Fighting France Part 1

Fighting France.

by Stephane Lauzanne.

FOREWORD

To be Editor-in-Chief of one of the greatest newspapers in the world at twenty-seven years of age is a distinction, which has been enjoyed by few other men, if any, in the whole history of journalism. There may have been exceptional instances, where young men by virtue of proprietary and inherited rights, have nominally, or even actually, succeeded to the editorial control of a great metropolitan newspaper.

But in the case of M. Stephane Lauzanne, his a.s.sumption of duty in 1901 as Editor-in-Chief of the Paris _Matin_ was wholly the result of exceptional achievement in journalism. Merit and ability, and not merely friendly influences, gave him this position of unique power, for the _Matin_ has a circulation in France of nearly two million copies a day, and its Editor-in-Chief thereby exerts a power which it would be difficult to over-estimate.

M. Lauzanne was born in 1874 and is a graduate of the Faculty of Law of Paris. Believing that journalism opened to him a wider avenue of usefulness than the legal profession, he preferred--as the event showed most wisely--to follow a journalistic career. In this choice he may have been guided by the fact that he was the nephew of the most famous foreign correspondent in the history of journalism. I refer to M. de Blowitz, who was for many years the Paris correspondent of the London _Times_, and as such a very notable representative of the Fourth Estate. No one ever more fully ill.u.s.trated the truth of the words which Thackeray, in Pendennis, puts into the mouth of his George Warrington, when he and Arthur Pendennis stand in Fleet Street and hear the rumble of the engines in the press-room. He likened the foreign correspondents of these newspapers to the amba.s.sadors of a great State; and no one more fully justifies the a.n.a.logy than M. de Blowitz, for it is profitable to recall that when in 1875 the military party of Germany secretly planned to strike down France, when the stricken gladiator was slowly but courageously struggling to its feet, it was de Blowitz, who in an article in the London _Times_ let the light of day into the brutal and iniquitous scheme, and by mere publicity defeated for the time being this conspiracy against the honor of France and the peace of the world. Unfortunately the _coup_ of the Prussian military clique was only postponed. Our generation was destined to sustain the unprecedented horrors of a base attempt to destroy France, that very glorious a.s.set of all civilization.

De Blowitz took great interest in his brilliant nephew and at his suggestion Lauzanne became the London correspondent of the _Matin_ in 1898, when he was only twenty-four years of age. This brought him into direct communication with the London _Times_ which then as now exchanged cable news with the _Matin_, and it was the duty of the young journalist to take the cable news of the "Thunderer" and transmit such portions as would particularly interest France to the _Matin_, with such special comment as suggested itself. How well he did this work, requiring as it did the most accurate judgment and the nicest discrimination, was shown when he was made Editor-in-Chief of the _Matin_ in 1901.

His tenure of office was destined to be short for, when the world war broke out, M. Lauzanne, as a First Lieutenant of the French Army, joined the colors in the first days of mobilization and surrendered the pen for the sword. His career as editor had been long enough, however, for him to impress upon the minds of the French public the imminency of the Prussian Peril. As to this he had no illusions and his powerful editorials had done much to combat the spirit of pacificism, which at that time was weakening the preparations of France for the inevitable conflict.

The obligation of universal service required him to exchange his position of great power and usefulness for a lesser position, but this spirit of common service in the ranks means much for France or for any nation. The democracy of the French Army could not be questioned, when the powerful Editor of the _Matin_ became merely a lieutenant in the Territorial Infantry. As such, he served in the battle of the Marne and later before Verdun, and thus could say of the two most heroic chapters in French history, as aeneas said of the Siege of Troy, "Much of which I saw, and part of which I was."

Having fulfilled the obligation of universal service in the ranks, it is not strange that in 1916 he was recalled to serve the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For a time he rendered great service in Switzerland, where from the beginning of the war an acute but ever-lessening controversy has raged between the pro-German and the pro-Ally interests.

He was then chosen for a much more important mission. In October, 1916, he came to the United States as head of the "Official Bureau of French Information," and here he has remained until the present hour.

