Evening star., 1918-11-30
TEUTONS IN ALSACE
TOREAP SUFFERING
0fficehoIders Will Quickly
Lose PoWer-0stracism
Long Continued.
TIES HAVE BEEN CREATED


begun to experience suffering which
equals. if it does not exceed, that
which the Germans have inflicted
upon the natives during the past
forty-eight years. A great many of
them who are holding public offices
find their occupations suddenly with
drawn. Many others who were em-
ployes of the public administrations
are living in daily fear of discharge
and the necessity of leaving the
country.
Have Ceased to Be German.
In addition to these apprehensions,
the Germans feel real anguish at the
idea of leaving Alsace-and Lorraine
While the Germans succeeded in CIV
ing newer parts of towns like Metz a
Teutonic architectural aspect and
nave given German tone to town life,
as far as they participated in it,
those Germans who imJnigrated or
settled there as functionaries or mer-
chants have themselves undergone
mental notifications. They now
strongly prefer the two provinces to
Germany. They have ceased to be
German. but still have not become
Alsatians. They have not acquired
French culture because they have
lacked the necessary social contact
with the natives, but they have for
gotten some of their German ideas
and have grown to highly regard
-lsace and Lorraine and be solicitous
for their future
1T is not French rule that we
dread said the daughter of the first
German station master to arrive in
Lorraine after the war of 1870. 'It
is the native population that will not
accept us. We do not dislike them,
and. for my part. ! cannot understand
, why they do not like us, after all we
lave done for them in improving
their towns and bringing German Gull
ture among them"
This lack of comprehension of the
attitude of the native population in
the provinces is general among the
Germans. who have seen only their
own life and appear to be ignorant
of the great moral suffering of the
native inhabitants during the past
forty-seven years. The people of AL
feeling only toward those who have
had a share in the responsibility for
the harsh treatment they have en-
dured. Toward all others they are
remarkably considerate, and the few
Incidents that have developed so far
in the changed situation are traceable
to cases of undoubted use by the Ger
mans of power they had over the
native population.
Desire to Remain.
A good representative of German
immigrant population here might be
found in the son of PrusSian, who
settled in Alsace in 1874. Asked if
he would go back to Germany should
Alsace become French he replied
with tears in his eyes: "It would be
the crowning grief of my life if I
should be driven from Strasbourg and
enty-five per cent of the German pop
ulation of Alsace and Lorraine feel
IS l do. We have lost sympathy for
the ideas which have ruled Germany.
II we have not become Alsatian. we
love Alsace as well as any one
The great distress of a considerable
portion of the German population is
that even after forty-seven years of
residence here there is nothing in
common between them and the ma
tives. Their monopoly of public Of
fees and the large hold gained upon
business through the influence of the
government and army required con-
siderable formal contact with AL
satians, but their relations remained
formal.
Only in rare cases did the Germans
get across the threshold of family
Intimacy. Intermarriages were re-
Immigrants and natives and social
organizations was unknown. German
inhabitants who affected to ignore
this social ostraciSm while they had
the upper hand in official life now
feel it keenly. Some will try to face
il out, but others say they will re-
turn to Germany.