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Show I PLAN TO MAI TIE I GERMANS REBUILD J i : BEHIND THE AMERICAN LINES, I I Oct. S (Correspondence of the As- ,1 soclated Press.) Recommendation I r that the American military authorities p in Franco should, after the war, take I i charge of re-establishing the devastat- I f j ed regions of France and that German ' t j prisoners should ho made to repair the , damages they did In France, will be j made by the American Agricultural Ij commission now here. I j "We are going to report tcr the sec- ? retary of war and the secretary of agriculture," ag-riculture," said W. 0. Thompson, pres- I' Ident of Ohio State university, and I chairmaa of tho commission, "that D t the work of rehabilitating the devas- tated territory is an army problem i and that the milltarv authorities I I should deal with it. I "The problem of tilling the land 1 I which has been tho scene of the bat- 1 ties is a very serious one for it is I filled with unexploded shells. The fruit I f,-ces have been completely eradicat- II ed by ruthless felling. You can charge J indemnities but you cannot get land I I ready to plough without danger. j "The Germans should take the risk ! as part of the price to be paid for their wanton devastations .From the j economic point of view, if wo . allow , German prisoners to return home to 'reinforce Germany without this French r rehabilitation, Germany has again the lead on France. France is left flat on her back and Germany gets a long start. Even after suffering a military defeat, she wins an economic victory. "This devastation was admittedly intended to ruin France so that she could not recover for years, while Germany untouched is ready to profit by her breaches of intornalional law. Yet, as this commission sees it, as soon as the country is ready for agricultural agri-cultural restoration, the agricultural population will be on the spot waiting to rebuild their shattered farms and farm equipment. "They are pitifully attached to ! their homesteads though in thousands of cases there is only the cellar remaining. re-maining. Though not their war alone, France and Belgium haVe furnished tho battlefield. Wo are here to fight with France for our common defense, tho battlefield being furnished by cin-cuinstances. cin-cuinstances. The restoration of these battlefield farm lands is an intcr-ally problem." An |