The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1919-02-06
Some Lessons frtm History
WILLIAM L. FkEELAND
France aFi a'EoIa0I III

Napoleon il nigh, hsv seemed p
though that nam" world rave b. ,y
hated hing 70 be shunnei as dead
ly poison. But j, was n"'. In th,
glamor OF greatness vas a halo o
glory that chained the Imagination c
Frenchmen for years. l am not surt
that it has ended even to cur oSn day
For this worship Of name sss1cil.e &c
with possibly the greatest milit.g2 gen
ins of the world since julius Caesar,
France paid a penalty so terrible thai
it is doubtful il she will ever recover.
This reverence made it easy for Louis
Napoleon to deceive France with fine
words ard ultimately to lead her 10 the
hard tragedy Of the Franco Prussiap
war Of 1870 when at the behest Of this
laundering autocrat she plunged into
the ill-iated contest with Bismarck.
So crippled was France as a result that
when the present war began she had
not the slightest hope Ct staying the
power OF the kaiser's holdes alone.
Only the timely aid Of millions OF Brit
ish soldiers and the silent and uLremii.
ting pressure OF the British feet en-
abled her 10 hold the tide until our
own belated aid gave the weight need,
ed to turn the scale. What sad re.
suit frcm having listened 10 the sweet
promises OF schemfing demagogue.
In previous article I have brisA0
mentioned some OF the condii2ns III
lead to the revolution Of l848. It is.
not necessary to consider these causes
here since we are only concerned with
some OF the methods whereby Napole
on the Little tied himself like a mill
stone about the neck Of France and
then plunged her unwilling into the
sea Of destiny to struggle desperately
TO keep above the waves.
At the age Of twenty he was an avow
ed liberal supporting Republican
France against the Bourbon autocrats.
As a young man he joined in the pre-
mature attempt to gain Italian liberty
and lost his older brother during the
contest. Later we find him in Paris
intrigueing against the king. His ac-
tiyity was discovered and he was ban
ished, going to England where he
still continued to scheme and plot.
During this time there came a change
in his demsanor that indicated the
dangerous character OF the mar. He
became impassive and concealed his
ambitions even from his iliende. His
mother characteriz him as gentle
but obstinate" Later he entered in
TO an armed attempt 10 break the pow
er Of the French king. This ended
disastrously. He tried to A:e to the
ship that brought him but the yawl
capsized. Ole Of his companions was
drown d aud another shot. Lori
Napoleon lived, alas, poor Frsnc
For this escapade he was imprisoned
but succeeded in escaping to England.
Like his uncle, Napoleon the Great,
he had firm belief in bis destiny and
ad opted as his motto the mis- rible
phrase, II wait" Absence Of hone,
or any definite principles made il pos
sible for him to trim ard tack the duck
on every issue. His speeches wer,
fine rhetoric but could be in,rcp eiec
in most any waT that ssemed b-st T.
suit his fancy and ctpd be chsrgec
to meet any occssioD 10 the at o
I visiting wOtds h- became most skilful
knowing like the snail, how to draw
In his horns as soon as he met an OBJ.
stacle," but always unpriucipled and
ready to seize the first opportunity 10
come back viii his own selfish and
designing ambitions. With the adroit
ness q the political demagogue We
hear him saying, IT the people i'm
pose duties upon me l shall know how
how to fulfil them"
In 1848 the storm OF revolution
again swept over Paris. BlTicadeS ap-
peared in the streets and after some
spiritless 6ghing the king abdicated
and France again gave her destiny in
TO the hands Of ne demos for good CT