Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1874-10-20
THE Won ARNIM AFFAIR.

correct version, from reliable
source, of the recent arrest of Count
Won Arnim. 1t says that TIE recent
hostilities between the German and
French in the spring of 1871 imposed
upon Bismarck the task of perfect
ing the work of an informal treaty.
1t was necessary that the Chancellor
should have the aid OF an exper-
fenced diplomatist in arranging the
papers. Available at the time was
Count Won Arnim, to whom was
confided, under Bismarck's super
vision, the preparation OF the treaty
of peace and obligation on the part
of France. Won Arnim was sent to
Paris in 1872 as Ambassador, eX-
plicitly charged to maintain the
most peaceful and agreeable course
in all his dealings with the French
officials. Bismarck himself pre-
pared the instructions which were to
guide Count Won Arnim in his new
position. No sooner had the Am
bassador presented his credentials,
and been accepted by Theirs, than
he began to make offensive state
ments to every one concerned with
the French Government, and his
first step was the most extraordinary
and unprecedented, addressing En-
peror William privately, criticising
the policy of Bismarck as unworthy
the Government, and excusing the
familiarity on the ground that he
could not confidentially commune
cate through the Foreign Office.
This was the beginning of the cor
respondence between Bismarck as
Chancellor and Won Arnim as Am
bassador, which lasted until the
early part of last spring, comprising
eighty-two letters which Won Arnim
withdrew from the archives of the
embassy of Paris and which the
German Government thought a
criminal offense, and which the
Court at Berlin now seeks to recov-
er. The letters of Won Arnim to
the Emperor We're simply sent to
the Chancellor, resulting in short
and imperative note to the Count
that correspondence on matters
relating to the policy and interests
of the Empire must be held only
with the Foreign Office, which Won
Arnim said was to forbear public
recognition of his course to such
time as it could be done without
scandal to the diplomatic relations
of Germany with France. Won
Arnim's next step was to indirectly
engage the French press in the
quarrel. From time to time articles
appeared in the leading Paris jour
nails antagonistic to Bismarck. The
Foreign Office commenced an inves-
tigation, and was soon satisfied that
Won Arnim was secretly plotting
against the peace of the Empire, and
doing all in his power to embarrass
relations between Paris and Berlin.
When Won Arnim was directed by
Bismarck to assure MacMahon of
the entente cOrdiaIe on the part of
Germany toward France, Won Ar
MIN replied that he was not on good
terms with MacMahon and could
not communicate with him. Bis
marck replied that he must maintain
friendly relations with the French
Government. In January last the
matter had reached crisis. There
was but one remedy-to recall Won
Arnim and send him to Constan
tinople. He was relieved and or
dered to Turkey. A letter was re-
ceived at the Berlin Fofeign Office
from the Chief of Records of the
Paris Embassy, stating that con-
fidential letters belonging to the
archives of the legation were miss
ing, and there was no explanation
for it. They were the reproving
letters of Bismarck to the Count,
containing the whole history of
Count Won Arnim's attempt to pre-
JUDGE the Emperor against his
Chancellor. Whether the Court of
Appeals will sustain Won Arnim s
claim of a proprietary right to the
letters in question as a matter of
Importance to the United States, as
to every other Government recog-
niZing the usages Of society.