Evening star., 1898-11-03

coincidence that they hardly could be based
upon personal yagaries prejudices.
These authorities believe. and with them
many Frenchmen that the generals have
chosen Faure to be their figurehead, should
they decide that the preservation OF thelc
honor demands that the Bourgeois repub-
lie be shelved. Failing to find one of their
own number in the galaxy of mediocrftieS
revealed by the Dreyfus corspirings to fill
the bill of dictator, emperor, king, what
ever they may call him, they fall back up
on an outsider. who has been weighed in
the balance and. from their point of view.
not found wanting. Nor would President
tdure be without Justification in his own
conscience for accepting the role of die
tator. During his term the Russian alIi-
ance was cemented. he f1atters himself
that the compact was his work and be-
lieveS that he has peculiar claims upon the
gratitude of France therefor. Politicians
declare that Faure considered life presi-
dency his due by way of payment France
has neglected to recognize the debt. With
the president In such color of mind, with
his military advisers tanning the flame, 1t
can be seen how he might be brought to
accept at the hands of the army the re-
ward a bunglng republic refused to be-
stow.
AristOcrats Mt Heart.
No one for moment believes that Faure
Is the choice nearest the hearts of the gen.
erals They-indeed. all the officers of the
army who are not mobiles by descent-are
aristocrats in spirit. Were the French
peerage 20 be printed, it's pages would in
clude nearly all the names of. the army list.
w hen the hereditary titles were biotted
from Frances civil list their claimants
We're left stranded upon the unSympa tic
shore of a middle class republic. Pride of
caste would have restrained them from
acceptance of civil offices under this gov
etni erninent. even had posts sufficient unto
their dignity been procurable. But the
army offered a career compatible with
noble blood and to the army they turned
so apart from any influences like those of
lne affaire Dreyfus. most of the officers are
secretly prejudiced against the republic
many OF them. it Is said, wear the insignia
OF royalist societies beneath their uniforms
"hen they couple "Vive la republiaue"
with Five Isrmee.' they lie. for they wish
the restoration of the old regime. under
which they would be dukes and counts,
instead of mere generals and colonels.
II tne swashbuckler. Duke of Orleans
VINO is reputed to be the special hero of the
cavalry, or either of the two feeble heirs
OF Napoleon's lire. to which the infantry
pms It's faith were q possibility thew
would prefer him With his prestige of blood
10 any politician tainted by plebeian an
ceStry. But the army ring like MANY an
other political machine must cater to the
mob. 1t must find a candidate with a fol-
lowing, even Ii it has to pick from without
1ts own circle just as force of circum-
stances compelled the Platt machine in
velts star. Thus the army might conceiy-
ably find it convenient to shift the scenery
OF government while leaving the nominal
star on the boards only in a different role
One Mans Views,
SupposinS such an arrangement to be de-
cided, the first question wherewith the
army would have to reckon must be wheth-
er the people would swallow their scheme
Inc army has power. which in politics is,
IKE possession, nine points of the law
On this point is the opinion interesting, if
not valuable. of an American. He is one
of that contingent of Americans who are
Without country, the French Canadians
Born in Quebec. the stronghold of the
American French, he was trained upon
French literature, grew up speaking the
French language, and with many of his
compatriots held France instead of Britain
the mother country. An ideal France had
reigned in his imagination throughout his
youth. republic of his kinsmen holding
the liberties of the American republic, with
the language, literature and traditions of
the French. So he explained tonight sit
ting i'll the courtyard of a hotel, where as
everywhere in Paris, the everlasting theme
of Dreyfus ragged garrulousiy on every
side
Republic" he exclaimed with an accent
OF deep disgust. This isn't any republic
this is bedlam. These people don't gov
ern themselves; they don't deserve to-
They don't know whether they have a mind
of their own. and if they have they don't
know what it is. Most of them want a
dictator. and they all need one. When it
comes to popular government. they are in
fants, children. What this country just
yearns for is a tyrant."
Another opinion of real weight is that
which the correspondent of a London pa
per wired to his journal today. His judg-
ment has the basis of long residence in
Paris. He wrote:
Sick of the Republic.
Were there one single man in France,
he could be dictator in a week. Beyond all
question the great part of the population is
sick to death of this feeble republic French
men of many classes, old friends of mine.
have not hesitated to express to me their
preference for even despotism to the pres
ent state of affairs. They are, it is true,
neither minor journalists nor bouievardiers;
merely respectable wholesale and retail
merchants and employees thereof good
class Workingmen and the like. They want
peace and good rule: but as they do not
shout at large their desires go unheeded." ."
If opposition should arise from the parti-
sans of the republic the discipline of the
troops probably may be relied upon to
shoot down their brothers and fathers in
the streets. as the station soldiery did dur
likely. Foreigners. unfriendly critics, per-
haps assert that the day when Frenchmen
would die behind the barricades for an idea
is passed. The government would fall into
the hands of the army like ripe pear
The only question that need give the gen
erals pause. the point indeed that may be
troubling them now, is how many Pic
quarts would be found, how many officers
VINO would refuse to intrust their con-
sciences to their superiors who, when the
order 10 march came, would say, I'VE have
sworn to defend the republic, we refuse to
lead our men against the republic
Yet When all is said the plot of the army
may come to nothing The Frenchman il
like the Dutchmans flea-when you put
your finger on him he isn't there Those
who know him best say that the only thing
that can be predicted Of him safely is that
ne VIII NY on at the tangent least expected
ROBERT NJ. COLLINS,
BLIND FARMER IN VERMONT