New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-09-01
THE FRENCH FRONTIER.
ALSACE AND LORRAINE.
ALNANE NND LNJNhAINEs
HOW FRANCE CAME TO HOLD THEM-HIST0RY

IL. as is now probable, the French-German war
should soon end in complete victory of Germany,
the regulation of the frontier between France and
Germany viii be the foremost question of the day.
THE TRIBUNE has already given a full account OF
the nationality of the people inhabting the two DOT
der provinces of Asace and Lorraine, showing tnA'
even to this day nearly the whole of Alsace win
population of about 100 600 inhabitants ana acon
siderable portion Of Lorraine belong to the "e'naA
nationality A still better understanding Oh ''''
new diplomatic question will be op''nio : "
briefly refer to the time when these TWO PiO' ~
were snatched away by France from "'ii""s' ~
to fine wear 1913 France had in consequence VI o
encroachments of German territory, anneAeu d "'i
,,or ,o,pIation of about $4,000 BY the peace ri
Wos.rhoTs France. which in the religious war of 80
a. sunported the same Protestants who were so
raII, nrosecuted at home against the Catholic Gov
or,r,cnt of Austria and its Catholic allies, OBJ
,airod n number of Austrian possessions, with
a population of 227,0OO inhabitants. At
the close of the seventeenth century Louis NV. in
stituted so-caed Chambers of Reunion which were
70 examine which districts within the bounds of the
German Empire had at any previous period been
under French jurisdiction; and the districts thus
singled out together with $4,000 inhabitants were
at once seized and incorporated with France, while
about at the same time the Republic of Strasbourg
and the Bishop of StrasbOurg placed another tract OF
land with about 90 900 inhabitants under the pro-
lection of France In the course of the eighteenth
century France annexed the Duchy of Lorraine with
shout ITS 900 inhabitants and several dominons of
German princes in Alsace and Lorraine Finally the
Republic of Muhhouse and number of districts be-
longing to several German princes, with territory
now numbering $4,000 inhabitants, were united
with France IN and after the year 1890.
Until the Revolution of 1882 hut little effort had
been made to substitute the Of the French for
that Of the German language The present idea of
compact natiOnalities cO-eXtensive with the bound
aries Of the several countries. was then almost
known Germans remained unmOlested in the use
of their language the French subjects of several
German princes in Alsace and Lorraine had always
enjoyed full liberty in using their idiOm But from
the time If the Revolution the French Government
has been ncessant in its efforts to make the German
population of Alsace and Lorraine a homogeneous
element of the French Empire and by the gradual
introduction of the French language into churches,
schools courts and all other public relations, to
tirpate the last remnants of the German nationality
of the inhabitants. The results of these efforts
have thus far not been considerable. Even to this
day. there are large number of communities where
French is unknown The number of churches and
schools in which German is still used exClu-
sively 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 pop
ulatiOn of 1O07477 inhabitants out of total pop
ulatiOn of 1,O93,376. and in three departments of
Lorraine MOselle, Meurthe and Vosges) German
population Of 81 6S1 in total population of $780,
5S5 Thus France has in its eastern provinces Ger
man speaking districts with population of 1852,
15S Beside these Germans, France has In the two
departments of Pas de Calais and NOrd population
speaking Flemish the dialect of Belgian Germans.
numbering together Sal 9l7 inhabitants, who added
to the above number give an aggregate German pop
nlatiOn of 1,701175 Of these about 100000 sup
posed to have more or less lost their nationality
and with regard to their language, have become
more French than German leaving about 100000
inhabitants, who 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 & longer or shorter time been subject to
German rule, have all been restored to France, No
German State contains at present any districts
which have French-speaking population. The
only exception to this rule is the Prussian Rhine
province which in the RegieraRgsbezirk of Aix-la-
Chspelle has few small and scattered commun-
ties. 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
had given dissatisfaction TO of the two nations,
it would be the Germans, not the French, who had
right TO complain. But in reality the contrary was
the case. Germany disunited has not uttered, from
1915 to 1870, one SINGLE official word indicating o
claim 20 Asace and Lorraine is there any reason
for suppOs;ng that, if the French had shown desire
TO live in peace with the Germans, any German party
would ever have allowed a against France for
the purpose of recovering Alsace and Lorraine.
But in France, the national pride, relying on the
political impotence of Germany, was not satisfied
with the 10000 German inhabitants but strong
party with the apparent approval of the majority of
the press and the people have not ceased since 1915
10 clamOr for the conquest OF annexation of more
German territory. The treaty of 1915 was declared
infamous, because it did not extend the frontier of
France to the Rhine. The Rhine, as the natural
frontier of France has since 1915 been the lead
ing principle Of the foreign policy of France 1t has
been advocated by the leading newspapers in school
books, in historical and geographical works. in
els it has been openly advocated by the greatest
statesmen of France, like Theirs, who reproaches
Louis Napoleon not for seeking to extend the French
frontier but for beginning the before being suf
fcently prepared.
OF late. Louis Napoleon the first to recognize
the nationality principle which has a right to
be recognized in the international politics of Europe.
He encouraged the Italian people when they claimed
the right to expel all their princes one, and to
make all the Italian-speaking territory into
nation. He went further and advocated recon
structon of the map of Europe the basis of this
principle The first nation that wished to avail
itself of the application of this principle was the
German. They demanded consolidation of all the
German States into one German Empire. No inch of
French territory demanded; only for the
territory known as German union was to be
anhstifuted for disnnion The frat attemnts IN