Treasure Chest Thursday: Jean La Forêt Is Concerned about Italian Espionage

This is an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper (finally!  modern size!) that probably was once a pristine white but is now quite yellowed with age.  It has a watermark that says "LAKESIDE BOND."  It was in an envelope and was folded into quarters previously, but I have flattened it.  Someone, likely Jean La Forêt, has typed on the front and back.  I am surprised at the red ink Jean used for his name and return address at the top; I wonder if he had a separate typewriter ribbon for that or if there was a row of red on his regular ribbon.  I've seen both.  (Yes, I do remember typing with ribbon, thank you very much.)  With several typed-over corrections, this wouldn't have been the final version of a letter; it looks like it might have been a draft.  Supporting that hypothesis is the second letter that was in the same envelope.

This is another letter on an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper.  As with the first, it is yellowed but was probably white, and was folded into quarters.  It also has the same watermark, "LAKESIDE BOND."  It has Jean's name and address on the top — in black this time — but typing on only one side of the page.

Both letters have a mix of English and French.  They are Jean's reaction to a news item that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on April 15, 1926.  The first letter is dated the same day and might have been Jean's initial reaction to the article, while the second letter, dated April 18, is a more condensed version of his initial reaction.

And here's the envelope the letters were in when I received them.  It is a perfect 22 cm x 14 cm; the standard measurements are 8 5/8" x 5 5/8".  It's very brittle and looks as though it has taken on color over the years, but I'm not sure it was originally white.  The preprinted return address on the envelope is "American Consular Service, Algiers (Algeria)", so it was likely printed overseas, ergo the metric size.

Here's the short item that caught Jean's attention in the Chronicle.  He did a very good job of transcribing it, with the only mistakes being one added comma and one omitted comma.  Not bad, Jean!

San Francisco Chronicle, April 15, 1926, page 2

Jean's typing is very clear and easy to read, so I did not transcribe the sections written in English.  I have transcribed the French sections and translated them (but not Jean's strikeovers), and the handwriting on the envelope, which is mostly in English.  Unlike Jean's handwritten items, these letters have no diacritical marks, so he must have had a standard American typewriter.

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Transcriptions

First letter

[name and address]

Le 15 Avril, 1926

Monsieur le Consul General de France,
          San Francisco, California

Monsieur le Consul General,

          Dans le "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE" du 15 courant, je viens de lire un petit article intitule:
     [article title]
et concu en ces termes:–
[transcription of newspaper item]

[paragraph in English]

     Traversant l'Italie en 1909, je me suis arrete a Genes pendant environ trois semaines, fin may et premiere moitie de Juin.  Ayant besoin d'une carte pour m'orienter, je suis alle chez un libraire pou[r] en acheter une, demandant la carte la plus recente obtainable.  Le libraire me presenta une carte publiee tres-peu de temps avant et je l'achetai.  En arrivant a l'hotel je l'ai examinee et je me suis apercu que j'ai fait une emplette tres- interessante et, a mon point de vue, assez valuable.  Les revendications suivantes y sont clairement donnees:–
     1.– Republique de St. Marino;
     2.– Ile de Malte ( Angleterre) ;
     3.– Ile de Corse ( France) ;
     4.– Province de Nice (France) ;
     5.– Principaute de Monaco (France)
     6.– Suisse italienne (Suisse) ;
     7.– Canton de Ticino ou Tessin (Suisse)
     8.– Tirol Italien; Cercles de Pusterthal,Belsane, Trente, et Rovereto; Illiria Italienne;
           Cercles de Gorizia, Adelsberg, Trieste (Illiria) et le territoire de Trieste.

     Vous l'Italie n'est pas rapace, elle ne demande que peu de choses! . . .

     Cette carte est marquee:–

[map companay name and address]

     Cette carte est a votre disposition si vous desiriez en prendre une copie photographique.  La carte elle meme, je veux la conserver comme souvenir interessant.

     Ou serait l'Italie sans le secours de la France?  C'est le prestige de la France, le sang de ses soldats et ses finances qui ont fait l'Italie.  Que serait l'Italie aujourd'hui sans le concours, l'aide materiel de la France?  La Carte de l'Italie aurait surement un tout autre aspect:  Allemande et q.q. petites principautes eparpillees sur la peninsule.

     Si vous le desirez je viendrai vous voir a votre office et vous pourrez decider ce que vous desirez faire dans cette affaire.
     En attendant j'ai l8honneur [sic] de me dire,
          Monsieur le Consul General,
               Votre tout devoue serviteur,
                     Jean L. La Foret,
     De 1915 a 1919 U.S. Vice Consul et Charge d'Affaires a Alger, Algerie
                                      des Etats Unis


Second letter

[name and address]

Dimanche le dix-huit Avril, 1926.

Monsieur le Consul General de France,
          Consulat de la Republique Francaise,
                    SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

Monsieur le Consul General:–

          Dans le "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE" du 15 de ce mois, j'ai lu un petit article intitule:
     [article title]
L'article est concu en ces termes:–
     [transcription of newspaper item]

     En lisant cet article je me suis rappele qu'en traversant l'Italie en 1909, je me suis arrete a Genes pendant environ trois semaines, fin Mai et premiere moitie du Juin.  Ayant besoin d'une carte pour m'orienter dans mes excursions, je me suis rendu chez un libraire demandant la carte d'Italie, la plus recent obtainable.  Le libraire me presenta une carte publiee tres-peu de temps avant et je l'achetai.  En arrivant a l'hotel je l'ai examinee et je me suis apercu que j'ai fait une emplette tres-interessante et, a mon point de vue, assez valuable.  Les REVENDICATIONS ITALIENNES y sont clairement donnees, les voici:–
     1.– Republique de San Marino;
     2.– Ile de Malte (Angleterre) ;
     3.– Ile de Corse (France) ;
     4.– Province de Nice (France) ;
     5.– Principaute de Monaco (France) ;
     6.– Suisse Italienne (Suisse) ;
     7.– Canton de Ticino ou Tessin (Suisse) ;
     8.– Le Tirol Italien; les Cercles de Pusterthal, Belsane, Trente, Rovereto;
           Cercles de Gorizia, Adelsberg, Trieste (Illiria) et le Territoire de Trieste.

