Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-03-05
His Influence.

And 50 vas founded In France the anti
Semitic party. which in ISL got its official
organ in Ia Libre Parole. the circulation
of which grew quickly. I:Ut whatever may
have been ErUmont'S success as i'm author
and IA journalist. and notwithsta Iding the
impetus his agitation received both from
the Panama and In" Dreyfus scandals. ne
remained without any Influence IN politica!
matters. and at the polls Of !S9s he was
d"icat"'t in Ami"nS, ana mad To wait until
me i'st elections 70 get Il seat in the
chamber Of deputies.
There he is also without, any i'm p%ortanCs.
followed only by Il little handful of fifteen
or twenty members. and looked upon hv
all the other parties as 4 mere dcEiagneue
ana nothing else. unable 10 do any practical
work whatsoever.
Like RucIlriort. Drumont is one Of those
leaders 10 which all deinocracieS are accr;s-
toned. who earn th"ir liV!rG in wovkiHg
upon IN" worst passions of the mob. Athens
hti ti"cn. liaiy "i til" mi,tdlt. age; mad
L'Aretin. France had Rochcfort. Drumont,
and some others.
Now Drum"mt has over Roch"fort ore
superiority. He is Il cultivated and, in
some respects, . bright and intelligent man,
while Iochcforr is nothing NOR. than a
,.samin de Paris" with some Wit. much
times sincere: his fanaticism is genuine.
and often he states some things which are
worth saying.
Il saw him once IN a great meeting in
Paris. surrounded by his parts ans. who
rheer"d him enthusiastically. He is rot
what You would call a good looking man.
''t'i Al" N HstI VI tII'h .tIEu. MS
wild and haggard chances. he makes me
think rather of an old Jewish socialist,
Just ESCAPED from some Russian ghetto.
Than or IN. Aryan and Christian philoso-
pher he claims TO be.
The French Jews used to laugh at him
on account of his resemblance to the He
brew. a witty Psrisian and Jewish
writer. II. Abraham Dreyfus. once pointed
out most saccastically that resemblance.
and. after having charged Dr,imont with
being a German jew who had changed
his name. ne laid much stress Upon The
form of his nose. saying: There can be no
doubt about it. That nose came rom us
"a Eez-la Went de chez Rnusi.
Like. many fanatics Drumont IS not, in
ms private life, 4 bad man. although he is
almost mad. But he is rancorous and
mean.
one Of his most striking features is his
pride ana his almost Uncomfortable boast
ing; He talks of himself with :. kind of
childish seli-conceit. which makes one
think that he has no sense of the ridicu-
lous. and that his success has quite in.
toNicatcd him, He writes somewhere. in
one of his books. quite seriously Christ
has revealed L" me the full truth"
lie has also the religious faith and big
otry OF an ignorant old peasant woman,
him some holy medals to protect him
against any danger. especially in his ducIs.
And he adds: Il have them around my
neck. and ! place more confidence. in them
than in the lessons Of my fencing mas.
ter"
But whatever excuse may he 70, nj to ey-
plain the attitude of Drunont. whatever
may be said of his sincerity, his uncon-
holiness. he remains responsible, for In,
furious :inimos!ticS of religion and OF rae,
which nave been aroused In France during
NE last year. and nobody has tlirown on
the good fair name of the country of the
revolution Il more shameful blot than that
vulgar and crazy demasogue.