The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-04-18

dress somewhat as those of our day dc
when depicting the president of the
Kruger, President Lincoln was a
scholarly man of fashion-a very
Lord Chesterfield An Englishman Is
hopelessly adrift In attempting to UNI
derstand the rough Boer We Ameri-
cans can come nearer, but even those
Of US who know the cowboy country
have no adequate parallel for Kru-
ger. In our Revolutionary war the
soldiers and statesmen of the mother
country added much to the bitterness
of that contest by referring to our pa
| triots as illiterate and uncouth colo
nists. The pages of Trevelyans re-
cent and admirable work bear album
| dant testimony to the mischief done
| by this means alone. But If illiteracy
could be ascribed to such men as JEFF
| ferson, Franklin, Adams, Washington,
what words could characterize Kru-
ger, who can scarce write his own
name, let alone influence the reading
world by his pen. The men who crea-
ted the United States were the peers
in learning of any men of their day.;
and q century of diplomacy has not
made us appreciative of the state pa
pers indited by colonists who signed
the Declaration of Independence.
AS a fighting animal Paul Kruger
and his followers have something that
recalls the fathers of American indie
pendence. The Boer is animated by
| the same uncompromising devotion to
what he conceives to be his duty. 1t
is the Puritan spirit of Cromwell
Like the New Highlander, he has been
| trained from childhood to the use of
firearms. Finally he is fighting in a
cause which unites the whole people
and places nearly every able bodied
man under arms.
But here the parallel ends.
America fought for her rights I'M
der the British constitutional resis-
ted the encroachments of George III
and Lord North just as Cromwell and
Hampden resented the innovation of
the Stuarts The statesmen of Alneri-
ca were jurists, and English jurists at
that, and they argued their own cause
with ability both in the press Of Eng
land and on the floor of the House Of
Commons The letters of Washington
and Franklin witness that separation
from the mother country was not in
the minds even of those who most
loudly resisted her unjust measures.
Separation became the watchword only
after the British government had re-
peatedly demonstrated that it meant to
rule in America, not as constitu-
tional government, but by right of
conquest alone. The members Of the
Continental congress took view of
the situation which has been amply
indicated by time and> by the best
historical writer's of the mother coun-
try. George III. sinned against
knowledge, and his people paid heavi-
ly for that kings folly.
/. Paul Kruger now turns to America
and says: You fought against Eng
lish tyranny and secured your inde
pendence-now, then, you should help
us in the same sacred cause"
Paul Kruger is aiming to erect in the
midst Of the United States of South
Africa a government as anomalous in
its way as Utah under Brigham
Young
England smiled at this effort, not be-
anything serious. That was a mis-
take. 1t would have proved still
more grievous one had the Boer war
broken out at time when England's
hands Were. engaged in a European
war.
Paul Kruger gave me several oppor-
tunities of meeting him and getting an
idea of his purposes, but before my
first audience | had to give assurance
that | did not intend to caricature
him OF course, I protested that
was further from my mind
that I had the greatest interest in
learning the truth about him for the
truths sake, and that l had come with |
strong bias in his favor; and so |
had.
Then | discovered for the first time |
what was preying upon the mind of |
the Boer president, A flippant news
paper correspondent had described !,
Dom PauPs waistcoat as ornamented
with drippings resulting from careless
use of spoon or knife at table, and 1t
seems that this had ranked in his
mind and made him vow that he
would never again receive the wan
dering stranger.
Indeed, l am sure that | would never
have been received by either DR.. |
Leyds or Paul Kruger had l not found
in Pretoria German friends who were
good enough to vouch for me. The
mere fact that 1 came with letters of
Introduction from England made me
a suspicious character, and Germans
only could help me in such a crisis.
I gave my promise then that l would
not caricature Dom Paul, and that
promise l have kept with difficulty
for how can one describe him without
using language suggesting ridicule? |
He is grotesque in his solemn mo-
ments and funereal when most funny. |
When he rides in state he recalls the |
advance agent of circus troupe and |
when he walks to church he is ar
aged like an lend man. at the min
strels. We do not caricature him, we
picture him as he is-a single minded,
,oura geous, gruff, illiterate cattle dri-