     Vous voyez, l'Italie n'est pas rapace, pas du tout, elle ne demande que peu de chose! . . .


Envelope

ITALY and GENOA ——

Italian Revendications —

Very interesting —

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Translations

First letter

April 15, 1926

Mr. Consul General of France

Mr. Consul General,

          In the San Francisco Chronicle of today, the 15th, I just read a small article titled:
     [article title]
and which stated:–
     [article text]

     [paragraph in English]

     Going through Italy in 1909, I stopped in Genoa for about three weeks, from the end of May to the first half of June.  Needing a map to orient myself, I went to a bookstore to buy one, asking for the most recent one available.  The bookstore offered me a map published very recently, and I bought it.  On returning to the hotel, I looked over it and realized I had made a very interesting purchase and, from my point of view, a valuable one.  The following claims are clearly made:
     1.– Republic de San Marino;
     2.– Island of Malta (England);
     3.– Island of Corsica (France);
     4.– Province of Nice (France);
     5.– Principality of Monaco (France);
     6.– Italian Switzerland (Switzerland);
     7.– Canton of Ticino or Tessin (Switzerland;
     8.– Italian Tyrol; areas of Pusterthal, Belsane, Trentino, et Rovereto; Italian Illyria;
           areas of Gorizia, Adelsberg, Trieste (Illyria), and the province of Trieste.

     You [see], Italy isn't greedy, it hardly wants anything! . . .

          This map is marked:–

[map company name and address]

     This map is at your disposal if you wish to make a photographic copy.  I wish to keep the map itself as an interesting souvenir.

     Where would Italy be without the assistance of France?  It is the prestige of France, the blood of its soldiers, and its treasury that have made Italy.  What would Italy be today without the aid and assistance of France?  The map of Italy would surely look totally different:  German and several small principalities scattered over the peninsula.

     If you wish, I can come see you at your office, and you can decide what you wish to do in this matter.

     Meanwhile I have the honor,
          Mr. Consul General,
               Your devoted servant,
                     Jean L. Foret,
From 1915 to 1919 the U.S. Vice Consul and Charge d'Affaires in Algiers, Algeria


Second letter

Sunday, April 18, 1926

Mr. Consul General of France,
     Consulate of the Republic of France

Mr. Consul General:–

          In the San Francisco Chronicle of the 15th of this month, I read a small article titled:
     [article title]
The article stated:–
     [article text]

     While reading the article I remembered that while going through Italy in 1909, I stopped in Genoa for about three weeks, end of May to first half of June.  Needing a map to orient myself during my travels, I went to a bookstore and asked for a map of Italy, the most recent available.  The bookstore offered me a map published very recently, and I bought it.  On returning to the hotel, I looked over it and realized that I had made a very interesting purchase and, from my point of view, a valuable one.  The ITALIAN CLAIMS are clearly made; here they are :–
     1.– Republic de San Marino;
     2.– Island of Malta (England);
     3.– Island of Corsica (France);
     4.– Province of Nice (France);
     5.– Principality of Monaco (France);
     6.– Italian Switzerland (Switzerland);
     7.– Canton of Ticino or Tessin (Switzerland);
     8.– Italian Tyrol; areas of Pusterthal, Belsane, Trentino, Rovereto;
           areas of Gorizia, Adelsberg, Trieste (Illyria), and the province of Trieste.

     You see, Italy isn't greedy, not at all, it hardly wants anything! . . .


Envelope

ITALY and GENOA ——

Italian Claims —

Very interesting —

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It appears that the letter dated April 15 was written right after Jean read the article in the Chronicle.  Whether he intended it as a draft or simply put it aside for a few days to think about it a little more, the letter dated April 18 seems a little more streamlined and smoother.  It does not have the paragraph in English at the beginning.  It also seems a little less inflammatory, but I'm not sure I have the entire letter.  This one page does not include a closing or Jean's name at the end, so the second page may have been typed on a separate sheet and has gone missing over the years, and Jean may have repeated his comments about how much Italy owed to France.

I'm not sure how to interpret the ending of the draft letter, where Jean offers to visit the Consul General.  I don't know if he's talking about a decision on whether to copy the map or what to do about the Italians taken into custody.  If the former, he makes it sound much more momentous than I think it warranted.  If the latter, he may have had an inflated opinion of his position after seven years out of foreign service.

The map does appear to have been interesting, although I don't think I have it either.  While some of the cities and territories claimed by Italy that Jean listed had been under Italian control in the 19th century, some go back 500 years or so.  It would have been difficult to find any support for those claims.  Even more interesting is that in the current day, some of the territories on the list have indeed been returned to some level of Italian control.

Jean included an entry in his journal for his trip to Genoa.  This was when he traveled with Emma on what looked like it could have been a honeymoon trip, and Genoa was a stop on their way to Switzerland.  The dates Jean gave in this letter match his journal.  This man was very organized.  Who knows, maybe he even consulted the journal before he wrote the letter!

These letters are the first dated items I have for Jean after he and Emma returned to California from Missouri (unless I find another misfiled item, of course).  Sometimes between July 11, 1925 and April 15, 1926, they moved to Vallejo.  And less than five months later, when he had been back in California for only a year or so, he died.  I wonder if he received a response from the Consul General before then.