The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1895-06-29
DIPLOMAT AND SOLDIER.

The young Kaiser of Germany is a
| diplomat as well as soldier, says an
exchange. He glories In army ma
neuTers and keeping the German army
| what it was created when his grand
father won great victories: he talks of
peace, but he surrounds himself with
all the glories of military power. He
has kept Europe in a state of expec-
fancy more than any other ruler be-
cause he has shown the same love for
display of military pomp that charac-
terized the great Napoleon and made
him feared of all Europe. But the
kaiser has also some'of the diplomatic
sense that was conspicuous in Ma
poleon. He does not court war with
nation over which Germany has once
triumphed, so long as the terms of
peace made by Germany are allowed
to remain in force.
1t must have been disappointment
to the French radicals when the French
war ships were given the greatest
honor among the guests at the Kiel
celebration. The league of patriots
of Paris half-masted flags when the
government accepted the invitation of
Germany to take part in the celebra-
tion at the opening of the Kiel canal.
Some of the conservative French
statesmen regretted that the invitation
had been received, and blamed their
ambassador at Berlin for not prevent
ing its being sent to Paris. There
was uneasiness all over France, and in
fact throughout Europe, for fear some
thing might occur at KEEL that would
offend France.
But Kaiser Wilhelm showed excel
lent diplomacy and captured the hearts
of the French representatives and sea-
men by the attention sshown to the
French gunboats, the German bands
playing the '!Marseillaise'' and thou
sands of German soldiers and citizens
cheering the French naval vessels as
they passed. The Frenchmen cannot
hold aloof from any one who sings the
sMarseillaise," and to hear this mar
tial air played by German bands while
German soldiers saluted the French
tri-color and cheered the French ves-
sells and the French soldiers and sea-
men on board, was welcome from Ger
many that no Frenchman could resist
or fail to regard with the greatest good
will and enthusiasm.
The German emperor seems to have
successfully engineered great fete, in
which he was the central figure, and
while surrounded with all the pomp of
military display he made it the great
est demonstration of force and good
will to his ancient enemy and most
sensitive neighbor.
In this he showed diplomacy of
high order. Germany is more in dan
ger of a breach with Russia than with
any other power. Russian aggression
is more liable to interfere with Ger
many's domestic and foreign policies
than with those of any other European
power, except England. The canal is
for commercial advancement, but it is
also for naval advantages, to guard
against an attack from both Russia
and Farnce, at the same time to di-
vide the German navy. But, while
preparing for every advantage of war,
the Emporer of Germany also employs
diplomacy to keep on good terms with
the French nation, which has no cause
for trouble with Germany except the
remembrance of the loss of Alsace
and Lorraine. There has been moth
ing in the demonstration at Kiel more
significant than the attention shown to
France by Germany, and the good feel
ing manifest by the representatives of
both nations, when the emperor of
Germany and the president of France
were toated in the same speech by a
German officer on French warship.