Chapter III: Part 3

Arriving at De Rove, the south end of the tunnel, on Saturday, September 23rd, I had my first view of the Mediterranean. It was a most beautiful sight, and the water as blue as pictured in paintings. We were rowed in a small boat across an arm of the Mediterranean to the town of Marseilles. We first visited the new part of Marseilles; then the old. Upon our arrival there was a tremendous gathering to greet us; not less than ten thousand children were shouting "Viva la Amerique". The whole city was decorated with American and French flags intertwined. The crowd lined upon the wharf so thickly we could scarcely pass through it. This reception was the greatest we had received anywhere in France. We visited the Hotel de Ville and were greeted by the mayor, with a response by Mr. Nichols, interpreted by Dr. Mailloux. We were then taken to the Hotel Regina and in the evening given a banquet by the Chamber of Commerce. This chamber was organized in 1599 and is the oldest chamber of commerce in the world.

Our invitation to this banquet read as follows:

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The President of the Marseilles Chamber of Commerce begs you to honor him by your presence at the luncheon which will be given to the members of your Commission on

Monday, September 25th 12:30 P. M. at the Restaurant de la Re'serve. (31 F Promenade de la Corniche)

* * *

At this banquet, on my right sat Maurice Damour, French deputy in charge of the Commission, and on my left Hubert Giraud, vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce. He made a fine address and I asked him for a copy, which he gave me. It is reproduced herewith:

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Mr. President-- Gentlemen:

I am desired by my President to give you in your own language the welcome of the Chamber of Commerce of Marseilles. You will certainly lose more than gain in hearing me instead of President Artaud, and I must apologize, as my knowledge of English is far from being adequate to my task. Anyhow, it is possible my words may be by a few of our guests more easily translated than if delivered in French.

Gentlemen, the oldest Chamber of Commerce in France, and maybe in the world, is exceedingly proud of entertaining tonight the highly qualified representatives of the American Commerce and Industry. We are most thankful to your party to have agreed to spend some of your valuable time in our city. We are sorry to say that we have not this good fortune as often as we would like, and that your fellow-citizens generally pay very little care to our old harbour and town. They are rather exclusively attracted by our great capital, Paris, and when coming to enjoy the splendid winters of the French Riviera, they reach it direct by rail or by sea, and seem to be quite ignorant of Marseilles, where they could find at least what is our city's glory: LIGHT, LIFE and LABOUR.

I think that Marseilles deserves more attention, and that the old ties between America and Marseilles should be better known. I would recall that our history, especially the history of our Chamber of Commerce, records the old sympathy of Marseilles for America. It is as old as your nation herself. At the end of the eighteenth century, when the stars of young America just appeared on the Atlantic horizon, French warships fought for your fathers' independence. Some ships of Admiral d'Estaing's French squadron bore names such as "LE MARSEILLAIS", "LA PROVENCE". In the year 1782 the French fleet was increased by a new warship of 118 guns, built and armed at the expense of the Chamber of Commerce of Marseilles. Her cost was 1,200,000 francs, a very small sum of money in our days, but rather a large one in those remote times. She was offered to King Louis XVI for the very purpose of helping in the American war, and she was named by the King "Le Commerce de Marseille."

Gentlemen, it is for the successors of the "echevins" of the year 1782 a great joy to meet in Marseilles the sons of the glorious soldiers of the Independence War, sustained so many years ago with the assistance of the warship bearing their own name.

Gentlemen, Marseilles may be somewhat ignored, but France was not forgotten by America. I need not mention the numerous proofs our country has received of your country's sympathy. But I only fulfill a duty in emphasizing the very great help we have found in America in the course of this terrible war, the greatest human cataclysm which ever stormed the human world. All of us are aware that France found in America another kind of help than material, steel and grain. France found amongst you any sort of goods, but also--and over all--kindness and pity. American ambulances, splendidly organized, afforded invaluable relief to our wounded on the front. May I mention not that American airmen rendered to our army the most useful services, and that American lives were lost for France. America helps us by sea, on land and in the air. Your country knows that France is not fighting for power or profit, but that she is pouring the best of her children's blood for Freedom and Humanity.

Gentlemen, we used to say in France that good accounts, that is good settlements of business, make good friends. I believe that the words may be reversed and that good friendship may lead to good business. I trust that after this war, trade between America and Marseilles will be largely extended. We have shown you that, notwithstanding the present worries and difficulties, we are pushing on our harbor improvements and preparing large accommodation for shipping and industry. We strongly believe that, in the near future, Marseilles must become the most important harbor and center of commerce for the whole Mediterranean Sea. We think that the American trade will find in our city the best center of distribution for your large exports of commodities such as petroleum, harvesting machinery, tobacco, and that they should be forwarded through Marseilles to all the Mediterranean shores. I have no doubt your visit in our city will allow you to observe that you can find here produce of our land or of our industry, most convenient for American requirements, and that in the mutual interest of your and our cities the trade between Marseilles and American ports will be proportionate to the friendship of the Nations.

Mr. President, Gentlemen, I propose your good health and the good health of your friends, and the prosperity of our sister Republic, The United States of America.

