CLERICAL UNREST IN ALSACE
THE SCHOOL STRIKE IS NOT PRODUCING THE RESULTS ITS PROMOTERS EXPECTED

A plan to abolish the High Commission of Alsace and Lorraine had been announced and prepared for a long time. It had provoked energetic but courteous protests from some interested parties, devoid of the dreadful passion displayed by some Alsatian deputies the other day when they interrupted their colleague Peirotes' speech. But this plan was Mr. Poincaré's plan.
Another plan provided for the introduction of interdenominational schools last summer in the Alsatian towns that had expressed a firm desire to support this reform. This had not caused any outcry. But the plan was Mr. Colrat's and Mr. Poincaré's plan.
Does this suffice to demonstrate the ulterior political motives of today's protesters? What they would have accepted from Poincaré, they reject from Herriot.

Don't think, however, that they're hiding it! The Journal de l'Est admits to us straight out that, for them, before May 11, the interdenominational school would have been "the exact application to primary education of the formula used without any problem in all public high schools and secondary establishments in France, including those in Alsace and Lorraine." But, "after May 11, religious circles see it as a specific threat to their spiritual life, and a 'breach' of the rules of the game."

So what, you ask, are the rules of the game?
Oh! The rules of the game are quite simple. For the Alsatian clerical leaders, it consists of this:
"You systematically forget the past. You may have (like Abbé Muller) proclaimed, hand in hand with William II, the indissoluble fusion of Alsace into German unity. You may have (like Mr. Delsor) written that by taking the road to France in September 1914, "Abbé Wetterlé had taken the path to infamy." You yourselves wipe the slate clean of all this. You claim to be the best, the only true French people in Alsace. You insist that your dearest desire is the assimilation of Alsace into France, but that it takes time and requires stages. Then, as soon as someone even makes a show of taking the slightest of these stages, you scream like skunks. And, if no one seems to be paying attention to your cries, you declare that the rules of the game are being broken.
There you go! The rule of the game is also, isn't it? Under the false pretext that the government is breaking the law, to categorically violate it itself by decreeing, for example, a school strike. The well-behaved Alsatian population, fortunately, and as we were sure, refuses to follow the leaders. The vast majority of Catholic students took their books and notebooks to school yesterday morning.
It's an "accident" that our political priests probably didn't foresee in the rules of their game...

Jean Piot

In the Bas-Rhin

Strasbourg, March 16 (from our special correspondent). So this concludes the day when the "Christian people of Alsace" were to demonstrate, in a formidable demonstration, their unwavering resolve not to accept interdenominational schools. Let's say it right away: the hopes of the organizers of the children's strike were dashed. Particularly in the cities, the Alsatians, for the most part, refused to submit to the ukase of Bishop Ruch, Messrs. Michel Water, and others, and the general impression emerging from the events is that the call to violence by those now called in Strasbourg "the Black Bolsheviks" yielded only meager results.
Yet, the agitators' efforts were not lacking. As early as Saturday, the faithful, whom the newspapers of the clerical consortium had been gently encouraging for the past two weeks, were subjected to a veritable bombardment. All means were used to excite people. Priests, nuns, and trusted men went from house to house, urging parents to obey Bishop Ruch's orders. Yesterday, thousands of leaflets were distributed outside churches and taken to private homes. This morning, the clerical newspapers made a final appeal for disobedience to the law by printing, in large letters, that the orders of prefects and officials should be ignored...
The results prove that the organizers wasted a lot of time and even more money. In the countryside, and particularly in the Haut-Rhin region, Catholic villages saw a fairly considerable number of students refrain from sitting in school. And yet, much more was expected. In the cities, the results are deeply discouraging for the sowers of discord. In Colmar, a city dominated by Catholics, barely 30% of students were absent from school. In Strasbourg, a total of 17% of students in religious schools must be considered "on strike."
It can be said that, in general, the Bas-Rhin region has responded weakly to the orders of the Prince of the Church. Let us not forget that in secondary schools, there are no defections in the Bas-Rhin. In Colmar, there are approximately 10% of strikers in this category.
In summary, it can be said that the clergy, even if they publish victory bulletins tomorrow, have attempted an experiment that has not succeeded.

