The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-09-05
TRE ERlNCE FRoNTrER
ALSACE AND LORRAINE.


If, as is now probable, the French German
war should soon end in complete victory of
Germany, the regulation of thei frontier be-
tween France and Germany will be the fore
most question OF the day. We have
already given full account of the nationality
Of the people inhabiting the two border pro-
vinces of Alsace and Lorraine, showing that
even to this day nearly the whole of Alsace,
with population of about !, 100, 900 inhabi-
tants, and a considerable portion of Lorraine
belong to the German nationality. A still
better understanding of this new diplo-
matte question will be obtained if we
briefly refer to the time when these two
provinces were snatched away by France
from Germany. Up to the year 1913 France
had, in consequence of former encroachments
Of German territory, annexed a German
population of about j4, 900. BY the peace of
Westphalia France, which in the religious
war of 80 years supported the same Protes-
tants who we're SO cruelty prosecuted at home
against the Catholic Government of Austria
and its Catholic allies, obtained number of
Austrian possessions, with o population of
227,00O inhabitants. At the close of the
seventeenth century Louis XIV instituted So
called Chambers of Reunion, which were TO
examine which districts within the bounds of
the German Empire had at any previous
period been under French iuris-
dictiop; and the districts thus~
singled out, together with 226, 900 inhabit-
ants, were at once seized and incorporated
with France, while about at the same time
the republic of Strasburg and the Bishop of
Strasburg placed another tract of land with
about 262, 600 inhabitants under the protec-
ton of France. In the course of the eigh-
teenth century France annexed the Duchy of
Lorraine with about 17S, 900 inhabitants, and
several dominions of German princes in
Alsace and Lorraine. Finally the republic
Of Muhlhouse and number of districts be-
longing to several German princes, with
territory now numbering 300, 900 inhabitants,
were united with France in and after the year
1890.
Until the Revolution of 17S9 but little
effort had been made to substitute the use of
the French for that of the German language.
The present idea of compact nationalties
co-extensive with the boundaries of the seve-
raj countries, was then almost unknown
Germans remained unmolested in the use of
their language, as the French subjects of
several German princes in Alsace and Lor-
raine had always enjoyed full liberty in using
their idiom. But from the time of the Revo-
luton the French Government has been in
cesSant in its efforts to make the German
population of Alsace and Lorraine homo
geneous element of the French Empire,
and, by the gradual introduction of
the French language into churches,
schools, courts, and all other public relations,
to extirpate the last remnants of the German
nationality of the inhabitants The results
of these efforts have, thus far, not been con-
siderable. Even to this day, there are large
number of communities where French is un-
known. The number of churches and schools
in which German is still used exclusively is
very considerable, and in nearly the whole
territory which since 1913 has been torn
from Germany, the German language is even
to this day the predominant language. This
territory of the German language embraced,
in 1861, in Alsace population of 1907, Az
inhabitants out of a total population of
1893, ,376, and in three departments of Lor-
raine (Moselle Meurthe, and Vosges) a German
population of 35l ,6S1 in a total population of
1890, 5S5. Thus France has in its eastern
provinces German speaking districts with a
population of l ,359, 15S. Besides these Ger
mans, France has in the two departments of
Pas de Calais and Nord population speaking
Flemish, the dialect of Belgian Germans,
numbering together 341, ,917 inhabitants, who
added to the above number give an aggregate
German population of 1,70I,1 17J. OF these
about 200, 900 are supposed to have more or
less lost their nationality, and, with regard to
their language, have become more French
than German leaving about 800, 900 inhabi-
tants who, as far as their language is con-
cerned, are even to this day Germans.
The French districts which at any one
time since the organization of the French
and German Empires have for a longer Oh
shorter time been subject to German rule,
have all been restored to France No Ger
man State contains at present any districts
which have a French-speaking population
The only exception to this rule is the Prus-
sian Rhine province which ia the RegierltngS-
6ezirk of Aix-la Chapelle has a few small and
scattefed communities, together with about
10000 inhabitants whose native language is
French.
In view of such state of things one should
have expected that if the frontier which the
Congress of Vienna established between
France and Germany bad given dissatisfac.
tion to one of the two nations, 1t would be
the Germans, not the French, who had
right TO complain. But in reality the con
trary was the case. Germany disunited ha:
not uttered, from 1915 to 1870, one single
official word indicating claim to Alsace ant
Lorraine, nor is there any reason for sup
posing that, if the French had shown desir,
to live in peace with the Germans, any Ger
man party would ever have allowed wa
against France for the purpose of recOverin,
Alsace and Lorraine.
But in France, the national pride, relyin
on the political impotence of Germany, wa
not satisfied with the l, 500,000 German in
habitants, but a strong party, with the ap
parent approval of the ma jority of the pres
and the people, have not ceased since 1915 {
elamor for the conquest or annexation @
more German territory The treaty of lSl
was declared infamous, because il did nc
extend the frontier of France to the Rhine
The Rhine, as the natural frontier of France
has ever since 1915 been the leading prime
A. Il. II