it 15 WHAT FRANCE DID FOR US ever was. American credit alone is necessary to restore it to its proper purchasing value in exchange. It is not so long ago, as time goes, that America her- self was without credit abroad. During the American revolution France alone of the nations of Europe was willing to grant us credit; and to quote the words of Charlemagne Tower: "The essential fact for us Ameri- cans to remember is that we went of our own accord to France to ask for help and that we received it from her. Not only did she encourage us by permission which she granted our agents to obtain supplies and munitions of war . . . but she employed her own credit to borrow large sums of money which she advanced to Congress." If the United States should forsake France now, "the war would be a stirring and glorious memory but also an episode without lasting benefits, something like an un- completed work. A merciless economic war would soon break out and once more clouds would gather in that clear and beautiful sky that should eternally spread over the cemeteries where our glorious dead lie side by side, sharing their glory after having shared their perils." Thus that great captain of French industry, Eugene Schneider, states it, and further declares: "If you re- main strangers to our efforts, you will remain strangers to our future, but you will not remain strangers to our sufferings." They "will reach you in spite of yourselves, in spite of ourselves." "For the sake of American trade and industry, for the sake of the loans already made to us, for the sake of helping Europe to start production, for the sake of sweeping away discontent and consolidating Peace, and for the sake of preserving and increasing American prestige" we must help France. 16 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 546 459 3 4