Page:EB1922 - Volume 30.djvu/886

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836
D'ESPEREY—DETROIT

man infamy up to universal execration, to sing the splendours of the dead of France, to pay a glowing tribute to an ally's achieve- ments, or to console the widow and the orphan and spur on the living fighter, he always had at his command the delicate, if somewhat artificial, style of speech of the great Latins, which combined both the structure of the artist and the feeling of a man. Speech did not give to him a sufficient outlet for his literary gifts. He was prolific as a writer in reviews such as the Revue de Paris, the Revue Bleue, Revue Hebdomadaire and the Nouvelle Revue. His books number Figures de Femmes, Figures litt&raires (both 1889), and a tribute to his political godfather Gambetta. His talents as a litterateur were recognized by his election to the French Academy on May 18 1899. He married on Feb. 13 1901 Mdlle. Germaine Brice, and had three children.

It was a secret to none that M. Deschanel, throughout his long political life, nurtured one great ambition he desired to become President of the repubh'c. When in Jan. 1920 M. Poincare's term of office came to an end, it was with some genuine reluctance that Clemenceau allowed himself to be put forward as a candi- date in opposition to Deschanel. That reluctance was justified by results. In the preliminary party ballot Clemenceau was beaten, and withdrew his candidature. Deschanel was elected President of the republic by the National Assembly on Jan. 17 1920 by an overwhelming majority. His term of office opened brilliantly, but his health was unable to stand the strain of office. In May 1920, while on an official journey to Montargis, he fell unobserved from the presidential train, and though he found his way to a signalman's box, and suffered no worse consequences than a nervous breakdown, he was temporarily incapacitated. His condition subsequently became such that on Sept. 20 1920 he was obliged to resign his office, and to leave Rambouillet, where he had sought the quiet necessary for the restoration of his health. He then went into a private nursing home at Rueil where he sufficiently recovered to be able to stand successfully for the Senate in the elections at the beginning of 1921, though he no longer took an active part in public affairs. (G. A.)

D'ESPEREY, LOUIS FRANCHET (1856- ), French marshal, was born at Mostaganem, in Algeria, on May 25 1856, and was commissioned from St. Cyr to the infantry in 1876. As a junior officer he saw much service in N. Africa and Tongking. For a time he was aide-de-camp to Freycinet, then Minister of War and premier. He served also in the expedition to N. China in 1900, after which he commanded an infantry regiment at home. He became general of brigade in 1908 and general of division in 1912. For a time he commanded the troops in Morocco, but in 1913 he was appointed to the I. Corps at Lille. He commanded this corps in the V. Army during the battle of the Frontiers, and at Charleroi had the ungrateful task of protecting the right of Lanrezac's army during its deployment on the Sambre; brought up at last on to the battlefield to deliver a decisive counter-stroke, he was at the moment of attack withdrawn again to protect the right rear of the army, the force which had released him having failed to keep the line of the Meuse. In the difficulties of the re- treat which followed it was the I. Corps and its commander which formed, according to Lanrezac's own testimony, the soundest element of the V. Army, and when that general was relieved of his command on the eve of the battle of the Marne, Franchet d'Esperey was his obvious successor.

Gen. Franchet d'Esperey commanded the V. Army during the battle of the Marne and the advance to the Aisne, and continued in command till the end of March 1916, when he was appointed to the eastern group of armies, in succession to Gen. Dubail. After holding this office for some eight months, he passed to the more active command of the northern group of armies, of which he was in charge throughout the campaign of 1917. In May 1918 he went to Salonika as commander-in-chief of the Allied armies in that theatre. His predecessor, Gen. Guillaumat, had worked out the main features of a general offensive on the Salonika front, and continued, in close coopera- tion with him, to support the claims and needs of such an offensive in the councils of the Allied High Command at Paris. Men and material were sent out in adequate numbers, and though Franchet d'Esperey, even with Guillaumat's assistance, was only able to obtain the decisive authorization to attack a few days before the scheduled date, his energy was equal to the task of hastening on the last stages of preparation and on Sept. 15 an offensive was launched that carried all before it. Bulgaria surrendered, and the pursuit was pushed with hardly a check into and through Old Serbia. After the final victory he remained in charge of the Allied forces in European Turkey and Balkan occupied territory, with headquarters in Constantinople. He was created a marshal of France early in 1921.

