EVENING REFLECTIONS
Immigration

One of our colleagues affirms that the problem of immigration must be resolved urgently and, to illustrate his thesis, hopes that we will be able to attract Canadian farmers who, speaking French, would change countries without being disoriented. This would spare us the unfortunate surprise that we too often have of seeing, in certain regions, the most beautiful rural farms in the hands. of unassimilable foreigners. I completely agree with this opinion. That France is beautiful, that its soil produces admirable products, this is not enough to justify the presence of real colonies settling as in a conquered country. draining the riches of the earth and forming so many islands destined, over time, to weld themselves together without being interested in our homeland. But the root of the evil is deeper than we think. What we suffer most from at this time is that those who could usefully work our fields desert them, seduced by the deceptive attraction of the cities. It is enough for a spa to prosper somewhere for us to see our young peasants, with an indisputable heredity of country qualities and virtues, orient themselves towards the easier work of the casinos. At the casino, there is a regular monthly payment, tips, possible participation in the croupiers' profits, what else? And the countryside is becoming more depopulated because, to live there, despite the increase in sales prices, you have to work your own field and often not fear working more than eight hours a day. Labor is overpriced, fertilizers are expensive. If he does not resolutely put his hand to the task, the small owner is a victim. like the inhabitants of the cities, from all the shenanigans of useless middlemen and speculators.
That Canadians come to France very well; but the real remedy for the crisis is the very reform of our morals, it is the return to the land, and these are, if we also want, all the measures that we will take to favor it and which will protect small and medium-sized farmers in France from all surprises and all the hazards caused by incomprehensible fluctuations in costs. Two months ago, wine in the South was worth eighty francs per barrel; the winegrower, treacherously advised then, sold; today, this same wine is worth one hundred and forty francs; but it is no longer the producer who holds it. Disillusioned and skeptical, he no longer has confidence in his work and in himself. What is the point of plowing, sowing, planting? He is tired of fighting, and here he is a candidate for a "place", a place that he believes to be in the hell of some city, where he will be an employee, no doubt, but where he will be protected against risks and which will still leave him some leisure time to go to the cinema. There are enough uprooted French people to repopulate France. It is within the country that we must practice a far-sighted immigration policy.

ANDRÉ PAYER