A Journey Through France in War Time. Joseph G. Butler
in fact I can hardly recall any women, except the servants in the hotel, who were not in mourning. The shop windows were filled with mourning goods and people passing on the streets were either women in mourning or soldiers home on leave of absence, many of them crippled.
We were next taken to the prison camp where the prisoners of war were held. We happened to reach it when the prisoners were having a siesta. There were about four thousand in the camp, some hired out to contractors. We talked to some of these contractors, who in turn had talked with the prisoners, and were told that a great many of them were such voluntarily; that is to say, they were very glad to surrender when the opportunity presented. The prisoners were mostly Germans, but there were some Austrians and a few Bavarians. The French people never speak of them as Germans; they always call them "Boches", which, rendered in English, means vandal. They were fat and healthy and apparently contented.
[Illustration: Grand Theatre, Bordeaux. Closed until the War Ends.]
In the evening at Bordeaux a banquet was given in honor of Monsieur Gaston Doumergue, Minister of Colonies. All the commissioners were invited. On my left was Monsieur Etienne Hugard, Vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and a soldier who had been in battle within a week previous. On my right sat Monsieur G. Chastenet, Senateur de la Gironde. Very choice wines were served and the champagne was reserved for the last. There was a speech by the Mayor and a response by the Minister of Colonies. We were given information as we went along and some of this I will record. We were told that a great many submarines had been captured by the French in nets. The popular impression is that when captured the submarines are left under water six or seven days, then brought up to the surface and the bodies of the officers and seamen, who in the meantime have died, are either burned or buried. The submarine is then manned by a French crew and thus turned into the French service.
We made some inquiries in regard to the labor situation and we were informed that before the war a common laborer received four francs per day, about eighty cents of our money, and that they are now receiving five francs. The women received two francs before the war and they are now receiving three. There are no labor unions in Bordeaux or in the vicinity.
We had here our first visit from newspaper correspondents. A number of important Paris papers were represented, with the New York Herald, the Chicago Tribune and other leading American papers. We met the general of the Gironde and the marine official. We were told that at any of these functions we were not to mention the names of the officials to whom we were introduced, and this enabled us to talk quite freely. One of the generals whom I met at this banquet said that the war would end in December, 1917.
On Tuesday, September 5th, the Bordeaux Fair was dedicated. The commission was invited and we took part in the exercises. These fairs are an annual event in many parts of France. There is a very large theatre in Bordeaux, which has not been opened since the war. We were given an invitation to enter it. It is certainly finer than any theatre I had seen previously.
We were then taken to the celebrated wine vaults of Bordeaux, owned by J. Calvert & Co. and Bardin & Gustier. Some of these wines date back to the early part of the last century and the vintages are all the way from five to ninety years old. There were sixty thousand casks of wine stored and about ten million bottles of champagne. The money value of the stocks is very large. We were told that America was one of the best customers for these high grade wines.
In the evening we attended a reception to the Minister of Colonies at Ville de Bordeaux. This was a very enjoyable affair and we met some noted French people.
Wednesday, September 6th, was the birthday of Lafayette. We had been invited by the American Chamber of Commerce to assist in their celebration at Paris, but were unable to reach that city in time.
Instead of going to Paris on this date we visited the Chateau Margaux, built in 1780. We were shown through the private vaults. We met the Duchess, a most charming personage, a grandmother at the age of thirty-five, a very plain, unassuming lady. I supposed up to the time I was introduced to her that she was a newspaper correspondent. During the tour through these private vaults, the guide discoursed on the making of wine, from the planting of the vines to the bottling and selling process. This was all very interesting.
The different sized bottles of wine were described as follows: half pints for sick rooms, pints, and then quarts, with all of which we were familiar. He then told us of the magnum, holding two quarts; the Jereboam, holding three quarts, the imperial, holding five quarts, and the Nebuchadnezzar, holding the Lord only knows how many quarts—pretty nearly as big as a barrel.
In the port of Bordeaux were a great many neutral boats. On the sides of these boats in very large letters, appeared the names of the boats and the flag of the particular country, also the name of the country. We saw vessels from Italy, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Holland. We were told that no nation at the beginning was prepared for war except Germany. It seemed to be the unanimous opinion that the war would last at least one year longer.
Monsieur Gustier, president of the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, departed at one o'clock for Paris in a de luxe car. This car was the one usually occupied by President Poincaire and known as the president's car.
Before departing we were given a noonday luncheon at the Hotel Terminal by the "Committee General Franco-American Society."
We were now for the first time told that we were being entertained by the French government, through its different chambers of commerce. On the way, two of the general officers of the railroad company boarded the train.
We noticed on passing through the country, that all the people working on the farms were either old men, women or children, the young men all being in the army.
One of the things, earnestly desired by the French people is to increase the birthrate. A bonus system has been proposed as well as all sorts of plans for increasing the size of families.
We learned here that four million men and women in France were engaged in the wine industry.
We arrived in Paris at 10:30, September 6th. The only light visible was the moon. The Hotel de Crillon, formerly a castle occupied by the French nobility and transformed into a very comfortable and aristocratic hotel, was our stopping place.
Early on Thursday morning, September 7th, I paid my first visit to the American Ambulance. I met Dr. Metcalf, a former Youngstown physician. He has charge of the New York and the Frank H. Mason wards. At the time we were there six hundred soldiers were under treatment. Deaths run about two per cent.
This was my first visit to an army hospital and the impression will never be forgotten. There were men in all different stages of wounds, some of them convalescent; others on the dividing line; with others the treatment was just starting. This American Ambulance is considered the best managed hospital in all France. General Frank H. Mason, who had been consul general and in the consular service more than thirty years, had charge of it up to the time of his death. He was succeeded by Monsieur Benet. It is a thorough business organization.
On this same day I visited Mrs. Frank H. Mason, the venerable widow of General Mason. We drove out together and I again visited the Ambulance in her company. She has been active in benevolent work for many years and was greeted everywhere with signs of affection. She took great pride in the ward named for her husband. In this ward most of the soldiers under treatment are officers.
I also met at the Ambulance Major Kipling, the head of the "flying corps". They have there about a dozen military ambulances that go to the front and bring back the wounded. Over seven thousand have been brought in since March. Two trips are made daily.
I also met at the Ambulance Mrs. Benet, a society woman, but in nurse's garb and actively at work.
I next visited the Church of the Holy Trinity. This is the American church in Paris. It was built in 1842 and is now in charge of Dr. Watson, well known to all Americans who visit Paris. In the urn room are the remains of General Mason and his mother-in-law,