The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-08-16
BISMARCK AND. THE FRENCH.
Over His Grave Clemeaceau's Pen Drips
vitriol Evoked by Bitter Memories.

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views Oh Prince Bismarok's life and work.
He is severe judge. He writes:
!. when die, the world will say OUT
taught were Napoleon's words in fan
ticipation of his death. Bismark is dead,
and not a sigh of relief has been called
forth by his end. Why? Because he has
been SO long dead. When he was at the
summit OF his giddy ascent, the master
who was his pupil. the man for whom he
had saturated the Continent with blood
and crushed m illions of human creatures
without pity, kicked him aside into the
abyss He fell, never to rise, and the abyss
took no pride in it's prey. The penanoe
of the former crusher of humanity was
to outlive himself and to see him whom
he taught to revolt against his father, the
mild Frederick, applying the lessons ne
received against the preceptor. The I'M
ruly disciple decided to govern without
mentor, and to show Germany that the
providential man was miserable wreck
that lay across his path and must DO got
rid Of But the example would not have
been complete If the living corpse had
taken refuge in silence. He did not un-
derstand the dignity of holding his
tongue. His vain recriminations and
angry complaints only enhanced the
triumph of the ungrateful master. a i !
CHOW all is over That incarnation OF
tumult, of furious brutality, aud Of craft
that was Bismarck is swallowed up In the
night of the tomb. There will be little
more noise and chatter over the event,
and then the name, and what Is called
thu fame, of Bismarck will b. relegated to
the justice of history. We have seen him
"a brazen liar-falsify documents to
force on war by a cowardly trick; we
have seen him gloat over massacre that
he willed and manifest savage joy at the
sight; we have seen him tread under foot
every human sentiment, let loose pillage
and incendiarism, insult the vanquished,
shoot the intrepid heroes whose only
crime was to defend their mother country.
During the heavy orgies that Busch de-
scribes the ogre cracked jokes at the name
less sufferings of a great capital. In the
riotousness of his bestial domination one
finds argumen tatiye reason and the vile
calculation amt greed of 'usurper, who
is determined that every pound of flesh
shall be worth its weight in gold. The
robbery of the Guelph fund; at Yer
sailles. 2 000, 900, 600 squeezed as an after
thought on the stairs out of Jules Favre,
and then the dismeIu BERN emit and the
five milliards which he expected would
exhaust the blood of France drop by
drop. He regretted that he did not ex-
tract ten milliard when six months later
l. - Al Ii
ferocious jokes.1 Jules Favre said to him:
"The men still bear up we'll, but famine
tells on the women and children" is it
possible" exclaimed Bismark, that there
are any children left? thought you
must have eaten them all long ago"
tSuch are the recollectlons that the
news of Bismarck death evokes. There
are still Others. In the palace Of Louis
XIV, within twelve miles of besieged
Paris, the German Kings gave themselves
a Caesar. The German people, in arms,
which had trodden us under foot, lay
down on the blood-stained earth to let the
Caesar walk on them. Destiny has been
since at work. After the intoxication
comes the awaking and reaction. The
German people Thought themselves mas:
tiers of Europe. They were not masters of
themselves. They exalted iniquity in
boasting of those mountains of gold they
tore from France. The millions that did
not share in the plumber now clamor as
Socialists for fair division of wealth.
Justice and liberty were discarded. They
have now in their place the Emperor--the
Emperor and his nobility, the Emperor
and his army, and they hear the Emperor
declare himself in the face of the world
the delegate of God. If the Emperor Or
ders q son to shoot down father and moth
er he is bound to obey. Would he obey if
put to the test? The question alone is an
less this doctrine of obedience is officially
preached and accepted. Snch is the Ger
many created by Bismarck in the Palace
of Versailles.