The silver blade. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1895-1903, 1896-04-04
B1sMARKs slsT ANNIvERsARY
Famous Old German HOnOred nv rs.
COuntrymen.

sary of his birth, the veteran warrior
and statesman privately expressed the
opinion that it would be the last time
| that his friends would be afforded tho
opportunity of so doing him honor. At
| that time he was sorely afflicted with
| govt and rheumatism, and which. in
combination with mental depression. re-
sulting from the loss of his brave and
| noble wife, who had been the mainstav
| of his declining years, had produced
such condition of body and mind that
| even those of his immediate familv
were doubtful Of his ability to long sur
/ vive. God has been good. however, to
| the Grand Old Man" of United Ger
many, and 1t speaks volumes for his
vitality and wonderful powers of recun
Grafton that today, on the S1st anniyer-
! sary of his birth, he seems in as good a
| condition physically and mentally as
| in the closing year Of his public career
when he threw down the gage to the
| boy emperor and precipitated a contest
which, although it resulted in his re-
| tirement placed him higher than ever
| in the estimate of the civilized world.
| The usual pilgrimage to the ''house
under the elmS' at Friedrichsruhe went
on today, the delegations coming on
from this city, as we'll as from Ham,
burg, Bonn, Leipzig. Munich. Frank
! rt-on-the-M Main, Nuremberg. Bremen
Stuttgart. ChemnitZ and other places.
The iron chancellor" received in the
large hall of his residence delegation
from each Of the Populations, with him
being Count Herbert Bismarck and wife
and his son-in-law, Count Won Rantzau.
and wife, and afterwards witnessed
from the balcony procession of the
delega tons.
Tonight there was a big torchlght
procession in the grounds of Friedrichs-
ruhe, headed by the Hamburg delega-
ton simultaneously there We're torch
light professions and banquets in large
number Of cities, towns and villages
| throughout the empire. and bonfires
We're lighted on the high hills and
mountains.
! The wires to Friedrichsruhe were bur-
| dened today with dispatches of congrat-
ulation.
tt is understood that the emperor
WROTE kindly lette- of greeting to
his eX-chancellor just before starting
on his Mediterranean tour.
AT THE HOME TOWN
Friedrichsruhe. April l.-Prince Bis
marck was 81 years old today and in
honor of the event the bands played
in Schloss park all morning. Represen-
tatives from Hamburg were sent. bear
ing congratulations, and several friends
waited upon the prince, who also re-
ceived many floral tributes and pres
ents and a large number Of kilograms
including one from Prince Henry OF
Prussia. Emperor Williams present to
| the prince was photograph of the i'm
perial family in a group.
Prince Bismarck entered the salon at
| 11:30 and found displayed on table his
| birthday presents. He was affectionate-
| ~ greeted by his son, Count Herbert
| Bismarck, and by his stepdaughter
Countess Rantzau. Among those who
| were the earliest in presenting congrat-
ulations to Prince Bismarck were Cen
| eral Count Won Waldersee and a depu-
| tation from the Halberstadt cuirassiers.
Count Won Waldersee and the Halber-
stadt officers dined with Prince BIS
| marck. Afterwards special trains from
Hamburg brought some 5000 people here
! including 300 torchbearers
Replying to an address Of congratula-
| ton, Prince Bismarck said the goou
will of his neighbors was necessity 70
| every Christian German. He was
pleased at having enjoyed the constant
sympathy of the Hamburgers, which ne
had never lost, as he had lost several
| others sympathies. III conclusion, nc
| called for cheers for Hamburg and us
rulers.