"LEARN FRENCH"

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 67, 17 September 1917, Page 10

"LEARN FRENCH"

ADVICE TO AMERICAN SOLDIERS

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

FRANCE 'CARRIES THE TORCH OP

CIVILISATION.

(By Norman Hapgood, in the New York • Evening Post.) .

PARIS, 28th July.

There is so much' of interest to Americans in this country, ithe battleground of' the -war, that the half million, or two or three million, young Americans ■who will be here before the struggle ends cannot use their leisure' better than in learning French. Steps are already being taken toward forming an organisation for teaohing French to Americansoldiers while they are in Paris, and perhaps while they are at the front. The more French a young American learns, the greater will be his efficiency. The knowledge of the language mil also , increase ' the meaning of his experiences over here now and. in after life.

One .of the t great results of the war is going to be the influence of different nations on one another. The influence of France, on America, and of America on .Franoe, will depend to some extent on the number.of American soldiers who learn the French language;.. Such a. study will also help to keep them out of temptation. The undesirable scenes' on the boulevards are not numerous, but every one counts., They have been'bad enough to be commented on, and the French are particularly sensitive to what the Americans do. : Loose behaviour among Australians and Canadians has, ceased; and moreover they have done great fighting. ' Loose behaviour is not American, and it would be a great pity to have it* seem so. ■ .

The Young Men's Christian Association is giving' excellent moral guidance, but something is needed on a larger scale. The .English.,have recently started in the Place Vendome a tea-house called "A Corner of Blighty,"' with the same object in view. The recent restrictions, by the way, made by the French Government on the sale of alcoholic drinks, confining them to meal hours, were 1 not brought about by economic considerations, as in England/but by the desire to avoid any possibility of disorder or excitement in the streets. In spite of the remarkable records of calm resistance made by the French in' this war, the public is. still looked upon by the, rulers as capable of sudden excitement. ' ' l .

AGAINST STRONG LIQUORS. The new restrictions are aimed particularly at strong liquors, which are doing the French much harm.';., Such liquors can be sold to be drunk on the premises only between 12 and 2 and .7 and 9 p.m., to men, and not at, all to. women and minors. Restrictions are also put on purchases to be consumed away from the premises. Freedom is still allowed in regard to beer and light wines. All this makes, for efficiency,\and will be appreciated by American leaders. A harder task 'is to make the French common people uderstand America, unless we take much care. : ... ./ FRENCH PEASANTS' VIEW. -. . One great interest and ■ advantage to young American men through knowledge of French will be in the touch .that it will give them with the ordinary French soldiers. There are two predominating passions .■in,. i th«fFrench«;£oJdier>;. v one.; is hatred .of ■:vra.r i ] and 't\ik< "otheyvis. hatred of those who shirk their part in the war; "embusques" he calls them. The (rumour ran' around among the common soldiers, for no traceable reason, that when the Americans got into the field they would take the place of the older men, who were driving trucki and ambulances, and the older men would then be sent into the trenches. This caused such indignation that Americans driving trucks and ambulance* were' frequently shouted at ;as ' 'enibueques'' to such an extent, that the annoyancti caused some of them to apply for transfer to the, 1 fighting-units, even before our first soldiers reached France.