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There was greeting by M. Artaud, president of the Chamber of Commerce, and a response by Mr. Nichols. We were given an ovation by the most representative people of Marseilles. We met at this dinner, A. Gaulin, American Consul General, and he was most cordial.

The next day was Sunday. In the afternoon we visited the Marseilles Art Museum. We saw a bust, recently found, which dates back to the Second century; it resembles very closely the work of Rodin. In this museum we saw an old bell, labeled 1840, and an old straw hat, labeled 1820. We drove all over the city, visited the old docks and noted the cosmopolitan conglomeration of people in streets.

We were taken to the Chateau D'If, which is a quarter of a mile out at sea, made world-famous by Dumas in the noted novel "The Count of Monte Cristo". We all resolved, right then and there, that when we got home we would re-read "The Count of Monte Cristo". In our drive we saw Longchamp palace, which resembles very much the court of honor in the National McKinley Birthplace Memorial at Niles, Ohio. The entrance to the port of Marseilles resembles the Golden Gate at San Francisco. We gathered considerable information in our talks with the people we met at Marseilles, being told among other things, that all the officials of the French government are to hold over until the war is over, that is to say, elections are suspended for the time being. The efficiency and preparedness of the Germans was enlarged upon, it being stated, as is very well known, that Germany was the only country prepared at the time the war broke out.

We visited at Marseilles the birthplace of Rouget de l'Isle, the author of the Marseilles hymn. This hymn was first sung by a lady at an evening party in Straussburgh, Germany, and it was then called the "Hymn of the Soldier from Marseilles", but afterwards became known as "The Marsellaise Hymn". It is the national anthem of France; the words are inspiring and no one, whether American or French, can listen to the music of this hymn without being stirred to the depths.

We heard much of the vast stores of zinc and iron ores in Tunisia and Algeria, and were given much information about French colonies. France, including its colonies, has nearly one hundred million people. The Trans-Africa Railroad takes in a population of more than two hundred million people along the Mediterranean, including France, Spain and Italy. One of the largest dams in the world, "La Durance Dame," 429 feet across, is in France, not far from Marseilles.

Before the war Germany marketed a large amount of its coal in France, three hundred thousand tons annually.

Bauxite or aluminum ore is mined in France, and 60 per cent. of the output of the world is French product. Algeria contains millions of acres of virgin forests, ready to be explored. The cork oak is one of the important trees. Large exports of iron ore are made to England. At the end of the war the French expect to market ore and coal from the fields of Lorraine.

In our travels through Marseilles, we did not observe anywhere play grounds or amusements of any kind for the workmen.

Marseilles has a number of convalescent hospitals. We saw in the streets on Sunday, soldiers wandering about, English, French, Russian, Tunisian, Algerian, Hindu-Chinese, Moroccan, Australian, Canadian, Corsican; natives of Madagascar and Negroes from South Africa--soldiers from eleven different nations.

There is a plan projected to connect Marseilles with a system of French canals, so as to afford direct water communication between the Mediterranean, the North Sea and thus to the English Channel. Marseilles antedates the Christian era by five hundred years. In 1782 a man-of-war mounting one hundred and eighteen guns, named "La Commerce de Marseilles" was built at the expense of the Marseilles Chamber of Commerce and presented to Louis XVI for the fleet sent by the French Government to fight for American independence. Marseilles, later on, became prominent in the French Revolution and gave its name to the French national hymn.

The largest tunnel in the world is now well under course of construction in France, its object being to give the city of Marseilles connection with Paris and the interior in general by rail and water. This tunnel will provide an ample waterway for barges. The entire project involves the building of a new harbor and the cutting of a ship canal, actually tunneled through solid rock for five long miles, joining the old harbor and the Mediterranean to the River Rhone. The Rhone's upper stretches are placid and already are used extensively for barge navigation, but near Marseilles the stream is far too turbulent for commerce. A range of hills had prevented the construction of a canal in days gone by. Now, with France energized by the war, and with the necessity for the canal emphasized thereby, the tunnel is being pushed and the canal will soon be opened. It will connect Marseilles with the network of canals which extends throughout the country. There are longer tunnels in the world, but none so large, for this is seventy-two feet wide and nearly forty-seven feet high. The work was begun in 1911-12 and has been continued through the war. The project is being put through by the Marseilles Chamber of Commerce, which found $8,000,000 of the $18,280,000 required to do the work. The balance will be paid by vessel tolls. The canal runs from Arles to the Mediterranean, a distance of fifty-one miles, making a navigable waterway to the usable portion of the Rhone and the Saone, opening 337 miles of water capable of bearing 600-ton lighters. By this canal and links already available, barges can be sent from the Mediterranean to the English Channel.

On Monday, September the 25th, I called upon the Consul General A. Gaulin. I found him a very agreeable gentleman and quite devoted to his work, a great deal of which consisted in helping needy Americans stranded in France.

The Commission was invited to luncheon at the Hotel Reserve, overlooking the Mediterranean and the Chateau D'If. On my right sat the president of the Marseilles Chamber of Commerce, Adrien Artaud, and on my left sat Lucien Estrine, former president of the Marseilles Chamber of Commerce. At this elevated hotel, tradition has it, the Count of Monte Cristo and his bride had their wedding breakfast.

