MEMEL.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 January 1923, Page 4

MEMEL.

rorXTHY AM) ITS I’KOJ'J.K. i An interesting account of Aieinei ; ml its people appeared some lime ago , u the “Aforning Post,” whose special orrespoiulciit wrote: —A State is that, I ihich is separated from other stales. iy a frontier. The Alenml-Land, which j after Danzig) is the smallest oi the States created by the Versailles | freaty makers, is no exception to the | tile, and as all frontiers are ideal j ines, possessing length without j ireadlh, there is no reason why the j 'rentier of Alemel should not be s i 1 alicult to cross as that of a'ny otlier j state. At Tilsit, where the memories if' Napoleon, Alexander 1.. and Gueeu i.nise are still kept green, the traveler finds that it is so. At Pogegeii. the first station acins-t j the .Memel. now creeping sluggishly to tiie Half wide stretches of frozen marshes under its wiliher, corering of ice, there is a twenty liiin11tfs’ halt in order that file authorities of Mcniel-I.and may examine the credentials of passengers. There are Grouch uniforms on the platform, an I j a sons-olliher of chasseurs alpins keeps 1 an eve on things in the passport oflrre :' hut the officials are Germans, in i |(| way to lie distinguished from their j follows on tin' Prussian side of the, river, for the Alemel Government re-j emit* its ofkeiali from its own popu-] 1 .tion. An hour later the train rolls into Memel, a comfortable little town, which for the time l.eing is chiefly concerned in making the most of its own fortunes. The Prussian Government, lias left it ,us a memorial of itself. a huge seminary for elementary school teacher.., big enough, one would think, to house all the .schoolmasters of Os tel liia. Otherwise the chief monument of Mould's German past is the Simon I Inch fountain, with the stilt, le t f Aciieheiiu von Tharau, in front of the theatre. Meniel-I,:ui.| is the strip of territory which lies between the course of the Alemel (N'iemcn), including its southern arm ami the lornier I’ussian frontier. now the border of Lithuania, hs greatest length from Alemel to Seltmalleningken is about eighty miles. its {•■re;;tost width iilxnit- :i quarTor oi* distanff*. It is a Hat, well water *•!. pastoral country, well stocked with I eves and swine, and, indeed, able to pull its own weight and something over in the matter of food production. Put Alemd-I.aoil has another and still more important source nl wealth. Ils hinterland is rich agricultural l.ithunnia, with its great Infests. Lithuania lots no port of it' own, no.I its limlier aid flax. espeeiallv he for nor, are llnated down the Alemel to the Kiirisnlms Half and on the Flaff again to the port of Alemel. The Half is a broad expanse of ]s.d tie water, w hich is shin off from ; ,ie main sea hv a narrow snip oi aim! sage across the Xohrimg i at Afeitid itself. and it is only through the Alemel channel that the Lit liuaiin timher ran reach the sea. The pm.it is ol importance for the ISritish •axpavor hecnu.se tiie chief purchaser oi the Lithuanian timber is bis .Majesty > t.ovenimeni, wbidi ha- huge contra:;with Litfiuania, and is thus imlnecHv lhe chid employer o, labour in the port of Alemel. The Alemel territory is administered hv Gronoh dlieial- under tlm authority i f the (mi nei i ot Ain ha -sailors in Pari-. The mlmiei -a rater i- A!. Pi - i-ne. who loli a preiednro in I-'ranee to lake over !:js present charge ill this far eastern corner of the lialtie. lie is a- i- ,• i !e. siih-prd'eets, one for eae-h of the "Kivi-o' - into which the territory was former!v divided, and orm or two i'lendi specialist.' in matteroi r.iiaiioe am! Gustoins. (>1 kerwi.-e tlm ollieials and the police are of native -tor!.. The army consists of a hall,lieu ot chasseurs nipills under ti e m.minnnd of General <>dry. The (onernnieiit lias never had to rail upon tin. services of the troop-, ami one sec - for oliesdl that iho tow nspeople and the soldiers lire oil perfectly friendly terms. Tile legislative mil hoary i- the ( omu il of Slate, which meet- under lie p-esideiicy of the k ■tuh urefoet, and coiisi-ls of rcpie- •.=. oi: i’.-o- ~| ihe ; haniher.s of Cnmmcrco and Agrii nil are. ol the country districts, and of the Trade Guinns. There is al-o a ministry, sided Cotiiim! ■! (Ime'ii!,ie:i!,. wlllol. ecn-i-i- of j promulgated 'in Hie 'ill’ll o’of the Allied I" end Associated Powers. J Memd-i.iic I, population oi | ...| .m on - mors of (’<-•: t ral Knrop u j ami a- foe t is much more abundant ami cheap, the poorer e!a--c- 'n" ovlf it'll 11 \ l.e'.tcr off I lain their hrrl hreu l :' e ip.;-|,. f ill lee. I. ml lhe Pro - u •'e o, Iho .Memel then v. ill 1 'll ;. ' 1 I hat. Me-eel's ill ojt valuable pns- - n is it.-, fund icr v. 'deli ctlf.Ll'-s He A: ei nc* I m- >ple t i keen ihoii tat. eat tie aid pigs. I imii h" .; e - aud w ! ■'•;! f for tlicmsclve -, and to export what fabulous gain on cxelielige. Naturally, if the country were -till in the Geieli no fond would he exported; al.l, ugh it is doubtful if much of it would ever loach hungry lierliii even in that ease. - That food is much more abundant in ti e Ab-.i e! territory than in Germain raor.nl he questioned. Theio are ne food can Is at all. The people eat while bread, such as we cat in Giighuid. a luxury (hat cannot- he obtained anywhere in Germany, and in tlm market-place you sec old peasant women selling huge globes of butter, (hee-e-g am! other country produce, a sight not to he seen in any German town. Prices are about half those current in Merlin. The streets swarm •.viidi legions of warmly clad children, tumbling about in the snow like polarLe.ir cubs, snowballing each other, ami : ittiiig their elders \.ith deadly accur, ary. They certainly are not undernourished.

Tlic’i-e is. | am told, some unemployment and distress in the town, and tin doubt at this time of the year when ,'e ice "a the Monied holds up the tiinlier ralts in Lithuania, work in the port is slack ; but after Berlin where the signs of poverty meet one at every street corner, one has" no hesitation in sayiny Dial Mould is well off. The little town, with its JO,BOO inhabitants. beasts, by tlie way. thirty millionaires. They reckon their millions in paper marks, it is true, but even a paper million goes a long way in Montei-I.aud. Mould is never closed by ice. Tn 1020. OSB vessels entered the port, and (!f)7 sailed from it. The sea-borne trade—lJT.72- tons were imported last year and about the same quantity ex-ported—-is chiefly earned in British ships. The town has eighteen sawmills .two big timber works, a really important cellulose factory, employing many hundreds of men, and a railway waggon works, which is looking abroad for custom and has secured important orders from Rounnmia. Memel is quite German. You hear no language but German, and in the town of Memel you will not find half n dozen shop signs in Lithuania. For the present the territory enjoys so

inanv advantages (notably exemption from war taxation), that discontent hardly finds its way to the surface: hut there can be little doubt that if a plebiscite were held, the territory

would vole for the re-incorporation in Germany.