The French poilu is an excellent fellow, but, like'most peasants, he is likely to be suspicious. Mingling .with, his,fellows from different parts of France is extending his horizon, but if lie is able to ■talk with a large number of lively young Americans, it will do him no end of food. I was in Normandy the other ay, when a friend who was with me offered to carry in her wagon a heavy bundle that an old woman was laboriously carrying up the hill. At first the old woman let the, bundle be put in the car, but immediately she seized it away and exclaimed: "No, I don't trust you;. I think you are a trickster (farceuse)." •'■ The fundamental problems facing the ordinary French, men and women ».hat will bo brought to the attention of those Americans who understand French are numerous and significant. For example, in the same town in which there occurred the episode I have just narrated I called upon the Mayor. He was occupied with a social problem that had just been presented to him. A man had gone away to the front at the beginning of the war, leaving five children. He had just returned home for the first time and found himself in possession of seven. We, took an interest in ; the case-, with the approval of the Mayor, ai^d found the husband, the mother, and the new twins all decidedly attractive.' An .important factor in the predicament wac the fact that the children had already been registered as those of the husband, and a etill more important, factor was that, if he accepted them as his, •he would be exempt from military servicp for the rest of the war. The probabilities are jthat he will make the best of the: situation. ■ . ' ; .. - EASY-GOING RUSSIAN. A Frenchman will seldom take these incidents.in the way that many Russians take them. I wa* talking with a wounded Russian soldier recently, a peasant, who had learned to read and write in the French trenches since the war began, and I asked him how many children Jie had.. He was a fine-looking fellow, arid there wag nothing cheap about his manner as he replied: "Two -when I] left/Russia. Very possibly four by now." I expressed dismay, to which he replied, with a half-serious laugh: "Oh, we mustn't be too severe;-the people are young, and the situation is difficult." An interesting contrast is offered by the Government of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which has authorised women engaged to men at the front, and women who were engaged to men who have been killed, to call themselves Mrs., although they get no other legal rights, a.nd children aie not legitimised. In social changes the Russians are naturally going fastest. I ihave not heard of their having, approached this exact subject yet, but in i divorce they have already changed from an. extremely strict to a very liberal standpoint. The Synod formerly admitted but one ground. It has now accepted a list of causes that wonld make Nevada stare. In addition to along list of diseases, practices, and acts, a«cl in. addition also to insanity and drunkenness, it includes religious differences, moral differences, incompatibility, and living apart for two years. The law regarding the legitimisation of children in France has changed twice since the war began. Oil 7th April, 1917, there became effective a decree that an infant born out of wedlock could be made legitimate even after the death of the father, on the. ground that

his death had madei it impoMiblo to execute the marriage that he would have wished to enter into at the end of the war. " ..■■.■■.. ■ ■ •

A very obvious advantage in learning French is the ability to follow- the French newspapers. A person who' is dependent on ■ the English papers loses much of the colour of France.^ French journalism is more literary and more individual than ours. The signed editorial by Herve that appears every day on the front page of La' Victoire is a topic of conversation in all circles, aa are the similar daily expressions by Cleinenceau in L'Homme Enchaine, Poybe in the Figaro, and many other well-known writers in a great variety of papers. . ■ \ . : .. -

THE FRENCH ATTITUDE. One w,ho does not understand FrencW is not likely to get the right understanding of the French attitude toward-foreign affairs. The simple fundamental premise from which all French thinking about foreign affairs starts is the safety of France. A few French people may be interested in French power in Syria, but nationally speaking the interest is faint. Some of the leading statesmen are interested in Bohemian independence on _ order to weaken Germany, and in Polish independence for a similar reason. But the whole of the strong, direct, emotional feeling is confined to, the fate of Northern France, Belgium, 1 and? the Prussian oligarchy^ One who has the'opportunity to talk with French scholars,' publicists, and politicians will find much information and delightful power of expression, but whenever-he .reaches the heart in talking about foreign affairs it. will .be apropos of those things which have to do most directly'with'the safety of the land he loves. ' ■ .

. The study of French has its bearing also on a consideration perhaps deeper than any T have mentioned among those bearing directly on co-operation between tho French and the Americans. The French \ have been strongly impressed with the organising ability of the British. They-.'are-now being strongly impressed with the organising ability of the Americans. This has been shown in.work done 'for, children, in the Rockefeller plans for tnberc-u'losis, and in the way the Red Cross made its arrangements when the Americans started to come- to France. But, although the French, admire this efficiency, they are sensitive, and it is possible to hurt their feelings'.' They have not always been consulted as much as they might have been, and there has not always been, as much cp-operation a-s they wonld have liked. ] ' 1 If I put so much emphasis on the many advantages growing out of having the mass of incoming young Americans study the French language,. it: is partly because my belief is so etrong_ in the possible service to be rendered, in the future by my country to a country that needs it so much. Franco lias carried the torch of.true civilisation, against^ tfye. most oppressive difficulties. America is rich, strong, and enthusiastic. , If the understanding between the two nations .becomes really close, the help which the younger may bring to the older may well be'one of the loveliest tales in history.