MAYOR OF COLMAR!
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 Alsace-Lorraine, E*ut AU
' sace-Lorraine Wants Her France —
- Tells of His Escape.
By WALLACE IRWIN.
j I did not go to Interview M. Daniel
Blumenthal, because -he has come to
Washington as it member of the FreAch
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
«hould have loaned the Frnech gov
ernment," via' M. Blumenth'all "any num
ber of billions right out of. Mr. rMc-
Aidoo's treasury. But it was as the ex
mayor of Colmar (Anclen Maire de
Colmar Is the" way It Is expressed on
the large, foreign-looking •. card he
fjiands you) that I washed to see and
talk to him.
Now, Colmar isn't the largest nor
iyet the. second largest city in Alsace.
But It Is in the heart of that freedom
loving little province which has been
lield by Germany like a caged eagle
erer since 1871. The . Hohenzoilerns.
have held the bars across Alsace, but
they have never been able to clip her
-wings. And if you think they ever
■will, just talk with Daniel Blumen
thal.
A little man with a graying beard'
«nd round, black, humorous eyes, I
found him in a hotel room packing
for another flight with the commission.
1 told him that since I had heard of
Ills famous escape from the Germans,
.
/
• :ji *'. -
Misses Janet and Lyaia 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 Germans,! They are what
you call it —bone-ln-the-head."
"It would be doing *us a service," I
said, "to teil America what Alsace-
Lorraine would prefer to be after
peace is made—French or German."
"Do you know," he replled. stahd
lng straight as a ramrod, "that the
Marseillaise was first sung at Strass
fcurg? 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
sace-Lorralners. •' • i»
'.'A Gennan-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. W T hy? Because she is French tb I
,the heart today, and since 18tl she i
has never forgotten her loyalty- to the
free republic to which her soul be-. J
longs. . German editors write edl- !
torials full of learning to show that
the children of Alsace-Lorraine today
are different from yesterday, because.)
they speak ..the language which Berlin
has forced upon them. Eh bien! 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
£D 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 d 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 mllita/y duty, while our citizens
Innumerable have gone to imprison
ment for expressing thelr 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 |s able to think both
ways, likfc a donkey" with |wo heads.
She has well learned the speech, 'What
is yours belongs to me and what Is
mine.ls my own.' - Since the beginning
of the present war the German gen-
have made pe hesitation about
declaring that they, consider Alsace-
Lorraine an enemy coUntry? How
much better than Belgians have * we
been In the. sight of Prussia 2 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
taken out of our mdliths, 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 haye ,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
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
j Germans concentrated most thickly.
When Alsace-Lorraine becomes French
again—&nd we are sure t>f It,~Tfton
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
| care for those remaining? In power
the 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 German 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 Jt 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 rifles;
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 crfftce
so quick as I took myself out of the
mairie of Colmar. r ,-.,, f .. . > „
"You see I had not been loved tdr
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 for, quite a whjle .wan. would
break over us one of these days''arid
that the Bbches would come 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:
"'Papa, when war comes you must
be the first out of Colmar.'
"So we talk it over often en famllle.
Nothing was omitted. For we knew
.that the name of Blumenthal was at
the head pf the list of those to be ar
rested. . i
"Bien! It was the day of July 31,
1914, that very polite. German officers
and soldiers arrive to my office the
I-town hrtll of Colniar. • They shW me
proclamations from the general com
j mandftpt. .which J. am, .with, greatest
politeness, requested to post. Those
sa£ how dadger of war is pro
-1 claimed. Colmar is to go tinder mar
i tial law. That is sufficient. I am still
coriside'ring my program nfore
gray -In wtth 'still more
j politessg to,.inform me..that I am. now
an ex-may Or. A German judge at the
.court of appeals fs' to take my office.
, Fritz Is "Bone-ln-the-Head. w , ..
"I see my daughters! The day is
pleasant for motoring! I sayV Why
not a little trip to the station 1 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 Germari. What do I mean
driving up to a" guarded city with:.riy
motor?- Do I not know ihs rules, ef
*•'T; j •« t ,
war? It makes me nothing when I tell
the Herr Lieutenant that I am a p^ee
ful avocat and do not know anything
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 Arm*rica.
«-" 'Well, well!' says the general in
great irritation, 'what have you there?'
