The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-30
A MAeN1FrcENr BR1BE.
Story of How Gambetta spurned Ten
Million Francs.
Telegraph.)

tAo@44OA 4C4CSA1RNy
In General de Gal1iffets continuation
Of his memoirs in the Journal des De-
bats. we are brought on to the year
1880, when the writer was Commanding
the Ninth army corps at Tours.
When he went to Paris on Official
business he sometimes looked Gambet-
Ia up. He found with him NJ R Opro5-
ably Rance, the stanchest OF all his
friends, and a man of great intelligence
and courage, who regarded the general
as a dreadful soldier, but won his es-
TEEN. nevertheless. One day the card
of a retired staff colonel was brought
TO the writer at Tours.
The visitor, after remarking that he
had heard that General de Galliffet Was
on intimate terms with Gambetta,
spoke to him of q wonderful enterprise
for the rapid transport on a railroad
which was to be constructed OF var
ships from the ocean TO the Mediter-
ranean. This would mean the suppress
sion of Gibraltar. He was to be one OF
the directors, and most of the capital
would be found in the United States.
@ @ 9
All that was now wanted was to OBJ
tain the concession from the French
and if General de Galliffet
would only favor him with a letter OF
introduction to Gambetta the matter
would be practically settled. The gen.
eral asked him to return later in the
day, and in the meantime he invited
General Arnaudeau, who commanded
one of his divisions, to meet i After
the second interview the two generals
talked the question over together, Ar
naudeau saying that it was impossible
to judge, but that he could not con-
denim the scheme. so that evening the
colonel started for Paris with the let
ter to Gambetta.
Three days afterWard he returned,
saying that he had been very well re
ceiVed. Gambetta had told him that he
was studying the plan for connecting
the two seas by means of a canal and
that he would think of this project.
Less than three weeks afterward the
colonel returned TO General de Galliffet
in quest Of another letter. Don't you
think" he inquired, that l should do
well TO breach with Gambetta the Ques-
ton of his ~benehce?" Take good care
not TO do that; NJ. Gambetta does not
work in the pot de win line" General
de Galliffet answered sharply, but a
few days later he received a registered
letter from NJ. Arnault &c FAriege. re-
lating that the colonel la returned to
Gambetta, and had left a check, which
was inclosed, on his table. Gambetta's
first impulse was to have him arrested.
but then people would have said that
he was giving himself a fine advertise
ment. So, would the general kindly re-
turn the check. with a hint that the
colonel was never to go e a Gambetta
again.
General de GalIifret hurried to Paris
with the check in his pocket. and went
10 his lawyer and friend. NJ Provost.
whom he asked to ascertain whether
this was a GENUINE affair. II was as 1t
/ turned out. for the hank. a great one
replied that it was prepared to pay this
check for 10000, 600 francs. The gen
eral returned to Tours, and in the
presence of two of his chief officers h
wrote a line to the colonel expressing
his opinion of him in very plain Ian
guage, and inclosing the check in the
envelope, which was duly sealed and
then registered al the postofhce by the
two witnesses. The colonel neve
thanked or saw him again.