Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-30
No Wonder Germany Quit
By MAJOR FRANK @. MAHIN
or the Army Recruiting Station

THE prisoners the Allies took
who came from Alsaace-Lorraine
were put in prison camps by them
selves and were given special treat
ment and consideration. OF course
France throughout the war expected
to get back her two lost provinces
and were bending every effort to
reattach the loyalty and sentiment
of the people of Alsaace and Lor-
raine. This really wasn't a difficult
matter as the Hun had been trying
for forty=four years to cram his own
brand of 'Kultur' down the peoples
throats will-nilly. They had been
prohibited from even speaking
French in their own homes, yet after
generation and a half of cruel
ty and oppression we found that
every Alsaace-Lorrainer spoke
French fiuently. And the German
government knew they absolutely
could not depend on the Alsaacians
and Lorrainers to fight for them, so
instead of doing as they had done
with all other parts of the empire,
forming units entirely composed of
men from a certain district, they
put the men from the Lost Provinces
in Prussian regiments. There were
Saxon, Bavarian. Wurttemburger,
Prussian, Hanoverian divisions, but
no Alsaacian. In each company of
Prussians we found s or 10 AL
saace-Lorrainesl and 1 can assure
you their life in the German Army
was not one of unadultered joy and
bliss. The Prussians regarded them
as traitors to the Vaterland and
treated them accordingly. When
they attacked the poor devils of
Alsaacians were put in front where
the Prussians could and would shoot
them like dogs If they hesitated.
Naturally every time they had a
possible chance they deserted singly
and in droves to us. But all through
the German Army the word had
spread that the Alsaace-Lorrainers
who were prisoners of war were not
guarded and had special food, special
barracks, and were given every pos
sible consideration in the form of
amusements and pleasant, easy
work The natural result was that
every Boche outfit that contained
men from the Lost Provinces had
uniform habit. That habit was
that every man in it, If captured,
would at once claim to be an AL
saacian. Strange to say they never
! claimed to be Lorrainers which is
another typical example of Boche
stupidity. The Lorrainers speak
German with a Rhenish accent and
dialect which is very difficult to tell
from any other man of the Rhenish
provinces, whereas the Alsaacian
speaks his own dialect which is alb
solutely unique. You know the old
Alsaacian language which is still
| used to a considerable extent in the
Vosges is a Celtic language, of the
same type as Erse, Welsh and
| Gaelic. The Alsaacian in speaking
| German uses many Alsaacian words
and always an Alsaacian accent The
first prisoners we took in the st.
Mihiel were three men of the 351st
| Prussian Infantry. 1 asked a cor
poral where he came from and he
at once answered: 'Mulhausen.' Null
hansen is the big city of -1lsaace.
He looked and sounded like n Prus-
sian to me and knowing that no
Prussian can say a number with a
| five in 1t without using the Prussian
dialect / asked him what regim ent
he belonged to as he had 351 on his
shoulder When he told me, in
| formed him he was a liar and a
Prussian. I then asked the second
man where he came from and he
also told me with Prussian accent
that he was from Mulhausen. I told
him he was a liar. The third was
a young red headed boy who might
have been Irish. He told me in
broad Alsaace that he was from
Bitschwiller, town we were hold
ing in Alsaace and which I knew
we'll. From that time on all day
long every Prussian we took claimed
! to come from Mulhausen while
did not question a single genuine
Alsaacian who did come from Null
hausen. Invariably the Prussians
used the German name for the town
Mulhausen, whereas the Alsaacians
invariably used the French Null
house. and even though the square
headed Boche would hear the AL
saacians talking about Mulhouse and
they were questioned next they
would say 'Mulhausen' without fail
Can you beat the stupidity"