In the afternoon an open meeting was held by the Chamber of Commerce at the Regina Hotel. This meeting was attended by citizens of Marseilles interested in the import and export business. The question of credits was pretty thoroughly discussed. It was stated by a number of Frenchmen present that the coveting of the iron ore and coal deposits of France by the Germans was the real cause of the war.

IX.

TOWNS IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

We left Marseilles on Tuesday, September 26th, at 6 A. M. for Grenoble. The sunrise was very beautiful; along the way you can see trees, the tops of which have been chopped off. We were told that the annual crop of fire-wood in France is just the same as the annual crop of wheat or any other product. Fast growing trees are planted and the branches and twigs are utilized for fuel.

We were met at the Grenoble station by eight entirely new Dodge automobiles.

At Grenoble, we visited the glove factory of Perrin & Co. This firm is well known in the United States and we were informed that our country is its best customer. In normal times the concern employes twenty thousand men and women, equally divided. The product is twenty million pairs of gloves annually. Much of the work is taken home for execution. The shop is well lighted and the sanitary conditions seem to be all of the very best. We visited the Raymond button factory and the candy factory of Davin & Company. This was a very interesting experience. At the close, or rather before leaving the factory, we were permitted to witness the decoration of a workman who had been in the employment of the company for thirty-five years. It was really an affecting sight. We were told that in all that time he had not lost a day from sickness and the time had arrived when he was entitled to a pension. He was decorated by the head of the firm. At the close of the ceremonies he was surrounded by his family, relatives and members of the firm, and greeted in the usual way of the French with their own countrymen, that is to say, by kissing and embracing.

On Wednesday, September 27th, at seven in the morning, we left Grenoble for the French Alps. We had as a guide John Steel, an American who had been in France for fifteen years and had become a French citizen. He gave us much valuable information. He said, among other things, that when the railroads in France take freight they guarantee the time of delivery, if desired, and include an extra charge in the rate. On this trip we passed three companies of mounted guns, the technical name being mountain artillery. This was an interesting sight. A portion consisted of donkeys with all the paraphernalia of a soldier strapped to their backs, together with rapid firing mitrailleuses. The soldiers were unusually fine looking men from the Alpine district, a portion of France near the Swiss border.

We visited a paper mill where the entire product was cardboard. We passed the "Escole de Garcons," otherwise a school for teaching waiters. We were told by Mr. Steel that in the valley adjoining that in which we were driving anthracite coal exists in abundance but has not been worked to any great extent. We passed mountain villages and noticed the cultivation of the sides of mountains almost perpendicular. It was a wonderful ride, amid splendid scenery, with numerous waterfalls, snow and glaciers in great abundance; in other words, we were going through the Switzerland of France. We passed a flock of sheep, more than five thousand in number, cared for by a head shepherdess, with several assistants and a number of dogs.

We had luncheon at the Grand Hotel Bourg D'Oison and stopped briefly at the hotel de La Meige.

On our return down the mountain we visited an electric manufacturing plant, the products being aluminum, magnesium, sodium, peroxide, sodium, oxolyte, calcium, and hydrated calcium. In this factory one of the commissioners had a narrow escape from certain injury, if not death, by attempting to taste the chemicals. He was stopped just in time.

We then visited the Chateau Vizille, built in the seventeenth century and at one time occupied by Casimer de Perier, President of France. Vizille was one of the three great marshalls of France, and the chateau is called the "Cradle of Liberty". The first French Revolutionary meeting was held here. The castle contained old cannon and splendid old furniture, while the surrounding grounds were beautiful.

On Thursday, September 28th, we visited the paper manufacturing plant of Berges at Lancey. There is an immense water-power installation here, the capacity of the plant being one hundred tons daily of all grades of paper. There are two plants, one a very old one, dating back nearly two hundred years, and the other a new one, not quite completed. We saw here one machine which cost one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, a remarkable piece of mechanism, almost human in its workings. The waterfall is six hundred feet in a short distance. Adjoining this paper mill was a small munition plant. Most of the employes were women, dressed in the American bloomer costume.

In the afternoon we had a meeting with the citizens and the Chamber of Commerce of Grenoble. The discussion took a very wide range--from the tariff question to the latest news from the front.

Next the party visited a plant for the manufacture of sheet steel by electricity.

In the evening we were banqueted at the Grand Hotel. On my right sat M. Paisant, Director General; on my left was Mr. Thomas W. Mutton, Vice-consul of the United States of America at Grenoble; near was was Mr. Tenot, Prefect of the district.

This part of France is noted for the amount of cement manufactured. Walnuts are grown in this section in large quantities. I discussed these things with Mr. Murton.

There was a discussion at the banquet over female suffrage and the birthrate, and this grew very animated.

