THK ALLIANCE HERALD, ALLIANCE, NEBRASKA, OCTOBER 30, 1919
TAOK TWO
WRY-DAY LIFE IN FRANCE
Btpcrlence of Foreigner With the
Merchant unci Hhivp of
the Knwill Town
(Hy Opt. Kriwln M. Uitrr)
Probably a subject as Interestlm;
a any would be a disrusMon of the
modern conveniences to be found In
the everday life of our Bister democ
racy. But before we enter the sub
ject It will be well to explain that
there are two districts In France, the
civilisation of which differ radically
These are, first, the cities, such as
Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux,
etc: and second, the province or the
rural district. Also we must bear In
mind that there are two aspects of
French life to be reckoned with; one,
the pre-war phase, the other that of
the war with which our soldiers are
best acquainted. We must realise
that' the glimpse we got was at a
time when our hosts were at their
poorest commercially, industrially
nd morally. Let us not Judge
France too harshly by her ebb-tide
showing.
The appearance of the small
French town, ranging from fifty to
Ave thousand Inhabitants, have been
described by the majority of letter
writers from the front. Nearly every
one has read of the little, low, stone
structures with red tile roofs that
Are built along some narrow rambl
ing road. But has everyone taken a
close-up of the Interior of one of
these quaint business houses? Were
you to enter a shop In a small town
vnnr interest mieht h attracted bv
omi display in the shop-window, but
It would generally be necessary to
single out some one object from a
generous maze of goods crowded Into
tiny space. But once having the
desire to enter a small ahop, your
next difficulty might be to discover
the entrance. In many business
places of this sort, the door Is almost
concealed because It is built like one
of the windows, with hinges on the
inside. The only distinctive feature
in most cases is not a door-knob as
we know them, but a "door-handlo'
or leer about three or four Inches in
length. This handle is common to
most doors In France, both for in
.side and outside use.
When one opens the door the first
. thing to impress itself upon his unac
eastom$d ears is the tinkling of a
bell in the front or rear of the store
which announces to the proprietor
that a patron has come. A contriv
Alice of wires, pulleys and levers is
Acted upon by some edge of the door
avnd the resultant tinkling of a bell
heralds his approach as well as nis
' M A r 1 I I 1 1 Va
departure. mm warning emu uis
proprietor, usually a woman or her
daughter, from some occupation In
the rear of the place. In case neither
party speaks both languages, the
' scene which follows, composed of
earnest gesticulation and atrocious
mispronunciation Interspersed gener
ously with "yes" and "oul" can easily
be Imagined.
Dry goods, meats, groceries, and
such wares are generally displayed
with attention to the dictates of neat
ness and order. But I have seen
stationery, music and news stands,
s.cond-hand book stores and curio
shops In a state of confusion and dis
order that would make the proverbial
editor's sanctum appear like a model
of cleanliness and organization. Pos
sibly In pre-war times this was not
the rase, and ret it seemed to me
that establishments which were con
fronted with the problem of keeping
In stock a multitude of small objects
such as magazines, papers or books
were very prone to allow their
shelves to take on the common' ap
pearance of an American attic.
The completeness of stocks car
ried by French business firms does
not compare with the corresponding
establishments of our country, either
In quantity or range of commodities.
This fact is due, probably, to at least
two causes, one of which is that the
scarcity of money exercises a definite
restraint on the selection of buyers.
They take what they can get and
are thankful for the opportunity.
The other cause the writer thinks is
the custom to be observed in many
parts of France, that of traveling
bands of merchants, who make their
headquarters In some comparatively
large city and make a regular sche
dule of little towns, selling their
wares a half or whole day In each
place. In this way they serve the
people In several different capacities.
.In the first place they bring the
latest notions from the business cent
ers, and incidentally make it inadvis
able for merchants to carry any
thing but staple articles. Again they
serve as did the troubadora of old
who brought news from distant
places. But in this case the news is
exchanged over the gaily decorated
little carts while the draft animal
(usually some diminutive donkey or
worthless pony, although sometimes
large dogs are used) stands on a
couple or three legs close by and
dreamily listens to the sharp bar
gain that is driven In even the most
trivial purchase. These itinerant
merchants are respected and wel
come visitors to these little towns
The inhabitants make a sort of week
ly fair out of their coming, and the
activity and interest are keen while
the troup stays in the village for the
Frenchman truly loves to higgle over
the price of something and exchange
gossip meanwhile.
