416 ANNUAL REPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION^ 1915. 



From Baren Kopf to about 10 miles beyond Schhicht Pass the 

 mountainous divide and linguistic line coincide. Farther north, 

 however, French prevails in many of the upper valleys of the 

 xVlsatian slope. This is true of the higher sections of the Weiss 

 basin as well as the upper reaches of the Bruche. At a short dis- 

 tance south of the sources of the Liepvre, parts of the Valley of 

 Markirch (Sainte-Marie aux Mines) are likewise French. Here, how- 

 ever, the influx of German miners who founded settlements as far 

 back as the seventeenth century have converted the district into an 

 area linguistically reclaimed by Germans. Altogether, it was esti- 

 mated that in 1910 French was spoken by 204,262 inhabitants of 

 Alsace-Lorraine out of a total population of 1,814,564.^ 



Two methods of indicating the presence of a French element in 

 Alsace-Lorraine are given in the map of this region accompanying 

 this article. Percentages according to administrative districts^ have 

 been contrasted with actual extension of French predominance.^ The 

 map shows concordance of French and German authorities regarding 

 the German character of x\.lsace, as well as the French nature of a 

 substantial portion of Lorraine. The Rhine Valley, a natural region, 

 appears throughout as an area of German speech. Viewed in this 

 light, French claims favoring extension of the country's western 

 boundary to the left bank of the Rhine deserve consideration only if 

 grounded on Alsatian preference for French nationality. They can 

 not rest on a sound geographical foundation. 



Of all so-styled natural boundaries, a river perhaps is the most 

 unsatisfactory.* Conventional representation of its course on paper 

 provides the map with black lines which on casual inspection impart 

 semblance of a break in regional continuity. Reasoned examination, 

 however, discloses the similarity of the land extending beyond both 

 banks. Allowance being made for difference of elevation between the 

 upper and lower courses of a river, the unit region is obviously con- 

 stituted b}^ the entire basin. All the data of observation reveal re- 

 gional unity in the Valley of the Rhine. 



The political case of Alsace-Lorraine, viewed from the linguistic 

 standpoint, may be summed up as follows : Alsace is German. Areas 

 of French in this Province consist of intrusion of minor importance. 

 It is evident that the Vosges Mountains have prevented expansion of 

 French toward the Valley of the Rhino. Lorraine, hoAvever, which 

 was also German, was devoid of a natural* barrier that might have 

 arrested the spread of French. Consequently, it has been partly re- 

 gained by that language. 



iThe Statesman's Yearbook, 1914, p. 93-4. 



2 After the language map of Alsace-Lorraine in Anrtree's Handatlas, PI. (J7-68, (5th ed. 



8 After Gallols' map, PI. 4, vol. 9, Ann. de Geogr., 1900. 



* Lord Curzon, Frontiers, The Romanes Lectures, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1007. 



