MAYOR OFCOLMAR| INTERVIEWED BY WALLACE IRWiN Says Alsace-Lorraine Is French to the Heart. . 30,000 IN ARMY OF FRANCE ! _ . , ! Desert From German Army When War - Broke Out—Not Only Does France , Want Her Alsice-Lorraine, But Al sace-Lorraine Wants Her France— Tells of His Escape. By WALLACE IRWIN. I did not go to interview M. Baiiier because he hes come to Washington as a member of the French high commission. Heaven knows; and | my wife is still better aware,'that T know* nothing about finance, high or low; and had it been up ,to we I should have loaned the Frnech gov «ernment," via' M. any num ber of billions right out of. Mr. ;Mc -Adoo's treasury. But it was as the ex mayor of Colmar (Ancien Maire de Colmar is the' way it is expressed on the large, foreign-looking -, card he bands you) that I wjshed t0 see an(i talk to him. Now, Colmar Isn't the largest nor yet the. second largest city in Alsace. But it is in the heart of that freedom loving little province which has been beld by Germany like a caged eagle «rer since 1871. The Hohenzollerns. bave held the bars across Alsace, but they have never been abie to clip her -wings. And if you think they ever will, just talk with Daniel Blumen thal. A little man with a graying beard' And round, black, humorous eyes, I found him in a hotel room packing lor another flight with the commission. J. told him that since I had heard of Ills famous escape from the Germans, ! f * l ' " * r • y *. ' " Misses Janet and Lydia Blumenthal, Daughter of Mayor of Colmar. Invading Colmar, I Imagined he would be a hard man to coerce Into an in terview. "To escape from America would be something," he assured me, talking with all the fingers 'on both his hands. "But the They are what you call it —hone-in : the-head." "It would be doing "us a service," I said, "to tell America what Alsace- Lorraine would prefer to be after peace is made —French or German." "Do you know," he replied, stand ing straight as a ramrod, "that the Marseillaise was first sung at Strass burg? Freedom has always been to us the passion, and from us the best blood of the French revolution went out. Do you think, then, we would have any business with spiked helmets from Berlin?" French to the Heart. I had heard talk in the newspapers of a plan to leave the nationality of the twin" states to a plebescite of Al «ace-Lorrainers. •" i» "A German-made plebescite would be pretty to see," he informed me with a smile. "Alsace could vote with 'scraps of paper, but never by fair elec tion. Why? Because she is. French tb, .the heart today, and since 18tl she has never forgotten her loyalty to "the' free republic to which her soul be-, longs. , German editors write edi torials full of learning to show that the children of Alsace-Lorraine today are different from yesterday, because they speak >,the language which Berlin bas forced upon them. Eh bien I Do you know how many Alsace-Lorrainers deserted from the German army when war broke out and are now fighting with France? Thirty thousand. It is .an honor to say that they are the brav es among the French; but. that is so. "German papers will tell you that because we speak the language that has been forced down our throats we are content. That is the thinking of Prussia. But can' the Prussian fell us why while We were a part of France we never spoke bitterly cf the government? Why, under that kind I German rule have we protested by our representatives at the reichstag? Why our young men have emigrated to es cape military duty, while our citizens innumerable have gone to imprison ment for expressing "their affection for France? "Despite the mills of industrious kultur, which strive forever to pour everything into a hideous German mold, Alsace-Lorraine is ,today over whelmingly French. If you wish, I will recite some figures. Our popula tion is .1,900,000 altogether. Of those 1,500,000 are natives, almost without exception totally French. There are 400,000 German immigrants or de scendants of immigrants. Deported to Slavery. "Germany cannot'possibly substan tiate her claims that-your provinces have been Germanized," I agreed. "German,logic js able to think both "ways, lik§ a with |wo heads. She has well learned the speech, 'What Is yours belongs to me and what Is , mine.ls my own.' - Siace the beginning of the present war the German gen eralg have made pe hesitation about declaring that they, consider Alsace- Lorraine an enemy coflntry? How much better than Belgians have we: been in the. sight of Prussia? Look at the thousands of Alsace-Lorralners who have been deported to slavery and answer for yourself.