e following extraordinary declaration: "We Germans are
obliged in Alsace to behave ourselves as if we were in an enemy's
country...." What better referendum could you wish than such an
admission by a German statesman?

Moreover, the question of Alsace-Lorraine is not only a French
question, but also an international question. It is not only France
who has sworn to herself to recover Alsace-Lorraine--it is all the
Allies who have sworn to France that she should recover it.

"We mean to stand by the French democracy to the death," solemnly
declared Mr. Lloyd-George on the 5th of January, 1918, "in the demand
they make for a reconsideration of the great wrong of 1871, when,
without any regard to the wishes of the population, two French
provinces were torn from the side of France and incorporated in the
German Empire."

And, three days later, using nearly the same words, President Wilson,
in his luminous message to Congress, said: "_The wrong done to France
by Prussia in 1871, in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has
unsettled the peace of the world for nearly fifty years should be
righted, in order that peace may once more be made secure in the
interest of all._"

All the statesmen who have spoken since the beginning of the war in
the name of the Allied Powers have attested that this war is not only
a struggle for the liberty of nations and the respect due to
nationalities, but also an effort toward definite peace. Their words
only appeared fit for stirring up the enthusiasm of the crowds, and
fortifying their will of sacrifice, because they gave expression to
their feelings and prayers. If they are forgotten by those who uttered
them they will be remembered by those who heard and treasured them.

In September, 1914, Winston Churchill said: "We want this war to
remodel the map of Europe according to the principle of nationalities,
and the real wish of the people living in the contested territories.
After so much bloodshed we wish for a peace which will free races, and
restore the integrity of nations.... Let us have done with the
armaments, the fear of strain, intrigues, and the perpetual threat of
the horrible present crisis. Let us make the regulation of European
conflicts just and natural." The French republic, of one mind with the
Allies, proclaimed through its authorized representatives that this
war is a war of deliverance. "France," said Mr. Stephen Pichon,
Foreign Minister, "will not lay down arms before h