Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1891-06-19
A GREAT GERMAN.
Count Won Moltke the Famous
Soldier and Patriot.
Brief Review of His Grand Life of Four
Score Years and Ten and His Services
to His Coantry-The Secret of
lis Longevity.

Few and evil, even at their longest
and their best, are the days of mortal
life" So in effect, says the Saturday
Evening Herald, sang the patriarch
Job, twenty centuries before the advent
of Christ; and the world is singing that
same song to-day. Few at best, even
If they should stretch out to three score
years and ten! Life looks long in the
morning, but when the shadows gather
and the day declines how speedily the
hours seem to have fed. Seventy years
looks n long, long time, viewed from
the sunny hillside of early youth But
the days of seventy years are all too
few for the great purposes that crowd
and throng the busy ways Of life; and
how few there are who ever reach this
far away goal! To the overwhelming
majority the days are few indeed, and
to very many 1t would seem as if they
were almost as full of evil as of good.
All the world, and Germany especially,
has just had its attention called TO a
very remarkable man, whose days have
run in parallel lines with this eventful
century. Gen. Count Won Moltke was
born in the year 1900. 1t was his rare
1Ob ~ bCA@A TIC SNeAA Va AOA
four score years and tenl Ii faithful
record of this great Germans life could
be made a record of facts, of thoughts,
of feelings; n record of observations as
well as experiences, of defeats as well
as victories; true life of the man and
of his time, what an invaluable treas
ure it would be. It would be history
of the century from a German stand
point, from a great soldiers point
of view. There are some things
about this grim old soldier worth
a passing thought at least. He
is regarded-by all Germans, of
course, and by many who are
not Germans, as the greatest soldier of
this century. None win deny that his
ability, his sagacity and his success
make sweeping mark in the military
history of the time. When he fought,
he fought to win, and he generally did
win. But this is to be said in his honor
that he did not delight in war, and that
Us far as possible he sought to keep
peace amongst the nations of the earth
When war became anecessity, and he
believed it was often necessity, then
he wanted it TO be short, sharp and de-
cisive. He was oftener inclined to
''hold" than to ''let slip" the dogs of
war There would have been more
wars and more disastrous wars this GEN.
tury II it had not been for the restrain
ing policy of Gen. Won MoltlSe. AS
a patriot, u disciplinarian and
leader he ranks with the Duke of
Wellington and with our Washing
- ~ 7 3
est work was done in his maturer
age. He was scarcely known outside
of Prussia till he was more than sixty
years old The hardest and best work
of his life was done when he had passed
the three score years and ten. Up to
August, 1883, when he resigned the of
fee Of chief of staff, he did all the rou-
tine work that office demanded. Gen.
Won Moltl1e was indeed grand Old man.
Bismarck will miss him sorely, and now
that his emperor is no more = for
William can hardly be called Bis
marcb's emperor-and his old comrade
In arms is gone, he too will soon gin
30 be aweary o. the SUM-" Not long ago
an American physician wrote TO most
of the notable octogenarians and asked
thc stcrSt VI theI tohkc'ity' hoAIhS
letter was long and characteristic. All
of Importance was crowded into the
last paragraph which we herewith
quote, and SO close our notice of the
grand old German soldier.
III asked TO name the factors which In my
opinion have contributed most TO my great lon
gcvity. / should say they are:. First, temper
ancc IN all the Affairs Of life; second, exercise
in the open air daily under all circumstances
without regard TO the inclemency OF the wealth
err; third, regularity In ny hours OF sleep, my
Diet and all my other habits; last-and above
ALTO the grace. mercy and goodness OF Him
who SO wisely and benehcently rules the uni
verse;