The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-10-27

going on in the field. That was his tre-
mendous advantage.
Favre knew comparatively little about
the military situation; he was not mill
tary man, and besides that he had been
In beleaguered city, cut off from all
communication for weeks. His fatal er-
TOT was not to have summoned Gambetta
or one of Gambetta's encourage to advise
him. The war, indeed, must have ended
in German victory, but good deal might
have been saved.
Under these conditions, with one antag-
onist blindfolded, the game began.
Favre asserted, for an opening state
ment, that Paris had enough supplies to
last SIX months.
Bismarck permitted himself to show
amusement.
The garrison was about to make a
sortie In force, NJ. Fsvre continued
grzvely; the battle would be sanguinary.
To avoid useless losses, be, NJ Favre, pro-
posed to surrender if favorable terms
could be arranged, including the honors Of
war for the French defenders.
Bismarck stopped smiling and got down
to business. He swept Favre off his feet.
He would hear Of no surrender Of the
capital without the condition Of an armi-
stice to be observed throughout France,
an armistice preliminary to peace negotia-
hons. BE informed NJ. Fayre of the exact
state OF desperation in Paris; it was use
less 70 try to fool him on that score
Steps toward victorious peace were what
the soldiers demanded; be could not re-
fuse; victorious peace, or the war must
60 on.
Neat Counter by M. Favre.
M. Favre countered rather neatly. Had
not the Iron Chancellor asserted stoutly
not long before to NJ. Theirs that the
Council Of National Defence had no
authority To make peace; that it ives q
makeshift, hedgerow conglcmeration Of
Amadmen," incapable of signing treaty?
That would have been a poser to an
other man. But Bismarck had an adroit
answer.
'Yes,r be said, in effect, cit is true that
you cannot make peace. But as the head
of the military force you can conclude a
military truce. During the truce cleo
tons can be called and delegates to Che
National Assembly elected. I will recog-
nize the Assembly as a duly constituted
Government, and will conclude a peace
with it, if it desires 10 make peace"
All tins was not matter of five min
ute talk. 1t was instead six days work.
Favre went back and forth between Yer
sailles and Paris. Toward the end Of the
week he learned that there had been a
tragic miscalculation of the amount Of
flour on hand; Paris was ten days nearer
actual starvation than had been estimated.
Negotiations moved more swiftly from
that time forward.
Favre took two advisers from the coun-
al back to Versailles with him. He might
have taken the whole Government along
for all the difference it made. So on JAN
nary %, at 8 o'clock at night, the order
TO cease firing was given. The siege CT
Paris was at an end.
Bismarck was anxious TO have Belfort in
German hands when it came time to draw
mp the definitive peace treaty. So he de-
manded its surrender as part of tie terms
of the truce. Favre would not coneede
TINS. So Bismarck haggled.
Bismarck Plays Old Trick.
Probably this was one of the times
when be played his favorite trick-ex-
cused himself. from the conference on the
ground that this was a matter that ex-
ceeded his authority and that he must con-
suit the Emperor himself.
He never went any further than
nearby room, where he enjoyed one of his
famous cigars at leisure and thought out
q scheme.
"Very we'll" he told Favre upon his
r u .