1154 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



front and fight and let our men come home?' The men 

 even heard the opinion was current among some of the 

 peasants that, if the Allies won the war England would 

 take Northern France and the United States would seize 

 Southern France. Evidently German propaganda was 

 at work. However, the ignorant peasant was not to be 

 blamed too much for his feeling, for he could not see 

 clearly why it was essential that American engineers 

 precede the main American Army in France to get out 

 timber and to use the timber in building docks, ware- 

 houses, railroads, hospitals, barracks, et cetera, for the 

 fighting forces coming later on. The intelligent French 

 arranged a series of discussions and took other steps 

 which stilled the complaints of the peasants until the 

 fighting troops appeared at the front in force in the late 

 spring of 1918, when the attitude of all of the French 

 became extremely cordial, where before in some quarters 

 it had been merely polite. 



"The impression which the forestry and lumber troops 

 made on the French is perhaps best indicated in a series 

 of compositions written by the school children of a small 

 town. The children were asked by their teacher to write 

 their observations on the Americans; the children had 

 no idea that Americans would ever see what they wrote. 

 [The compositions, published in 'The Independent,' 

 indicate that the children found the Americans cleanly 

 about their persons, polite, good natured, generous, quite 

 free in spending their money and in some cases strongly 



inclined to the use of liquor. (It may be said here that, 

 although the American lumberjack in his native habitat 

 is well known as a user of strong drink, there was a re- 

 markably little trouble from this source in France.)] 

 One of the compositions, written by Renee Dourthe, 

 daughter of the schoolmaster, is quoted herewith : 'The 

 work of the Americans is certainly a curious one. I saw 

 them raise huge logs with large pliers, as easily as they 

 would have moved a straw. Their furnaces for their 

 kitchens are half in the ground, in order not to waste 

 any heat. What struck me especially about the Ameri- 

 can soldiers is their cleanliness. All of them are tall, 

 healthy and strong, owing to their hygiene. Their teeth 

 are very white ; and not to soil their hands, they put on 

 gloves, even at work. 



" 'Another thing I admired also is their politeness. 

 France had the fame of being the most polite nation 

 in the world. We have often heard and read about the 

 French courtesy. Is France going to lose her rank 

 among the well-bred nations? 



" T like the American soldiers who came to help 

 France. I like the Americans who came here to defend 

 justice and right. I admire the Americans who remem- 

 bered France, and who came to her in spite of the many 

 dangers. Long live the United States of America !' " 



[Owing to the fact that the rosters of several companies failed 

 to arrive from France as this issue goes to press, it is impossible 

 to be certain that the titles of some of the officers mentioned in 

 the article are correct. Editor.] 



WE WANT TO RECORD YOUR MEMORIAL TREE PLANTING. PLEASE ADVISE 

 THE AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, D. C. 







LONG MARTIME PILING LOADED ON AMERICAN NARROW GAUGE CARS READY FOR TRANSPORTATION FROM THE FOREST TO 

 THE MAIN LINE RAILWAY SHIPPING POINT NEAR PONTENX, LANDES, FRANCE 



