The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-10-09
HISTORY NOW REVEALED
important Information Found in Mem
oirs of De BIoWitz.
Interview With Prince Bismarck a
Valuable Contribution.

New York, Oct. 2.-Some unpublished
history of value appears in the memories
of De Blowitz, journalist and diplomat.
AS correspondent at Paris for The Lon
don Times, De Blowitz for many years
filed the position of unique Importance.
He knew thoroughly the statecraft royal
ty, and nobility of his time and for over
forty years followed the rapidly chang
ing center of action and interest in
Europe. In his memories which are to
be published tomorrow, De Blowitz
makes an explanation of the failure of
France to go to Egypt with England
that is particularly interesting at this
time on account of the situation in
southeastern Europe. He claims that
France did not participate in the events
of 1881 because of the quarrel between
Gambetta and De Freycinet. He speaks
with authority for he was one of the
mediators who made the fruitless effort
to bring the two statesmen together be-
fore they parted for all time. He AYERS
that De Freycinet was offered the war
portfolio in the Gambetta cabinet of
1881 and with the understanding agreed
to enter the ministry. Later, Gambetta
insisted that De Freycinet become min
lister of foreign affairs. The latter, anx
ious to retrieve the reputation lost in
1870 had set his heart upon the war Of
flee and would have no other. De Bio
witt story of the first breach, the effort
at compromise and the break and quarrel
that kept France out of Egypt is the
dramatic personal story of a partici-
pant.
A heretofore unpublished interview
with Bismarck, had in 1878, in a valuable
contribution to the literature relating to
the Iron Chancellor Bismarck had just
come from the negotiation of the treaty
of Berlin and talked with surprising
frankness of the stupendous events of
the time and the men who helped to
shape them. This is a portion of the
statement of Bismarck:
''The piece of San Stefani was one of
the most thoughtless actions of modern
history. Ignstieff made blunder which
no true statesman would ever have COM
mitted. He took everything that he
could get. When an enemy is vanquish-
ed, and one has ones foot on his neck,
he can be made to give whatever one
wants, but one must think of the conse-
quences of the victory as well as the
consequences of defeat. We should not
be where we are now if in 1866, l had
acted like Ignstieff, if 1 had taken ter
ritory from Austria. At that time !
every one was against me. 1 had said |
when we started: IF we should be vic |
torious I shall not annex any Austrian |
territory, for we must not remain enc
mics forever. In ten or twelve years
time we must be able to come to an I'M |
derstanding with her. When we were
victorious, every one wanted me to take i
territory from her. l held my own,
though, and since then 1 have often had !;
cause to congratulate myself that 1
did So"
At these words l could not help look
ing the prince in the face, and he at
once read in my eyes the question that |
was on my lips, for without finching he
said:
81 know what you mean; you are
thinking about the last war. But in
1871 / acted in the same way. At that
time France was in our hands. Paris
was conquered, the Commune was
brewing, everything was disorganized;
and if / had acted like Ingstieff | should
have demanded Picardy and Champagne.
Now this never occurred to any one; and
when 1 was urged to take Belfort and
Metz l refused, saying: No; Belfort
is in the hands of the French; it
must remain theirs And even with re-
gard to Metz, on seeing the despair of
poor mothers l hesitated. But, as you
know, at the conclusion of the campaign
such as that was, one has to take into
the military element, and 1
was obliged to listen to Moltke, who
Kept repeating to me at every hour of
The day, Metz in our hands, or in the