Joseph G. Butler

“ Where, under the new conditions, will the United States find itself?
It is a difficult problem to solve; but if one cannot answer, it will be at least a step forward to put the right questions. Gentlemen of the Commission, it is for you, on your return to America, to formulate these questions.
Heretofore it has been impossible to get together in Europe a delegation of Americans, each one of whom was ready to sink his private interests. This is the first time that an American Commission has come abroad, forgetting the individual, looking only to the welfare of the State. ”

“ Time only will decide whether Joffre is really a great military genius, or whether he is merely a good general, conscientiously doing his best and fortunate enough to become a popular hero. Modern war is so different from old time variety that no one can judge results up to this time. It is at least certain that Joffre has beaten the Germans back and back, slowly, but surely forcing them out of France. ”

“ It gives me great pleasure to take advantage of your kind invitation to send by the American Industrial Commission of the American Manufacturers' Export Association, a message to Industrial France.
France has met in a way that evokes the admiration of the whole world, even of her enemies, the recurring emergencies of this greatest of wars. The patriotic self-sacrifice, the valor, the uncomplaining endurance, the ingenuity which the French people have shown during these two years of war reveal what is in truth the "birth of a new nation". ”

“ At this time the Allied lines swung like a huge gate from Verdun west toward the sea, barring the Kaiser's passage. The Germans then had a million of men, with hordes of the famous lancers, and clouds of these horsemen hung on the right flank of the English, swinging out and around them so as to force Sir John French to fall back or suffer the turning of his flank. Von Kluck was in command of this turning movement, which was made possible by the fall of Namur, Lille and Charleroi. Things then looked desperately bad for the Allies. ”

“ 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. ”

“ But, having heard the French talk about "Father Joffre" so much and so lovingly, and having been given the most useful thing in France, if you want to see the front—a pass by him in spite of the great cares resting on his shoulders, I hope that fate will be kind to him and that he will remain the idol of his people to the end.
As might be expected, France is full of the sayings of Joffre. Everyone you meet can tell you a new one. Some of the aphorisms credited to him that I can now recall are: "Go where the enemy is not expecting you"; "No soldier is expected to think of retreating" ”

“ 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. ”

“ The acquisition by Germany at the close of the so-called Franco-Prussian war resulted, as in well known, in Germany taking over the tremendous fields of iron ore and coal located in Alsace-Lorraine. It is my belief that this absorption is largely responsible for the prosperous condition of the iron and steel business in Germany and its being in second place in the world's production. I am assured by men prominent in the iron and steel trade in France, and by others connected with the government, that the war will not end until these valuable mineral deposits have been restored to France. ”

“ Employment of women in steel and munition plants has, of course, increased the number of women workers since the war commenced. This, I think, is largely brought about by the patriotic feeling which prevails all over France. "Working for France" is a slogan rooted and imbedded in the minds of the people, whether they are soldiers, or engaged in any other occupation which may tend to end the war and save France.
Cooperation in France among all manufacturers of iron and steel and in fact all other industrial works, is marvelous, and could well be imitated in our own country. ”

“ On this account it is my impression that France will recover very rapidly after the war and will soon be as well off in property as before it began.
The chief loss of the French is likely to be their young manhood. Houses can be rebuilt. Factories will spring up over night where there is capital and faith to invest it. Even the fine old cathedrals may be restored or replaced with something that will serve equally well in a practical sense. But the young men—the flower of the French nation—whose lives have been offered on the altar of national defense—these cannot be replaced. ”

“ Von Kluck was right, for the masterly strategy of Joffre had won the battle of the Marne before a shot had been fired in that historic struggle.
These facts were gleaned from military men whom we met in France. They show how little the civilian population of a military zone, or even the soldiers themselves, know of the movements in which they are engaged. Evidently Joffre had not confided his plans even to the government authorities at Paris, preferring to have the seat of government move and the population flee rather than take chances of these plans being learned by the enemy. ”

“ Our neutrality has been preserved only by submitting to outrages such as have been endured without forcible protest by no other great nation in the history of the world. If our patience with Germany serves as an example to the world of how a great and magnanimous nation may make sacrifices to encourage peace, our policy will prove to be wise. ”

“ The thoughts of the French people are so concentrated upon the war and its consequences that but little else occupies their minds.
During our sojourn in France, food seemed plenty and we heard no complaint of shortage. The French are proverbially thrifty and can and do live comfortably upon the equivalent of what Americans waste. When a Frenchman finishes his meal there is nothing left on the plate, on dishes or in the glasses. ”

“ The concensus of opinion of these friends is that failure of the Allies to win the war means the death-warrant of France and the British Empire; that there is no middle course; that the war will be fought to a finish and the Allies will be victorious; that the Kaiser and the Prussian military system will be annihilated, the German people will arise, and the Republic of Germany will be the result. ”

