This principle which she alleges for Schleswig, which she alleges for Alsace, which she will allege for Holland, for Austria, for Germanic Switzerland, for Livonia, she takes it for the opposite of what it is. It is not what she believes. It constitutes a right for the weak; it is not an excuse for the ambitious. The principle of nationality is not the old right of the strong under a new name.
Let us understand it the way it is understod by European common sense. What does it say about Alsace? One thing only: that Alsace must not be constrained to obey foreigners. Do you now want to find out what is foreign for Alsace? Is it France, or is it Germany? Which is the nationality of the Alsatians; which is their real country? You assert, Sir, that Alsace is of German nationality. Are you sure of this? Would that now be one of those assertions that rely on words and appearances more than on reality? I beg you to examine this questions frankly, loyally: to what do you attribute nationality? How do you recognize a country?
You think you have proven that Alsace is of German nationality; because her population is of Germanic race and because her language is German. But I am astonished that a historian like you pretends to be ignorant of the fact that neither race or language is what consitutes nationality.
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