-We have been, told, we speak the French language in. a,provoking manner. Therefore it is tak'en out of our mcfaths; so that we may worship- the Kaiser in his own sweet words. The prisons are full of my people who were arrested during those first awful days of the war. "When they are candid—which hap pens seldom —the Germans admit that they have no faith in the loyalty of Alsace-Lorraine. They mistrust us be cause we do not admire the goose step do not regard the, sign 'Verboten' as more beautiful than our mountain scenery. Thus it is that Germany' longs for "der tag" when we shall be dragged by the hair of ,our heads into further despotism. loyalty and love are not , bought without price; that you kndw. The martial courts , sought to si lence us with frightful grimaces. We have spoken our love for France at the cost of our lives. Executions have been many, and thousands of years of imprisonment have been ordered by their councils of war. And it is not | alone a matter of language, this loy -1 alty, for the Alsatians of the upper Rhine, who speak the dialect, have suf fered no less terribly than the others. "In the larger cities, particularly Metz and Strassburg, you will find the Germans concentrated most thickly. When Alsace-Lorraine becomes French again—&nd we are sure t)f it,"~sson sieur—there will be a scattering from those large cities, because the German population Is mostly of the garrison or the official life. And what shall we j care for those remaining? In power ' th'e German is rude and brutal, out of power he is dull and slavish." Must Be Returned to France. . ' "France was wise to send you here on her high commission," I suggested. "France knows that I am like the heart of Alsace, all French," said M. Daniel Blumenthal. 'My own coun try must be returned to France or there can be no lasting peace. We will accept no sedatives from .Germany, no hypocritical offers to become an au tonomous state -in the Gorman con federation. It is not alone that France wants, her Alsace-Lorraine. . Alsace- Lorraine wants her France." Those round black eyes beg£h snap ping again with, the joke of it -when I referred to his escape into France. It was not so humorous, perhaps, ih that July day in 1914 when the Huns ap peared .with bayonets on their rjfles and stood sentry on the good mayor of Colmar. "You Americans do things tout a coup—all of a. sqdden—what you say? Maybe no mayor from these United States ever resigned himself from tffftee so quick as I took myself out of the mairle of Colmar.., , w . "You see I had not been loved for some time by Berlin, because I had refused to receive decorations from M. le Kaiser or to acknowledge that Deutchland was über alles In Colmar. We Alsatians are not pacifists. We knew quite a wh{le tjiat .war. would break over us one of these days' and that the Boches would cPme marching in with the kind of kultur we hated to think about. One of my daughters thought of what to do, so she said to me: 44 *Papa, when war comes you must : be the first out of Colmar.' "So we talk it over often en famille. Nothing was omitted. For we knew .that the name of Blumenthal was at the head pf the list of those to be ar j rested. *. ; " "Bien! It was the-day of July 31, 1914, that very polite. German officers and soldiers arrive to miv office the. i-town hf?ll of 'Colihar. • They show me 1 proclamations from the - general cpm- J mandftPt. .which ,1 am. .With, greatest 'j polifenesS, requested to post. Those I saj' how dailger of war is pro claimed. Colmar is to go under mar- I tial law.. That is sufficient. I am still considering my program nfore gray ln wtth still more polltessg to,.inform me..that I ana. now an ex-mayor. A German judge at the ; .court of appeals fs" to take my t. . f Frltx Is "Bone-ln-the-Head. w , . M I see my daughters 1 The day Is : pleasant for motoring! I say f" Why i not a little trip to the station; They are delighted to take the air. But . when we reach the town of Neubrei ; sach we are Completely