The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-09-05
The Kaiser nj Metz.

| Inc review at MeCZ OF large pOrClOn OF
tho German army by Emperor WILLIAM H..
| attended by the heir to the throne Of Italy.
will have. and was meant to have. q pro-
found significance for French observers
The spectacle symbolizeB the resolve OF the
German people to grasp firmly all the Ger
man soil recovered from the foreigner. and
such determination may seem to imply
menace Of regaining other lands. which were
once German. but which are now held by
France. The presence. too. Of the Prince Of
NAPLES is equivalent to declaration that
no sense OF gratitude for the former SER
vices Of Frenchmen can break the tie Of In
terest that now binds the house Of SAVOY
to the HoHKN2oLLERNs, and that with re-
gard to Lorraine no less than to the Rhine
land the defiant war song Of the Germans.
"Es sollen sic NIGHT hdben," mo, you shall
never have It," finds an echo in the italian
kingdom.
Metz has been much more thoroughly
Germanized since 1871 than Strasburg. al
though 1t had been In French hands for a
much longer period. It was not until close
to the end Of the seventeenth century that
the free city Of Strasburg was seized by
LOUIS XIV. while It was In tho time Of
HENRY H., almost . century and o half be-
fore. that the Three Bishoprics. OF which
Meta was one, were Incorporated with
French territory. The extreme importance
Of the latter place from strategic point Of
view was from the first appreciated. and not
even their disastrous rout at st. Quentin
could loosen the hold Of Frenchmen on their
prize. 1t was the possession of Metz that
rendered possible the subsequent conquest
pf F1op he ~ b,
still later absorption Of the Duchy Of Lor-
raine upon the south. Metz was the key
stone Of the whole wall Of provinces. grad
ually reared upon the French frontier. and
stretching from the towns upon the Somme
in Picardy to the southern limits OF Franche-
Comt6 The surrender Of Metz to the Ger
mans. after the lapse Of some three hundred
years. meant not only grave actual loss,
but portentous prospective danger.
PROFESSIONALLY. the retention Of Metz
was. as Won Mo1rKR described 1t, an indis-
pensable condition Of the security Of Ger
many. and. 80 long as tho Germans keep 1t,
they may look upon tho Rhine as safe. All
the resources Of modern engineering have
been taxed to make the fortress impregna.
BILE. and. no doubt. as Kaiser WILLIAM II.
reviewed his legions under its walls, he
exulted in the belief that Metz would never
become French again. Yet II there is one
lesson that history Is never weary Of re-
peating. 1t Is that preponderance Of num-
bers Is no guarantee Of success In war. and
that no country. however superior In repute
Is Its military system. can hope to retain o
monopoly Of military genius. Should the
long-expected contest with the Triple ALL
ance break out tomorrow. France, even
although Russia should hold aloof. would
be less outweighed in point Of numerical
strength than was the first French re-
public when she sent HooHH and MoRHAU
to the Rhine. and BoNAPARTE to lead
the ragged horde that called itself the |
Army Of Italy. Won Mo1TKE was q great |
organizer. tactician. and strategist. but !
he was not superior. II equal. in these |
respects to FREDERICK the Great: and the |
system Of organization and tactics which |
Is his legacy to his compatriots. may be |
destined to the fate Of that which was |
pulverized at Auerstadt and at Jena. II |
has been taught US by the French |
1t is that republican institu.
lions are incomparably more favorable
than those OF a monarchy to the discovery
and prompt utilization Of remarkable mill
tary talent.
Let Frenohmen. then. possess their souls
In patience. as they watch the German army
corps deflle within eyeshot Of their shrunken
Greater odds have been over
come In the past by French Generals Of
genius: and with the hope that Ii born OF
they have right to apply to Metz
what DE MUssET said of the great river
which has been fought about for so many
centuries: Your German Rhine has been
ours before. and 1t shall be ours again."