The number of strikers in Strasbourg

Here, moreover, are the statistics established by the Public Education Section of the City Hall: It is interesting to note that all secondary schools recorded no defections and that in all Protestant schools, students were at their posts. Here are the figures for denominational primary schools: Catholic schools (31.5% strikers); interdenominational primary schools (20% strikers); interdenominational middle schools (1.1% strikers).
In rural areas, the figures are, of course, higher.

A resolution of the Strasbourg City Council, March 1

6. The City Council adopted the following resolution this afternoon: The City Council is pleased to learn that the President of the Council has authorized the legal introduction of interdenominational schools. It condemns, in the strongest terms, the illegal behavior of certain members of the National Bloc and condemns the inflammatory and disloyal appeal to the population by the Bishop of Strasbourg. Faithful to its democratic past and traditions, the Strasbourg City Council expresses its firm commitment to the principles and laws of the Republic.

Following this resolution, the mayor communicates the following information: The illegally instigated school strike resulted in a total of 17.7% of students in the schools in question missing class this morning.

A Bully

Strasbourg, March 16. An incident occurred in Strasbourg, in front of a school where a priest was trying to dissuade parents from bringing their children. Elsewhere, in Meyersheim (Bas-Rhin), the parents of 12-year-old Charles Fauvelle filed a complaint with the police for assault and battery against Father François Guth, the parish priest. A doctor, immediately summoned, issued a medical certificate of the child's condition. Father Guth reportedly admitted to having beaten Charles Fauvelle with a stick as a form of corporal punishment.

In Haut-Rhin, Colmar,

March 16. The school strike is far from producing the results the organizers expected. The action taken by the police, teachers, and civil servants is making itself felt.
As in Bas-Rhin, there are no dropouts in Protestant schools. In Catholic schools, defections of up to 40% have been recorded, but the exact figures are not yet known. A definitive assessment will not be possible for 24 hours, as the strike order for Colmar has been given for three days. The clerical newspapers continue to urge the faithful to follow the bishop's order. They read in large letters the following words: "Catholic parents, do not let yourselves be intimidated by prefects and threats. Show the Freemasons that you are Alsatians of character. If you remain united, you will be invincible." No incidents have been reported.

Two appeals from the strike committee

Colmar, March 16. The strike committee issued two appeals this morning, one to "Catholic parents" and the other to the mayors of Alsace. The first promises that the fines will eventually be paid by "all the Catholics of Alsace and France" who have pledged to provide financial support to the movement. The second places all responsibility for the conflict on the government, calls on mayors to refuse to follow the sub-prefects' instructions, and declares that if the latter are not happy, "they should just go back to where they came from."

Obstructions to Academic Freedom Mulhouse, March 16. - The school strike has manifested itself differently depending on the school. In some, 80% of students were missing this morning, in others only 20%. This discrepancy is undoubtedly the result of the vigilant guards mounted near certain schools by mothers and seniors from Christian schools, who turned away children who came to class unaccompanied. The police have issued several reports for violations of academic freedom. No incidents have been reported. In the Haut-Rhin countryside, absences appear to be high. 75% are reported in Ribeauvillé, 65% in Colmar-Campagne, approximately 50% in Thann and Guebviller, and 40% in Altkirch.

Mr. Herriot receives a delegation of teachers

A delegation from the National Teachers' Union, composed of Messrs. Roussel, Glay, and Boulanger, presented to Mr. Herriot, President of the Council, various issues relating to the educational situation in the recovered departments of Alsace-Lorraine.
The President of the Council's attention was particularly drawn to various demands relating to the material and administrative situation of teaching staff and civil servants in Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, and Moselle.
Application of Article 3 of the bill abolishing the general commission and representation on the joint committee of unions affiliated with the National Federation. Amendments to be made to tax legislation in Alsace and Lorraine.
Decree of August 8, 1924, regulating the introduction of the Departmental Council. Situation of staff working in the devastated regions of the three departments.
Reclassification and reimbursement measures for staff returning to the interior.
Application of the Roustan Law in the three departments.

Finally, the delegation presented the point of view of the National Union and its Alsace-Lorraine branches, composed of staff members from both departments united in a shared desire for the rapid and complete assimilation of Alsace into France with regard to the application of secular school laws, initiated by the recent provisions aimed at establishing interdenominational schools in localities that have requested this initial transition to the secular laws they desire. The President of the Council thanked the delegation and asked them to convey their congratulations to the public school teachers who, with such dedication, defend and propagate the liberal principles of the French school in the recovered departments.