halted by more. ; German bayonets. The officer is full.of ; anger and all puffed up with rules, like ' every German. What do I mean by, [ driving up to a" guarded city with-vriv ! motor? Do I not know iht; i war? It makes me nothing when 1 tell I the Herr Lieutenant that I am a peSce-s , * v* » . * 4 -■% , ar * " I ful avocat and do not know anytmn< about war. He arrests me and sends my daughters back home In the auto mobile. "Herr Lieutenant Is quite German in his behavior. He calls a common soldier, who goose steps away with"me to see the general. This poor Fritz was bone-in-the-head, too, as you say it in America. - - 44 'Well, well!' says the general in great irritation, 4 what have you there?' " 'He was arrested at the gate, Herr General!' " "Take him away!' groans M. le Gen eral. 44 'Jah, Herr General. Where shall I i take him?' " 'Take him anywhere. Take him to the station.* "The private salutes, shoulders his musket, and marches, me away to the railroad station." The former mayor of Colmar Stroked his little gray beard and shot bright sparks from his round, black eyes^. '"I thou'ght the train I took would I go right across the Swiss border.; i But 1 it awa«war time, and the Germans were not making it easy for escaping Alsatians." -AfioUt-.' two miles from : Switzerland we were' takea: off the. train and left to walk. "It was at the German outposts at LePpoidshoeshe thai we met last ' obstacle. On" the-very wall that marks; the border ,qf: Switzerland stoqd a, Ger man Herr Lieutenant with sentries. ,M 'Hift !' We So so; " s "'What business have you crossing the borders in war time?' . . -•» " 4 Herr Lieutenant,' I say, 'I am an avocat who was obliged this morning to cross the border In pursuit of his peacefull calling." "'Pass!' says the lieutenant in the disagreeable voice of a German officer doing a favor.,; Very Slender Escape. "Monsieur, It was by, a stairway of a few steps that we mounted that wall" Into Switzerland. There were a few more steps leading down to the side. And what should happen then, juSt as I was standing at the top "of the wall?" I couldn't imagine, and confessed as much. "I had one foot on German terri tory, the other on Swiss, when a great clown of an Alsatian soldier, one who knew mo at home, began saluting very politely. " 'Ah, Herr Lieutenant,' he says, in tending to pay me a great compliment, 'you are letting pass a very great man j —the mayor of Colmar.' J "I awaited no more courtesies, but descending the stairs into Switzerland by leaping nine steps. Nom d'un cliien, but it you call it? —a very -slende*"»escape." ~ "What becomes of your wife and two daughters?" I asked lh my best nur sery manner. , "Ah, you see we had arranged every j thing. I was more happy than sur prised when they joined me in Basle." "Weren't you afraid they'd miss connections somewhere?" I' inquired. "How could they?*' he counter ques tioned., "Did we not: all- make up the 1 program together?" ' And I bade him adieu, full of the faith that is making Alsace safe for : democracy. U. S. SOLDIER BREAKS RECORD FOR WOOING fflflr Wftw tafe:--IHk e3 mßliiii .. .. I --- . . • 1 Private Barnoff and his - bride;'•★hp was. Miss "Billy" Garrell fit Barnoff returned from the j "recently and' £ntersi"a 'frrtig "Store"to ; felephofie, * Miss CarHll handed htm* a , telephone slug and, sjnlled,;«Just .one-* hour and fifteen minutes later she be- ; came Mrs. Barnoff.' 1 He : is-stationed at present at Camp- Fremont, and 1 j. plans. {o ha.Ye his. wife the Red Cross. * • < ." • . : 'Sheep -Will Mow Golf Course. t; -The members of the Arkansas City | (Ark.) Country club are combining golf "j and patriotism. They have di3cov i : ered that no green keeper can do as gpod, a job of. mowing as a flock of •" sheep. 1 The government*is urging peo ; ple E t<* raise sheep ; eiyo/combine the two asd< jour golf pounds, and L be. a patriot jit the same time. The" » j members "chipped" in and f>ougbti • a flock of sheep, and n<nv expect-to. . one, of s the finest greens* in the'siate,'and poSsiFiy tt>'receive a ■ • leafh€*r medal from [liei' fcs- fpremost aid in nervation. .' , isfr • .1.