The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1938-04-13

uthern border. fearful of Nazi infection from t
)rth and another struggle with Germany over
ce which through the years has been the disput
erman- French question How the old fears of &c
any and the loss OF Alsace are again dominate
rench thought is pointed out by P j. Philip, forei
writing to the New York Times:
one of the few bright spots in the French
outlook on the swift Denomination of Cen
trail Europe has been, in these past weeks,
the fact that Alsace has not shown any signs
of succumbing to the siren strains of Josef
Gcebbels's Nazi propaganda. AS yet perhaps
the full force of the Nazi orchestra has not
been directed toward the province. 1t may be
reserved for fral effort after the Sudeten
Germans of Czechosovakia Schleswg. Eupen
and, in an agreement with the Poles, the Cor
ridor and part of Pomerania have been abb
sorbed. But such reaction as there has been
in Alsace to the onward sweep of Nazidom has
been until now unfavorable which, of course,
does not mean that it is entirely pro-French.
There is first the Catholic population of
the province which is very important not only
in strictly ecclesiastical way but politically.
Ever since republican France with Its laic
laws and system recovered Alsace it has been
the church winch has led the movement for
special treatment of the province and con-
tnuation of its religious liberties" In real
ity that has meant that the church has sought
to retain, and succeeded in keeping its politi-
cal as well as its spiritual power and it natur-
ally has been with dismay that the Cardinals
and priests have seen Austria annexed to the
Reich and the political power of the church
there swept away overnight Their reaction
has been that it is better to cling close to
France republican and laic though it may
be, than risk having their authority stripped
from them bV NaZi GERMANY
Behind and with the church element is
the whole middle commercial class which
sends to the French Parliament stout nation
alst Deputies like Michel Walter and Alfred
Oberkirch Their first loyalty is to Alsace
but their second loyalty is very strongly to
France
Among the population the next most inn
portant group is anti-clercal socialistlc and
communistic in sentiment Among these, OF
course the attitude is anti-Naz and there
fore again favorable to France. interviewer
in their political aspiration just as in the
case of clericals there is. however always to
be found strain of autonomism, and sooner
later it is realized here that danger may
come from that sentiment For it will be to
autonomist aspirations that the Nazis will be
clever enough to appeal.
Meanwhile the purely Nazi party in the
province does not in itself constitute any dan
SeI- rVeCeiluy an dtteinpU was mace 10 nold
Hell Hitler" meeting. From Paris an order
sent forbidding its being held but in
order to see what strength there was in the
movement some slackness in applying the
order was permitted, with the result that
some 200 more or less avowed Nazis collected
at the meeting place. They were dispersed
without incident after note had been taken
of who they were and in itself their move
ment can be set down as being without i'm
portance.
There remains, however this uncertainty,
that as among the Sudeten Germans. Naz
propaganda may begin working on the auton-
omist aspirations of those who are neither
pro-French nor pro-German and so indirectly
seek to lead them back into the German fold
Much will depend it is admitted on whether
Alsaee can be kept prosperous under the
French regime and immune from infection