Evening star., 1925-03-15
FRANCE ON VERGE
OF RELIGIOUS WAR
Alsace School Strike Plan by
Catholics Tomorrow May
Cause Outbreak.
By the Associated Press.


PARIS. March 14.-Stras bourg. Col
mar and the entire Alsace district
will be the scene OF the first open
conflict between church and state in
a strike which has been steadily be-
coming more and more acute in
recent weeks. The positions which
the religious and government l
authorities have taken after mature
reflection are well defined and unless
one side or the other recedes. trouble
is certain to occur Monday when tn.
school bells ring.
Mgr. Ruch, Bishop of Strasbourg,
has issued a procIama ton directing
school children to refrain from at
tending school Monday in Strasbours
and Colmar. Perfect Barromee. act
ing under governmental instructions
has sent circular to all the mayors
of his department to enforce the law
and prosecute the parents of those
children who are not present in the
schools as usual.
Fine and Jail Terms.
In the circular, the perfect says:
Il invite you to draw the attention
OF parents TO the Illegal character of
should they obey, exposes them TO
all the consequences set forth by the
law of April IS, 1871"
This law provided for a fine and a
Jail sentence for parents keepin 6
children from school
While open warfare" appears to be
confined for the time being to AlGacs
repercussions of the cardinals ma nj
festo issued March IL on the so
called nondenominationel laws and
the measures TO be taken to combat
them" are still being heard in the
senate and chamber. One Radical
group Of the chamber yesterday
adopted resolution declaring that
this manifesto of the cardinals and
bishops was "an appeal 10 insurrec-
ton against law and an appeal to
civil war" The Radicals called upon
all Republicans to take up the chsl-
lenge.
Protest CardinsIs' stand.
Another Radical group of the cham
ber headed by NJ. Loucheur, adopted
a resolution today taking direct issue
with the cardinals Interpretation and
laying special emphasis on the state
ment that the cardinals declaration
concludes with an appeal to violence
and breaches organization and action
by force" TO which it takes excep-
tion.
The Loucheur group votes regularly
with the government. On the other
hand, all the other parties of the right
have espoused the cause of the Catha-
lie authorities, and all the political
adversaries of the government, re-
gardless of creed. are supporting the
Catholics
In the senate the strife is conffneC 4
! to resurrection OF the Vatican ques.
tion, which has again been thrown
| open to discussion by the finance
| committees vote of II to Il for thu
maintenance of an embassy at the
Vatican. and by refusing to vote. i
to 6, with six abstentions the credit.
! necessary to establish an Alsace
Lorraine diplomatic mission to the
Holy See.
Issue May he Revivea.
| Should the senate follow its finance
committee and indications anc
precedents are that il wilI--then the
entire Vatican question must come
up again for discussion in the cham.
| Der.
The left groups of the chamber
| consider this a test case of the
! strength OF the parties. which was
! bound to come sooner or later, ano
might as well come now. Alsace
| they assert, was deliberately chosen
| by the Catholics as the battle ground
Governmental and anti govern
| mental newspapers are attemptig to
| throw responsibility for an open
break upon the other.
The Paris Soir, a stanch Herriot
organ. says:
THE cardinals and archbishops'
declaration of war only preceded
open hostilities in Alsace by q few
hours"
La Liberte, one of the most bitter
opposition organs, says:
The Herriot governments attempts
to strangle liberty and enslave Catho-
lies has led to the inevitable concIu-
sion-open war. which the govern
ment iS seeking"