Evening star., 1899-02-11

'ther day: ut is indescribable, the feeling
II an of1cer bound TO submit to a civilian
The Part Revision.
There needs only to be said one more
thing, startling. perhaps. to those outside
of France, but true beyond all matter Of
discussion. The great mass of Frenchmen
are secretly against any revision of the
Dreyfus affair. Noble-hearted N are
running themselves because they think a
wrong has been done to that unhappy man
But the worst elements, of anarchy and
socialism. have Joined hands with them un-
asked. The mass of the French are today
not SO much against Dreyfus They resent
the revision. They fear the revision IL
carries vague, uncertain threat of some
thing unknown but sinister. Oh. to get out
of 1t! oh. to be rid of the affair. no mat
ter how! The worst thing is that the af-
fair Is at hopeless deadlock. Every
Frenchman knows the end will not come
with any courts decision. Imagine Drey-
fuS being declared innocent, Imagine
Dreyfus being declared guilty, Both Drey-
fus and the etat major are guilty-of hav-
ing caused intolerable ennui TO the peop
of France. The people of France viii more
readily forgive the etat major
AS the rumor goes. the plan is beautifully
simple. IL Dreyfus is set freely this or
any other court-the riots that will follow
are to be the excuse for military occupa-
ton, martial law and the proclamation Of
Prince Louis Napoleon. If DreyfuS is de-
SulHN-DA tnlS or any other court
the riots that will follow are to be the eX-
cuse for military occupation, martial law
and the proclamation of Prince Louis Ma
poleon. Paris has already had taste Of
FIN de steele rioting and military occupa-
ton. The military occupatl ton is complete
efficient. perfect. The army enters Paris
1t distributes Itself. The soldiers eat ap-
pies and chat with the people while On
guard. "Hurrah for the good little sol
diers!' Only drunken men and anarchistic
tramps dream of insulting the good hure
soldiers. When the young prince rides in
on a white horse-or black horse-they
will cry, "Hurrah for the friend of the
czar."
The French Like Him.
In spite of the disastrous fail of the
house of Napoleon, the secret feeling of the
people is for this young man, who has a
glorious name, who is considered an officer
of brilliant qualities who is known to be a
man of action. They say he is a man of
facts, and not one of humbug and phrases.
Seeing. more than ten years ago. that he
could not succeed to anything by his mere
name alone. he went to Russia and asked
the Car Alexander II TO give him a posi-
ton as officer. He was entered in the I'm
pertal Guards a lieutenant He ad-
vanced quickly. and people who have been
in communication with him affirm that he
has the qualities of Napoleon L. being a
statesman, diplomat and soldier at the
same time. Above all, there is the signifi-
cant fact of his late promotion Two
months ago foreigners who came to Paris
saw the streets filled with soldiers. They
asked each other, rs Paris in a state OF
siege?" At that moment everybody talked
about an army coup d'etat. 1t was at this
moment that Prince Louis took the train
for Brussels. He was then a colonel
Within few weeks he was made a gem
eral. while still in Brussels. Could the car
declare himself more openly? "Hurrah for
the friend of the czarr'
General is Needed
The real difficulty of Prince Louis. they
say, was not so much to find the money as
to find a general. The London syndicate
said to him, Yes, we have the money for
you; but you must give guarantees" He
found his general in De Boisdeffre-cour-
ageous, impetuous and just put aside by a
civilian minister of war. Many look on
him as the only French general of rsal
genius today. Undoubtedly. If he has un-
dertaken to bring the army and Prince
Louis Napoleon together. he has been mov-
ed by his own idea of patriotism and some
secret word of announcement from ST
Petersburg. To do justice to the etat
major, one must look upon it's recent trials
and tr1bulations from the military point of
view. The army has renfained silent under
thousand insults and provocations. The
generals would rather face death than the
campaign-just or unjust-that has been
conducted against them for more than a
year. In spite of all. no one Of them has
moved to liberate his party though the
power was always there. Perhaps IL was
not all virtue. A general sacrificing his
lie at the head of his regiment is a hero.
The same man is a coward in politics and
diplomacy. Should General Boisdenre take
Prince Louis by the hand and lead him TO
his brother chiefs, they would weep tears Of
Joy. Will he dare do il?
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS.