Iditarod pioneer., 1917-08-11
WHY FRENCH DEMAND
 RETURN OF LOST ALSACE


 Since the German Socialists try to render the question of Asace- Lorraine obscure and confused, it IS obviously the duty ot every Frenchman to render it clear and in telIigibe
 When France demands Alsace Lorraine she does SD not because she will have live departments more ln her geographical con fguration, bat because these territories were taken from France by force forty-sx years ago; because the population of these terri tories not only were not consulted at the time as to whether they wanted new rulers, but protested soiemnty in 1871 and kept up that protest against Prussian domina- ton for forty-six years
 The protest of Alsace Lorraine against German annexation and domination Is a fact which cannot be ignored.
 In 1871 on February l6, when the depu- ties of Alsace- Lorraine heard that their province would be given to Germany, they assembled and ln a historical document which was signed by all of them-they were thirty -six-they protested in the fol lowing terms:
 Alsace and Lorraine cannot be alienated. They have been associated with France dur ing more than two centuries in the good a. in the bad fortune And today, befcre the whole world, they proclaim that they want to remain French.
 Europe can neither allow nor ratify the annexation of Alsace and 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. There fore we declare in the name of our popula- ton, in the name of OUT children and of our descendants, that we are considering any treaty which gives us up to a foreign power as 8 treaty which is null and void and we will eternally revindicate the righr of disposng of ourselves and of remaining French,
 And three years later, in January, 1874, when for the first time Al3ace 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 unanimously signed declaration which was read at the tribune of the German reichstag, The dec laration was as follows:
 In the name of all the people of Alsace- I bo nf a force of which our country is victim. Citizens having soul and an intelligence are not mere goods that may be sold or with which you may trade.
 The contract which annexed us to Ger many is null and void A contract is only valid when the two contractants had an entire freedom to sign it. France was not free when she signed such a contract. Therefore our electors want US to say that we consider ourselves not bound by such treaty, and they want us to affirm once more our right of disposng of ourselves.
 Some people speak of referendum. Why a referendum? Was there any referendum in 1871? And how could there be a refer cndum? How could you include in this referendum the hundreds of thousands of Alsatians who have fled from German domi- nation? How could you exclude from this referendum 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 19l3-the year before the w2r-by the Ger mans themselves, when Herr Won Jagow, in the reichstag, made the following declara- ,icn:
 Tn Alsace and Lorraine the Germans must behave as if they were in the enemy's country"
 What better referendum can you get than such one?
 The referendum has also been rendered by the Alsatians, who fight as officers in both armies Whereas, on the French side are twenty generals, the most popular in France-men like Maudhuys, d'Urbal Mich eler, Dubail. Mangin, Hirschauer, l45 su- perior officers and over 5000 oficers-on the opposite side, in the German army we find only six Alsatian officers, one general