POMPON

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 July 1940, Page 6

POMPON

NOTABLE SUCCESS AT PARIS SALON. What an absurd name. Has anyone ever heard of Pompon, and does anyone wish to hear? Perhaps not. But Francois Pompon is worth hearing about. He was a French stone mason who did good work for 70 years, and was happy doing it. That is something, surely. But he was more than a stone mason, he was a carver, a sculptor; and after making gravestones he became a workman in a sculptor's studio. The sculptor was famous. Pompon was just Pompon. No man ever worked belter. He was always at his piece of marble, chipping it and smoothing it. He began punctually in the morning. He went on till long after it was time to stop. He never earned much money, but ho was content to go on day after day and year after year. In. his spare time he made little carvings of his own. Condescending artists and sculptors called him a good fellow, but smiled at. his piece of sculpture. He worked on for Rodin, and great men visiting that famous sculptor’s studio had a smile for Pompon, but they turned aside to make fun of his little efforts. One day, when Pompon was 78. he sent a piece of carving to the Paris Salon, and in the twinkling of an eye the world turned tipside down. The piece won the Gold Medal of the Salon, and Pompon carried oft the Legion of Honour. Everyone thought lite sculptor a young man with remarkable genius. They were astonished indeed to find him (for all the journalists and art dealers crowded round) only a tired old man. They thought this masterpiece the finest thing lie had ever done. They did not reauiso that all his life lit' had been doing line things, and that nobody had known it except Pompon.

RIOR Tv . -I. r (. V SOME FEARS OF jZ HANOI (French Indo-ChJZ. .. April 13. In spite of the drain the war in Europe is imposing upon French financial and military resources, there has been no curtailment of the costly schemes for making French IndoChina secure from outside attack. Since midsummer of 1937 France has expended more than 3.000.000.000 francs upon her defence plans for this rich and populous colony, and in addition, the Indo-China budgets for 1938 and 1939 each included 40.000.000 piastres (equal to 800.000.000 francs) of colonial money for additional defence appropriations. The reason for this lavish outlay upon a distant colonial possession is that France fears the Japanese have designs upon this rich tropical area. Already the Japanese arc at Nanning, in Kwaijigsi Province, only 82 miles from the Indo-China border, and only about 165 miles from Hanoi, the French colonial capital. Even more alarming to the French is the fact that the Japanese now occupy Hainan Island and the Paracel group. These strategic points are. about 330 miles north and north-east of Kam-ranh Bay, which the French have been fortifying with a view to making it their main naval base in the Far East. Already there are smaller bases at Haiphong and at Saigon, but neither of these can accommodate any vessel of more than 12.000 tons. HOPES FOR SINGAPORE AID. Indo-China today is probably the most vulnerable portion of France’s vast- colonial empire. But in case of any attack France would be able to count upon a considerable measure of British naval and air support from the great base at Singapore. In June of last year all commanders of French forces in the Far East attended the little-publicised conference held at Singapore by the General Staffs of Britain and British Colonies and Dominions in the Orient. The conference is known to have adopted a resolution favouring "continuous contact in regard to defending and fortifying” the Pacific possessions of the British and French Empires.

The French Minister for Colonies, in a report to the President in July last year, described in general terms new plans for the defence of IndoChina. He announced the early doubling of the personnel of “the effective forces," a large planned increase in the air force, industrial development of the country, particularly with a view to making it independent of munitions shipments from France.

AEROPLANE FACTORY STARTED. At the time the Colonial Minister’s report was made the French Air Force in Indo-China consisted of only six squadrons, but this has since been largely increased. The Gnome-Rona. a French company, is constructing an aeroplane factory that will have an annual output of 150 aeroplanes and 400 motors.

The Colonial Ministry estimated that within one month of a mobilisation order Indo-China could put 100,000 well-trained and well-equipped native reservists in the field. These would be made up of Annamites, Cambodians. Tonkinese and Moi units. The Annamites. in the last World War, proved of little use except in cleaning up the battlefields and doing coolie labour behind the front. French officers declare that unless the native troops have a French non-commis-sioned officer to every 10 men they would probably break and run under fire.

Tile number of air fields in IndoChina is being rapidly increased on a scale entirely unjustified by the needs of civilian aviation, and many new military roads are being rushed to completion. At the beginning of this year Indo-China possessed about 21,000 miles of modern roads, about a third of them asphalted. Indo-China expects no native-move-ment for independence while France is fighting in Europe. This is in. marked contrast, to the situation during the 1914-18 European war. \yhen Indo-Chinese utilised French preoccupation to attempt a revolt against French rule. Indo-Chinese remain quiet primarily because they believe that to rid themselves of their French masters would be to invite Japanese domination. They prefer the French to the Japanese. CHANGED BY JAPAN'S BRUTALITY The present attitude of the IndoChinese toward the Japanese is in striking contrast to that of a few years ago. Formerly the Tonkinese and Annamites of the French colony looked to Japan as the standard-bear-er of Eastern peoples in a struggle for ■ liberation from Occidental imperialism. It was thought a benevolent Japan could be counted on to assist IndoChina to throw of! French rule and then to leave the country a sovereign State independent of any outside domination. Japanese influence was for a time, widespread, and Japanese agents worked closely witli native revolutionaries bent on driving the French from Indo-China.’ Japan's behaviour in China has changed all this. Indo-Chinese are convinced now that Japan has no benevolent intentions toward Indo-China or any other Asiatic country. There had been misgivings when the European war broke out. Native uprisings were feared, and France decided a strong military man was needed to govern Indo-China. Liberal, tolerant Jules Brevie was shelved and hard-driving General Georges Catroux was called from retirement to take over the Governor-Generalship al Hanoi. In line with the Paris programme of self-sufl'iciency for the French Empire llie production of agricultural and minoraHsupplies that round out the economic needs of France and Britain or that can be sold for foreign currency is being intensified. New lands are being cleared for more tea plantations. Cattle, hides, rice, and rubber are-listed for increased output. Tin and zinc for French and British industries are slated for production in larger quantities. And the rich reserves of anthracite coal at Hongay are ready to be tapped in larger amounts if war needs require. Contingents of native troops—chiefly labour battalions and technicians — have been sent to France, and training of tens of thousands of new IndoChinese troops is under way. Con- ' scription has not. been introduced. French Army officers say the IndoChinese are volunteering on a scale sufficient for requirements.