French colonial officials argued economic production outweighed military recruitment

Evidence

The year I 9 I 7 would nevertheless bring an improvement of sorts in the federation’s fortunes, at least from Dakar’s perspective. Clozel, who was ailing, was replaced by the much younger and more dynamic Joost Van Vollenhoven. Like his predecessor, Van Vollenhoven vigorously opposed continued use of the tirailleurs; but he also had an alternative plan to present to the Paris government. In an influential memorandum to the minister of colonies, Van Vollenhoven argued that the federation could better serve the metropole by supplying it with raw material and foodstuffs, and by not depleting its valuable human resources so essential to West Africa’s mise en valeur. Production could be increased immediately, he insisted, if recruitment were suspended. His plan made all the more sense, since Paris had earlier that year decided on colonial ravitaillement. In October 1917, the General Staff was persuaded to halt recruitment temporarily, and Van Vollenhoven embarked upon a coordinated program of colonial production. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 516

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to mise en valeur doctrine and how metropolitan extraction shaped West African colonial administration.