SOME LETTERS FROM FRANCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3433, 30 December 1919, Page 55

SOME LETTERS FROM FRANCE.

The following letters, received lately from France, may be interesting to readers of the Otago Witness as giving some account of present social conditions in France from the point of view of a-cultivated Frenchwoman of the upper ranks of the bourgeoisie. As -will appear from the letters, the writer is of literary tastes, and is a student of English literature. Her letters are usually written in English. The classes she speaks of are conducted by the Sorbonne, for the benefit of general students. The first letter, dated the Ist of May, discusses in the first place the enactment of a genera] eight-hours' work day for the industrial classes. Paris, Thursday, Ist of May, 1919. "I avail myself of this holiday of the working classes, which deprives me of the lectures I generally attend, to answer your kind letters. To-day all working people have a complete holiday. This morning there were no public conveyances, _no trams, no taxi-cabs, no Metropolitan trains, and very few carriages running in the streets. There was fog and rain all the morning, and I could see in. the streets only a few passers-by. Nearly everyone slept in their houses till ten o'clock in the morning, and my charwoman arrived later than usual. (I must be glad that she wanted to come.) All the shops are closed, and my husband* is obliged to take a holiday too. It is a very gloomy day. I do not dislike it, since it gives me time and opportunity to talk with you at a distance. Working classes have got eight hours' work a day. I wonder if it will improve their mentality and morality, since many of them will pass their free time in public houses. It would be better to give them a little more instruction ! For the present, it will maintain the high price of living. Everything is still. dear, except a few articles of food, especially groceries, which have been bought from the war department ; for instance, dry figs, macaroni, beans, lentils, etc. We are well supplied with preserved beef, and fairly well with frozen mutton at moderate prices.- Shoes and boots are very dear, and also all articles of clothing. "There is no more trace of influenza " here. I hope that it is the same in your .. country. . Our spring was good towards Easter, and we had three fine days to spend at Orleans—(her family home) but it was rather cold. It has been raining nearly all the time since, and is so very cold that I wore my astrachan jacket yesterday and previous days, and my muff also. All the fruit trees, were in blossom in Orleans, and I am afraid the cold will injure the fruit and the corn. "I had the pleasure to see mother in fairly good health, and my sister could go to church on Easter Day. It was th© first day she could, go out for five months. "I do not think that the damage done by the Huns will be repaired easily ana rapidly. All the north part of France was very rich. Many manufactories have been destroyed, and mines, etc. All poor people have suffered much; many persons have been ruined. I pity above all old people who lived on a very small income, and have no more strength to work. Their hicome is not sufficient for very simple living. It is very hard for them. "The Peace Conference has much to do, and it does not seem that Mr Wilson is as sympathetic to France as he seemed to be formerly. lam afraid that he will not let us enjoy the profits we had the right to possess through victory. I am afraid above all that he will not let us take all necessary guarantees for the future. Nowadays French people have nothing of conquerors, they only want to live peacefully in their country, without any desire of extending their empire. ... I am afraid that war will last as long as the world exists and as people have special passions and interests. Every people claims its own ieteredFs, and the greatest nations of the world, which should be an example to other,-*, are the more rapacious. No one has the disposition to conciliate on which would bo necessary to secure enduring peace. lif nations were more in- ► spired by Christianity I think that many conflicts would he spared, because Christianity is a of love and charity; there would be more kindness and conciliation betwesst nations as between individuals ; but there are many atheists and sceptical people in the world.

"I do not much, like Whitman, who is rather a pantheist, so I did not attend all the lectures on 'Leaves of Grass.' Besides, I am not- fond of hlank verse. I am to read 'The New Macchiavelli,' by Wells. I)o you know it, as well as 'Ann Veronica' ? Do yon like Wells's works and ideas about Socialism? I must end, since my husband wants to go out a little and have a look at the workmen's holiday."

Paris, July 9, 1919. "... Now th c Sorbonne's doors are closed except for examinations, and I have a little more time for correspondence. Nevertheless I have so much sewing and mending to do that T scarcely do anything in English except i little-reading. I am reading 'Mr Polly,' by Wells. (Elsewhere she says : "Unfortunately I only work as an amateur, that is to say not veTy assiduously and not very regularly. I am not a serious student; I must divide my time between the menage and intellectual life.") "Yesterday we had the most beautiful festivities of victory in Paris. It was marvellous. The weather which is rather

I rainy as a rule was very fine, and the milii tary pageant was really a triumph. The Allied troops were represented, and were very much applauded. There were about seven or eight millions of people to watch. My husband got hoarse by dmt of shouting ‘hurrah’ during two hours. He climbed on a table, on which he had hired room, and saw all the troops very well, including our worthy marshals. It .was really splendid. Only the Socialists did not approve these splendid festivities. They dislike Clemenceau’s government, and they find wrong everything that is done by him or under his superintendence. IjOrst they said that our treaty of peace was too hard for the Germans (they had been so kind to us during the war!). ; Now, you can read in the included news- ; paper article what they say about the treaty. These people say that they do not want war any more. Who wants it in France? No one! To get rid of war in the future, we must have guarantees against German ambition. We should i have had the Rhine as our frontier. As [ long as we shall not have it-we shall be exposed to” German militarism. We should have had the land between France and the Rhine under our protectorate during about 15 years, and then have a plebiscite of th e people to ascertain if they wanted to be French or not—to be faithful to the (principles of the League of Nations. Frenchmen are very peaceful, they do not ! want to conquer any more, and other European nations have nothing to fear from our power. We have no other ambition than to live peacefully in our own land, which love very much. Those who have visited the north of France know how desolate and ruined is all the country, and the treaty of peace has scarcely given reparation enough for all the rum. Germans will not even pay for the war, but we have and shall have heavy taxes for a long time. Ido not think that foreigners have understood it quite plainly.”