On Friday, September 29th, we left Grenoble and stopped at Voiron and were here treated, at 9:30 A. M., with a "petit dejeuner". We next visited the monastery Grande. This was founded in the Twelfth century by St. Bruno. The present building was commenced and completed in the sixteenth century and the community originally had forty-two monks or fathers. This monastery is where the celebrated liquor, "Chartreuse", was manufactured, the basis of which is brandy, distilled flowers, and herbs. This formula was known only to the monks. While at the monastery in France each monk had an individual garden and an individual cell. When an extra penance seemed necessary special silence was given them and they were compelled to remain in their cells for months at a time. There were long corridors and in the basement places for servants and retainers. In the center of the grounds was a very beautiful place where the fathers were buried. We were told that the order was recruited mainly from the intellectual class, many of them widowers. Special rooms were reserved for travelers without money and without price.

The Carthusian order of Monks established themselves at Grenoble, France, in 1132. The original receipe for the famous cordial was given them in 1602 by Marshall d'Estress. Friar Jerome Maubec arranged the present formula in 1755, and it remained unchanged until their expulsion by the French Government, July 2nd, 1901. More than two hundred ingredients go to make up Chartreuse, and nowhere else in the world can this cordial be manufactured. Chartreuse is the unsolved enigma of French compounders of liqueurs. Its manufacture has ceased. It is quite true that at Tarragona, Spain, the monks still continue to make cordial under the name of "Peres Chartreux", but it is generally agreed that, owing to the change of locality and climate, the "Peres Chartreux" now made there is not equal to the old Chartreuse. There are a number of people in Grenoble who make imitation Chartreuse, but it is not so good as the real thing.

The monastery library contained twenty-two thousand volumes. These monks were also known as the Chartreusers, or Carthusian Monks. This was the head monastery, but there were branches in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The fathers lived on a simple diet and no meat was allowed. They were not allowed to speak to each other except twice a week, on Sunday and Thursday. This old monastery is now used as a hospital for convalescents.

After this most interesting visit we were taken to luncheon at the Hotel du Grand Som, and later for a ride of one hundred miles in the military automobiles, through a mountainous country.

We arrived at Annecy at 8 P. M. and stopped at the Imperial Palace Hotel. This is one of the finest watering places in France. A beautiful lake surrounds the hotel, with mountains in the distance.

The next morning we called upon the Mayor and went through the usual speeches. We were given a boat ride on the lake. Then we visited an old castle. The coast looked very much like the coast of Maine between Bath and Squirrel Island. We were taken by boat from Annecy to Menthon and had luncheon at the Palace Hotel. Here Mr. Damour made his first speech, which was received so enthusiastically that he was kissed by nearly all the Frenchmen present.

We then visited an electric steel plant at Acierils, the French name being the "Electriques of Ugine". We were greeted by, among other things, a couple of American flags, but they were upside down.

We left Annecy at 5 P. M. for Lyons and stopped at the Terminus Hotel. We saw a number of tattooed soldiers, that is tattooed with powder marks, they having seen service.

On Sunday, October 1st, at 8 A. M. we left Lyons for Le Creusot, where the great French steel plant is located. A serious discussion was held on the train about going to the front and the dangers were depicted quite vividly. We stopped at Chagny, after passing a very old church dating back to the Tenth century. We saw, as we passed along, droves of beautiful white cows, with not a speck of color.

X.

THE CREUSOT GUN WORKS

Arriving in Le Creusot we stopped at the Grand Hotel Moderne and had a most enjoyable Sunday evening. It was discovered that our French secretary, Emile Garden, had quite a tenor voice. He started in to sing the Marseilles Hymn, and it was not long until all the Commission joined, and then the hotel employes. Before we got through scores of people came in from the street to see what was going on. The incident was telegraphed by the newspaper correspondents to the Paris papers, and it aided in the work of the commissioners by showing their patriotism and sympathy for France.

We were told that there had been no strike at Le Creusot for twenty-five years. The employes wear a special sleeve decoration which indicates that they are in the same class as soldiers; that is to say, they are making cannon and munitions and working for France.

We were given a breakfast at the Schneider club house and then visited the plant. We were refused admission to the munitions plant. The works employ about twenty thousand men and two thousand women. The output of the plant is large projectiles, and for this reason the number of women employed is relatively small. A number of five hundred and twenty millimeter shells were shown to us; these shells are more than seven feet long and weigh a ton and a half. We were also shown the guns from which they are fired, but these were not quite completed. This plant contains four blast furnaces of very small capacity, making special grades of pig iron. The initial heat is not used, the steel being reheated and repoured. A good deal of Vanadium alloy is used, and this is made in America. At this plant we met Mr. Edmond Lemaitre, an engineer who had been in Youngstown employed as an inspector. All the employes, both men and women, wear wooden shoes. We noticed an absence of safety devices and safety notices. Armored cars were being manufactured for the government as well as armor plate, but this armor plate mill was away behind the mills in our own country.

We had luncheon at the club house, but no speeches were made. None of the proprietors or directors of the company was present. We then visited the company hospital, a part of which was occupied by electric devices for treating the wounded. Then we came to the home where the orphans of the employes are taken care of.

A great deal of attention is paid to the sanitary conditions and also to the uniforms of the men, and a great deal that is done for the workmen could be copied in our American plants. The history of these works, the greatest of their kind in France, is interesting. Their former ore supply, or at least a large part of it, was captured by the Germans near Verdun.

