Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-07-16
MARSHAL
Ehe Exiled French Commander Talks
About the Surrender of Metz.

AAo Gxhed French Commander Talks
About the Surrender of Metz.
An Interesting conversation with Mar
'hal Bazaine, at present living in exile
1t Madrid, is published by a morning
paper. Despite the volumes that have
been written On the subject, the con-
versation is calculated to throw some
additional light on the dramatic events
Of 1870. The Marshal is now seventy
1--WE Years old, bloated, whitc-bearded
md decrcpid; and, according to his in
terlocutor, he bears his dishonor and
his exile with the utmost resignation,
not to say indifference. He began the
conversation by saying that he was very
little known in France because he had
always been in the field, where he won
his distinctions step by step, and fight
ing as q soldier. He was called ss1he
Man OF Metz" and was made re-
sRonsible for all that had taken place,
although the capitulation had been adj
violated by the council of defense. Be-
sid(s, he did not take the command on
August 10, because the Emperor-.who,
although he was very i'll, was the master
and trb!ter of the situation-was pres
ent. Referring to the charge brought
against him Of having mixed up politics
with his duty as a soldier, the Marshal
denied this. His misfortune after the war
was to have been on good terms with M.
R0uher, and to have called on M. Theirs
instead of going to pay his respects to
M. Gambetta at the Hotel DIES Reservoirs
in Versailles, where the tribune was be-
ing made a good deal of by certain Gen
erals. Moreover, the task of pleading
the Marshal's cause with Gambetta was
afterward delegated to a M. de Valfort,
who, instead of doing so, drew up a
hostile report against him, which de-
cided the tribune to act. 1t was not
true that he had done any thing in a
political way, except to remain firm in
his allegiance to the Emperor.
The worst of it was that after Sedan
the army was split up into Bonapartists,
Orleanists, LegitirHists and Republicans.
For my part, l asked Prince Frederic
Charles of Prussia what Importance was
to be attachedto the Government of ma
tional defense? | only knew that it was
composed of four O five barristers. The
Prince replied that the Government OF
national defense was not even reeog-
nized by all the powers"
Asked whether he had not erred by
thus corresponding with the enemy,
the Marshal avcrred that he had
perhaps overstepped his limits by doing
SO. His object was to assemble the
Chambers at Rheims and to get them tc
appoint a Government which should ar
range the treaty of peace. He was o.
opinion that peace should have beer
signed after Forbach. Again returning
ing to the subject of Metz, the Marsha
brought forward strong charges against
his colleague, Marshal MacMahon.
"MacMahon it is who should have
been most blamed. Why did he give
battle without 4 chance of success? Hi
defeat produced a deplorable impression
at Metz. Instead of ordering out tn,
Third and Fifth army corps he opposed
to the Germans the First or Africa,
corps, which is no good out of Algiers
He should at least have gone into an en-
trenchel position at Strasburg, ant
after TINT all that was left to him was t.
fall back on Verdun. Had he gon,
toward Verdun 1 might have attacked
the real of the Germans with one hun
bred thousand men,"
The Marshal repeated that it was i'm
possible to get out of Metz with safety
The place might have been held a it'll
longer had the garrison eaten rats, bu
the %prolongation of the situation would
have been useless. As to his sentence o
twenty years. Imprisonment, the Mar
shall seemed to lay the blame of it OF
Marshal MacMahon, for he thinks M
Theirs would have pardoned him alto
gether. Finally the broken soldier feebl,
complained that he was penniless, ant
that he might at least have been allowed
his pension to keep him from starva
ton. His wife, a Spaniard, had gon.
20 Mexico to look after some house
property given to him by the Emperor
Macmillan in halcyon DAYS, and hi