New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-05-08
A NEW DANGER TO FRANCK.

The seyerest struggle which the Versailles
Government has to make for its salvation must
be fought out elsewhere than at Paris and 1t
is not to be with insurgent Frenchmen. There
the result is assured though delayed; and
hampered by the iron circle which the armies
of Versailles and of Germany have conformity
thrown about them, the Communists have
but brief existence before them. The
worst, as well as the mightiest enc
my of France, is still the Germans,
whom, to her degradation and her ruin. she
madly provoked to an unequal conflict. 1t is q
battle of the Diplomatists; and past struggles
of this kind have shown that the strongest
and wisest of Frances foreign ministers. jules
Favre, cannot cope with Prince Bismarck. 1t
is these two who now engage at Frankfort-on-
the Main, and the Frenchman has already sui
fered a reverse which well nigh disables him.
The particulars of the interview between
the two Ministers are given in our dispatches
elsewhere. Briefly stated, they are simply
confession by nj. Favre that France cannot
pay the first installment of the indemnity, now
overdue since the list of April, and refusal
by Prince Bismarck to wait any longer NJ
Fayre wanted more time, and also some OF
the forts on the eastern side of Paris, but
Prince Bismarck declined both favors, and
added that further delay would entail serious
consequences on the Versailles Government.
This issue of an interview solicited by NJ
Theirs to remove obstacles to the negotiation
of a permanent peace. is startling but not I'M
expected. The difficulties long since developed
at Brussels, where the treaty is negotiating,
are wholly of a financial character. The
French want the Germans to take French
stocks as security for the indemnify, and the
Germans unhesitatingly refuse. NJ Theirs
naturally wishes to make it the interest of
Germany to maintain not only the Govern
ment it has recognized, but the credit of the
Republic; while Prince Bismarck on the other
hand is reluctant to do anything which sus-
tains French power. With all bis great saga
city and foresight, the German Chancellor
falls into the common error OF European Dip
lomatsts of building their own States upon
the ruins of neighbOring Empires and depend
ing for prosperity and safety upon the mis-
fortunes and the weakness of others. He Is
not anxious to see French influence increase,
and will certainly do nothing to sustain French
credit What does he care if the indemnity Is
never paid7 Nothing would probably suit
him better than that France should wholly
fail to pay single installment, for he could
and would foreclOse the mortgage which he
holds on her by virtue of the presence of a
large army in all the provinces OF any value
30 Germany He has not attempted to conceal
what his policy would be in the event OF
Frances failure, now confessed, to pay in
hard gold, even though it ruins her. He has
said he would not hesitate to use the army
and annex the occupied provinces; in other
words, and these his own strong terms, he
would edo as the caterpillars do on tree.
:" Even as they devour leaf after leaf
"till the tree dies, so he will seize province
"after province until France shall be no more"
Meantime every day of delay at Brussels makes
the conditions harder for France, and increases
the possibilities of her further disntegratOn
The cost of feeding the German army of occu-
patton alone is 100000 day to France, while
the long-continued struggle at Paris is still
more exhausting and rapidly depletes the treas
ury. The financial question with France is, iii
consequence of these demands of the Germans
the most serious which presents itself, and the
French President, King, or Emperor who solves
il will deserve the place he will win.