The name Creusot was first mentioned in an old charter in 1253. In the year 1502 coal was discovered there, and the year 1793 saw the opening of the Canal du Centre. During the French Revolution the plant was taken and exploited by the state and a little before the year 1800 was given back to its owners. During the Napoleonic wars much work was done here. In the year 1815, gun making was stopped and only coal mining was allowed.

The dynasty of the Schneiders continued for four generations; the last one, Charles Eugene Schneider, was born in 1868.

The first French locomotive was built at this plant and, in 1841, the first hammer moved by steam power.

In the year 1855 the Crimean war led to much activity at this plant. In 1867 ten thousand workmen were employed. In the year 1870 the first Bessemer steel produced in France, was made here, although the process had then been in use in the United States for six years.

Since 1884 these works have been exporting guns to many foreign countries.

In 1897 a large plant was built near Le Havre for the manufacture of naval guns. In 1882 they built large naval works near Bordeaux, and since 1906 they have been building the largest warships at that place. In 1909, at Hyeres, near Toulon, studying and making of torpedoes was begun, and this was followed in 1910 by submarines. Five plants are now scattered through France for this kind of work.

The Creusot works do not employ children under fourteen years of age. There are often three generations employed in this same kind of work, and some families have up to twenty members working in one plant. They have always been spared epidemics of any serious nature. With sanitary and prosperous homes, few deaths have occurred in the first year of life. The rate of deaths at Le Creusot is only ten per thousand while the average in France is 16 per thousand, and in bad industrial centers 25 per thousand. Eighty per cent. of the children are nursed by the mother. After the seventh month before birth mothers rest, and for a period after and during this time they receive the usual wages.

The first school was opened here in 1787. At the age of fourteen children can become apprentices and those of other towns or villages are often attracted. After they have a school certificate, entrance to the works is optional. From the age of twelve to sixteen years they must do military preparation, with flags and musical band. The brightest children go to high school to become engineers, and they are taught by the best professors in France. They pay back the cost of their education only when they have secured a good position. A thorough medical examination is necessary.

Since the year 1875 savings banks for children have existed.

The first domestic science school was organized in Europe in the year 1865 at Goteborg. At first all the mothers were opposed to these schools, but they soon favored them. One cannot enter these schools without a diploma from the common schools. Each teacher is given twenty-four pupils. The girls are taught to make their own apparel, gardening, cooking, washing, ironing, mending and keeping home expense accounts.

There are three classes of workmen. Ten selected, twenty auxiliaries, thirty uneducated laborers. In January, 1912 there were twenty thousand men employed. They all sign a full contract, after reading it, before getting into the works. The contract can be cancelled by either party with one week's notice. No proprietor of a saloon can work in the plant. From 1837 to 1911 the salaries have increased 130 per cent. In the year 1911 the total of salaries was nearly thirty-three million francs. The annual donations amount to three million francs. Delegates are nominated by the workmen for conference with the employers to suggest better conditions and improvements in working methods. Sixty-six per cent. of their suggestions or demands have been adopted and the result is peace and confidence. The company provides swimming pools, divided into two parts, one-half for adults and the other half for younger men and boys.

The homes are subject to constant sanitary inspection and all unsanitary buildings are destroyed. Safety appliances and all protecting apparatus are painted in brilliant red. There has been a constant study of the workman's house, since the eighteenth century. In 1840 the company had one hundred workmen's houses; in 1912 two thousand five hundred, and in addition to this hundreds of these houses have been bought by the workmen by slow annual payments added to the rent. The types of houses vary for one to four families. The rents are low and do not pay regular interest on the investment. Ground space for gardens is furnished by the company, with annual competitions and rewards for the best results. Trees and seeds are furnished at nominal prices. There are two thousand, two hundred and fifty gardens under cultivation.

The savings bank is managed by the company and safe investments are made for the workmen, returns of from three to five per cent, on savings being guaranteed.

In the year 1911, eight thousand workmen's accounts reached thirteen million francs. The chief use of the savings is to buy homes. The total amount advanced to workmen for building houses since 1845 was five million francs, of which only eighty-three thousand, five hundred are not yet paid back.

Co-operative societies for reducing the cost of living are organized to enable the workmen to get supplies at cost. They were started and managed by the Schneider Company and gradually left in the hands of the workmen themselves.

Club houses are maintained with tennis courts, fencing bouts, games, gymnasiums, a children's theatre, gun clubs, rowing clubs and musical societies. The time spent in rehearsing for orchestras is not deducted from the pay. Free medical attendance for the workman and his family is given. Emergency and base hospitals are provided by the company. Modern and up-to-date mutual benefit societies are managed by the workmen. Old age pensions have been financed differently during the last century and are now supported by one per cent. from the workman, two per cent. from the Schneider Company, and three per cent. from the State.

Houses are provided for men over sixty years of age, and when it is possible aged couples are kept together.

We reached Dole at 9 o'clock P. M. on Monday, October 2nd.

Dole is the birthplace of Pasteur, the great French scientist who discovered the antidote for hydrophobia. His name is known throughout the world.

XI.

