The daily progressive-miner., 1917-10-04
WHY FRANCE,IS
 DEMANDING RETURN
 ALSACE-L0RRAINE

Since the German Socialists try to render the question of Alsace-Lor- raine obscure and conrused, it is ob- viously the duty of every Frenchman to render it clear and ineligible.
 When France demands Alsace-Lor- raine she does so not because she will have five departments more in her geographical configuration, but be- cause these territories were taken from France by force forty-six years ago; because the population of these territories not only were not consult ed at the time as to whether they wanted new rulers. but protested sol emnly in 1871 and kept up that protest against Prussian domination for 46 years.
 The pgc.c5t of Alsace-Lorraine against German annexation and do- imitation is a fact which cannot be ignored.
 In 1871, on February 16, when the deputies of Alsace-Lorraine heard that their province would be given to Germany, they assembled and, in a historical document which was signed by all of them-they were thirty-six- they protested in the following terms: Alsace and Lorraine cannot be alien ated. They have been associated with France during more than two cen turies in the good as in the bad for tune. And today, before the whole world they proclaim that they want to remain French.
 1 Europe can neither allow nor rati- | fy the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine Europe cannot allow a people to be seized like a flock of sheep. Europe cannot remain deaf to the protest of a whole population. Therefore we de- clare in the name of our population, ill the name of our children and of our descendants, that we are consd- ering any treaty which gives us up to a foreign power as treaty which is null and void and we will eternally reyindicate the right of disposing of
 'gselyes and of remaining French.
 And three years later, in January, 1874, when for the first time Alsaee and Lorraine had to elect deputies, they reiterated the same protest. They elected fifteen new deputies; some were Protestants, some were Catholics; one of them was the bishop of Strasburg, and all of them unan- imously signed a declaration which was read at the tribune of the Germ an reichstag. The declaration was as follows:
 In the name of all the people of Alsace-Lorraine, we protest against the abuse of force of which our coun- try is a victim. Citizens having a soul and an intelligence are not mere you may trade.
 The contract which annexed us to Germany is null and void. A contract is only valid when the two contractors had an entire freedom to sign it. France was not free when she signed such contract. Therefore our cleo tors want us to say that we consider ourselves not bound by such a treaty, and they want us to affirm once more our right of disposing of ourselves
 Some people speak of a referendum. Why a referendum? Was there any referendum in 1871? And how could there be a referendum? How could you include in this referendum the hundreds of thousands of Alsatians who have fled from German dominion How could you exclude from this ref erendum the hundreds of thousands of Germans who have emigrated to Alsace?
 The referendum was rendered in 1871. It was rendered in 1874. It was rendered in 1913-the year be- fore the war-by the Germans them selves, when Herr Von Jagow, in the reichstag, made the following declar- ation:
 Tn Alsace and Lorraine the Germ ans must behave as if they we're in the enemy's country"
 What better referendum can you get than such a one?
 The referendum has also been ren- dered by the Alsatians, who fought as officers in both armies. Whereas, on the French side are twenty gener- als, the most popular in France-men like Maudhuys, d'Urbal, Micheler Du- bail, Mangin, Hirschauer 145, su- perior officers and over 5000 officers -on the opposite side, in the German army we find only six Alsatian officers one general and five others who are hybrids; that is, half Alsatian, half German.
 In the presence of all these facts, and many others, France more strong ly than ever demands that Alsace and Lorraine return to the breast of their mother country.
 Some pacifists used to speak of the return of the status quo ante bellum. France, as regard herself, agrees with them-ante bellum 1871.