Part iV: Agricultural Economy in General 



FRANCE. 



THE TECHNTICAly RE-KDUCATION IN ESTABLISHMENTS DE- 

 PENDING ON THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE OF MEN 

 MUTILATED IN THE^WAR. 



SOURCE : 



Chancrin (Iiispsctor ot Agriculture): Stuly having this title and published in i^a main- 

 d'ceuvre agncole, 14th year, No. 217, Paris, 10 and 25 July 1917. 



Since the outbreak of the war the Ministry of Agriculture has been cease 

 lessly busy over the fate of wounded and mutilated men from the countr\\ 

 It is indeed too clear that, apart from ever}'' other consideration, their 

 future is bound up vnth the agricultural prosperity of France. As 

 early as the beginning of 1915 the ministry was pushing forward the orga- 

 nization of agricultural re-education in its schools. The matter has not been 

 without difficulties. The schools best fitted for re-education of this kind 

 were almost all being used as hospitals ; and staffs were lacking since 

 managers and teachers had been mobilized. 



However at the end of 1915 the Ministry of Agriculture had eight schools 

 of re-edacation ; five others were ready to start work at the beginning of 

 1916 ; and on 31 December eighteen schools of technical re-education were 

 active. In July 1917 twenty-one of them were in full swing and six more 

 were to be opened in August. 



The re education did not at first yield the results expected for the re- 

 cruiting of pupils was difficiTlt. Many of the mutilated agricnlturists — 

 the small proprietors, leaseholders and metayers — had only one preoccu- 

 pation : they wished to go home as soon as they were free. These men 

 could not be made to understand the advantages of re-education. 



There remained the agricultural labourers, and they indeed form al- 

 most exclusively the pupils of these special schools. They consent to come 

 to them because they hope the teaching they receive will enable them to 

 find situations as managers or foremen vSometimes their hope to better 

 themselves leads them further : they pass into trade and industry. Is it 

 right thus to encourage a new exodus into the towns ? This new danger must 

 be eliminated or at least attenuated. 



