The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-31
BISMARCK'S WAR DAYS
IN THE FIELD WITH THE CHANCEL-
LoR TwENTY-FoUR YEARS AGO.
Inst Heroic Figure of Heroic Ep-
och-How He Greeted an American
. Editor-As Phil Sherfdan's Host.

Bismarck is a man with a record so mo-
mentous and character so potential that
the interest in his personality increases
throughout the world. His birthday has
become a festival that far surpasses in pop
ular estimation and political significance
that of the Emperor, who was his creation.
Owing to associated circumstances it has
become known to many that I had in the
course of events of extreme interest
glimpses of this builder of an empire, and
am asked to tell the story once more.
There is some reason for this, for when
thinking of my adventures on the edge of
the military collision Of France and Ger
many nearly a quarter Of century ago,
find there are new lights on the land
scape of history. Persons of middle or old
age know well what change there is in
novels. between readings many years sep
arated. The real stories are found not less
changeable than the fancied ones. when
after the experience of decades, we pick
them UP and hold them to the eye and the
sky.
Those who were around Bismarck when
saw him are all gone-old King William,
me Crown Prince, the. Red Prince, Field
Marshal Moltke, Phil Sheridan; and OF the
vast host of the invaders of France, gilt
tering under the helmet spikes and bayo-
nets. those homesick legions who accepted
their fate SO bravely, myraids are molderfng
in the dust. Indeed, the bones of more than
complete army corps We're added to the
SOL or france. One empire has fallen and
another has risen. The French Emperor
and his son and all the field marshals Of
france-the last was Canrobert-are in their
graves. The tale is told of them ALL
The present Emperor of Germany was
French wine at wissemburg. in the midst
OF bloody field saying: 'sThe wine of
France, gentlemen. is red Theirs and
Is new generation of soldiers in the re-
public of France and the empire of Ger
many. The men born since Sedan will fight
the battles of the next war There remains
alone in his grandeur the Incompatible
Mgure Who lowered above all the men of his
that conceived and constructed the German
empire; the man to whom kings and princes
Instruments with which the map of Europe
was torn and changed. The young Emperor
IN the Hush days of his too early and pre-
mature Imperialism turned against the
great man of Germany to assert the royal
and imperial prerogative, but he could not
GRACE the giant of his race and age and
the young man on the throne has had the
good gs - fortune to become reconciled to the
old statesman, and to have his tardy hon..
age respectfully received.
HAD DONE HIS WORK
The relations Of Bismarck and William
are an sobject lesson showing how much
greater is manhood than monarchy In as
sorting his personal authority, largely Gre
ated for him by Bismarck, to displace the
Iron Chancellor himself. who was the archi-
tect of the splendid edihce of German unity,
the young Emperor displayed not strength.
but weakness, vanity and folly. Bismarck
himself had undue concern for position He
had done his work, and it is better to have
lVed 10 see his immediate successor retired
discounted, the Emperor's own policy I'M
fruitful and ADVERTISEMENTS multiplied,
while the Chancellor of the day goes on a
pilgrimage to the man who personifies the
dignity, the glory and the power of the
Germany he made one nation after the
Sha
into swarm OF sovereignities and king
dons and dukedoms for centuries
Ihere has been feeble effort by the
German court to claim for Frederick
VINO disappears between the Williams-the
there have been, scraps of paper shown as
alleged evide7loe that the brains of the
nnTon were e In he regal family One needs
compare 1t with one of Frederick to see
how.it is. Fredericlx's face is that of an
of good stature, who had a tolerably cor
rect idea Of his own limitations, and re-
lied upon Blumenthal, but was FESTIVE be-
cause the mighty Illuminated shadow of
bismarck as the actual head of the Ger
man an people, was over court and camp.
the dead Emperor was in the constant per-
mission he gave Bismarck and Moltke to
manage affairs of state and the move
ment or armies according to their will and
wisdom and the old man was usually con-
tent to be consulted and to consent-that
was the better way to recognize the royai
prerogative. 1t allowed great men to grow
Ine young man wants to absorb all great
ness and would even appropriate Bismarck
in his old age.
BISMARCK AT THE FRONT.
Moncure d. Conway and /, in the latter
days of July, 1870 left Paris to join the
French army at Metz. where the Emperor
Napoleon was with the main French army,
awaiting the overwhelming masses of Ger
many. Conway was diverted en- route when
told that we would be ARRESTED if we at
tempted to locate ourselves with the French
troops l pushed on, and saw. the condition
of the French army was unsatisfactory,
and wrote the truth about it in a letter of
$500 words, which was dropped in the post
Ways Sorry about losing that letter. s or or.
rather, that others lost it and I failed to
get the reputation for prophetic lore it would
The police were so active at Metz that
proceeded to Strasburg, and the police were
washing my face at the hotel My passport,
furnished by Minister Washburn with many
ribbons and much wax and his wonderful
last saved my life. but that is another story.
l met Conway at Strasburg, where he had
the act of writing of my mysterious disap-
pearanee. We engaged to meet i'm Baden,
just over the River Rhine, and did so, Sc
Letting the hotel of the White Cross in
Basic as the place to get together. We had
to pass through France and Switzerland.
and had business that kept us apart for a
few days. We met as agreed, and to do SO
had transferred ourselves from French to
TO that of Germany.
Moving north though Baden. the roads
lined with walnut trees and cherry trees,
and the vineyards purple and green with
grapes the great red sandstone spre of the
cathedral of Strasburg stood against the
western sky for so many hours it seemed
as Ii 1t might be following us. We thought
there were signs of a great battle the
horizon, but that was a mistake. There was
lighting enough, but too far. for our eye
sight. We We're in Baden when the defeat
of Mcmahon by the Crown Prince took
place, and arrived at Carlsruhe on the day
after the first of the wounded and prison.
ers got there from the battlefield of
Woerth.
We boarded at Mannheim military train,
armed with papers from the War Minister
of Baden, and took possession of coupe,
where we had cigars and writing material,
cakes of chocolate and loaves of bread and
passed nine hours at railroad crossing
where Thomas Mast was born--an example
Of waiting for other army trains to go
ahead We made the acquaintance of many
of the troops. and found my silk hat the
only one in the army, distinction not
distinctly agreeable We got at Kaiser
lantern bottle of beverage supposed to be
white wine. but 4 the most scathing
brandy ever saw, and rs ii could not be
diluted enough to quench the everlasting
flames that We're in 1t we We're at last glad
TO give il away.
At Homburg-not the watering place or
the great commercial city--we were rlauf cd