^.1..; - x i i: i. r-rfci. RABBIT SAUSAGE ; A BERLIN TIDBIT I Britain Studies Economic Posi tion of Central Powers. DEBT IS 94 MILLIARD MARKS Industry afid Commerce of Germany and Austro-Hungary Must Devote Its Energy to Rehabilitation«— People Raid Foo<f Fields—Serious Shortage - of Coal in Both Empires. The economic position of Germany and Austria Is b£ihg carefully studied by-the British intelligence department,} and from a series of notes taken from the press of the central empires one learns, for instance, that' afte? : war problems in Germany are the cause of mych anxiety. It .is expected, that the debt of the. empire, according to the Vossische Zeifhng, will', % the end'of* the year, have tq ninety-four mHlia-rds ;of marks, This wiH involve an annual charge of si£ milliards, aj sum which will be_increased to tenj milliards "by- pensions, debts ?6f 'sepa rate states, municipalities and com-' mnnes. After the. war industry and. commerce will have to_ devote its at tention to methods for -reconquering; its old position in the., international market, "but they cannot. succeed ip. doing so unless the burdens that'in-* dustry has to bear—taxes, wages and' other expenses—are kept within bear-, able Mjuits." . v .y , , . Inhere are fears of an economic war, and hence the writer lays It down that "It must be one of the principal Items in the German conditions of peace that no door anywhere shall be bolted against the entry of German products. Without any artificial obstruction there will be plenty of hindrance to over come. Not one out of all the efforts of our enemies to substitute their own products for German goods can be suc cessful in the long run. . Yet after the war hatred toward Germany will cer tainly persist among our enemies and may result in the temporary boycott ing of German goods." Shipping Shortage Serious. One of the first problems Germany will have to face will be the shortage ! of shipping. Herr Heinken, director j general of the North German Lloyd Steamship company, thinks the opinion thai the shipping lines will' "roll in | gold" somewhat premature. "Se con siders that after a certain period, short or long, Germany will again'enter into relations with her enemies, but until such time arrives he believes that the German shipping industry will have to wage severe and stern war. The two vital tasks of German shipping will be, first, to make up losses and Injuries suffered during the war, and, second, to catch up the enormous advantage gained by the enemy and neutral ship ping as a result of the war. It is also predicted in Vienna, ac cording to the Neue Freie Presse, that steamships probably will be com mandeered by the government after the war and required to convey raw materials to and manufactured goods from the country at fixed rates In both Germany and Austria, the manufacturing industry and agriculture will" tend mdre hhd more toward sub stituting work by machinery for the labor of men and beasts. The enorm ous sacrifices of human lives demanded by the world war in all countries has reduced the number of working men to such an extent that no branch of in dustry will have* at its disposal as many trained mien as before. Turning, to more domestic matters, these notes afford a good insight into the Internal condition of Germany and Austria. The four-pound loaf In the new harvest year In Germany cost just a fraction less than double what it cost before the war. There was an increase in the daily bread ration from the mid dle, of, August from six ounces to near ly eight ounces, while at the beginning of this month the flour, meat and po | tato rations were regulated anew on the basiis of the harvest estimates and the live stock census. People Raid Food Fields. Previous allowances were consid ered insufficient, and the position of food supplies was one of the principal causes of labor discontent. It was com plained in August, by the general offi cer commanding in the marks, that "people are not ashamed to help them selves to produce growing in fields and gardens, often long before it is ripe." In Austria the position was still more f serfous. - On - SttndayS great'- crowds preqeededto the country arqund ..Vien na, up early potatoes from the s peasants', afid people s stood in queues : - Whem, - the ; supfily. gave-out ' exciting scenes were witnessed, and the much-annoyed citizens proceeded to the fields and ! 