" 'He was arrested at the gate, Herr
General 1'
" Take him away!' groans M. le Gen
eral.
" 'Jah, Herr General. Where shall I i
take him?' ;
" 'Take him anywhere. Take him
to the station.*
"The private salutes, shoulders hisJ
musket, and marches, me away to the
railroad station."
j The former mayor of Colmar stroked
his little gray beaid and shot bright
sparks from his round,, black eyes,.
J "it thought the train 'I fobk w'ould ;
go right across the Swiss border.- =But
it iwa« ,;war time, and the Germans
were npt making it easy for escaping
" Alsatians. " _About^■- two smiles from
: Switzerland we were 1 taken:: off .the
train and left to walk.
"It was at the German at
Lldpoidshoeshe thhl we met our 1 last
obstacle. On the-very wall that marks;
the border ( of Switzerland stoqd a,Ger
" man Herr Lieutenant with sentries.
*" TOrt P* We clo so; * * V
" 'What business have -you crossing
the borders in war time?* . •«.
I
"'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.., :' .vj
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 other
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 me 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
—the mayor of Colmar.'
"I awaited no more courtesies, but
descending the stairs into Switzerland
by leaping nine steps. Nom d'un chien,
but it; was—-what you call it? —a very
slende*escape."
"What becomes of your wife and two
daughters?" I asked ih my best nur
sery manner. ,
"Ah, you see we had arranged every
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
' program together?" ' * '
And I bade him adieu, full of the
faith that is making Alsace safe for
I democracy.
I U. S. SOLDIER BREAKS
RECORD FOR WOOING
I ■ ... - I
* Private Barnoff and his
was. Mfcss "BlHy" Garrellg£ Qak^^nd.
i Barnoff returned from the .Philippines
recently and' £hter&l"a '<lrtig store' to
' ; fel'ephofie, -• Miss handed h&n" a
i telephone slug and, spilled;-« .one
hour and fifteen minutes later she bef- ;
"i came Barnoff. * ? He : !s- stationed
at present at Cami>- Fremont, and
. plans. $o his. wife ioin the Red
Cross. ' • " ,
| : *Slieep:Will Mow Golf Course.
• -The members of the.Arkansas City
(Ark.) Country club are combining golf ;
" and patriotism. : They have discov
ered that no green keeper can do as
j gpod. a job of. mowing as a. flock of
sheep. d The government* is urging peo
i ple-'toraise sheep; ei^o,'combine the.
two aftd« your golf pounds- axid
be. a patriot gt the same time. The v
'] members hkVfe "chipped* in and 6onghti
; a flock of sheep, and now expect*to.
, one. of finest greens*
in the 'slate, 'arfd possillv tr» 'receive a
leafheV medal frt)hi'lio'!".eru *C."
1 »er as- aid in .cor.-.
nervation. ' . :
RABBIT SAUSAGE
A BERLIN TIDBIT
Britain Studies Economic Posi
tion of Central Powers.
DEBT IS 94 MILLIARD MARKS
Industry and Commerce of Germany
and Austro-Hungary Must Devote Its
Energy to Rehabilitation People
Raid Food* Fields—Serious Shortage
j • of Coal in Both Empires.
, The economic position, of Germany
and Austria is b£ihg carefully studied
by 'the British intelligence department,
and from & series of notes taken from
the press of the central, empires one
learns, for Instance, that' afte* : war
problems in Germany ai*fe the cause of
mych anxiety.-. It.is expected.that the
. debt of the, empire, according to the
Vosslsche ZeifUng, will, TJy the end of*
the year, have IncreaSecF tcf ninety-four
milliards ;of niarks, This wIH involve
an annual charge of si£ milliards, a.
sum which will be_increased to ten
milliards "by pensions, debts 6f 'sepa
rate states, municipalities and . com-'
mimes. 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*lb-*
dustry has to hear— taxes, wages and
other expenses—are kept within bear-,
able tynlts." - ....* » .. . *
are fears of an economic war,
and hence the writer lays \t 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
general of the North German Lloyd
Steamship company, thinks the opinion
rt the shipping Jlnes will' "roll in
gold" somewhat premature. 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 1 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
i steamships probably will be com
mandeered by the government after
the war and required to convey raw
materials to and manufactured goods
j from the country at fixed rates
In both Germany and Austria _ the
' manufacturing industry and agriculture
will tend more fcn'd 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 men 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
I before the war. There was an increase
in the daily bread ration from the mid-
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 basis 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
■serious. - On - Sundays > great' - crowds
preqeeded to the. country around ..Vien
na .to buy UP early potatoes from the
s aid people Yto'od in queues
: - right •%to"the 7 peasatfts» hpases:
-the supfily gave- out exciting scenes
were witnessed, and the much-annoyed
citizens proceeded to the fields and
dug- up potatoes themsetves. ;< - < •
Rabbit sausage having, made Its ap
pearance in .Berlin at .5.40 or 6 marks"
a pound, and being considered a tasty
morsel, the municipality has taken up
the manufacture at 2 marks a pound.
