Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1898-12-08
Bismarck and His Opportunities.


which he was appointed shortly after
the ascension to the Prussian throne
under title of William the First, of the
former Crown Prince, the intimate
and staunch friend of Bismarck, whose
great ability he had learned to .appre-
ciatei and whose eounsels he listened
to and yielded his own; and whose in
fluende was so great, thatiwhile King
William was master. he really was so
in name onlYIaHd 1uring the Kings
life, SO unbounded was his faith in
Bismarck's devotion and superiority of
mind that not even the nearest of
blood to royalty could bring about any
alienation of his affections for his
Minister, op change the sublime faith
he had in his ability.
When Bismarck entered the. Minis
try, the Schleswig- Holstein affair had
progressed so far that there was no
longer any doubt in his mind as to the
favorable outcome. He had possess
ion of the duchies, and he meant to
hold thehAl> HE well knew that there
would be a.fwar with Austria and he
was so well prepared for it that he nev-
er doubted the result While consid-
den9ument as un ,faitsac-.
compli, he had begun to cast his eye'in
another direction. Prussia owed ila
tfebt to France that she could tiaverF
fully repay. Bonaparte, had defeated
her on The field of Jena in an inglor!'
ious and disastrousNbattle, had dictat-
ed peace at Berlin, that took from her
all her territories on the Rhine, and
aeated her queen, Louisa, the idol OF
the entire nation, with contumely, shot
Korner, one of her brightest and most
promising young men for raising arms
in defense of his country.
Germany at large had no less griev-
ances against France. Her troops had
overrun every part of the old empire
taken from it the finest of her provin-
ces, to form the Rhinebund, of which
he was the absolute master drafted
her soldiers into his army corps, and
took them to Russia from whence
none ever returned. He caused Blum,
one of the most popular and inhuen-
tial publishers of Leipsig, to be shot
for publishing some pamphlets which
he considered inimical to his interests.
The public feeling against France was
most intense, and in that state of fer
mentation that it only needed a spark
to ignite.
The French throne was occupied by
the Emperor Louis Napoleon the
Third, the greatest political mounte-
bank of the age. Hefhad been igno-
miniously defeated in former at
tempt to have himself proclaimed EN-
peror at Toulon where his great uncle,
Napoleon Bonaparte, had first dis
tinguished himself at the seige ,of that
city by the troops of the French repub-
lie. He was easily defeated, incarcer-
lated and finally allowed to escape, as
was supposed with the connivance of
the French royal government. whose
opinion of the capacities of the future
Emperor were of the poorest. y J.
He succeeded to have himself elected
| President of the French republic in
1S4S, by the Napoleon faction and the
p aid of the Orleans party and some few
! Republican members. He had hardly
warmed to his seat when the man who
had just solemnly sworn to protect
| with all the powers of his mind and
body the republican form of govern
ment, began to pic. for its overthrow.
He finally succeeded with the assist
ance of his own party, and that of the
orleans party, the bribing with large
sums of money of some republican
members and those that couldn't be
bribed, by banishing them to the Isle
of Cannes, to have himself proclaimed
Emperor.
In order to maintain himself in the
position obtained by such dastardly
means, the Emperor had to use a con-
tinual fund of corruption. Like the
Duke of Newcastle under William and
Mary, and Walpole under the Georges,
he believed that every man had his
price. That while some could be
bought by flattery, positions and hon
ors, others only could be reached by
riches. To keep quiet the turbulent
population of Paris he forced the city
of Paris to make immense appropria-
tions for public Improvement. To daz-
zle and ffatter the old and newnobility,
he married his wife, the future EN-
press and made his court the most
brilliant in Europe. To enable those
who received his appointments to keep,
up thei& establishments, he assasted
them from his private purse, besides
moneys they received from the public
The chiefs of his military staff, who
were expected to appear at his court in
suitable style, We're given large sums
fnbta the public treasury, and some of
the ppse1copVacts, by means Of which
they enriched themselEes, were winked
at by the gover6MehtP. Prusslan gold
found admissioHtshPRh of the mem
bers OF his staff, and even some mem
bers of his household were not entire
ly free from suspicion. To reconcile
the republican feeling he engaged in
the war with Austria, and freed Italy