'dug- up potatoes themselves. ■ -i '• Rabbit sausage having, made its ap pearance in ; Berlin at .5.40 or 6 marks a pound, and being considered a tasty I morsel, the municipality has taken up I the manufacture at 2 marks a pound. Blood sausages are regulated at 2 marks a pound, and liver sausage 2.30 marks. German "tea," made from black , berry, raspberry,, currant and straw berry plants, sells at an equivalent of -55 cents a pound, while both tea and mffee* substitutes are declared by a !earqed professor to .resemble the orlg nal in color only; in taste and smell 1 - -Ift>re fS noneV-• * ; * There serious"coal-shortage, and . t.ijp announced- that in Frankfort half he schools will be closed "this winter. #• *v ... <■* - - - EXILED KING VISITS EMMANUEL OF ITALY Ulfly bH An unusual photograph, showing the kings of Montenegro and Italy In Paris. . This is one of the very few taken of them together, although King Nicholas Is 1 father-in-law of " Em manuel. -> . The picture Is the best and most re cent made of the monarchs. The meet ing took place recently after the Ital ian king returned from his visit to the French front as guest of France. King Nicholas since his exile from his na tive land at the war's beginning has made his home in Paris. TOKENS FROM AMERICA DELIGHT THE FRENCH Soldiers and Surgeons Show j Childlike Pleasure Over Any thing From This Country. Letters from France tell of the child like delight of the French soldiers and surgeons when they receive even the slightest tokens from America. Miss Kate T. Cooke, writing to the Ameri can fund'for French wounded, which had sent some hospital supplies says: "If only you could have seen the pleasure of my head nurse, and Doc tor Ferris and Doctor Buc when your . cases were unpacked and treasure af ter treasure was brought to light! "The shirts and pajamas were the 1 admiration of these doctors, and when they discovered the handkerchiefs and post cards, and even chocolates in the pockets of these garments, their de light knew no bounds. "The unpacking was held Up while I translated for,them the.various mes sages of courage and good luck sent across the ocean by your committees at home. Monsieur le Medlcin Chef Ferris begged like a child for one post card which bore the address of a girl of ten. ' •*' '* ■' "The compresses in those lovely boxes appealed especially to the sur geons. have been usfng "such fear fully rusty boxes for sterilizing, and the prospect Qf .jafl?e new ones makes my heart glad. "The- twelve surgical blouses brought. forth cries of joy from the two surgeons, and I warn you that the medicin- chef (chief surgeon) in his letter of thanks, is going to beg you for more. "The fly-killers (swatters) were • much appreciated. No one here had ever seen them used, and I had much trouble to keep them for the blesses (wounded), the personnel of the hos pital liked them so well." Thanks were also received for six cases of surgical supplies sent to the hospital at St. Brieux. "Our stock has been pitiably low," says the letter. The greatest call is for socks, sweaters, shirts and warm underclothing. THE FLAG GOES BY. Hats off l * , Along the* street -there comes A blare of bugles," ft ruffle of drums, A flash q£ color beneath the sky. ■ Hats off! The flag is passing by. i Blpe and crimson and . white It shines J Over the . steel-tipped ordered' lines. : Hats off! --' r - « • 4 The,colors before us fly; -.- But more than the flag is passing by. Sign of a nation great and strong To ward her people from foreign wrong, Pride and glory and honor, all - Live 4n the colors to stand or fall. Hats off! Along thfe kreet there comes A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums, And loyal hearts are beating high. < Hats off ! • „ * The flag is passing byv -** * —Henry H. Bennett MAKE GOWNS IN MIDSTJIF WAR Paris Dressmaking Industry Is Not Hampered. SPAIN IS BEST CUSTOMER "~akes the Place of the United States as the Most Lavish Buyer of Dresses —Rabbit Fur, Cunningly Dyed, Keeps Up Rich Appearance In Fash ions—Norway Heavy Buyer. The great war does not seem to ; have worked the same hardships on the Paris dressmaking trade that it has on other branches of French in dustry. The openings at the big cou turiers g«? .