IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ALSACE

Taranaki Daily News, 5 April 1918, Page 8

IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ALSACE

A TRUE RECORD OF A CONVERSATION. Colonel "Jacques'' lives in a lint made of tree trunks, cut from the forests of the part of the Vosges recaptured from the Germans in 1914. The hut stands 4000 feet above sea level in a clearing by the side of a mountain road,' from which the traveller can catch glimpses of Germany and the valjey of the Rhine to the east, and the neutral Alps, standing like sentinels in white busbies, to tlia south. Colonel "Jacques" himself is typical of the ''Alpine Chasseurs" whom he commands, quick, resolute, always, sailing. hardened by continuous mountaineering, and as fearless of danger as the wolfhound resting at his feet. He asked us to step inside his "shack" and warm our chilled feet, for even in November the snow lay on the hills. The glo%4ng stove threw out a warm welcome as we entered. One side of his hut was papered with maps marked with dots representing military posts and barrages and other secrets of the defence of the new French frontier. A pile of books and manuscripts lay on his table close to the photograph of his wife. Ho passed cigarettes round the party saying, "Excellent; twenty in a packet; sold for three sous to our troops. Try one." We took one and then explained our business. "So you've come to see Alsace?" Jie answered. "Good, its' a delicious country. No wonder the Kaiser wants it for his own. Well, how can I help you?" We asked him whether the Alsatians were all possessed of the same desire to return to France, or whether Ihe policy of Germanisation, pursued for nearly half a century, had in any way weakened their longing to return. "On the contrary, forty-five years' experience of German rule has convinced most of us that the Germans, however good lie may be at the art of mechanical government, is a most disagreeable person to live with and to be ruled by, He I bullies and swaggers so. But I am Alsatian born myself. You shall hear my story. "I was sent to a German school, in fact there was nowhere else to go, and when at the age of nine I went to a school in France, my comrades laughed at me because I spoke in my throat and had Germam ways. Every night I used to cry myself to sleep Why, what right had the Germans to make children so unhappy by not allowing them to learn their own mother tongue or their father's customs?

"Of course, thousands of our parent* left Alsace and settled in France, so that we, their sons, might serve in the French army. You know that since 1870 all Alsatian youths living in Alsace have been sent for service, if fit, to the German army But who would wish to put on a uniform in which he might have to fight against his own country? So we boys left Alsace, and if we left our parents behind us, in many cases the Oerrr.an authorities would not allow us passports to return—no, not even to see a dying mother. Why, 200,000 left between the years 1871 and 1893. Out of 112.000 who were due to appear before the Bosch recruiting board between 1871 and 1874 only 28,000 turned up. Those figures are significant, eh? And they are facts. In 1913 no fewer than thirty-five generals and over 1200 officers in the French army were Alsatians. In 1914 when we rewon the litle Alsatian town which you passed through in the valley, over 200 youths pressed forward as volunteers to serve under the Tricolor. Do not those figures answer your question?'' "It is necessary, however, to give you a word of warning. If you wish for a permanent peace in the world, beware ot the proposal, made by some people who know nothing of the internal conditions of Alsace, that the Alsatian problem shall be decided by a referendum of the people." His eyes blazed, and the words rolled out more quickly. "Yes, yes, I know that the idea of letting the people vote and decide their own destiny sounds attractive, democratic, republican. It appears so simply to give the decision to the people themselves. But it is not practical politics. Why, you ask? Let me tell you.

"What of the half-million Alsatians and their descendants who have left for France and elsewhere since 1871? How can they give then vote, and yet they are flesh of our flesh. What of 'the 400,000 German officials, policemen, tax colletors, post officers, railwaymen, functionaries of all kinds who have descended like wasps on our honey? They live here. Yet if they vote, will it not be solid against our return to France 1 Then imagine what an electoral campaign will mean taking place, during the physical and moral weariness, which is certain to follow this great war. The elector will always be fearful that his vote, cast either for France or Germany, may lead eventually either to a further war of revenge, or reprisals on himself for voting against the future rulers. Is it possible to ensure that a vote taken under such conditions will really represent the true and rational will of the electors? Why, in England all your voters do not believe in the secrecy of the ballot. How much more here will a people who have lived for nearly half a century undeiespionage, threats, terrorism, fear the

ballot box. Only those who live on tlm European frontiers know how ever present is the fear of the enemy across theborder! ,'But you ask for proof of German terrorism. Eight. I agree. lam a soldier. I like facts, and not mere opinions. Well. in 1908 an artist, Zislin, for drawing a caricature, was put in prison for ci«hv months. Hansi drew a picture of a German official m a nightcap, making fun of the director of the school at Colmar, and he had to pay 50 marks or go to prison for 50 days'. As for the Zabern incident and the cracking open of a lame cobbler's head, you know that already. No, a plebiscite under these conditions is not practical. Let ns return to France, from whose mother-breast >ve were torn by brute force in 1870."