As such, he has been an unofficial amba.s.sador of France. His position has been not unlike that of Franklin at Pa.s.sy in the period that preceded the formal recognition by France of the United States and the Treaty of Alliance of 1778. As with Franklin, his weapon has been the pen and the printing press, and the unfailing tact with which he has carried on his mission is not unworthy of comparison with that of Franklin. No one who has been privileged to meet and know M. Lauzanne can fail to be impressed with his fine urbanity, his _savoir faire_ and his perfect tact. Without any attempt at propaganda, he has greatly impressed American public opinion by his contributions to our press and his many public addresses. In none of them has he ever made a false step or uttered a tactless note. His words have always been those of a sane moderation and the influence that he has wielded has been that of truth. Apart from the vigor and calm persuasiveness of his utterances, his winning personality has made a deep impression upon all Americans who have been privileged to come in contact with him. The highest praise that can be accorded to him is that he has been a true representative of his own n.o.ble, generous and chivalrous nation. Its sweetness and power have been exemplified by his charming personality.

Although he has taken a forceful part in possibly the greatest intellectual controversy that has ever raged among men, he has from first to last been the gentleman and it has been his quiet dignity and gentleness that has added force to all that he has written and uttered, especially at the time when America was the greatest neutral forum of public opinion.

If "good wine needs no bush and a good play needs no epilogue," then a good book needs no prologue. Therefore I shall not refer to the simplicity and charm, with which M. Lauzanne has told the story with which this book deals. The reader will judge that for himself; and unless the writer of this foreword is much mistaken, that judgment will be wholly favorable. There have been many war books--a very deluge of literature in which thinking men have been hopelessly submerged--but most books of wartime reminiscences do not ring true.

There is too obvious an attempt to be dramatic and sensational. This book avoids this error and its author has contented himself with telling in a simple and convincing manner something of the part which he was called upon to play.

I venture to predict that all good Americans who read this book will become the friends, through the printed pages, of this gifted and brilliant writer, and if it were possible for such Americans to increase their love and admiration for France, then this book would deepen the profound regard in which America holds its ancient ally.

JAMES M. BECK.

CONTENTS

PAGE I

WHY FRANCE IS FIGHTING

The declaration of war and the French mobilization--The invasion and the tragic days of Paris in August and September, 1914: personal reminiscences--The premeditated cruelties of Germany: new doc.u.ments--The German organized spying system in France 1

II

HOW FRANCE IS FIGHTING

France fighting with her men, her women and her children--The men show that they know how to suffer: episodes of the Marne and of Verdun--The women encourage the men to fight and to suffer: some ill.u.s.trations--Sacred Union of all Frenchmen against the enemy--all, without any distinction of cla.s.s or religion, die smiling--Letters of soldiers--The organization in the rear: the work in the factories 51

III

FRANCE SUFFERING BUT NOT BLED WHITE

Despite her sufferings, France is able to pay 20 billions of dollars, for the war, in three years--French commerce and French work during the war--France is helping her allies from a military standpoint and financially--The saving of Serbia 94

IV

THE WAR AIMS OF FRANCE

Rest.i.tution: Alsace-Lorraine--Restoration: The devastated and looted territories. Guarantees: The Society of Nations 138

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I.--HOW GERMANS FORCED WAR ON FRANCE 179

APPENDIX II.--HOW GERMANS TREAT AN AMBa.s.sADOR 183

APPENDIX III.--HOW GERMANS ARE WAGING WAR 196

APPENDIX IV.--HOW GERMANS OCCUPY THE TERRITORY OF AN ENEMY 200

APPENDIX V.--HOW GERMANS TREAT ALSACE-LORRAINE 206

APPENDIX VI.--HOW GERMANS UNDERSTAND FUTURE PEACE 229

FIGHTING FRANCE

I

WHY FRANCE IS FIGHTING

Had you been in Paris late in the afternoon of Monday, August third, nineteen fourteen, you might have seen a slight man, whose reddish face was adorned with a thick white mustache, walk out of the German Emba.s.sy, which was situated on the Rue de Lille near the Boulevard St.

Germain. Along the boulevard and across the Pont de la Concorde he walked in a manner calculated to attract attention. He approached the animated and peevish groups of citizens that had formed a little before for the purpose of discussing the imminent war as if he wanted them to notice him. You would have said that he was trying to be recognized and to take part in the discussions.

But no one paid any attention to him.

Finally he came to the Quai d'Orsay, opened the Gate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and said to the attendant who hastened to open the door for him:

"Announce the German Amba.s.sador to the Prime Minister."

He was Baron de Schoen, Amba.s.sador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of his Germanic Majesty, William the Second. For two days he had wandered through the most crowded streets and avenues in Paris, hoping for some injury, some insult, some overt act which would have permitted him to say that Germany in his person had been provoked, insulted by France. But there had been no violence, the insult had not been offered, the overt act had not occurred. Then, tired of this method, de Schoen took the initiative and presented a declaration of war from his government.

The declaration, as history will record, was expressed in these terms: