The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-04-03
BARON D'CONSTANT PREACHED
YESTERDAY IN SAN FRANCIS
CO ADVOCATING PEACE.
THE ''USELESSNESS OF WAR;
Veteran Of the Wars Between France
and Russia Tells of the Horrible
Results Of Those Unnecessary Con-
flicts.

San Francisco, April 3.-The USE
lesness of war with the conflicts be-
! tween France and Russia as the par
ticular illustration was preached here
today by Baron d d'Estournelles de Con-
slant, who has been speaking through
out the United States for the cause Of
international peace.
without discussing recent wars,
but merely those that have taken
place between France and Russia"
said Baron de Constant I'VE may be
said to have lived through q chapter
Of history which will be written one
Of these days under the title that en-
lightened patriotism would give 1t
useless wars In less than a century,
French armies have carried war into
Russia. first to Moscow and then to
the Crimea. Neither Of these wars
have been taken to heart and remem
bered by the Russian people, and
they have not held France RESPONSE
BILE. Neither at Moscow in Napoleon's
time nor in the trenches before Sc
bastopol did the French soldiers dis
cover any sign OF hostility. hatred or
incompatibility among the Russians
The past has vanished; liking and al
fection spring up from the first d.
rect contact between the two people,
and the France Russian alliance
seems as If it had always existed.
"And yet the two governments, be-
fore they came to an understanding
had long regarded war between the
two countries as a natural and neces-
sary state of things to be generally
accepted in virtue of reasons OF state.
The governments believed that both
nations were bound to hate each otn'
er, while the people themselvs asked
for nothing better than mutual conf
dence. While the two governments
were deciding for war, the two ma
tions were friendly, and neither de-
feat nor bloodshed nor bitterness has
been able to stifle this sentiment.
at was all very we'll for hovern-
ments to admit that they were mis-
taken, hut that did not bring back
the victims to life and to the service
Of their country. During a visit /
paid to Moscow, it seemed as II l
were living the trials and sufferings
of our unfortunate grand army all
over again. At least 100000 men were
modified for the campaign in Rus
sia. They were drawn from all the
countries conquered by France, and
they included about 100000 young
French conscripts. AS the genera
tions fit for service in the army had
been already wiped out, it was found
necessary to lower the age-limit and
begin to take mere boys who, though
brave enough, were physically unable
to withstand the fatigues of cam
paigning. All these younths had to
be marched across Europe as far as
the Niemen and part Of them at least,
beyond over the Russian steppes,
only to take part in the climax OF
the war, the burning of Moscow, the
retreat of all the inhabitants, carry
ing away with them all means OF sub
sistence, the most pitiless of winters,
combined with the retreat, coming as
the denouement Of the rtgaedy.
my way back to France from Mos
COW by railway took me over prac-
tically the same route as the French
troops followed in their retreat.
Even in an express train it seemed
useless. 1t took in a whole day and
night, and the names of the stations,
such as Barodino, Smolensk and Ba-
resina. aroused painful memories
Those were the places where our
troops had had to fight their way
back to hostile Europe, the battle