El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-16
THE BOERS
ARE SHREWD
A HoIIander Who Has Been
In South Africa
TELLS WHY THEY'LL WIN
The Object Of the Wharf.-The Moral
Force Back OF the BoerS-The
Use OF French In Mexico.

Force Back OF the Boers-The
Use OF French In Mexico.
1.-THE war in the Trsnsvsal seems to
me a repetition of the American war
of independence. The Beers have the
same British antagonists that the
American colonists had: the Beers are
sctuated by the same spirit of freedom,
and the necessity of fighting to save
! their homes; and, like the Americans
OF q hundred years ago and OF today,
each Boer marksman is crack shot
and q general in himself.
This is what MIR. Jacob Wis said at
the Orndorff last night. Mr.. Wis ls a
young Hollauder, registered from Am
sterdam, but whose family home Is
really at Bussum, short way out from
the city. He Is yonng man whose
father is the head Of the house of P. G.
dam, and he is making a tour of the
world, before settling down to bust
ness in the house. He has been in
South Africa quite recently, and is
fully competent from his actual knowl-
edge and critical study of'the situation.
to speak with authority on the ques-
ton of the Boer war in the Transvasl.
''The direct cause of the war is the
recently proposed Cape to Cairo rail-
road, and the aggressive factors in the
beginning of hostiiities were not the
English, but the Beers themselves who
have most cleverly forced the English
into q declaration of war, while seem
ing to her to have it forced on them
selves.
1.-THE real object of Rhodes ia the
planning of the Cape to Cairo railroad
was 80 to arrange matters as to be
able to bring down men and supplies
from Cairo on the north TO the north
ern boundary of the Beers domains,
and from Cspetown on the south to
their southern frontier.
1.-THE truth of the matter is that the
states of South Africa. even those I'M
der English sovereignty, are for the
most part populated by the Dutch.
Each year their proportion of the total
population has been getting greater,
until Rhodes, with his far-seiug
shrewdness, resliz= ID that in time, aud
in short time too the Dutch would so
dominate South Africa that, under the
leadership of the Transvaal or South
African republic. they would unite in
the formation of the United States of
South Africa.
ITO circumvent this probable con-
summation, it seemed necessary to
overcome the Beers by force of arms
and gain for England what they want
ed for themselves. The Cape to.Cairo
road was the first move toward cutting
off the Beers from outside communica
ton, and bringing within striking dis
lance the English base of supplies on
either eide the Transvsal.
"The Beers have seen in time the
object of this projected road, aud hs We
attempted to prevent it by the
only effective means in their powers
resort to arms. The matter of the OPP
preston of the Uitlauders is merely an
i.o 49, 81
many details planned to.force the Eng
lish into war.
81 do not think the English can ever
win, simply because they are opposing
such q tremendous moral force. Tom
my Atkins may be in theor the most
effective fghting machine in the world,
but in fact the realization that the
Dutch in South Africa have, that their
families and their homes are but few
miles behind them, and the English in
'front.' and chat if the English break
through, their homes and their indie
pendence have gone forever, Is a far
stronger incentive to fight to tue death
than all the traditions of all the Eng
lish army corps.
FRENCH IN MEXICO
"As to Mexico, I must confess that IL
has surprised me more than any coun-
try have visited, because, no doubt, |
had conceived in advance t1o low an |
opinion of her people. l think there is |
a wonderful future for the country, and |
it is beginning to be delightfully."- lack
ing in those characteristics which l |
have learned to attribute to the Span |
of Incidence and dolce |
far niente.
''Yes, speak both English and Ger
man, but neither was of use to me in |
Mexico in the degree that the French |
language was. By a few simple |
changes in the Examinations of words, |
by using French l made myself per-
fectly understood.
AS TO AMERICA.
ST am of course delighted with Amer
lea, as all thinking Europeans are, but |
your political system, and especially |
the system of municipal government
seems to me to be bad one. Politics
seem to permeate everything, and this
in itself Is surely q bad thing, and
then every one seems to have a word
OF criticism for the party and the
people in power, NO matter who they
be-
Mr.. Wis was reminded that it is con-
sidered the inaliepable right of an
American citizen to assert at al times
and places the freedom of speech and
the press, and that few fail to avail
themselves of the privilege; and that
this fact must account for the contin-
usl self criticism OF Americans.
Foreigners have been called con-
temporan eous posterity, but Ameri-
cans have a tendency to usurp even
this distinction, and take it to them
selves, and to dispassionately view
h1s