APPROACHING THE FRONT

After leaving Dole, the next stop on our itinerary was Besancon, from which we entered the zone of actual hostilities. For us this town was the gateway to "The Front" and therefore a point of more than usual interest. Here we were asked to sign the following paper, which all members of the commission did on October 4th, we having reached the town at midnight on October 2nd.

Besancon, October 4, 1916.

The itinerary arranged for the American Industrial Commission includes several days' sojourn at the "front", which is considered of importance in the prosecution of its investigation, particularly as preliminary to a conference in Paris with the "American Centrale pour la Reprise de l' Activite Industrielle dans Les Regions Envahies."

The danger of such a trip is fully recognized and hereby admitted, and although the extraordinary risk inseparably connected with a trip to Europe at this time has been accepted by us all, yet, in the present case

Each of the undersigned by this means records for himself his voluntary assumption by him of all responsibility in connection therewith, and furthermore, asserts that neither by coercion, persuasion, nor even by suggestion on the part of the Chairman, or otherwise, has his course been determined.

M. W. W. Nichols,
M. J. G. Butler, Jr.
M. A. B. Farquhar,
M. G. B. Ford,
M. S. F. Hoggson,
M. J. F. Le Maistre,
M. J. R. Mac Arthur,
M. Le Dr. C. O. Mailloux,
M. C. G. Pfeiffer,
M. J. E. Sague,
M. E. A. Warren,
M. E. V. Douglass,
M. E. Garden.

We were met by the military automobiles at the station, two soldiers in each auto. I was accosted at the station by a number of wounded English soldiers. It seemed good to hear a little English spoken. One of the soldiers reached out his hand as I passed and said, "How are you?" We were domiciled at the Hotel Europe. The windows were barred with iron shutters excluding light and fresh air. Early the following morning we were treated to the sight of more than one thousand German prisoners, just captured and being taken to the camp at Besancon.

This was the birthplace of Victor Hugo, who was born February 26th, 1802. Old Roman ruins were very much in evidence, among them an old Roman citadel and a Roman theatre. By tradition, St. John the Baptist was buried here. We visited the underground water works and the Cathedral of St. Jean and saw in this church many paintings of the Holy Family and other religious representations. There were two immense holes in this cathedral, the result of bombs fired from the German guns in 1914, in the beginning of the war.

I saw here a girl and a dog hitched to the same cart, hauling a load of vegetables; they both seemed contented.

Luncheon was served by the Chamber of Commerce at the Resturant De Besancon. In the evening we were given a banquet at the Besancon Hotel de Ville. Up to this time I had been with the Commission five weeks, but on account of my patriotic utterances in private and my quite apparent sympathy with the French people, was not urged to speak. It had been, however, arranged that I was to talk at Le Creusot, but there was not a representative gathering to talk to there, and this Besancon banquet seemed to be the proper place. After some pressure of other members of the Commission I was requested to speak. This was really the first note of human sympathy sounded. I first spoke in English, which not more than two or three in the audience, outside of the Commissioners, understood, although there were about one hundred present. At the conclusion of my talk it was translated into French by Mr. MacArthur. When he got through I was surrounded by the Frenchmen present and congratulated as well as embraced by practically the entire audience. This address is reproduced by special request of some of the members of the Commission who heard it.

Gentlemen:--

I am afraid my aeroplane French will not be understood by our good friends present. I tried it on a number of our Franco-American orators, and they, with one accord, said it was fine and beautiful, but they could not understand a word I was saying. I will, therefore, ask my fellow-traveler and sympathizer, Mr. MacArthur, to read the brief address I have prepared, apologizing through him for the lamentable fact that I speak English only.

This gives me an opportunity of saying that by special letter of authorization issued by Dr. Ricketts President of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, I represent that important organization during our mission in France. The American Institute of Mining Engineers is composed of more than six thousand members, all technical, scientific and practical men. The organization has been in existence more than a quarter of a century, and has rendered invaluable service to our mining and manufacturing interests in the United States. This scientific body of men stand ready to render such service to France as France may desire and it is hoped this suggestion may receive serious consideration.

Gentlemen: When our good ship, the Lafayette, passed through the river entering the port of Bordeaux, we beheld a most beautiful sunset, such as Cazin would have painted. As we beheld this glorious vision, it flashed through my mind that France is fighting for its existence among nations, and my heart went out to all France in loving sympathy. As we landed and progressed on our journey, this feeling of reverence and affection for the French people became intensified. The French spirit insures victory--a victory which, when gained, will be substantial and enduring, worthy of the great people who are pouring out their life blood and treasure to attain this end.

Everywhere we have been impressed with the earnestness of the women in France. All the thousands we have seen at their employment impressed me with their desire to help save the country. In a word, as I looked upon their faces, all seemed to express the thought, "We are working for France". This slogan goes all over your fair land and is a mighty factor in the progress of the conflict. Signs of loss were everywhere from Bordeaux to Paris, and in our wanderings since, but not a word of complaint have we heard.

