The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-08-11

bers, saying the thing would rule himself
Four sessions of parliament he treated
in this way. ruling without other than
feudal law. He awoke. however. the
German student and patriotic feeling
against the Danes and beat them by the
help Of Austria and other parts of Ger
many, and then suddenly turned upon
Austria and drove her out of the Ger
man empire and extended Prussia to in,
clude Hanover. Hesse and finally several
other states.
With u great army and the nation
appeased he met the French and die
tated the hard terms Of peace to them.
He could not succeed in his long con-
flict with the Catholics and the pope. In
1879 he introduced German, protective
tariff.
In 1884 he began German colonies
In 1885 he was 7Oyears old and almost
supreme.
In 1885 he demanded zoo. .OtO men to be
added to the army.
AS just before the Austrian war Fer
dinand Cohen tried to kill bismarck. so
in 1874 Catholic tinsmith attacked him
at Kissingen.
Statesmen in Europe are judged by the
extension Of their country they brought
about. In this view Bismarck altered
the map of Europe more than any man
since Napoleon, and his changes have
the consent of the governed.
In 1866 he accomplished the final unity
of Italy by his aid. cast Austria ont Of
Germany and took all Germany besides
into Prussian empire.
In 1870 the French, cast into the shade
by the magnitude of Prussia's wars and
annexations, made an issue with Bis
marck insolently on the small matter Of
Spain Offering her vacant crown to u
prince Of the family of Hohcnzollerns.
The consequences were heavy. France
lost the fine provinces Of Alsace-Lor-
raine, with cities like Metz, Mulhausen
and Strasburg.
The Germany remade by Bismarck
has 47,OOO,OO people. Out OF about
1,16O, 600 annual emigrants from this en-
pire !, ,116, 900 come to the United States.
The cities have enormously grown, Ber-
lin near 1,5O0, 900 and % cities above
100000. The army costs near $1O0, ,O0O,-
600 a year and is always near SOC, 600
1900, 600 to the population.
Bismarck's unfinching soul took the
field and made the terrible demands on
France which, but for the gifted nature
of the people and their soil and system,
would have ruined her. He placed the
kaisers crown and name upon his king
at Versailles, scene not matched by
any in Napoleon's career.
This Bismarck did not probably con-
template. France owed her humiliation
she found any neighbor making any. In
taking Savoy and Nice from Italy she
lost tAlsace-Lorraine.
After these great acts of Bismarck he
fell upon the residue of days. He assist
ed to curb Russia and established all alli-
ance with Italy and Austria, but his
aged sovereign dying in 1883 lie under
| took to superintend the country and con-
| troll the reign of Frederick. who died in
about three months.
Frederick's son, half Englishman,
| came into POWER in 1888 and soon showed
| the possession of some such traits as
! George III. Bismarck was displaced and
could not brook the humiliation. He
! antagoniZed Chancellor Caprivi's minis
try, and from being the pink of the Bour-
bon royalists became the prOmpter OF
the agrarians. His bent for politics and
power had grown to be u second nature.
He became more approachable, more
democratic, but not the less proud, per-
sistent and inexorable. At 7S he was as
busy in German politics as at 30.
If he had any model, it was in the COM
bination of Cavour and Garibaldi, the
secret mover and the sword. More prob
ably his model was Frederick the Great,
the aggressive soul and sword Of Prussia
a century before. Disraeli was a mer-
chant statesman compared to Bismarck.
He was more like Gortchakof Of Rus
sia, her extending spirit, and in some re-
spects is more like Cromwell than any
statesman the continent has shown.
Bismarck belongs to the highest order
of aggressive politicians, like Ferdinand
of Spain, Richelieu, Gustavus Adolphus,
Peter the Great, William of Orange, Ma
poleon. We must pass from among min
listers to class him truly and compare
him with kings.
GEORGE ALFRED TOWNSEND.