New Iberia enterprise. (New Iberia, La.) 1885-1902, 1898-07-30
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF.


suit of the military movements OF
each side mt the commencement o
the war between France and Ger
many in 1871. At that time Franc
was regarded as. par excellence, tn,
military nation of the continent
All the military experts of the da,
believed that no establishment il
Europe could compare with that o
France in completeness, in tn
spirit of its troops, and the abilit,
of it's commanders, and especial,
in it's readiness. The Emperor from
the day of the notorious coup d'eta
had nursed his people on the Ma
poleonic tradition and systematic
ally sought to divert their mino
from his sordid tyranny at home b,
victories abroad, just Us Emperor
William now appears anxious t.
have an opportunity of doing.
Yet when Napoleon, possibly il
excess of confidence, but more pro
bnbly in desperation, provoked tn,
struggle with Prussia it was soor
made manifest that his military
establishment, with all the outer
show of tinsel and gold braid, was
a mere shell that concealed the rot
tenness and corruption within
And, whatever the military experts
and the statesmen of Europe may
have thought, however blind to the
facts they may have been, it was
subsequently revealed that the
German officials, military and civil
were entirely with familiar the inter
mi weakness of the French military
establishment. And, knowing their
own readiness for war at every
point, it is not surprising that pro
baby every officer from Won MOlkte
down to the lowest subordinate,
entered into the conflict with a sub
lime confidence in favorable re-
suit. In an article on this subject
the New York Times makes the
following quotation from an Eng
lishman's review of volume by
one of the Prussian General Staff
describing it's work in 1870:
"The army had been organized
in peace time for war. The intel
ligence department had certain in
that the French army
was not SO prepared. in modern
war, where railroads and telegraph
wires have minimized distances,
The army which. is. ready first gains
81 advantage which it's .less.pre.
pared Toe viii ffnd it impossiB1e to
make good. The sword already
sharp smitcs down relentlessly,
while the armorer is laying the
other to the stone. This truth was
grasped by every officer on the
German staff, and so they played
whist and smoked with calm COM
placency during the journey to the
frontier. There was no hurry, no
into few hours what
should have been the work Of years,
little or no anxiety"
There was no reason for anxiety,
for it was perfectly certain that
Prussia could exert oil her strength
ut once and where it could be most
effective. AS an evidence Of the
of history to repeat it.
self, the Times, which is one Of the
nblest, cleanest and most cOnserva-
tive newspapers in the Union COM
ments as follows:
1.-The secret Of the French disas-
ter is an open one. The army had
been steadily and with increasing
used for political pur-
poses. Appointments and promo
lions to some extent in the army
itself and very largely in the ad-
branches, had been
made to strengthen the Imperialist
Party to make head against the
growing discomfort. The War De-
partment in all its ramificati0ns
was crowded with men chosen not
For integrity, knowledge and capa-
city, but on account of the political
influence they could command.
Some of the worst appointments
were the price paid for votes or to
silence criticism in the Corps Le-
gislatif. Places thus obtained were
nsed to make money by favoritism
in contracts for supplies by winking
1t defective work and material. and
by oil the forms Of direct and in
direct corruption known to the
spoils system. The Emperor had,
in effect, bartered the efficiency of
his army for political support, but
he had Mt least this excuse, that he
was threatened with revolution, and
chose what seemed a more remote
il not less peril.
"On a smaller scale, and with no
such consequences in sight, the
United States are enduring in their
War Department evils of like
nature and source. It is the spoils-
man at the head and the spoils
system all through the department
hat have caused the wretched and
costly confusion and delay in put
ling our little army in the field and
in operating it when there. Not
only have we not organized the
army in peace time for the war,
but in time Of actual war we have
seen the paralyzing influence Of
politics interfering at every stage
with the vital work in hand. Mr..
Alger is the living embodiment of
The vicious principle, which brought
the Government of Napoleon Iii to
ruin. And the President, who put
Mr.. Alger in the War Department,
had no excuse for doing so and has
none for keeping him there"
Ds. CHsiv's Condition TOscaers
are just what horse needs when in bad
Tonic, blood purifier and
They are not food hut medicine
4 L.. A.. =.