Blood sausages are regulated at 2
marks a pound, and liver sausage 2.30
marks. German "tea, 1 ' made from black
, berry, raspberry,, currant and straw
berry plants, sells at an equivalent of
-55 cents a pound, while both tea and
tjoffee" substitutes. are declared by a
learned professor to .resemble the orig
nal in color only; in taste and smell
• "litre fs noneV- -'"- *' 5
i • There ±B«.a serious'coal shortage, and
. announced- that in Frankfort half
he SofTools will be closed this winter.
*v -.. ,
EXILED KING VISITS
EMMANUEL OF ITALY
##################################^
u wmmlSm I
MWM "*
nl |l|
An unusual photograph, showing the
kings of Montenegro and Italy In
Paris. -This is ope- of the very few
' taken of them together, although King
Nicholas is 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.
TraTSi^
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 j
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 tip while
I translated for,them the various mes
sages of courage and good luck sent I
across the ocean by your committees
at home. Monsieur le Medicin Chef
Ferris begged like a child for one post
card which bore the address of a girl
often. ' *
"The compresses In those lovely s
boxes appealed especially to the sur
geons. "We have been using "such fear
fully rusty boxes for sterilizing, and
the prospect of jpJCe. 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. Ji
; j-' r. - 7 -
Hats off!
Along the* street -there comes
A blare -of bugles,**ft ruffle of drums,
a A flash Qt color beneath the c'.y.
Hats off!
Thfe flag is passing by.
* i, - - ~ " " * j
Bljie and crimson and .white It shines
Over the steel-tipped ordered lines.
* - Hals off! • 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
-1 Live In the colors to stand or fall.
Hats off!
Along thfe street there comes "
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
And loyal hearts are beating high.
, Hats off ! ,
The flag is passing by.
_*" ..•» —Henry EL Bennett.
MAKE GOWNS IN
MIHST OF 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 ;
nave worked the same hardships on
the Paris dressmaking trude that It
has on other branches of French In
dustry. The openings at the big cou
turiers g<? ;ni£n#y ; on, -a&d. though
American buyers have long since flown
back to the States representatives of
European hguses 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 blonds. In the room stood
out in startling relief.
Lead In Buying Shifts. -
As the bored, superclllous-looklng
mannequins, wearing the season's lat
est creations, filed by Mme. 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 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 drfia
market was a negligible quantity, i A
few of their buyers ca: 1 to our open-
Inge, . saw our models .nd gingerly
chose one, and sometimes two, but
never more. They were most con
servative and economical, haggled o**' '
prices and commissions, and
when we had made for them wh
considered easy terms we were nerer
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 her
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 coUrt do not come to Paris aa
much as they did in former days. We
send them colored photographs and
* drawings of our modefej 'from "which
th-ay select their frocks..as their fancy
dl *tates. 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 blond buy
ers seated together in one - corner 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 impressloß
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 done through
the colored phonographs and custom
ers' measurements.'* Only thfs -time
we ship yia-.EpgtainV*. . - - ■. f
. During ..this. conversation the pass
ing review of the models went on with
out "a lull. SUB -no
ticed. that and afternoon fracks
ar\d even eyeing gowns were lavishly
'trimmed with" fur —beaver,"sealskin,
blue fex, kfthnSky. 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 fairs that you ad
mire are ail plebeians masquerading
under high sounding names. Every
one of them comes from the same
humble source, the common or garden
rabbit, which-is being raised in enor
mous quantities to satisfy the desire
of the mondalne for fur trimming. As
you see, the Germans have not quite
the monopoly on dye : stuffs, since we
are still able to succeasfuUy disguise
our modest l&pin in Such attractive
form."