FRATERNITY

The French are famous for their beautiful manners, but it is not entirely out of politeness that they have drawn 350,000 francs from their thin purses to erect a monument to American volunteers. The money has not come from the government, as a mere ingratiating gesture. It has come from individuals who are personally grateful to the Americans who joined the cause before the United States entered the war. At the same time it has the dimensions of a national gift, for aside from the premiers and ex-premiers. Marshals of France and cabinet members who have contributed, every regiment in the French army and even school children have added their bits.

The statue, by Jean Boucher, represents an American in French uniform calling his countrymen to the aid of France. And since it has not yet been unveiled, American travelers in Paris on the Fourth of July will be able to witness the ceremony.

In erecting the Statue of Liberty, France presented America with a lasting reminder of the "fraternity" which she hoped to perpetuate between the two republics. In the present statue she incorporates the same for her own people, along with a tangible evidence of her gratitude. Although there have been spats and misapprehensions between the two nations in the course of the past century, manifestations like this serve to eradicate rash judgements of the hour and show in its proper light the deep esteem which France and the United States have for each other.