ALSACE-LORRAINE.
[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR.") Fla,—One is very glad to see your clear and definite statement ton p. 8 of your last issue) that the plea of " No annexations" " must never be used to keep the unfortunate people of Alsace- Lorraine under a German tyrannz." How truly and really " unfortunate " these people of the lost provinces are is not generally recognized, or at any rate realized, in this country. Torn away from France in 1871 in the teeth of their own passionate protestations, they have been subjected to a Prussian despotism such as can only be understood by those who have felt its clumsy and cruel hand. But apart from the past, the story of which is available to those who are sufficiently interested to obtain it, it is to be feared that the present state of things in these provinces, and their probable fate if they continue to remain ender Prussian domination, is not so well known as it ought to be. The fact is that since the war broke out the "unfortunate people " (as you rightly describe them) have been made to feel the hand of the super-militarist oppressor in an unprecedented way, and this affirmation is not based upon Alsatian testimony alone. Take, for example, the statement of the case as set out in the Hamburg Echo by Herr Wendel :-
" The military authorities, who, since July, 1914, have exercised unlimited sway in Alsace-Lorraine, have, apart from their military duties, carried on since that time a policy of Germanize- lien on the Pan-German model and by Pan-German means. They have succeeded in creating the fear that the sole result in the end will be a complete and lasting alienation of the people of the provinces from Germany."
It may be added that information has reached Abbe Wetterle that the Germans in Alsace-Lorraine have been removing the reflections from the museums and libraries and carrying away factory plant and archives.
The Germans have never been under any illusion as to the hatefulness of their rule to the people. But, as might be expected from the apostles of Kulfur, their remedy is not to remove the yoke, but to follow the policy of Rehoboam and make it heavier still. Thus we have Professor Laband, of Strasbourg, discussing three alternatives for the future of the territory : (1) Incorpora- tion in Prussia; (2) partition amongst Prussia, Bavaria, and Baden; (3) giving the provinces the status of a Federal State of the Empire. In turn all are rejected, one of the grounds for the setting aside of the last being the damning confession that " the people could not be trusted." The Professor's panacea is that the old hateful system must be maintained and accentuated. From the testimony of Herr Wendel, as cited above, it would seem that this " accentuation" is already in course of operation; but in any case it may be assumed that if Kaiserism wins this war (which God forfend!) the last case of Alsace-Lorraine will he infinitely worse than the first.—I am, Sir, &e., 49 Nelson Road, Stroud Green, N. 8. HENRI 3, COWELL.
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