The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1871-02-01
4 French View Of the Situation
Letter from u. LabGuIaye.

n. Edouard Laboulaye; in a letter
written the Goth nit. to friend in New
, York, says:
Thank Madame---and all who are
interested in us, and tell them that the
cause of France is liberty. The tri-
umph of Prussia will be the Atriumph
of dcspotism, ard will condemn all
Europe to servitude or to q new thirty
years war. The downfall of France
is the delivery of Europe to the greed
of Prussia aud the. barbarism OF
Russia.
The manner in which var was de-
clared by the Emperor. has deceived
distant spectators. They did not see
that Prussia had been. for long years
preparing for war, and that Bismarck
had seized the opportunity to make
) France fall into ready-laid snare,
But now the facts are at hand to con-
vince the most incredulous. Prussia,
had million men under arms, while
France had less than three hundred
thousand soldiers. Add to those a
formidable artillery and stores of
munitions of war, and you will see
how easy it was to crush us, in spite
of the conrge of our army.
If Prussia had only sought to defend
herself, it would have been easy for
her after the battle of Sedan to con-
clude a glorious and lasting peace.
France would have paid heavy in
demnity without haggling, and would
have frankly accepted defeat without
cherishing secret thoughts of revenge.
But the King of Prussia then threw off
the mask. He had declared that he
made war on the Emperor alone; but
the Emperor vanquished and a prisoner
he now ayowed that what he sought
was the humiliation and overthrow of
France. He must have Alsace and
Lorraine, provinces wholly French at
heart and rejecting Prussian rule.
There were at the beginning of the
: war at least three hundred thousand
Germans in France who had fOnnd
therein the means of subsistence and
often fortunes. All these men Bis
mark made SO many spies to guide the
army to the homes of their former en-
ployers to plumber them more easily.
And they boast of this! Was such
infamy ever known before among
Christian nations To fire on balloons
that carry family correspondence, and
to invent gun for the special purpose
of killing innocent messengers not
, this one OF those acts of barbarism that
a Prussian alone could devise AS to
their moral superiority, which they
vaunt in contrast with the decline OF
France, have yet to see proofs of it.
hear nothing but horses stolen, eel
lars plundered, francs-tireurs shot in
contempt of the laws of war--of noth-
;, ing in short, but pillage and murder.
All are not quite so abominable and
the officers of the guard especially af-
feet fine manners but this is only a
superfne varnish /: at the bottom there
is unnlitigated barbarism. We have
returned to the soldiers of Frederick
and the freebOOters of the middle ages.
Frenchmen conld never have conduct-
ed themselves with such brutality. All
the soldiers with whom | have talked
are tired of the war; they are not de-
, luded as to their fate, and know that
they are the victims of Bismarck and
King William, but the officers are
pulled up with PRIDE, and the hope OF
crushing Paris draws them on Us his
torical achievement. AS to the old
, king--that caporal mystique, as he is
, justly called--he thinks himself doing
a Christian deed in slaughteiing thou
sands of men, and is convinced that he
, came into the world to chastise peo-
pie that has done him no harm. And
in Germany not a Christian pulpit, not
, a minister, not woman has dared
utter a word in behalf of peace! 1t is
/, a war of races which Germany has
kindled, and of which our children will
not see the end. 1t is said that the
Prince of Prussia alone has been moved
q by feelings of humanity, but no one
, would heed his voice. Mark that il
France one hears always of Prussia and
e never of Germany. The reason is that
! there is no ill-will against Ger many il
France. We would have cordially
, welcomed the American federatiyt
. nnion of Germany. What we oppose
is Prussian despotism --Prussian ar
] rogance-the greed and cupidity OF
these new Macedonians. We may
succumb, the thing is possible, but
t when we have fallen England will fee
r that she is nothing any longer on the
: continent. Austria and Italy will be
), slaves, and European civilization will
n suffer an eclipse more formidable thar
: under the reign of Napoleon 1.