DETAILLE, JEAN BAPTISTE EDOUARD (1848-1912), French painter (see 8. no), died in Paris Dec. 24 1912.

DETROIT (see 8.113). Commencing with the recovery from the industrial depression of 1907-8, the city of Detroit entered upon a period of growth almost without precedent among large cities. The area of the city in 1907 was 35-65 sq. m.,but by the end of 1918 had increased to 83-58 sq. m. With reference to a portion of this area a peculiar condition existed. The villages of Hamtramck and Highland Park were originally outside territory into which the population and business of Detroit over- flowed. By annexations in 1916 and 1917 their outer boundaries were brought two miles within the city limits, but they still retained their separate municipal administrations. Together they covered 4-83 square miles. The pop. of the city as estimated from the Water Board enumeration of families was in 1907 about 390,000. In 1910 the U.S. census record was 465,766. The census of 1920 gave a total of 1,088,853 within the city limits, distributed as follows: under Detroit municipal administration 993i739J village of Hamtramck 48,615; City of Highland Park 46,499. A canvass made late in 1920 by the various city agencies for Americanization indicated that about 70% of the population was either of foreign birth or foreign parentage. Polanders, Germans and Russians represented the largest numbers, though there were large accessions from south-eastern Europe. In a single automobile plant there were 34 nationalities represented. A canvass of the public schools taken in Dec. 1920 showed 55% of the pupils of American-born parentage, 50-5% being white and 4-5% coloured. In 45% of children of foreign-born parents Polish ranked first and Russian next. In the three years ending with 1920 a large amount of work was done by the Board of Commerce, the Board of Education, and leading manufacturers in teaching the English language and the elements of citizenship through public night schools and factory schools.

Manufacturing. The extraordinary growth of the city was mainly a consequence of the expansion of its manufacturing industries. In 1904 the city was I2th in rank among the industrial centres of the country, with $91,038,000 in manufacturing capital, 60,150 industrial employees, and a product valued at $128,247,000. Five years later it was 6th in place, with a capital of $210,000,000, 103,287 employees and product of $252,992,000. In 1914 it was 4th, being surpassed only by New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, with a capital of $405,000,000, 141,188 employees and product valued at $569,000,000. In 1919 the number of employees had increased to 310,000 and the value of the product was estimated at $1,450,000,000. In the first half of 1920 industrial activity was at its height, and although there was a decline in the latter part of the year, the total value was estimated at a slight increase over the previous year. By far the most important of the manufacturing industries was the making of automobile parts and accessories and assembling of motor cars. The business began in Detroit in 1899, but was not classed by the Census Bureau as a separate industry till 1904, when it had $3,447,000 capital, employed 2,191 workers and had a product valued at $6,240,000. In 1909 the capital employed in the industry had increased to $28,928,000, the number of persons employed in office and factory 17,437, the number of cars produced 45,560 and the value of the product $59,536,000. The next year there was a great expansion of the industry, both through the organization of new companies and additions to old plants. With the exception of a slight set-back in 1914, the growth was continuous till the latter part of 1920. At its peak of production in that year there were 25 companies assembling motor cars and 140 whose sole or principal business was the making of automobile parts and accessories. Together they employed about 155,000 persons and put out 1,250,000 cars valued at over $1,000,000,000. The Ford Motor Co. alone had a maximum of 53,000 men on its pay rolls; Dodge Bros. 23,000; and the Packard Co. 17,000. The distribution of these products was world-wide, the portion set apart for export in 1920 amounting to $152,000,000. During the decade ending in 1920 there were numer-