The Dominion THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1917. THE SPIRIT OF FRANCE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3171, 23 August 1917, Page 4

The Dominion THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1917. THE SPIRIT OF FRANCE

In spito of all that it has endured and suffered since it stemmed the initial rush, of ,tho German invasion' in 1914, the French Army is still a mighty factor in tho war, Striking, proof of the fact is given,in its latest achievement, a. brilliantly successful offensive stroke on tho historic field of Verdun. Apart from its immediate importance this is an event calculated to reassure the friends of Franc© and dismay her enemies. It affords convincing proof of the unimpaired resolution and efficiency of the armies of tho Republic, and demonstrates very clearly the vanity of whatover hopes Germany has entertained , of exhausting France before tho Allies aro enabled to assemble- an ovor•whelming superiority of force. It is no secret that tho events of tho present year havo subjected Franco to an ordeal all the grimmer since its magnitude was unforseon. In tho opening days of the year the Allies were inspired by tho hopo that bofore it ended their long effort and sacrifice would be rewarded by decisive victory. Plans were laid for a great converging attack on tho German line in tho Western theatre, and but for the untoward developments which for the timo havo crippled Russia there is little doubt that tho Allies would at this period havo been very much nearer to final victory than they are to-day. The modification of plans mado necessary by the temporary loss of effective Russian aid boro with peculiar hardship on France, and the frank statement of her Minister of War that tho attempt to force a deckion must be deferred until the Army had added its strength to those of' France and Britain imposed a searching test upon tho courage of tho nation and its armies. The splendid stroke of battle on the Verdun front is an impressive indication that Franco is equal to this tost as she has proved equal to test that the war has imposed. It is not by any moans tho only indication of its kind. _ For months past, with hopes of victory for tho timo being deferred and a struggle of indefinite duration in prospect, the French armies havo been making head on tho Aisne front and in tho Champagno against German attacks which, in their formidable power and in the disregard of sacrifice with which they wcro developed, rival the colossal effort made by the enemy last year at Verdun with the same end in view—the end of exhausting Franco and overcoming her resolution. It was reported not long ago that Germany had employed a third of her total force—something like eighty divisions—in the attempt to recover the dominating heights north of the Aisne and in the Champagno won bv the French in April last. The attempt nevertheless collapsed Til failure, and tho completeness of the failure is attested in tho splondidly

effective blows which tho French have recently struck, in co-opera-tion with tho British in Flanders, and now at Verdun. While- the French armies are constantly giving new proofs of unwavering resolution and unimpaired cihciency, evidence is not wanting that the nation is inspired by the same,firm spirit of determination as in,-the early days of tho war. •Franco has her internal troubles, and as with a number of Allied countries her political parties include a Socialist minority whose mombors oppose the vigorous prosecution- of the war, and believe, or profess to believe, that the German people, after being atrociously barbarous for the last three years, may be induced to end tho war by internal reforms. But disturbing exceptions to the common rule servo only to cmnhasiso the united determination of a vast majority of tho people of France to persevere until such a victory has been won as will ensure the righting of wrongs and a lasting peace. Conclusive evidence on tho subject was supplied in June last when tho Chamber of Deputies held a secret session to discuss the decision of tho French Socialist Party to send delegates to Stockholm. The position was complicated by the, prevalence of industrial troubles, but it was made perfectly plain that the weight of public opinion was absolutely opposed _ to the Socialist agitation. In a review of tho situation, tho London Times correspondent at Paris wrote:

The French are passing through a difficult phase. They have had a period ofstrikes, due to tho increased cost rf living and .partly also to foreign agitators. In accordance with tho law recently voted n fresh comb has been put through tho country's remaining men of military ftgo, who havo been hitherto free from nil military sorvice. They have been again passed beforo tho Medical Beard, and been in large proportion drafted into tho Army. Nevertheless, tho prospect of an. international Socialist meeting has created a feeling of angry dismay which is pretty, general in the capital and in tho provinces. The arguments which may lead the British people to regard an international meeting without apprehension do not entirely hold as regards the French situation. First of all, in epito of the onormities committed by the Germans i.n their treatment of prisoners and by their methods of sea, air, and land warfare, the British people cannot perhaps bo inspired with the same intense loathing at the mere .idea of officially facilitated contact with Germans as animates tho French, witTfrhe invader on their soil. There is hardly a newspaper or public man who has not receiv->d numbers of letters protesting against such a meeting.

That this is an accurate _ account of French sentiment is indicated in the fact that after a long secret sitting the Chamber of Deputies by a majority of more than eight to one proclaimed its confidence in the Government to secure tho restitution of Alsace-Lorraine and compensation for all havoc wrought and to destroy Prussian militarism. In tho final passage of its declaration the Chamber affirmed that it trusted the Government to obtain these results by the co-ordinated military and diplomatic actiori of tho Allies. In the spirit of this declaration France has fought for more than three years, and undoubtedly will fight until the war has been won.