“ The faces of the men and women of France alike show no sign of vacillation. The French are counting the terrific cost, as becomes the thriftiest of nations, expecting to collect a bill that in their opinion has been running since the Franco-Prussian war and through the humiliating and irksome years which followed under the "favored nation" clause. From any other standpoint I believe few Frenchmen ever permit themselves to dwell upon the ruin and suffering the present cataclysm has brought upon their country. ”

“ It matters little whether a man is friend or foe, as long as a spark of life is there, he is picked tenderly from the trench and everything known to medical science done to bring about his recovery.
The mind is filled with horror and wonder of it all. New thoughts bombard the mind as one looks on. A man is brought in. ”

“ Nations like men profit by experience. The French people have records of history and civilization extending beyond the days of the Roman Empire, and that civilization has gone steadily forward through many centuries. No wonder then that they excel us in many things; the wonder is that they do not excel in all. In architecture and the arts, France leads America. ”

“ She has much to impart to the United States in these matters. Yet such has been the wide-spread destruction of men and property that France, and indeed all Europe, must needs call upon other countries after the war for assistance in rehabilitating her industrial and commercial life. France will need to draw upon our stores of food until all her fields are again producing; she will need our materials for reconstruction where war has brought waste and desolation; she will need our machines and implements to carry on the manifold pursuits of agriculture, manufacturing and commerce. ”

“ To all appearances about every foot of it has seen the tread of either French soldiers or their foes. Back from the lines a short distance in some cases, the fields had become green again, and the trees were trying to send forth new growth from then-burned and battered trunks; but it will be a long time before this part of France loses all of its scars. The filling of the trenches and leveling of the fields will be no mean task of itself. Few farm houses, which in France are built in groups of half a dozen or so, are to be seen. Stone heaps fill their places. ”

“ One fell right in the center, in this vicinity, in a populous street, many women and children have been killed, a mother and her two little girls—what a dreary sight is war, the way of the war inaugurated by the Germans, for it is the shame of all humanity. ”

“ The average American citizen would resent with heat the regulations regarded as a matter of course in France. He would fume and fret and all but rebel, if asked to live as the French people are forced to live during the war.
From what we could learn the submersion of the individual is far greater in Germany than in France, but to a healthy American citizen, accustomed to doing about as he pleases so long as he is able to pay the price and injures no one else, there is abundant restriction on personal liberty at this time in France. ”

“ No war in history has been so intense, and few wars have been so long confined to such small areas as that on the western front.
It was about the first of October that we reached Belfort, and here we saw the first signs of havoc wrought by gunfire. At Paris we had been within twenty miles of the battlefield where the German hosts were first turned back, but there was not much ruin wrought to buildings at the Marne. Men, unprotected by trenches or any of the later found defensive methods, bore the brunt of the cannon there. ”

“ There is an impression prevalent in France that the average American thinks only of business; that the higher things of life have no interest for him. It is far from true. The members of this Industrial Commission are truly representative of the average interest and point of view of the American business man, manufacturer and technical man, and yet each one of them has gone out of his way to express his delight in his visit to Arles. All consider it one of the most valuable parts of the trip. Yes, a marked change is coming over the American business man. ”

“ The French chambers of commerce are officially recognized by the government and given certain powers which, to a large extent, place every community under their care, at least in so far as its business interests and development of its resources go. No chamber can be organized except by governmental decree, and this provision naturally prevents them from interfering with the legitimate prerogatives of the government, while giving them powers that enable them to be of real service to the community. ”

“ What greater service can a representative company of thinking Americans render to their land than to visit and touch at first hand the sources of so much that is valuable to the world, and to carry home lessons and messages which may easily be potent in forming stronger ties in the old time intimate relationship between our country and France. ”

“ If, on the other hand, it serves only to make the Germans believe that we are too mercenary or two weak-kneed to defend ourselves and thus encourages further transgressions, our peaceable policy will have been a great mistake. After an opportunity to observe at close hand the methods and motives of the German war party, I am frankly afraid that the latter situation will prove to be the outcome. We shall be indeed fortunate if we can keep out of the war that has involved half the civilized world. ”

“ Going to school in France is a governmental affair as all the schools are run by the Government, excepting only the convent schools, where higher education is taught to private pupils. France contains many high grade "polytechnique" schools, arts, military and schools of mines, all regulated and managed through the government department of education. I should say the common school system is not as thorough as in Germany, where education is wholly compulsory. Military education and training in France is a part of the established system of the public schools and is rigidly enforced. ”

“ It is surprising to learn that the Belgians, whose little country has been crushed under the heel of the invader so that its government retains only a narrow corner behind the British army, are even more optimistic than the French. They are determined that the Germans must be driven out and are already laying elaborate plans for reconstruction of their farms and villages and cities. Almost before the Commission had reached Paris we were asked by the Belgians to hold a meeting with their chamber of commerce in that city in order to discuss the problems of Belgium's rehabilitation. ”