-merely, on, -and. though American buyers have long since flown back to the States representatives of European houses of neutral lands are much to the fore. ~ The New York Sun correspondent had an opportunity to verify this on a second visit to one of the most fa mous dressmaking establishments In the Place Vendome." The Revue des Modeles was sched uled for three o'clock, and at that hour the soft tinted; silk hung salon was tilled with a score or more of profes sional purchasers. There was about them a striking similarity of type— all save three being dark of skin and black of hair and eye. Consequently the only three bjonds in the room stood out in startling relief. Lead In Buying Shifts. As the bored, supercilious-looking manuequins, wearing the season's lat est creations, filed by Mine. Yvonne, the premiere, answered the New York Sun correspondent's interested in quiries. "No, I can't say that the war has hurt our trade to any grc:it extent; rather are we doing a bigger business this year than ever before. But there is a distinct change in the nationality of our customers. Wherefis in former years our biggest sales were in Amer ica, that country, though still among our best clients, no longer holds the palm for lavish buying. You may have noticed that most of the buyers here are of the Latin type. In fact nine-tenths of them are Spanish, for Spain is the country with which at present we are doing the heaviest trade. "In the old days the Spanish drfifl market was a negligible quantity, s A few of their buyers came to our open ings, . saw our models and gingerly chose one, and sometimes two, but never more. They were most con servative and economical, haggled over prices and commissions, and even when we had made for them what we considered easy terms we were never sure we had made a sale. The buyer would hesitate, ask for time to con- * * sider, and usually after a week or ten days give us a niggardly order. Now all that is changed. "Spain has never been more pros perous than since the war and b.er people spend money in lavish fashion. All our most flamboyant and elaborate models, those with the richest mate rials and brightest colors, find a mar ket in Spain, and these buyers whom you see here today wilt probably order twenty or thirty of our most expen sive frocks. We also, have a huge pri vate trade with Spain. The ladles of the cPUrt do not come to Paris as much as they did in former days. We send them colored photographs and ''drawings of our modefSj 'from which they select their frocks.,as their fancy dictates. We keep their exact meas urements here, so that it* is no trouble for us to insure a perfect fit. The dresses are shipped by express, opened at the customs on the frontier and forwarded to their destination without further formality." Norway Spending Money. In answer to an inquiring glance In the direction of the three biond buy ers seated together in one..cor«er of the room: ■. ••. « ; . . "No, they are not from Madrid," ex plained" Mme. Yvonne, "but from Christlania. It will probably surprise you to hear that Norway ranks next in Importance to the Spanish trade. Most people are under the impresslofJ that Sweden contains the greatest number of war profiteers, but her sis ter kingdom far excels her in the spending of money for luxuries. Much of our Norwegian tfade is a private one and, as with jspaip,Js done through the colored phofographs and custom " *ers' measurements.'* Only tbfs -time we ship via-.Englandhr . During .this, conversation the pass ing review of the models went on with out "a lull. -The SUB -no ticed. that ptr*#t and afternoon frucks ar\d even evening gowns werelavishly trimmed with fur—beaver," sealskin, blue fex, kdilnSky. On expressing sur prise that, -despite the „war, such a variety of foreign pelts were still find ing their way Into the Paris markets Mme. Yvonne smiled-: */ "You have Just paid our French . workmen a high compliment. These '' aristocratic looking fufs that you ad mire are all plebeians masquerading under high sounding names. Every one of them comes from the same humbie source, the common or garden rabbit, which-is being raised In enor mous quantities to satisfy the desire of the mondaine for fur trimming. As you see, the Germans have not quite the monopoly on dyerstuffs, since we are still able to succe&sftiily disguise our modest lapin in such attractive form."
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