New-York tribune., 1910-08-20
REVEALS STATE SECRE1|
French Government PubIIsh.,
Records of Franco-German W.,
Paris, .Juiv .,

cast iron rules OF French diploma
forty years must elapse before the -.
of secrecy can be removed from ~.
papers in the government arcbtr..
This period, In regard 10 docurns-..
bearing upon the F'ranco-Prusslan n
expires with the present month -
war having been declared on Ji.iv n
1870. Ten years ago VI. Pichon ..
pointed a commission to collect and a..
all the dispatches and corresponds.
pertaining to the war and its cars.
found in the archives OF the om,.
dOrsay, as well as in the French ;,
bassies abroad. To-day the first =.
volumes. entitled Les Origines Din.
rnatiques de Ia Guerre de 1ST0-'71," a.
published. These win shortly be =.
lowed by eight others. The papers n,
produced in chronological order.
1t should be remembered that n,
numerous works that have hitherto Ar.
peared on the subject are necessar-
based upon incomplete extracts ana
isolated documents For the first in,
the full official diplomatic narrative 4,
disclosed.
The commission selected for It's ror.
of departure the Prussian fnterveuri.,
In the duchies of Schleswig and Holstel-
which led to the Danish war Of 1899 an
from which sprang the war betxss,
Prussia and Austria in 1865. Tn,
Sedan was the logical sequence :.
Sadowa has long been accepted By nj.
tary and political historians, but Ii,
theory is now for the first time deru.
strated By the official records ot II.
French government, which, THANKS !,
the impulse given by VI. Pichon. supur
a new mine o. wealth for future h,.
torians.
One finds here the instructions zTs
by NJ. Drouyn de Lhuys. then Freats
Minister Of Foreign Affairs; letters 4;
reports Of the French arnbassador4 il.
cluding, of course. those of BaroE p
Talleyrand, at Berlin: the Due de Gran
mont, at Vienna: Prince de Ia Ts-I
d'Auvergne. at London, and Comta q
Massagnac, at ST. Petersburg Ii
French government was kept thorogsar
and accurately Informed OF all that t1i
place by it's diplomatic Representative
who were men OF real ability, Loyalty
the Emperor and wide awake obser7zs
The salient fact brought 70 Light y
this avalanche Of state papers is "a
duel that began in 1863 between III
dominating characters with totally Z.
ferent temperaments, Napoleon III All
| Bismarck Napoleon seemed always %
| be dreaming of some grand but clins--
| cal idea He never knew exactly via.
/ he wanted. At one moment ne directt.
all his efforts toward constituting i
| great Scandinavian nation, compost
| Of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. whi-
would be a sort of revival OF the poEs.
| of Gustavus Adolphus and which misr;
/ hold Prussian expansion in ehscl
| Shortly afterward ne sought 10 erss.s
an international council OF representa-
tiyes of the popular national feeling
| OF Schleswig, Of Holstein and also q
Poland. hoping thereby 70 enihaTras'
Bismarck by grating a Polish question
upon that Of Schleswig-Holstein
! Later the Dreamer OF the Tuiisrsi
set the entire French diplomatic nz-
chinery at work 10 bring about IN Pais
| a gigantic congress of ali the European
/ powers ito settle the present and assus
the future" Not only Prussia but Eng
land, Russia and Austria categOEicalf
| opposed this project Moreover Va
poIeou refrained from drawing up az
| explicit programme for discussion an
/ this drew from General Fleury, MS MI
lister at Copenhagen. the reply: IN sP-''
| of all said and done, no one VIII ilsl3
| to the idea of a congress unless the SUI
jects for negotiations are distinctly q
| fined
/ Napoleon III actually proposed eoa'
I of International arbitration very HUI
! like that now esta blished at The hAs-'
His own words were: Now that al q
great questions that divide governrasA1
and nations can be resolved oy E-i'.
pean arbitration, may not this sIz-
| idea, formerly utopian, become to-l7'l-
row a reality?''
| In fact. all European powers save u
| wanted peace, but there was ONLY ~
| government that knew exactly .. Wnat :
wanted. In the reports Of Baron =
| Taueyrand, French Ambassador N 7N
| lin. one finds remarkable porlra-- =
Bismarck His confidence in his sue''''
was absolute. His arrogance Was -
pressed upon all the Prussian rsp''
sentatives abrosd.
At an official dinner. when the Hea''-
/ OF the King OF Denmark was prop"s'-
| the Prussian Ambassador p.aceu
glass ostentatiously on the table tA1ls..
rejecting his masters intentions
Schleswig- -Holstein. Afterwards p, D.
marck. at a court ball at BerHa' -. -
conversing with the Italian AmoassS-ns.i
the Count de Launay, piaytuAE - ~
the hilt of the ambassador SWcFS, -
ing: "Aht So that Is the s"otS
Italy" The Count de Launay .I'ss..- Isg.-. !,
1T appears that you are not Wins Vliss,,.
make use of it. since you nave c.s on
another companion at arms -
answered Bismarck. that one We W. ~
only hired" Gratis II worA
the King of Prussia" retorted Blstlasor Bl.ss.Sr
referring to the French V,~Sies
'Travailer pour le Roi de PruSse,
means toilins without recOmpeNse
After wadins through the ms .-s,,ss.
diplomatic documents now rlauS F~K ~ i
by the Ministry of FOreign AI.s.i;1Srp AI.a,;Srps
seems clear that Napoleon III coiL...-. u
his greatest fault as a StatsSn.'-,, Stal, gsrs
1868. At that time two courses sS.,,.ssif
open to him. He might have N4sFu.o,,ly
opposed Bismarck, and thus $500
DELAYED the unificatiOn OF Gerhi.lN' 'b,es
prevent il altogether would uas0 Nae
innnnssihIa-nr elsn he nllsNt -.