The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-10-17
AUTUMN ON THE CONTINENT.
reopie Returning From the Summer
Resorts-French and German Army
Manoe and Lorraine.
,espondence OF the Press.l

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS dfto 49,
Especial Correspondence OF the FreSs.I
BALE. Sept. %. 1891.
This optnmn season is a time of change all
| over the,world. People abroad, as at home,
are settling down after summer OF rest and
amusement. Aix-les- Baines, Carlsbad.
Homburg n-Badenland all the public
resorts are closing up. And even little Muir
rem, perched highion the highest Alps, (the
most lofty village Ia the world. came down
in its prices. when the great Stanley with
his broken leg took leave, and all the. Eng
lish churchmen went home.
Men are rushing from this side of the
ocean to that with precipitt us haste. to take
advantage OF the unusual impetus In bust
ness there, brought.on by the.failure of the
crops here. The ocean steamers are literally
full, filled up months in advance, and It is
becoming question to business men wheth-
er to walt their chancellor swim across.
But amidst all tthese changes one thing
here is fact which remains.
THE EMPERoR's BEARD.
The Emperor is growing a beard. and this
goes continuously on, in spite of the stock
exchange, the failure of crops, and every
huctuation In the business world. tits to he
leader in fashionable circles In both CONT.
nents, and is to be styled "The Kaiser
beard" Whether 1t is to be long or short.
pointed or bristly, parted In the middle or
simply to cover both sides of the face or
only the chin, depends upon the final MOOD
and Judgment Of the Kaiser himself. At any
rate, all the young dudes will have to give
up their blonde mustaches and assume an
air OF discreet wisdom, IL they wish to have
DON ton, or care to be en- rigle In their STYLE
and make up.
The fact is William ii. is tired of always
being styled the young emperor" and wish
es now to carry In his person the air of wis
dom and discretion which he affects In all
his military and diplomatic proceedings.
10 seem great general was never more his
ambition than now, as has been brought out
IN the recent man@uvres, which have been
going on for the past month in Germany, as
well as In all parts Of the continent He
still Intends that his army shall be second to
no standing army In the world, and that 1t
snail distance all the armies Of the past, In
skill and brilliancy of tactics.
war is becoming each year more Of a sci
ence In Europe. as these fall manmlvres in
dictate.
ARMY PARADEs IN FRANCE.
At Vitry, the other day, hundreds of thou
sands of people went out to witness the
grand man@uvres of the French army. and
as there was no hope of beds for so many
people In that small town, thousands sal
around in cafes and restaurants and In the
open air, drinking and playing and inviting
their souls generally until the early hours Of
daylight, when the man@uvres were to COM
mence. 1t was splendid mimic battle.
with its smokeless powder and all the mod
ern paraphernalia of war, and proved that
France is as ready for the fray as the other
powers of Europe.
Whether all this science and theoretical
warfare means war In earnest. or whether,
like all theories, and much of the scientific
It Will vanish like the smoke of their smoke
less powder, remains to be seen. Whether
this cid barbarous spirit will work off its
efteryescence In this harmless mimicry, or
Will Undue the actors with more warlike SEN
timents, Is question of the next year or
two; but one thing Is certain, 1t is very Inn
pressiye and acts like narcotic on con-
quered people. For as one witnesses the pa
rades and sees the march of an army through
Its borders, with all the equipments of war.
even to the ambulances, stretchers and sut.
lers' wagons, 1t comes over them with awful
ser seriousness, mat only one step lies between
the animus OF the thing that makes the diff
ference. For when all the nations are mn in
arms, how little metamorphosis would change
the sham OF hostility into actual enmity:
now easy 70 adq tnat and bullets as accesso-
situation is apparent to all; business circles
and diplomatic departments feel IL. and even
the stock exchange vibrates at the possibili-
ties brought out.
GERMAN ARMY NEAR BAsLE.
Not the least interesting of these move
ments mas been going on very near our Swiss
border, right in Alsace and Lorraine, Ger
many's recently conquered territory. The
SOUND Oh tue hiring was sometimes heard
early In the morning at Basic. They first
attracted our attention by our hearing that
the army was crossing the Rhine, about half
h0nrSg hu rafI
three pontoon bridges constructed by them
Tor the purpose.
A reporter followed them up for an entire
day, but only succeeded in locating them at
aaigh. lust as tney weFelbivouacing at great
they observe precisely the same tactics In
this yearly drill that they do in actual war
~lare., and keep up the same secrecy as to
their movements. That day was the Sd Of
| September, Just after "Sedan Day." assigned
| by Austria, Germany and France ais the day
In which to set In motion great bodies Of
| troops.
We learned too late where the fighting for
the following day would be, but at II O'clock
we started out hoping to get the edge of the
battle. We bought tickets for Bartenheim,
two stations from here, in Germany, but
found out nothing but rumors.
On returning the cars were full of people,
and when finally we found place, 1t was in
a car with five gentlemen whom we found
lying on the cushions asleep, covered with
dust and Precipitation. They had walked
from the next station beyond across the cir
Gle 20 Altkish, near the French border, in
stead of going round by Mulhausen in
trains, which connect badly. They said the
fight was alaeady. at midday, over, but at 3
O'Clock in the darkness of the next morning
they would again engage.
These nocturnal battles are said to be very
dangerous for spectators, on aecu unit of the
crash of the cavalry in the dim light.
We knew we should be too late for the
battle, as we had no fancy for night out of
doors in crowd of people, but we hoped to
get a sight of the German army as 1t exists
ready for war-and we did.
ATTITUDE OF CONQUERED ALsAcE.
1t is something of no small interest to en-
ter conquered territory and see the attitude
OF the people with the conquerors marching
through and bivouacing on their domain.
The Germans every day and every hour keep
before these subjects the fact of their subju-
cation. 1t has been their constant practice
| to keep the flower of their army within the
borders of Alsace and Lorraine and to have
| as much of the pomp and magnifcence of
| their power as possible ever before them
| They permit only German to be spoken or
| taught In the schools. But while the Ger
| mans are compelling them to forget their
| sweet mother tongue, the Alsatians are In.
shilling into the minds of the rising genera
tion bitterest hate and revenge, and kindlipg
| volcanic fires which will burst out when OPP
portunity offers.
1t must dampen somewhat the ardor of the
soldiers to notice their comparative recep-
pie at the approach of the army was un-
4 M AnA L.