Our visit to the birthplace of your countryman, Lafayette, was looked forward to with intense interest, and the visit was a keen realization of the expectation. As our worthy President, Mr. Nichols, raised his glass and asked that we pause for a moment in silence and think of the great man who was the companion and aide of Washington, "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," there was not a dry eye in the room. All present realized the close relationship between France and the United States--cemented and welded for all time to come by the early sympathy of France for our struggling colonies, and the great assistance rendered by Lafayette to Washington in our time of need, and which resulted in our independence.

In the present struggle of France, we owe it to the French people to aid in all possible ways. I believe that a great majority of the citizens of the United States are in sympathy with France and their prayers are for your success and freedom.

It may not be out of place in this connection to mention, although somewhat personal, that when Lafayette, visited the United States in 1824, my grandfather, whose name I bear, attended a reception given the great Frenchman in Philadelphia, and has often told me about it, dwelling upon the enthusiasm with which Lafayette was everywhere greeted during his triumphant tour through the country. I have also in my autograph collection a three page patriotic letter written by Lafayette in 1824 during his visit. I prize this letter most highly.

Another fact I may mention, and it gives me profound pleasure to do so. France, in spite of her troubles, carried out her compact, and sent to the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco, a magnificent collection of paintings and sculpture. Many examples of both were loaned from the Luxembourgh, and there were a number of pieces of priceless sculpture by Rodin, your great sculptor, whose work is famous the world over. The exhibit also contained many notable examples of work by other French and Belgian artists. After the exhibition closed we were fortunate enough to have the collection exhibited at my home, Youngstown, Ohio, for a period of thirty days, under the auspices of The Mahoning Institute of Art. We were told that some of the examples were for sale, and if sold, the proceeds would help the artists, and assist in the great work being carried on to aid the hospitals of France. We, therefore, made a common cause, buying a number of paintings and one piece of sculpture, thus doing our bit to help the good work along, besides securing for our country some splendid examples of the art of France. The exhibit was obtained through the courtesy of Monsieur Jean Guiffrey, Minister of Fine Arts in France, and to whom we are profoundly grateful. In this connection I may add that the United States is largely indebted to France for influence upon American art. Nearly all of our great painters and sculptors received their initial education in France and the influence upon American art and artists by French masters is incalculable. This is one of the debts of the United States to France which can never be fully repaid.

The commission is in France, first, bearing America's good will, and second, to investigate and render such substantial aid to France as may be in our power, having in mind always the great friendship existing between the two republics, and which we hope our mission will strengthen. We venture to hope that our journey through France in war time will also result in the increased exchange of commodities between the two countries, a consummation devoutly to be wished.

I thank you, gentlemen, from the bottom of my heart and bid you God speed in the great work of saving France.

At this noted banquet there were several generals present, some of whom had been in the service but a short time previous, and one of them famous the world over. We were not permitted to mention the names of any of the generals we met while in the war zone.

XII.

WITHIN SOUND OF THE GUNS

On Wednesday, October 4th, we left for the front in military automobiles. We passed through a farming district and through several small villages. Nearly all who were at work in the fields were women. It all seemed quite peaceful, considering that the battle fields were so near. We stopped at Monte Billiard, in the Champagne district, where we were addressed by the mayor and a response was made by Mr. Pfeiffer. Cuvier, the great French scientist, was born here in the year 1769, and died in 1832. We were now, as I should have mentioned before, in that part of Alsace-Lorraine again in possession of the French. We visited at Monte Billiard, a Fifteenth century castle and a new hospital. Red Cross girls were very much in evidence, a number of them American and English. We were quartered at the Hotel de la Balanie, built in 1790. We visited the factory of Japy Freres. This concern makes a specialty of steel helmets, canteens and porcelain ware for the use of the army.

We arrived at Beaucort at midnight, and after settling down to rest, were awakened by the booming of cannon, which was continuous during the night. We were aroused the following morning by the town crier, passing along the street, wearing a peculiar uniform, beating a drum and calling out the news.

At Beaucort we were shown through a castle now occupied as a hospital. It was originally a chateau, and at that time a citadel with moat and draw-bridge.

In company with Mr. Warren, I visited the village blacksmith, being reminded of my boyhood days. He had old-fashioned bellows and, with an assistant, was in a small way finishing up some work for the army.

We arrived at Belfort at about noon, and first saw the "Belfort Lion" by Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. It is seventy-three feet long, forty-three feet high and is carved in a cliff below the citadel. This statue celebrates the stubborn resistance of the town of Belfort, which has never surrendered, although besieged on numerous occasions. Belfort has been exposed to German guns, less than ten miles away, for two years, and it is much shattered from bombardments. Many of the citizens are still engaged in their ordinary pursuits, but live in the cellars of their domiciles.

We were quartered at the Le Grande Hotel, and could hear the cannons roaring as we sat at luncheon. We were warned not to go out of the hotel without a companion. There was a cave underneath with both an inside and an outside entrance and we were told that in case the shelling was resumed we should get into this cave. There had been, however, no shelling for eight days. The town was shelled immediately after the departure of the Canadian Industrial Commission, which had recently visited Belfort.

