American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-11-23
Alsace and Lorraine.

TAKE an old map of France and look "a
what might be called the right shoulde
of the map, and you will find a strip o
land about rs large apparently. in con
parisOn with France, as New Hampshire i
to our country, and not unlike it i'm shape
| stretching from Luxembourg and the Bel
gian frontier down to Switzerland, bulg
ing out on the line towards Paris so us t.
include Metz. and tapering almost to
point near Switzerland, so as to eXclud,
Belfort. This irregular patch. looking
like an inverted Indian club, includes the
province of Alsace AID great part Of
what is called Lorraine. and is now. per
haps. the most famous strip of land in the
world for the eyes OF the world are look
ing here amazed az certain phenomena and
historical transactions. and trying to solve
their meaning. As you know, it is now a
disputed land. 1t has been in dispute for
twenty centuries, and its fertile soil has
| been enriched with the blood of genera
tons of slain men, from the time of Cesar
| to Wilhelm of Prussia. Thirteen hundred
| years ago Clovis conquered it. and al
| though Chariemagne was benefactOr the
wars that came with his successors. chan
| neled and furrowed its fair fields. The
Hungarians went through it with fire and
sword, and it suffered under the religious
wars which swept over Europe in the six
| teenth century, the Swedes ''honoring
thirsty manner. Then Louis XIV about
l69O-tOOk it. The Germans came to re-
take it, but were defeated by Turenne.
A gain they made the effort, but the great
Condo drove them over the Rhine. That
ended German effort for nearly two hun
dred years. and Alsace rested at peace
under the French rulers until Sedan I'M
did the work of Condo and Turenne.
and France. with Prussan cannon at her
gates, surrendered it to Prussia.
In extent this dismembered shoulder of
France is about five thousand five hum
drcd and eighty English square miles
not more than three per cent of the total
area of France in population about one
million six hundred thousand souls, or
nearly five per cent of the total popula-
ton. You will see therefore that the rate
of population exceeds the average of the
country. 1t has Il fine canal system and
many forests OF pine and oak. There are
quarries and coal mines, iron and stone
deposits. lead and copper, in limited guam
titles. In the earlier times there were
gold and silver, but not enough to excite
any one in these Californian days. In the
Southern Department of Alsace there are
5000 acres given TO the vine, which pro-
duced at the last enumeration 10000. coo
gallons of wine. In the Northern De-
partment there are about %, 900 acres in
vines, yielding 12.0OO, 900 gallons of wine.
on NAV KNOW now generally the fand Is
di, ided (thanks to the RevolutionJ when
You are told that these $4,000 acres are
owned by 5000 proprietors. The total
revenue from cattle and stock raising in
the year last on record was S1S.000,000
American dollars, while from agriculture
the return showed SIS. 000, O0O-one half
from cereals. 1t might be called a land of
milk and honey, remembering that there
are in this province alone $4,000 beehives.
whose industry is not interrupted, take
it, by any questions OF authority or an
neXation. An ancient record notes that
the people, as become honest farmers,
were Ofa cheerful temper and much given
to dancing and fiddling. Among other
points note that the population is little
more than twice as large rs it was in $500.
and that if all France had kept growing
with the same pace it would now be about
30 600. 600 instead of nearly $4,000. 900,
that the books have written down.
This briefly is the extent, appearance,
character and wealth of that Alsace-Lor-
raine which France gave to Germany by
a treaty signed with the Prussian sword
at her heart. The two columns upon
which the province rests are the cities of
Strasburg and Metz.-Nancy Cor. ". Y.
HcrryI