The Saint Paul globe., 1900-03-18
HE SET A GOOD EXAMPLE
THAT MUCH, AT LEAST, ACCOM-
FLASHED BY MIR. M'ISsNLEY
IN PEACE OFFER
EUROPE DARED NOT DO IT
Frenchmen See How There Was
Merit in the Action of America
Despite Failure BOer
Threats Alarm Paris.
by the Associated Press.

Copyrighted by the Associated Press.
PARIS, March 1.-THE United States
has shown selfish Europeans an exam
ple,'' said a responsible official to rep>
resentative of the Associated Press, when
asked what was the feeling of the French
government regarding President McKin-
ley's offer Of his good offices to England
1--WE felt" continued the official in ques>
ton, that our own position with re-
spect to England, In view of the present
state of public feeling there, was too
delicate to admit of our acceding to Mr..
Kruger's appeal, and, as this reluctance
appeared to be shared by every other
power, the action of the American gov
ernment in taking the initiative came
as an agreeable surprise That it did
not succeed does not detract from it's
merit"
The Associated Press representative
here called the interlocutor's attention
to the complaints of portion of the
French press that President Mckinley
refrained from backing up his offer,
which was necessary to it's success, some
papers having openly stated that his ac-
ton was mere electoral maneuver and
not intended to be successful.
I'm our VieW,' replied the official
these criticisms are utterly unjustified.
President Mckinley did even more than
up to the last moment was expected
over here. Only the members of cham
cellories, who realized the delicate ma
ture of such step, can appreciate Amer
icas effort at its proper value The
French government, while not prepared
to take the initiative, would, in conjunc>
tion with Russia, readily have supported
America, but the promptitude of Eng
lands refusal cut the ground from under
them
The Associated Press informant added
that, although there appeared to be little
likelihood of Intervention in the imme.
diate future, yet hopes are still enter
tanned that an offer of good offices from
the powers may eventually prove accep>
table.
'At any rate" said he, 'ft is not un-
likely that it will be made If foreign
interests are in danger by the threatened
| destruction of the Rand Mines
THREAT HAS EFFECT.
This destruction of the gold mines, as
| predicted by Mr.. Montagu White, is re-
garded as serious matter here, and as
being not merely possible, but proba>
BILE.
The Associated Press learns that the
French government has received infor-
nation to the same effect from another
source, and it considers the descendants
of the Dutchmen who flooded their own
country in order to repel an invader quite
capable of following this historic prece-
dent in the case of foreign-owned gold
mines. The French press has taken up
the matter and points out the enormous
amount Of French savings sunk in the
Rand gold fields. 1t is stated that if the
| Beers carry out their threat 1t will take
surface machinery and other plants,
while immense destruction could be
wrought by dynamiting the underground
workings. France owns a third of the
shares in the Transvaal mines, and these
alarmist predictions have already had
their effect on the quotations Of the
stocks Of those mines in Which French
holdings are large. Thus, since Tuesday,
Robinson has dropped from 210 to 200;
Ferreiera, from 493 to 465, and Gelden-
huis, from 14S to 140
The discussion Of the question of me-
diation in the senate on Thursday gave
M. Delcasse, minister of foreign affairs,
an opportunity to emphasize the fact
that Franco Russian alliance is as close
as 1T ever was, and that unity of action
prevails between the two nations. His
allusion to Russia was prompted by a
report that Count Muravieff, the Russian
suggested Intervention, but the French
government held back. M. Delcasse
statement shows that no such proposition
was ever made. a
The tension Of feeling between France
and England certainly has undergone
abatement this week, for which the con-
ciliatory article of the London Times is
largely responsible, and the fact that ii
was so we'll received by the French press
demonstrates that the Francophobe atti-
tude of many of the English papers is
to a great extent, accountable for the
strained relations of the two peoples
Those Nationalist organs whose Anglo
| phobism is part of their studied party
policy have not abated their attacks but
the moderate journals have responded tc
the advances of the London press in the
| same spirit.
The irrepressible Esterhazy has bobbed
| up again and has written to the commit
tee of the senate, announcing that he had
made four depositions before the French
consul general in London, M. Leuuex
which would prevent the government
from sitting the inquiry he demands
According to an inspired statement his
dispositions are valueless, as he has only
produced copies, instead of the originals
of the documents he processes to possess