Iditarod pioneer., 1917-03-31
HOW BISMARCK MADE PEACE
 BY STARVATION METHODS

In the autumn of 1870 Bismarck found himself face to face with a hard problem. The scientifically trained German armies everywhere defeated the mserably- ly-equlpped and wretchedly-led French troops. Never theIess the French fought on. They refused to make peace. thus putting to confuslon the idea of Moltke and other German staff officers that France would show the white flag as soon as German armies appeared be- fore Paris. Moltke's correspondence shows that he expected to join in the pleasures of game shooting in Silesia by the end ot October, 1870.
 Bismarck was anxious to find way of forcing peace upon high spirited and de
 liant people. And he soon found it ln the decision to reduce Paris the very heart of
 France, by blockade It was a rather slow method, but a sure one. In September the German armies began movements to en- velop the city. The iron ring closed in upon the population of two millions. On September 16 1870, the last mail left Paris. Two days later the gates were closed and from that hour no supplies entered the cap ital.
 As is we'll known, the 'man of blood and ron" had scant respect for so-called neutral
 and humanity rights Bismarck brushed
 aside in scorn and jest few timid protests
 from neutrals, citizens of the United States
 and Great Britain in the invested area, but he cared nothing for that. Nor can We find much more compunctlon in hIs sue ccssors. On March 1, 1892, Count CaDrlvL who succeeded Bismarck as Chancel!1r oi the empire, made this clear declaration with
 regard to cutting off food during . naval | blockade:
 "War is rough and terrible business. | This applies equally to warfare on land and
 at sea. Whoever is engaged in the war
 wishes to attain his object, and if he be wig
 orous he will employ every means to attain 1 it. In q naval war the cutting eff of he
 enemys trade is one of those means. No
 one can forego it. And really, IS 1t any l thing more than is done on land? If dur ! ing the siege of Paris someone had equipped | q train with foodstuffs for the Parisians,
 that train would simply have been stopped.
 I must say that if states act in this
 way they use the only means which war
 gives them. In such conduct 1 could see | absolutely no barbarity, CT any difference | from the measures taken in q war on laAd. ! And I believe that, inasmuch as no naval
 war has been wagcd on a large scale since | the days of Nelson, views about naval war | have arisen which underestimate lts force ! and power
 l Germans should remember such close ad, i herence to preceGents when they raise their 1 voices against the "inhumanify" of the ] Franco-British blockade,
 1 ID H. ,1l- ,tl lat rTrNFy | the Parisians stew in their own iuce." The
 function of the German army outside Paris
 was simply to keep it isolated. IL was a
 mathematical certainty that the supply of 1 food would give out in time On the twelfth l day of the blockade the American minister, | N7 Wa~hburne. who remained within, mo- ! Gced that the meat was growing scarce. 1 Lack cf and proper food sent up the death ! rate among the children of the poor The ! aged and sick also died rapidly The Ger mans were asked to allow the women and
 children to leave the city, but they refused, pointing out that their absence would pur
 off the days of starvation.
 | Forage soon gave out and horses could
 not be kept. They were sold at that date 1 for s to S1O and slaughtered
 Gradually general misery increased. Fuel
 began to fail After two months of siege | butter cost $3 3Sf a pound turkeys journeyed 1 to Sl5 and $20 apiece, chickens to $6, rab- l bits S35O and eggs S1.4O a dozen, Bread still
 remained cheap, as the price was fixed by
 government order. A cat fetched $40 to
 Sl.75, a rat 36 cents, and fat dogs 50 cents
 pound By Christmas day prices had 1 climbed still higher; a goose cost $2O and
 a chicken g. Then all fresh meat vanished 1 from the shops except horse flesh.
 The blockade continued its pressure, but
 t was slow. Bismarck grew impatient. He wished to bring near the day of surrender. 1 He demanded of the German staff that the ! city be bombarded Like the American gen.
 eral Sheridan, it was held that the enemy's people in war time should be left with only i their eyes to weep over the ruins. Bis
 marek had his way Nine days lombard
 ment resulted in comparatively little dam age because of the limited destructive power
 of the artillery of that day. It was per haps equal to the mischief wrought by a Zeppelin visit But the relentless gnawing of hunger was more, infinitely more, effect i've than the cannon balls. Some time after the bombardment an armistice was signed. It was virtually the surrender of Paris to famine The surrender of France followed Thus Bismarck obtained what he wanted by blockade and starvation.- Illustrated ToyJor No,,,r