Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1911-04-04
POLICY
Of FUTURE
Futility of Creating Great
Armaments Is Fully
Demonstrated
ADDRESS BY FRENCH BARON
War Like Drink Has Deteriorated
Manhood of Great
Nations.

San Francisco, April Baron d'Es.
tenelles de Constant. the French mis-
sionary in the cause Of international
peace. who is making a tour of the
country spoke here today, taking as
his text The Campaign Of Russia"
The Baron said, in part:
General ignorance has been singu-
larry useful to governments in con-
cealing the consequence of their
wars from the eyes OF public opinion
For a long time | have been en-
deayoring in vain to find out what the
wars during the Revolution and the
First Empire cost France in men, eX.
elusive OF anything else. The figures
vary from 2,00oOQ0 to 10000 TAX
ing only the minimum and multiply
ing it by several generations, | find
that Frances population has been re-
century. But for these wars We
should now in all probability, have a
population of 60,000000 inhabitants in
stead of 40 who would, moreover, be
physically stronger, inasmuch as
without attempting TO calculate the
consequences Of drink, which has a
close connection with the matter
these wars eliminated the men best
fitted to perpetuate their kind. Even
if We limit ourselves to the immediate
consequences, We should have to en-
bark upon several years of research
IT. obtain only doubtful results.
We must also take into account
the immense opportunities lost by
Frenchmen in all parts of the world
and especially in America. The cOur-
age and heroi3m displayed during
quarter of a century of war We're not
called into being by it, as some peo.
pie imagine, but were already in eX-
istence and ready TO be utilized, in
France and abroad, to further enter
prises already begun. Though it was
abandoned after the Seven Years
War, the work accomplished by Car
tier. Champlain and La Sale, and la
ter on by Lafayette and Rochamboau
none the less great though in differ
ent order of ideas-soWed the seeds
of an abundant harvest that French
men, in spite OF all obstacles, might
have reaped. Here were openings for
our enterprise and our commerce, sal.
1 walton for our shipping, our seaports
and riyerpOrts. Our influence and our
language would have extended in all
directions. We severed all these ties,
and instead of vivifying the New
World with French blood, We watered
the battlefields of Europe with it.
Under the head of losses, let me
confine myself to quoting the compar-
atively optimistic estimate given by
Napoleon himself. According to
Taine, Napoleon said angrily to Met
ternich, in the course of their CONVEX
sation: What do you want of me?'
Do you expect to dishonor myself?
! Mettenich was bold enough to reply:
4 have seen your soldiers; they are
mere children. What will you do
when your army of youths has gone?
Napoleon replied hotly: You are not
a soldier and you do not know what
passes in a soldiers mind. | have
grown up on the battlefield, and man
like | am does not care a --- for the
lives of million men,
"On another occasion, Napoleon re
marked to NJ de Narbonne according
to the Due de Broglie, quoted by
/ Taine) After all the Russian cam
paign only cost me 100000 men, and
a great many of them were Germans
His imperial chimera devoured a
great many more than this adds
Taine From 1904 to 1915 the num-
Der of killed amounted to more than
100000 Frenchmen born in France
itself, to which we can probably add
100000 men from outside its bound
aries, killed while fighting for him as
, allies or against him as enemies"
,