Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 167, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 July 1918 — NANCY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NANCY

-us the former capital of I Lorraine, which was left to I Prance by the Treaty of Frankfort in 1871, and the chief city behind the sector which the American troops took over from the French, is.of historical interest, writes Mme. Marie de Perrott in, the New York Tribune. Illustrious at the time of the dukes of Burgundy, their last scion, Charles the Bold, came to a miserable end there. Thence the three last “Roman emperors” went to be crowned in Vienna. In 1914 another German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm n. believed that Nancy would fall three days after the hostilities began and, according to his habit, was already dressed for the part—had his face made up, like the actor he is, for a triumphant entry. But he had reckoned without the defense of the Grand Couronne, and above all without the Indomitable will of a nation. As I write I see once again before me the panorama I know so well. From the Plateau Haye there lies before me a view of a long stretch of close roofs, towers, spires, churches, high iron frameworks. This is Nancy Itself, united to its suburbs by secluded, shaded avenues. In. the distance sparkles the lake of the Sellle, which forms a boundary, tot it is German today. To my right glides softly the [Moselle, no longer dashing impetuously through rough mountains and thick woods, but as far as Metz and Coblenz bordered by vineyards, already so famous in the Rome of old, where big clusters of purple or golden grapes reflect in the water their color and light Close by the small River Ameaule, a tributary of the Meurthe, is dominated by the abrupt hill of Amance and the woods of Champenoux, where so many of our brave dead are lying, for this was the theater of the first German attack in 1914. Burial Place of Dukes. All those who have visited Nancy before 1914 will remember its churches and public monuments. The ducal chapel, one of the gems of the world’s architecture, has been, ever since the eleventh century, the burial place of thpse proud rivals of the kings of France, the dukes of Burgundy, whose great ambition was to become rulers themselves and make 1 of France and Belgium one kingdom. The great French revolution dragged their bodies from their leaden coffins to put them Into the'graveyard, but the restoration of 1814 gave them back their legitimate place. The last 40 years and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by Germany have bestowed upon Nancy, which was left to ns, great importance. It has taken moreover a literary cachet, as well as one of elegance, and become the Intellectual brain and the center of spiritual influence of eastern France. Its faculties, grouped in independent bodies, deserve their honorary title end are real universities, attracting students from all parts of the world. As to the professors, their renown far surpasses the narrow boundaries of a provincial town, la province, as we disdainfully call all that does not belong to Paris. Its industries, also, until the great war, were in a most flourishing state; most of the manufacturers and workmen •• of Metz and Strasbourg took up their abode here after 1871, proudly styling themselves emigres, to show that they had left their homes to avoid German-rule, bringing with their skill and activity great prosperity to the former capital of Lorraine. I remember as a small child during the siege of Strasbourg playing sometimes in the sheltered garden es a brewer at fichlltigheim, and was much pleased to find, twenty years or more later, that be had installed a brewery at Nancy on a really gigantic scale. Cabbage iplckled in salt, which is a national dish of thr Alsatians, is fabricated here for the whole of Alsace and is suit all Over Europe. Noted for Many Arts and Craft*. Embroidery and the making of boots and straw hats keep thousands of hands busy in Nancy, which central-

izes the work of the villages and hamlets surrounding it. Before the war the yearly export of boots and shoes amounted to over $4,000,000, divided among 25 manufacturers. They were of a common variety, sewn by machine, generally with nailed soles, and were almost solely destined for export. But the chief industry of Nancy is the making of straw hats, which once flourished, all over Alsace, and after our defeats migrated to Nancy. In the town itself, as I saw during my late visit, most home workers are employed at making hats, while the large factories often employed as many as 8,000 work people—and twothirds of these were women. This trade, of which Nancy has the monopoly in France, has been a great loss for Germany, especially for the Rhine and Saar provinces, where, strangely enough, most of the towns continue to work for Nancy. The plaits, however, which serve to make straw hats, are quite an industry in themselves. In their raw state they come chiefly from China, and are sent to Italy and Switzerland for the bleaching process, whence they are imported into France. England, which is the chief intermediary, yearly Imported half a million tons of plaits. But even here Nancy was making great progress before the war, and with groups which had formed in Lyons and Caussade was trying to make herself Independent of both England and Switzerland.

Straw Hat and Printing Pres*. The trade of straw hats gives rise to many others, for Nancy, after having received the raw material, turns out every kind of hat trimmed and ready for export, and for tMs accessories of all kinds are needed. What struck me most when I walked through the large workshops were thousands and thousands of bell-shaped hats, put one Into the other, forming Immense pyramids. It was the Panama hat, the light, wMte head cover which is so great a favorite and almost endless in its wear. These hats In their primitive state are the product of the Bourbon palm or latania, and are sent by the republic of Ecuador. The dressing of the Panama hats is one of the great Industries of Nancy, and It Is all the more important at the present time when our women have been compelled to take the place of men, for this is a light Industry, well within their powers. The printing works of Berger-Lev-rault form one of the most interesting features of Nancy. They are famed not only all through France, but I may say the world. Here is the printing done of almost all the branches of the French government, and the proprietors are the publishers for the ministries of war, finance, police and many other departments, for which they provide millions of copies.

Street Scene in Nancy.