The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-09-24

an event of the slightest political import
ance. The only one of the three who is
theoretically absolute is the car, and he
is too busy keeping out of the way OF
bombshells to exercise any other imperial
functions. The chief proof of ability to
rule that the emperor of Germany has
ever given is his disposition to take the
advice Of people who know more than
himself, while Francis Joseph is without
much significance as factor in the pol
itics of Austria, which in turn are of
steadily diminishing Importance in the
politics OF Europe. 1t is quite certain,
therefore, that the conference of emperors
will do no business, and the only justifica-
ton of the meeting must be that 1t is an
imposing spectacle, calculated to establish
the peace of Europe and to influence the
patriotism of the Teutonic and Slavonic
peoples by showing how very friendly the
Romanoffs and Hohenzollerns and Haps-
burgs are. 1t is about century too late
for an imperial conference to accomplish
this purpose, even if the three anachron.
isms were to meet in the capital of one
of them, and to paint it red with all
manner of pageantries. But when it is
necessary not merely to meet in an OBJ
scure place, but to keep the meeting place
secret, lest some evil-disposed persons
should blow up the assembled emperors
with dynamite, the meeting becomes not
merely Intellectual as an international
demonstration of anything, but grotesque
and ridiculous as o pageant, and when an
emperor becomes ridiculous he has out.
lived his usefulness, even as a fgurehead
Emperors have heretofore had the advsn-
tage over conspirators against imperial
ism, that the conspirators could not meet
except by stealth and under terror of dis
persion and arrest by the police. Now
the tables are so far turned that the en-
perors have been driven to confer in secret
upon the means of evading the conspira-
tors. The danger is that casual nihilist
may find the temptation of exploding
three emperors at time too much for
him, or that platoon of nihilists may
'pull the emperors as disorderly persons
who are presumably plotting some mis-
chief. This would be an unfounded sus-
picion. The conversation of the three
emperors will be quite innoouous, though
they will doubtless deplore the growth of
pestiterous doctrines of equality, and they
may exchange their recipes for the best
hygienic measures to be taken against
dynamite. But it is hopeless to reason
with the nihilists, encouraged, as they
are, by the successful explosion of car,
and determined to hunt surviving emper-
ors to their Businesses. If they find out
where the meeting is to be held they will
assuredly make preparations for an ex.
plosion of emperors on a scale of unpre-
cedented grandeur. The only way of de-
feating this scheme is to keep the place
of meeting secret, and the idea of three
unimportaut persons meeting with the
utmost precautions under pretense of talk
ing politics when everybody knows that
they can have nothing of any Importance
to say is one calculated to excite not the
reverence but the mirth of mankind. The
stage direction Scene-A lonely wood.
Enter three emperors, Masked takes
people at once out of the serious depart.
ment of life into the domain of opera
bouffe. Such meeting would do more
to discredit the institution of royalty than
even the queens book about John Brown"