“Why always pay tribute to strangers?” now asks the French housewife.  So far as Germany is concerned, this question is already settled.  But the American sewing machine will have to struggle for its existence hereafter in France, for plans have been made for at least three huge factories for its production.

Striking evidence of the growing French industrial independence of Germany is her advance in crucible making.  For years Sevres vied with Limoges for ceramic honours.  To-day the vast plant which once produced the most exquisite and delicate ware in the world is now producing the less lovely but more serviceable crucibles, condensers and retorts necessary for the distillation of the powerful acid used in modern high explosives.  Previous to the war, the Central Empire had a monopoly on this market.  Indeed, much of the pottery and glassware used in laboratories and chemical factories was made in Bohemia and marketed by Germany.  Now the Sevres plant is shipping these goods to England and Russia.

So, too, with dye stuffs.  A whole new French colouring industry is being created.  A Societe d’Etude has been formed to make a scientific survey and this will be replaced by a National Company to undertake the manufacture of all coal tar products.

The use of a certain number of new war factories has been guaranteed to the company by the Minister of War.  Typical of the purpose which will animate the enterprise is one of the articles of the National Company which provides that the Director of the Dye Stuff Industry must be of French birth.  An agreement has also been made with England and Italy to protect the colour output of the three countries with a high tariff after the war.  Here you find one tangible evidence of the working out of the Paris Economic Pact.

Even while the invader’s hand still lies heavy upon the land, France looks ahead to reconstruction.  Last summer Paris flocked to a graphic exhibition of how to rebuild a destroyed city.  It was called La Cite Reconstitue, and was held in the Tuileries Garden.  Here you could see the modern way of making a Phoenix rise quickly out of the ashes.  There were model schoolhouses, churches, factories, and cottages, all with standardised parts which could be thrown together in an almost incredibly short time.

With Self-Sufficiency has come a desire for new business knowledge.  Not long ago an American business man who has lived in Paris for many years, received a letter from a young French friend in the trenches at Verdun.  The soldier wrote: 

“I realise that when this war is over we must be better equipped than ever before to meet world business competition.  I want to be a better salesman.  Please send me some books on American salesmanship and also some of the American trade papers.  I have begun the study of Spanish because I believe we are going to have our part in the Latin-American trade.”  Here was a young Frenchman risking his life every moment in one of the greatest battles the world has ever known:  yet in the midst of death he was looking forward to a new business life.