The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1870-10-28
Che Saarietta 3lournal.
MARIETTA, GEORGIA.
Friday Horn. Oct. rs, 1870.
[CoMMUNICATED.1
ANCo-PRUSSIAN WAR.

ing, saw an article therein on the pres
ent war in Europe which seemed to be
intended as reply to my former COM
munication on the same subject.
did not think that my humble pro-
duction would be calculated to elicit
such flow of eloquence as it has APP
parently done. | had no idea that
the great orator, signing himself willie
Shepard," would have taken upon him
self the trouble of burlesquing my COM
municaion, or of attempting to reply to
the same. Awful as the case may seem,
it is even so fear.
Before commencing my review of the
article, Ii wish to make the following
statement, viz: My object in writing
my former communication was not to de-
eide the right either nation now fight
ing had for beginning the war, but only
to endeavor to prove how foolish is the
assertion that We arc in some way or
other under obligations to France for
favors received. When touched on
the right of either notion to wage war,
4
time to write another communication on
the causes of the war. Hence my oppo-
nent was mistaken when he supposed
that | deduced my sympathics with
Prussia from the facts mentioned in my
article.
Laying aside all humor and sentiment
| now address myself to the task of re-
viewing the communication. lie be-
gins by saying: "Some one writing
for your paper of September 3Oth on the
Franco-Prussian war, signs himself W.
c. S., and because my initials are w. S.
some think me to be the author" We
do not see how any one acquainted with
Willie Shepard, should think that he was
the author of the article signed w. Z. ).
when NiIlie's initials we're w. S.
He next says that che does not intend
to review Goodrich's Pictorial History
of the United States to gather facts from
which to write on the Franco PruSaian
war" Neither do we, nor have We; we
do not think however that it would have
been much disadvantage for him to have
consulted that or some other history III
preparing his article.
Z lie says something about the size OF
our respective heads, perhaps his head
may be bigger than ours, or on the other
hand, perhaps our head m0y be bigger
than his; We think, however, that not
SO much depends upon the size Of the
head, as upon what it contains.
He remarks that labor to prove that
the French fought against us in the
French and Indian War. Now we do
not have much laboring to do to prove
that they did, as it is well known fact !;
and it is sn equally well known fact,
that in that war the immortal Washing
ton won his first military laurels
The next sentence he touches on is a
plain statement of well known facts. In
the next place he does not mention the
services of that noble Prussian, Baron
Steubcn, to us in the Revolutionary
struggle. We rcassert our statement III
our article that during the last war nat
uralizcd Frenchmen and persons OF
French descent fought on our side, some
from patriotic motives and others tor
fear that they would be called to account
by the Confederate government If they
acted otherwise. Willie took care not
to notice all of that sentence.
As to Prussia producing greater man
than the great patriot LaFayctte-she
has produced greater men, Gen. MoIkte,
for instance.
r. Washington was not a Frcnchman,
| but person Of English descent.
- He next says, "Let us take up the
facts as we find them in the later history
of France and Prussia, not Goodrich's
History of the United States" From
this statement one would naturally sup
pose that the author was going back at
least ten years in the histories OF these
countries, but, unluckily for his arGu-
ment, the author only goes back to the
year 1869, for he says that Napoleon
has been seeking prctext for war with
. Prussia for year or more. As to Ma
] polcon's government being obnoxious to
the French in general, there is no doubt
of it; but as his profting by the exam
pie of his Bourbon predecessor Louis
XVI, it is not probable that Napoleon
Ill. would like to have submitted his
neck to the guillotine, As the unfortunate
Louis XVI was forced to do by lnfurI-
ated depraved French men, women and
/ children.
Let us go back little further in the
history of France and Prcssia, to the
time of the first Napoleon, and not to
the classic and remote age of 1869.
We read in Whites History Of
France, and not in Goodrich's History
Of The United States, which latter history
OF our r' opponent seems to have on the
brain, that Napoleon |. in 1906 invaded
Prussia with a great army Of French
men, defeated her armies at different