The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-10-22
French Protest Against Loss OF
: Great Part of Fertile
Congo.
DIFFICULTY NOT SETTLED
Toulon Disaster Brings 10 Gull
mination Nervousness
i'll Navy.
ny GEORGE DuFREsNE.

ing 10 Know tnat the francO-terinan
differences in Morocco had hecn peace
ably and finally settled. but powerful
voices are now being raised against
! settlement on terms involving the
| loss OF n great part of fertile French
Congo.
NJ. Gabriel Hanoteaux. in the current
| issue of weekly political magazine.
expresses his conviction that the
] Triple Entente will commit grave
error in allowing a Moroccan-C Congo
lcsc accord to be concluded at the ex-
| pense of France. FOR the consequences
| on the ensemble of the international
situation Will be repcrc,ssions that.
! perhaps. may not be the least surpris
| Ing result of the crisis
NJ Ianotaux, the Foreign Minister.
who concluded tho Russian alliance.
thinks it a mockcry to talk Of France
being tho mistress OF the Mcditer-
ranean in possessing Morocco The
treaty concluded with Great Britain
and Spain in 1907 diminished the
Morocco of the gcographers. Not a
shore. not a port. would France OBJ
tain by tho German negotiations In
stead of pacifcation, the seed being
sown would produce harvest OF con-
| nicts 1t is possible that NJ. iIanoteaux
Will prove 10 be prophet.
|
| brought to n elimination the dis
quietude and nervousness that for sew
eral years has been felt in the French
navy. No one was moro severe than
NJ. Delcasse at the time OF the lena
explosion. 1t is for him now 10
elucidate the mystery that cnshrouds
so many naval calamities.
| There is no solid reason to support
the charges made against Captain
| Tn,, - 4
err OF the Socialist leader quite ac-
counts for the attacks made on the
commander OF La Liberte Equally
futile, too. are the endeavors to at
tribute the catastrophe to anarchists
The prompt action OF Admiral Bcllue
fully explains everything. He Is CON
WINGED that Powder b is the fons ct
| origo malorum; and acting on that
| conviction, he ordered the Immediate
warshp in the roadstead. NJ. Jean
Louis Dumont. in the Eclair. states
positively. and without fear of contra
dictlon. that the powders OH the
| Libcrte left the factories in 1898. 1896
ana 1897. The account books OF the
commissariat prove tho fact beyond all
dispute" All powder was on all the
French warships, the purpose being to
use it in firing exercises. They were
review. Admiral Belues initiative.
| therefore, was imperative. and the gov
ernment signiied its approval
The Toulon catastrophe has given
unfortunate prominence to the name
OF .laures, Though the cause OF the
explosion is yet unsolved. 1t seems GER
tain that discipline on board tho I'M
| fortunate Libertc was not what it
~ 1T
German ship. Captain Marie Jaures
has his own notions OF humane treat
| ment OF the men. The Oh Bias" de-
clares that he considered much of the
necessary work on board ship. such
as the cleaning Of brass as "humiliat-
ing" He appears, also. TO have oriSI-
nal ideas on punishments
If Jaures the sailor is a miserable
man, Jamres the politician and elder
brother is enjoying considerable sue
cess on his lecturins tour in the Ar
Gentine.
| 1t Is true that his Socialist comrades
here criticize his absence from France
al a time when there is obviously every
| opportunity of preaching humanitarian
doctrines. but ia bas." on the piyer
| Plate he is sowing the good seed OF
| tho revolution. Some of the ncwspa
| pcrS declare lna1 lie is receiving SlNtN
thousand francs for his series which
forks out ut $4,000 lecture-not bad
pay, even for leading Socialist But
ss matter of fact, .taurcs is recciv
ing these fees only for literary lee
lures. Ills socialism Is free TO the
happy .Argentines.
Henri Rochefort. who is ferocious
an occasions. declares that the nnhap
ny Villeneuve committed suicide after
Trafalgar whereas .Jaures is certain
To he promoted admiral. Vet the cS
plosion inflicted more damage on the
feet than Nelson. Not only was the
Iibertc reduced to scrap-iron ana 100
OF hcr brave men killed. but the Repub-
lrue, Democratic, Nerite. Justice, sui
fren. Jules Ferry. Michelet. Foudrc, St
Louis. Carnot. Paurequiberry. Mar
scillaise and Edgar Qunet were all
more or less injured That is to say,
the hrst-class battle fleet of France
has been placed "hors dc combat" for
an indeterminate time and at mo-
ment when the state OF Surope war
rants no optimistic estimate of pro-
longed peace.
Rochefort ascribes the accident to
q cigarette or an abandoned pipe
Whatever the precise cause ii is curl
ons that fire broke out almost stimuli
taneously on the Patrie- That fact can
have nothing to do with the dccompo-
sition Or spontaneous ignition of b
powder.
Nerac, close to Pau. the birthplace
OF Henri w. is to receive the visit
of another distinguished Southcrner.
President Fallieres. whose country
house and vineyard of Loupillon are
situated few kilometres away. |
Though a Merldonal. NJ. Fallieres has
few OF the characteristics. He has
neither the expensive eloauence nor
fine theatrical air of Gambetta.
ON the other hand, his qualities are |
of the North: hard common sense. I'll
calm comprehension of facts, the "mot |
inHth" for all situstinna, His Loupil-