The shutters of the hotel were closed at six P. M. I was taken to my room by the chambermaid and handed a candle and a box of matches. With all the lights of the hotel out, the cannon could be heard booming during the entire night. Belfort is under martial law, or, as it is called in France, military control. Just before retiring for the night we were reminded that the city was frequently shelled and that nearly all the inhabitants slept in the caves, a pleasant thought to go to bed with. However, strange to say, I had a most excellent night's rest.

No one was permitted outside the hotel unless he had with him a card to show the police of the town.

Belfort contains numerous monuments. One series of statues is of three generals who defended Belfort during the three sieges successfully resisted. Two of these sieges occurred during the time of Napoleon and one during the Franco-Prussian war, 1870-1871. We walked about in a body, escorted by a military officer and a number of soldiers. We visited a large part of the city and at nearly every corner there were signs showing the entrances to caves and stating the number of persons each cave would hold--all the way from twenty to seventy. Evidence was all around of bombs dropped from aeroplanes by the Germans and shells fired by them from many miles away, there being hundreds of shattered windows and holes in the sidewalks.

We remained in Belfort two nights. The morning after our departure the city was bombarded and some fifteen or twenty people killed.

On Friday, October 6th, we left Belfort in the military autos, under sealed orders, and knew not where we were going. We passed several squads of German prisoners, among them one very large company. We were frequently challenged by sentinels in passing, for miles, along the front of Alsace-Lorraine.

Alsace-Lorraine has had forty-five years of German rule. The elder people are not Germanized, and it is quite evident that France will not be satisfied until the whole province has been restored.

We stopped for luncheon at Remiremont, in the Vosges mountains, and while here visited an old church dating back to the Eleventh century. This church contained, among other things, a statue of the Virgin Mary carved in cedar, the gift to the church of Charlemagne. There is also at this place a Thirteenth century arcade, through which we passed. We bought a few relics and then left Remiremont at 4:30 P. M. for a dash into Alsace and close up to the battle-front.

We arrived at Bussane at 5 P. M., after being held up several times. We next reached Thann, a village once in German hands and two miles from the German lines. This town had been bombarded by the Germans early in the war. The destruction was fearful to look at; buildings were damaged beyond repair, and one church nearly ruined. As we passed along in a dense fog, one of the guides ran past each machine saving; "Shentlemen, this is a beautiful sight, but you can't see it."

At Thann we were shown the spot where the son of Prime Minister Borthon, of France, was killed by a bomb.

After an inspection of Thann, we drove to Gerardmere to spend the night. It was bright moonlight and we were told there was a great deal of danger from German aeroplanes. This was a long night ride, but considered much safer than going through this part of the country in day-light.

We experienced great difficulty in getting back to the French line from Alsace-Lorraine. In doing so we passed through a tunnel entering Alsace-Lorraine territory, within a half-mile of the German firing line. We saw a hill which has been taken and retaken a number of times and was then in possession of the Germans. We were exposed to the German guns for half an hour and could hear the roaring constantly. At this point the soldier chauffeurs put on steel helmets and placed revolvers near their right hands, taking from boxes in the machine a number of hand grenades. This was all very cheerful for the occupants of the car to witness, inasmuch as we did not have any helmets or hand grenades or anything else which would enable us to help ourselves in case of conflict.

We reached Gerardmere in time for dinner and stopped over night at the Hotel de la Providence. This was a most interesting French village. We were called the advance guard of tourists and were really the first to have visited the place. Signs of war could be seen everywhere. We saw here pontoon wagons. We also saw immense loads of bread being hauled around in army wagons and looking like loads of Bessemer paving block. During the night of our stay in Gerardmere, we were awakened by the booming of cannons.

We left Gerardmere, going north and, passing a hill named "Bonhomme", over which French and Germans have fought back and forward. It is now in possession of both forces, armies being entrenched on either side of the hill and within one mile of the summit.

We passed through a number of small villages completely riddled; one village had but a single house left untouched.

Our next stop was at St. Die. This is the village where the word "Amerique" was first used in France. A tablet recalls this circumstance, the wording on it being as follows:

Here the 15th April 1507 has
been printed the "Cosmographic
Introduction" where, for the first
time the New Continent has
been named "America."

Leaving St. Die we began a trip of more than fifty miles along the battle front. This trip required two days, and we were never beyond the sound of the guns.

Our first stop was at the battlefield of La Chipotte, where was fought one of the most sanguinary of the earlier battles of war, resulting in a great French victory, but entailing terrific losses on both sides. In the greater part of this region we saw forests which had been stripped by shells and the trees of which were only beginning to grow again. In some places they will never grow, having been stripped of every leaf and limb and finally burned by the awful gunfire.

The battle of La Chipotte was fought in 1914. Sixty thousand French drove back a larger army of Germans after several days of fighting. The French loss was thirty thousand, and no one knows what the German loss amounted to. The woods are filled with crosses marking burial places, where often as many as fifty bodies were entombed together. The French buried their dead separately from the German dead, but the community graves are all marked in the same way--with a simple cross. Some of these crosses recite the names of the companies engaged, but few of them give the names of the dead. Most of them simply record the number of French or Germans buried beneath.

At a central part of the battlefield the French have erected a handsome monument, with the following inscription:

"They have fallen down silently
like a wall.
May their glorious souls guide
us in the coming battles."