Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/477

ALSACE-LORRAINE. is considered the most fertile part of the country, in contrast to the northern part of Lorraine, where the stony nature of the ground renders it unfit for agricultural purposes. About 48 per cent. of the land is under tillage, over 30 per cent. under forests, nearly 13 per cent. in mead- ows, and about 2.3 per cent. in vineyards. The land is divided into very small holdings, only about 2 per cent. of the total area being in estates of over fifty acres each. Wheat, rye, barley, and oats are the chief grains. Potatoes and sugar beets, as well as hay and hops, are produced in large quantities. The cultivation of tobacco is still very important, although it has been declin- ing of late. The cultivation of the vine is car- ried on more extensively than in any other sec- tion of the German Empire. Alsace produces chiefly white wines, while Lorraine yields exclu- sively red wines. The value of the annual out- put is about 18,000,000 marks ($4,284,000). The forests of Alsace-Lorraine consist largely of foli- aceous trees, and are owned to a considerable extent by the communities.

Alsace-Lorraine occupies at present the first rank among the iron producing coun- tries of the German Empire. The growth of iron mining has been very rapid for the last decade, and, while in 1892 the production of'iron ore in Prussia exceeded the output of Alsace-Lorraine by about 500,000 tons, in 1899 the latter pro- duced over 1,600,000 tons more than Prussia. The centre of iron mining is at the western end of Lorraine, near the frontier of Luxem- burg, where the highlands on the left bank of the Moselle contain vast deposits of iron and some phosphate. Coal is mined principally in the Vosges, and the annual product exceeds one million tons. The output of salt is considerable, amounting to about one-tenth of the total pro- duction of the German Empire.

Among the manufacturing industries of Alsace-Lorraine the production of textiles occupies the chief place, employing about one-third of the total population engaged in in- dustrial pursuits. Cotton weaving has been car- ried on extensively in Alsace-Lorraine since the middle of the eighteenth century, and is at pres- ent considered the most important among the manufacturing industries. The production of textiles is carried on chiefly at Mülhausen, Kol- mar, and along the numerous streams, which are utilized largely for industrial purposes. The pro- duction of woolens and yarns is very extensively developed in Lower Alsace. Linen and silk weav- ing establishments are also numerous. To a certain extent the production of textiles is still carried on as a house industry, especially in Lower Alsace. The iron and steel industry is next to the textile in importance. There are ex- tensive foundries, machine shops, tool factories, and numerous other plants for the production of various iron products. The value of the annual output of the mills and foundries amounts to nearly $40,000,000. Breweries and distilleries are numerous, but supply chiefly local demand.

The transportation facilities of the Reichsland are not behind its industries. There are over 5000 miles of highways, nearly one mile of road to one square mile of territory. Of railway lines it has about 1100 miles, or nearly 20 miles for every 100 square miles of territory, about the same as in the State of Illinois. The canal system of Alsace-Lorraine is one of the best in the Empire, and the Government expends large sums on its maintenance and constant extension.

The supreme executive authority in Alsace-Lorraine is the German Emperor, who, prior to the introduction of the German constitution in 1874, had also the right of enacting laws for the Reichsland, with the consent of the Bundesrath. At the head of the administration is the Statthalter, appointed by the Emperor, and assisted by a ministry divided into four departments, and a Council of State. The latter is presided over by the Statthalter, and consists of the Secretary of State and a few other officials, besides a number of members appointed by the Emperor. The three districts of Lower and Upper Alsace and Lortaine are administered by presidents and councils, in which all the constituent cantons of the districts are represented. The Provincial Committee, or Landesausschuss, consists of 58 members, elected indirectly for a period of three years, 34 by the three district councils, 4 by the municipal councils of Strassburg, Metz, Kolmar, and Mülhausen, and 20 by the communal councils. In the Bundesrat Alsace-Lorraine is represented by two commissioners, whose functions, however, are only advisory. The revenue is obtained chiefly from direct and indirect taxes, customs, and state forests. The budget balanced in 1900 at over 60,000,000 marks ($14,280,000). The public schools are under the supervision of the school board, presided over by the Secretary of State. Since the German occupation the proportion of illiterates has diminished considerably. Education is still controlled to a considerable extent by the Church, as evidenced by the fact that over 27 per cent. of the teaching staff consists of clergymen and persons belonging to religious orders. Alsace-Lorraine contains one university, that of Strassburg. The population of Alsace-Lorraine in 1900 was 1,717,451, showing an increase of over 7 per cent. since 1890, and making Alsace-Lorraine one of the most densely populated sections in Germany. Over 75 per cent. of the people are Roman Catholics, nearly 23 per cent. Protestants, and less than one per cent. Jews. Strassburg, the capital, has a population of over 150,000.

Originally a part of Roman Gaul and inhabited by Celtic tribes, the region now known as Alsace was overrun by the Ger- manic nations during the fourth and fifth cen- turies, and was ultimately brought under the dominion of the Franks. The Teutonic invaders supplanted, to a great extent, the old Celtic in- habitants, and by the tenth century the country had become thoroughly Germanized. After the partition of the Frankish Empire, Alsace was held by the dukes of Swabia and later by the Hapsburgs, under whose rule it enjoyed pros- perity. Rich and powerful towns, chief among them Strassburg and Kolmar, sprang up, and attained, in the course of time, a very Large degree of self-government, entering frequently into treaty relations with other cities of the empire, and partaking fully in the intellectual and spiritual life of the German jieople. French ambition was directed towaid Lorraine as early as the fourteenth century, though no serious at- tempt at conquest was made till 1552, when Henry II. took possession of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. In the peace of Westphalia, in 1648, the Hapsburgs (as rulers of Austria) ceded their territories in Alsace to France. Louis XIV. subsequently seized the numerous free cities