Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-07-29
BOULANGER.
m ASPIRATIONS OF A wouLp-ss
DICTATOR.
Opinions Of Leading French Adi'et
Gathering war-ciouds-r France and
Germany Russia.


IA H,roid's Paris special says !:
General Boulapger and the sensational
Article IN Sundays Figaro Is still on
every tongue. Opinions are much DE-
vidsd a. 10 whether the General Is
really Q public danger or good Repub-
f;cap. 1 interviewed half dozen lead
jrs Paris editors on the subject to-day,
and found that, like the rest OF The
world, they took very various v'ews
about the General. NJ, Arthur Meyer,
ire director Of the MenAreass, ssssie's.
for instance, saw Aiess oil coNSsssf 20
so,r. NJ. Laureat, he dsF~ssS n The
Opportunist Pare, a. NE sssussy,
saw everything Sstssse ~ sVseN
~, MsNSs,
"Gsn.fsl ReasansssH said NJ.
Never. "ltls al ssssssas, dreams Of
military slery, fss s@Ss " Minister OF
War Is 70 psvgAss Rss syental war.
The rN. az the President and his Min
ists-, is 10 preserve peace. You need
onlv go back to General Boulanger's
df,s, into public life and reflect on the
unf.yorahle comments elected in Ger
MANY by his rise TO power to see that
Bismarck considered the plans sttribu-
ted 10 him IS . threat to the peace OF
Europe. Jules Fer-y's dream was e
German alliance. Boulanger and his
friends have. unless / am much mis-
taken, q very different ideal.
RoyALIsTs NOT AFRAID.
"why. you say" continued Meyer,
"are the Royalists afraid of Boa.
IApgers
"They are not afraid. The General
ia creation Of circumstances, an arti-
fetal growth, an outcome Of the public
dislike for distractions. People were
tired of crying, Vie qUelque chose -
and they were glad to cry, 'Vire Quelque
'un,' For the moment they shout,
sVirs Boulanger - Ere long they may
shout, Wire lie Roi y
EVER LUCKY.
General Boulanger is lucky. He
WAS lucky at Champigny lucky in his
quarrel with NJ. Cambon, the TunisIan
Resident lucky in having Clemenceau
for a friend lucky in having expelled
the princes; lucky in having q fine
black horse to prance about at reviews
lucky even in having had pistol which
missed fire. 1t remains to be seen
whether luck will, in his case, serve in
lieu of genius. Until now the authors
of pronunciamentos have had their own
or their ancestors victories to excuse
them.
care we degenerated enough to let
the glories Of race-course replace the
elories of the battlefield? Who knows
"The Royalists should, / think, re,
joice to see Q dissolviDg element like
Boulapger introduced into the Republi'
can ranks.
NO NEED TO FEAR HIM.
Certainly there is no need to fear
him. Whether the General could exc
cute q coup d'etat with success in the
face of General Saussier, the Governor
of Paris, and of Paris itself, | cannot
say. lie comes at psychological no
ment. 1t has often been said that the
head of q State cannot make coup
d'etot without the help Of the Minister
of War. Perhaps the Minister of War
has less need Of the head Of the State
for the same purpose. Five hundred
men would have sufliced to overthrow
the Republic on the day Of Langson.
The defeat became know here, and Jules
Ferry fell. don't known more Of the
Gene; al than the public knows, but |
am inclined to believe him ambitious,
and I know that when he was in COM
mand in Tunis he intrigued to get the
command in Tcnquin."
A sKEPTIC.
"Do take Boulanger seriously )"
said NJ. Edwards, the young editor.in-
chief Of lie Matin, who was next in
terviewed. "Do /? don't. be.
lieve he is a humbug-a circus-riding
general. don't believe he aspires to
. dictatorship. ] don't believe in any
of the wild schemes attributed to him
least Of all that he has any intention to
plunge US into war with Germany.
am surprised that you trouble your
heads about him on the other side o
the Atlantic.
"He's brave enough yes, but he'I
only another General Farre--good a
ordering changes, regulation cut o
the soldiers whiskers, and Suppression
OF reiutroducing drums into the army
Yet he has managed to become bette
known than any Minister Of War "
have bad since 1870.
ave dearly love glitter, but l don
think Paris would stand dictatorsh'
now, though Gambetta might have o.
come dictator once il so minded. ie
Boulsnger is O pleasant man, l unde
stand, though don't know him pc
sonally; but be has changed his opll
ions too often. When he was colon
at Besancon under the Due d'Aumal
for instance, no was always the fir
officer to appear at mass, and pass'
for something of Conservative. No
the Royalists are positively afraid
him. lie is their bogy. For my ov
part, take him to be a mere sens
tion."
A BELIEVER IN THE GENERAL.
NJ. Charles Laurent, the director
lie Paris, and long the intimate frie
Of Gambetta, spoke differently of
General. 81 have been rather hard
him myself" said he, sat times, esI
cially in commenting on that Sauss
affair the other day. But l believe
il . good Republican, little too ju,
nile, perhaps little too ostentatious
but incapable Of the thing imputed
him. There's no danger Of war
danger Of q coup d'ttat. 1t is OF
natural that the Royalists should att,
him. How could they praise him a
he had expelled the princes b
LANCER has faults and merits in
character. He may be too demons
lively Republican, but, at all events
10 thorough"
DICTATORSHIP INEVITABLE.
- A prominent Republican journal
whom ! saw soon after, took q m
gloomier view. First begging me
20 ynenfian his name no said 20