St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-27
BoULANGER. THE IDOL.
He Would Like to Be President,
but Is Engaged in No Conspir-

He Would Like to Be President,
but Is Engaged in No Conspir-
acy.
A Paris correspondent of the New
York World has had an interview with
Gen. Boulanger, from which the follow
ing is extracted:
Yes; aspire to the presidency.
always have, and have the greatest
confidence that one day l will be so
chosen by the great majority of the
S,0OO,OO0 French electors. | have the
greatest faith in my political platform,
which has not become less since nearly
l,OOO,0OO of my countrymen have ap.
proved it at the polls. Pray do not &C.
cuse me in your paper of an oyerween-
Ing confidence in my petite personality.
such is not the case. But it is the
knowledge that | have. as others have
not, subordinated my will to the will of
the people. That France is behind me.
With this knowledge l act-agitate il
you VIII. | have. L know, more than
One-half OF the country behind me.
When the time comes, and the mandate
for which L have asked is given, you
will find in Gen. BoIlanger not the
autocrat. the tyrannical usurper, as the
real CeSariStS would have you believe,
but simply 'Boulanger, the first servant
of the Republic
"How miSerably weak and in want OF
weapons my enemies must be when they
charge me with plotting the restoration
Here and there, perhaps, in prOmiscu
Gus France. there are little hamletS, far
out of touch with the spirit of the times
where some few stolld. supplemented
peasants dream of the day when the
King will come back But these ara
anachronisms fast disappearing before
the march of education and enlighten.
ment. Were |. or any one else. to en-
deayor to bring back the Comte de Paris
or a B0naparte, nine-tenthS of all tbs
French would rise up and say, not
Shoot the traitorr but rather. Have the
poor wretch placed in Clarendon
france Is as Solidly Republican as Amer
lea, and has noroOm for Caesars or uSurp
ers."
Then, mon General, they charge you
with endeavoring to foment war, with
posing as the apostle of ravanche."
Encore deS menSonges, +" replied the
general. Il hate war and feel its com.
ing, as can only man who has seen
the misery and the distress that follow
in its footsteps. We do not fight with
mercenaries in Europe now. When
war is declared every father, every huS
band, every brother in the land leaves
his home, to which only some return
The man who leads his country with q
light heart into such scenes as | hays
seen, and which your Imagination car
easily picture, is a million times muir
derer, for whom no human punishment
is adequate
And Alsace and LOrraine?" | said.
The general paused.
Il counsel no war. [ have said thai
am man of peace aS-no paradox,
assure you-only soldier can be. But
there are wars which are inevita Die, and
which those handS-nOt human-that
direct the destinies of men bring about,
Great wrongs are always righted, and
our brothers of yesterday will be our
brothers tomorrow. France seeks to
live at peace with all nations. Only
when some other power, be it Germany,
Austria, Italy, or England, tramples
under foot our rights, treats US at home
or abroad with want of respect and fair
dealing. only then, after the resources
of peace have all been exhausted, would
| appeal to the dread arbitrament of
war. Who can count upon the god OF
battles? How often have the beSt-laid
plans been frustrated, and campaigns
instinct with military genius resulted i'll
disastrous failures"
SHOULD the war come, mon general,
as the prophets say it is coming, be-
tween France and Germany, what do
you think of your chanceS|'
"Monsieur, in just cause, with
united country behind them-a country
that knows the war has not been sought
with frivolous purpose or with selfish
intent-meS braves can thrash the world
in arms" HIS eyes were flashing ROW,
ard down the library as though anxious
to be ''up and at 'em." But remember
that am for peace; that peace means
the prosperity of the people as surely as
war brings with it WO."