The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-08-20
ALSATIANs HERE
IN AMERICA TO
CETPROTECT|0N
Arrange That They Shall
Not Be Regarded AS
Alien Enemies

been granted the protection of the
French and American governments
through an arrangement worked out
by Les Amis de L'Alsace-Lorraine
whose headquarters is in this city, In
conjunction with the French consul
general here and the State Depart
ment at Washington.
Identification cards are issued to
these Alsatians. and these credentials
allow them to pass freely through
those zones from which the Federal
authorities have barred Germans who
were unable to get similar passes.
The cards are granted only after
thorough investigation by Jonas Lpp-
man, representing the society.
"Our society was organized about
year ago." said Mr.. Lippmann, land
we have now developed to such an
extent that it was, a simple matter
for US to become sort OF clearing
house through which the thousands
of A1satians in this country could OBJ
tain imrn unity from the stigma of be-
ing regarded as enemy aliens. Lee
gally, in the eyes of Germany, Alsa-
tions are Germans, and the Germans
have done all sorts of things to make
them appear to be such. But essen
TALLY the Alsatian is French, and al
ways will be. There are about 10000
of them in this VICINITY, and prob
ably about $4,000 more throughout
the country. Through the headquar-
tiers Of the society here and branches
which we expect to establish where
ever a French Consul-general is sta
toned it Is probable that the major
ity of Alsatians in America wild OBJ
tain these Identification cards.
Americans seem to know little
about A1sace-Lorraine. Most of them
are surprised to hear that conditions
there are such that rayaged Belgium
Is a paradise in comparison. But
this is true. I know it from 1nrorma-
ton I received through underground
channels. underground because Asa
tians are imprisoned or shot if they
are caught telling the outside world
the real conditions in their home
towns, or, If they SO much as speak
a word against Germany or on behalf
of France.
'I know. for instance, that the
mortality rate is very large in Alsace-
Lorraine. and that there is most
distressing lack of food. This letter.
you see, says that manytimes chill
dren fall asleep in school and never
wake UP. / will tell you how. I get
these letters, but only in confidence.
/, ST know also that whoever is able
to buy quantities of food in Alsace-
Lorraine must pay in gold, for the
farmers will not, If they can help it,
accept German paper money, for they
say among. themselves-but never,
for obvious reasons; where they can
be overheard by the Germans-that
the German papers money is worth
less now and will be as worthless af-
ter the war.
There was a barber in Hagenau
named Ze1ler. He told a close friend
whom he was shaving that he was
going. that night, to celebrate the
capture of the verdun outer works by
the French. The BARRIERS little boy,
overhearing, spoke of this to his
young friends in the street. The Ger
mans got word of it. Zller is now ser
wing seven years in prison.
This young Alsatian here on my
left will tell you that his father was
shot by the Germans, and that they
compelled another son to dig the
was digging it for a horse. A father
and son lowered the German flag on
the cathedral at Metz and put up the
French flag. They are now imprison-
ed.
Another Alsatian. Charles Kessel1,
was called to the German navy when
the war began He was a member of
the Prinz Eeitel Freidrich's crew.
Every time that ship was about to
raid English commerce on the high
seas, Kessel1 deliberately committed
some breach of discipline, 50 that he
would be under punishment and
therefore unable to fight against the
English. When the raider got to- Nor
folk he escaped. He thinks he spent
at least seven months under impris-
onment rather than fight with the
Germans. Now he has enlisted in the
British Navy
These things show you the patriot
ism of these people, patriotism for
France, their France, from which
Germany tore them, and back to
which they will be restored by this
war. And these thing Americans
should know, too, of the vandalism
practiced by the Germans in Alsace-
Lorraine. For instance, they have re-
moved the priceless windows of
Strassburg Cathedral, and the famous
Strassburg clock. All these things
have drawn the Alsations farther
away from Germany than ever.
1.-THE Alsatians see through Ger
many's ruse in declaring for peace
ties. Germany means by that, give
us back our colonies return to the
status quo as though nothing had
happened, and take away nothing we
now have, and force US to pay no in
IDENTITIES for what we have done to
small nations. No peace lies that way.
The A1satians want the democratic
nation Of the world to fight on until
the German people are forced to see
how they have been nisled by the
junkers, until there can be peace in
which. the small nations shall, by
their own volition, be awarded their
rightful places. And Alsace-Lorraine's
place is with her mother country,
France"
Mr.. Lppmann, in investigating ap-
plicatfons for Identification cards, has
been forced to guard carefully against
the attempts of Germans to obtain
them. And he has made certain that
an applicants wife. If she happens to
be German, does not influence her
husbands opinion for Germany, or
has not urged German kultur upon
their children. The cards are given
only to Alsatians born in Alsace-Lor-
raine Of Alsatian parents. Mr.. Lipp-
mann's final test of the worthiness
of the applicant is to speak to him
| in Alsatian dialect. which neither the
French nor the Germans can use.
ToS mis- ia TpA1saca recantlv eY-