This love of higgling over prices
can be said to be general in France
except in some of the large stores in
the cities. In the smaller communi
ties it is practically always the cus
tom. And this national difference
gives rise to one of the most heart
felt though least-appreciated com
plaints that the French have against
the Americans. The writer knows
that the great majority of soldiers
who return from France will tell
stories of high prices charged Amerl
cans while the same commodities
were sold to natives at reasonable
profit. It is not sensible to attempt
to deny that such was undoubtedly
the case In some instances. But it
Is his opinion that such distinction
was not common, and that every In
stance could be traced to some dis
reputable merchant whom the ordi
nary Frenchman detests.
On the other hand, It Is the writ
er's honest belief that the French
man had a more legitimate complaint
to make against our soldiers In the
matter of prices. The American was
not in the habit of arguing over the
price demanded for an article. He
looked the object over, heard the
price, and either took or left it. The
French merchant, accustomed to hig
gling, naturally demanded more
money than he expected to obtain.
The consequence, when the Ameri
can bought, and he usually did buy,
he paid a good stiff price. Then
when the Frenchman approached the
same merchant to buy, he was asked
the high price but could obtain no
reduction, because the merchant
would say, "Well, if you won't pay
that, the Americans will." In that
way the Americans unthinkingly and
unnecessarily raised the cost Dom io
themselves and others. If our sol
diers had been able to argue a little
and would havedone so, no unneces
sary raise could have been effected
by the merchants.
To return to a comparison oi me
business houses in tne respective
country towns: Their range is not
so wide as ours and yet they natural
ly have some we do not. In the ordi
nary French town the Blxe of Aurora
there would be no bank, newspaper,
garage, real estate office, dentist,
soda fountain, grain elevators, farm
machinery Btore, commercial club.
movies or opera house. But they
would have numerous cafes where
beer, wines or liquors are sold, at
least one brewery, a few second-hand
stores where curious and old' furni
ture would be on Bale, and probably
sage-fern" (mid-wife) or wo to
help out the only physician In the
(Continued on Page 5)
A Timely Help
The face is often the first
to betray a decline m
strength. When you feel
rundown and your face
is colorless, the need tor
scorn
EMULSION
is plainly evident Those
who have tried Scott's know,
its power to strengthen the
body, enrich the blood and
put the color back in the
face. Don't be pale-faced-
take Scott's Emulsion.
The Norwririan cod-liver oil ed
tn Scott's EmulMoa is super-refined
iu our own American Laboratories.
Its purity and quality is unsurpassed.
xtt& Bowoe. Bloonif ield, N. J. 19-25
TITAN TRACTORS
. Si)
Sells Them
DELICIO
is their name and DELICIOUS is their nature.
We have them the finest eating Apple that can he bought. Try just one and
you will be converted to our belief. This is only part of our'
1
CARLOAD OF APPLES
Fancy Jonathons and Wincsaps make up the remainder of the car. They are all
in fine shape and are priced right to justify the purchase of your winter's supply.
By the bushel or pound. Come in and look at them.
CARLOAD OF FINE CABBAGE
We have just received a carload of high quality cabbage that we are dispos
ing of at attractive prices. This cabbage is the Danish Bald Head, and the heads
are solid and well preserved. ' '
TO ALTERNATE WITH THE IRISH
Both the Irish Potatoes and the Sweets will taste much better if you alternate
them. Give the family some of the finest sweet potatoes they have ever tasted.
We can sell you the Yellow Jersey sweet potatoes that will stand comparison with
any of them.
We also have a good supply of Tokay
" i Grapes and Kefer Pears, that are sure
' . to sell fast they 'repriced right. '
Alliance Floral Co.
204 Box Butte Avenue
c . s.. .jr ir m
iT'h 1)
V.f -ivr;
V U
Q
A
Silver Prize Cups Won by Box Butte Potatoes
1716 Prize Winners
Box Butte county potatoes are the prize winners. Kaised in the comfortable, quick
growing climate of western Nebraska, under the beautiful Box Butte skies, and cradl
ed in the rich, moist, potash-bearing, chocolate loam soil, they grow and grow until they
become a delicious article of food. Once tasted by those unused to them, nothing
else in the spud line will suffice thereafter.'
We sell the lands which grow the prize-winning potatoes. Prices are low, terms
are easy. The lands are awaiting the farmer who wants big returns on his investment.
Write or see us personally and ask for our list of bargains in raw lands, farms and
ranches.
Thomas-Bald Investment Co.
LLOYD 0. THOMAS
Phone 209
ALLIANCE
Box Bntte County
P. A. BALD
Alliance National Bank Bid .
NEBRASKA
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