Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-19

shipping, ana why SnOulu FdIlS iOok vi
complacently while the two other large
ports of Brittany are being filled up
with mud and sand?
Another serious complaint Is that
France has deliberately INSTRUCTED
efforts to exploit the subsoil Of Brittany.
which is said to be fabulously rich. II
we believe the autonomists, their coun-
try would be close competitor OF Lor
raine in the production Of iron. and OF
the Valley of the Saar In the explolta-
ton of coal. The Bretons see sinister
powers stalking behind the scenes,
ready to prevent the evolution OF an
industrialized Brittany, which would be
more populous, more prosperous and
less tractable II 1t is not the aim OF
the French to further the depopuiation
of the peninsula how can one explain
the fact. the Bretons ask, that during
the war the proportion Of their country
men killed in battle was twice as large
as that of the French?
To literature Brittany turns TO prove
her claim to autonomous nationhood.
The printed word is the best punlci,. ~.
of independence. and the gibes OF the
PARIS music halls recoil on the deter
mination OF the Bretons to build up
cult of native Celtic letters. 1t Is not
to the discredit Of Breton national1sm
that the literary rage which has got
hold of Brittany sometimes decelves IL
into the byways Of that superpatriottsm
which deserves merit more for strong
feeling than for intrinsic value.
Bittany's attempt to emanclpate her
self is not matched in sustained inten-
sity by that Of Corsica. But the student
OF foreign affairs will do we'll to re-
member that in the vicissitudes OF a
turbulent past Corsica has forgotten to
present a determined front in the in
| terest of any national cause and that
serious efforts at autonomy are COM
promised by petulent denominations
and fantastic schemes.
- II Napoleon had not been a Corsican
the world would probably know less
about this island Of 100000 inhabitants
than 1t does. This Island OF Beauty.
as the natives call it. which keeps
company to Sardinia In the Mediter-
ranean Sea- has little in common with
the French except a share in the
glory. which was Bonaparte's. The
victors and vanquished that visited
these regions-the Ligurians. Vandals,
Goths. Moors and all sorts of Latins-
left samples of their hosts in this island.
Although only about 100 miles long and
go miles wide, Corsica has seen more
perturbation than many large
country. In the course of a tempest
uous history its inhabitants have de-
veloped a strong individuality and love
Of liberty.
Corsica Once a Kingdom.
In her checkered career, Corsica
once had the distinction Of being the
property of a bank. And once she
succumbed to the magnihcence of a
pair of red trousers and green vest
worn by an adventurer, who for some
1T ~
Corsica. About $50 years ago Corsica
was turned over to the French and since
that time has been an organic part of
France.
Every Corsican is an autonomist at
heart, and the fact that the indepen-
dence movement is not stronger may
be ascribed to the veneration In which
the island holds Napoleon's name and
to the inability Of the Corsicans to
pull together on a national policy In
! the island the condottieri still rule
supreme In an atavistic form of tyranny
which may have inspired the political
boss system Of the United States. The
interest of the Corsican boss takes
precedence over the welfare Of the
! island.
The Corsican autonomist movement
! Is whimsical and usually follows In
the wake Of disappointed expectations
/ III redCneO one Oh us HlBH tluco ucIOi
the var when the customs autonomy
of the island was terminated by the
word Of Paris and, contrary to eXpecta-
tions, the treasury in the French capt.
! tai took possession of the customs re-
! ceipts instead Of turning them over to
the island for public Improvements
! and. indirectly for the benefit of the
local bosses In those days the pros
pect of Corsica's kicking over the traces
seemed imminent. But complications
were avoided by the unanimous de-
sire of the bosses to proceed indepen-
IDENTIFY. Some of them declared them
selves in favor of joining Italy, Others
advocated occupation by the English,
and the rest OF them wanted an indie
pendent Corsica or better understand
ing with France.
This phase of the separatist move
ment was liquidated before the out
break of the war. The present phase
of the agitation. which is as virulent
as ever, is characterized by economic
implications Corsica is puzzled by the
discrepancy between her abJect poverty
and Frances Wanted prosperity. which
is only beginning to be dimmed by the
economic recession. The CorsicanS
seem TO have no doubt that they are
being neglected and ignored by France.
LOOK toward lCal1an Rule.
The island is undercapitalized and
underfed, while Paris Is satiated with
money. Pro-Italian agitators have ex-
tolled the virtues of the Fascist admin
istration. and the picture they pre-
sented was sufficiently distorted to i'm
press the masses The growth Of
pro-Italian sentiment in the island and
the reported aggressive designs of Rome
have alarmed the French and made
them carry out an ambitious plan of
Notifications all around the island.
While this work is being carried out a
certain amount of money is brought
into circulation, and this has seemed 10
dampen the ardor Of the pro- Italians.
At present the cafes of Ajaccio and
Bastia resound with autonomist talk
which is a good sign. as Corsican agi-
tators do not like to talk and act at the
same time. 1t is very unlikely that
barring extreme provocation-the au-
economist leaders will go beyond the
talking stage as long as the Corsican
bosses are divided among themselves.
Paul Doumer, newly elected President
of the French Republic, for nearly 10
years was the Senator from Corsica.
His election to the Elysees Palace may,
therefore, mean the beginning of new
era not only in the life of the island
or Corsica, the history and problems OF
which he knows so well. but also for the
rest Of the French minority settlements
which for years have been demanding
more adequate representation in the
Chamber of Deputies and some meas
ures Of autonomy in dealing with in
ternal affairs. This election, coupled
with the spreading of the autonomist
movement from Spanish to French
Basqueland, will not fail to call to the
attention Of Paris the urgency of this
problem
The Basque movement for independ-
ence has received great impetus from
the recent proclamation of the republic
in Spain. AS is we'll known, the
Basques live on both the French and
Spanish side of the Pyrenees, under two
diAnrnr,t Ncrcinx,t tag hut Min O