Delaware gazette and state journal., 1900-01-25
LECTURE AT THE NEW-CEpTURY CLUB.

On Saturday evening Prof. Wheeler |
of Yale University ioctured before the |
club on the political and social condi-
tion of modern France. He said: 1t |
is difficult topic; whether an English
man makes q thorough or superficial
study of France, however keen bis
observation and intellect, the Fiench-
man says the picture is not life, he has
not hit tho mark. 1t is impossible for
these nations to understand each other,
nor is il easier for tie German to COM
prehond French character. Heine, from
his mattress grave in Paris throws
luminous rays here and there, opens a
vista now and thon, but he cannot go to
the bottom of the impulsive heart OF the
French nation. From our own LowelPs
explanations wo can got something. but
it is not France. will touch only on
the salient points; they have system OF
self government, but they do not really
govern themselves. Their theory is that
tho art of government Is exceedingly
difficult, and that the nation at large is
not fitted to attend to it, SO puts it in
the hands OF iuen of its own selection.
Under the old regime these men were
selected by the sovereign, now the
reople choose them, then go about their
own affairs and throw the public busi-
ness into the hands of trained men
hence arise evils
"Why France is republic. you say.
Yes, but Us unlike ours as is the
monarchy Of Spain; on paper it is u
parliamentary, democratic republic
with universal suffrage, but it is highly
centralized, more SO even than Germany;
it is governed by Cesarism. What
is Cesarism? 1t is the system by which
people are taken care Of by sort of
second Providence il man loses his
COW he applies to the State and 1t re-
imburses HIM. Everything wanted,
from daily bread to amusements, IL
provided by the government which is a
| bureaucracy whose officers are spread
all over the country, 500, 900 in all,
appointed for life All have an interest
in maintaining this system on which
depends their bread and butter, and
| their pension ON retiring. A French
man never wants to leave his country ;
it is his ideal land and his ambition is
| to get his hand in the public CRIB, to
have one or more government officials
in his family; mother will sacrifice
everything to get her boy into the
service where he may perhaps get the
button Of the Legion of Honor.
Bureaucracy is a government by a
minority, 6ased on universal suffrage.
Government by minority is not
peculiar to France; England had it in
1882; we were governed by an olisarch,y
up to 1861; New YORK is usually
governed by minority until things get
SO bad that the city arises in wrath and
clears out the ring and has decent
government for little while, then
vigilance is relaxed and the minority
comes in again. The minority in France
fules thus: There is great body CT
officials scattered through the land who
see to it that they and their superiors
are retained; they must work for votes
or lose their positions Government
subsidies are also negotiable for sup
port at the polls; district church
thus gets bonus, or the owner of a
large tobacco plantation is given a
newspaper notice that he has the best
tobacco grown in France; donations
are scattered with a lavish hand and
the candidate is returned to the As.
sembly. This system made possible the
Dreyfus case.
1.-THE Frenchman believes absolutely
In the superiority of France; his faith
was slightly shaken in 1870, but is
again absolute. 1t il great pleasure
for an individual to feel he is superior
to Others, but If he cannot experience
personal superiority, he must fall bacl
on collective superiority. The govern
ment works on this feeling: what objec
had Napoleon Third in the Crimear
War, in the Austrian War of 1859. ir
the Mexican expedition, in the wal
with Germany? To engage the atten
tion of his people from little things a
home, to feed their pride by inscribins
the names of Magenta and Solferino il
the Arc de Triomphe. England makes
her philanthropy pay French colonies
are most expensive luxury, INDUCED
in merely to make the nation mor'
, glorious.
"NaIoIeon First put the present sys
,, tenn in definite shape he established th'
: Code Napoleon, still the law Of France
, the concordat, or relation of churcl
and State, the educational system 0
, France and the administrative system
that rules today. Down to the minutes
: details 1t was under his sway; h
,, divided it into So departments with /
prefect in each, under him sub
prefect and go on down to the mes
subordinate officer all dependent on hi
will for their bread and butter. A
this system has never been changed W
; must infer that it meets the wants o
the people. How did it come to b
what it is? By eight centuries of train
/ ing when through 500 years a natiol
ACQUIRES customs and habits of though
! they become ingrained in it. TIL
: Revolutionists thought they wor
. getting rid of them in 1889, but the.
! could not do it, they had been traine'
! under the old regime; they got fey
new notions from Rousseau, but the,
!, were mere fringe of ornament. Th
old regime was government by tn
minority, though not fully deyelore'
until tho time of Louis Fourteenth
!, The church was a great charitable in
! stitution with monastic system tina
! opened its doors and took in and sup
! rorted not only many Of the children o
! ! tho POOR, but of tho rich also SO tn
great landowners could entail thei
estates undivided to the Oldest son. |
: was a great institution, no one ca
: deny that 1t did much good. In thos
! times il men and women wanted to lea
u decent life they must go within tn
walls of monastery or nunnery. Thi
great institution supplied the people
wants aud inspired loyalty. 1t offere
i, the only way by which a man of humbl
Q birth could climb out of the positio
Y in Which he was born; II gave to tn