^°-t. ^0 V-' 4 0, 0*0 -^ « * A, 0^. i^' ^>t^ C^ v<^^ /V '.1 ^ AT ♦. ^0' JP-T^ <^. -:-^o- ^^^ ^o. ^*ir-.'^'\o'^ "V'^^^^^W^ o ♦ » ' -,0 o A NE IV BOOK B Y JO SI AH ALLEN'S WIFE. " SWEET CICELY; or, JOSIAH ALLEN AS A POLITICIAN." Of thrilling interest. Over 100 illustrations, square 12nio, cloth, $2.00. " Josiah Allen's Wife" has always been a shrewd observer of human nature as it reveals itself in the round of homely, every-day life, and the keen sarcasm and adroit humor with which she lays bear its foibles, its weaknesses and its grotesque outcroppings, has rarely, if ever, been equalled. The strong feature of all Miss Holley's humor is its moral tone. Editor Union Signal says : " Josiah Allen's "Wife's new book •Sweet Cicely ' comes from the very depths of her heart. It is quaint, humorous, original. She strikes hard blows, but with a velvet-gloved hand." Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland says: "My former experience with Miss Holley's books induces me to expect great good and great enjoyment in her new book, ' Sweet Cicely.'" Miss Francis E. Willard says: " Modern fiction has not fur- nished a more thoroughly individual character than ' Josiah Allen's Wife.' She will be remembered, honored, laughed and cried over when the purely ' artistic ' novelist and his heroine have iiassed into oblivion. She is a woman, wit, philanthro- l)ist and statesman, all in one, and I prophesy that 'Sweet Cicely's' gentle, firm hand shall lead Josiah Allen's Wife on- ward into literary immortality." Will Carleton says: " It retains all the peculiar spicy flavor of her former works, and is better than any of them, because of its alternate pathos and humor." FUNK & WAGNALLS, Publishers, io& 12 Dey St., N. Y. J BIETIGHEIM." Yet, I doubt not thro' the ages one increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men are widen'd with the process of the suns." —Lockaley Hall, FUNK & WAGNALLS. NEW YORK : . o„ „ LONDON : 10 AND 12 DEY STREET. 44 FLEET STREET. All rights reserved. ^^ I^V^ -^■ >y^0 ^ 'C I Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1886, by FUNK & WAGNALLS, In tlie Office of tlxe Librarian of Congress at Waslungton, D, C. mTEODUOTIOlSr. Denvee, November 20, 1932. Hon. John W. Minok, Member of Congress, 3d Col. Dist. Dear Sm : The undersigned, a committee ap- pointed at the mass-meeting of the citizens of Den- ver, held on the 14th inst., to devise means for relieving the distress of the poor and laboring classes of this citj during the coming winter, have the honor to state that one of the plans already de- cided upon for raising a public Relief Fund is the organization of a course of ten lectures to be deliv- ered at the Denver Opera House during the winter months, and upon dates to be hereafter agreed upon. In this plan we ask you to co-operate with us by permitting the announcement of your name as that of one of the lecturers of the course ; and while leaving to yourself the choice, we yet venture to suggest, in view of your honorable connection with the events which marked the memorable war of 1890-91, and your carefnl study of the causes leading to and the results ensuing from that great struggle, that one or more lectures on that subject, including some of your personal reminiscences, will not only prove a source of general entertainment and interest, but will serve to enkindle anew in the 4 - lifTRODUCTION. minds of the youth of this generation a vivid recol- lection of the patriotic zeal, patient courage, and historic achievements of their forefathers, when bearing the Stars and Stripes against a foreign foe on foreign soil. Kequesting the favor of an early reply, we have the honor to* be, sir, very respectfully yours, H. Sibley Mooee, Chairman, \ DwiQHT F. Peck, > Committee. SiGMUND KOBLER, ) Vevet Viixa, November 22, 1932. Messrs. H. Sibley Moore, D wight F. Peck, and SiGMUND KOBLEK, Citizens' Relief Committee, Denver. Gentlemen : In reply to your communication of the 20th inst., I beg to express to you my acknowl- edgments for the compliment which it implies, and to state that I shall be happy to co-operate with you by the delivery of three lectures on the subject sug- gested, on any dates between the 23d of December and the 15th of January next. As 1 leave for Washington within the next ten days in order to be jDresent at the opening of the Session (expecting, however, to return to Denver for the Christmas holi- days), I would request you to inform me as early as possible of the dates assigned me. My lectures will be entitled " Bietigheim : I. Its Causes, II. Its Cost, III. Its Consequences," and I shall endeavor to review the political and social causes and effects INTRODUCTION". • 5 of the momentous struggle of forty years ago, bringing in, as occasion offers, some of my personal recollections of a campaign which startled the world and sealed the downfall of the greatest military power of the nineteenth century. I am, gentlemen, very truly yours, John "W. MmoR, M.C. IK^TRODUCTION. DENVER OPERA HOUSE (WINTER SEASON, 1932-33) The Citizens' Relief Committee have the honor to announce that ON. John W. Minor M. C. has consented to deliver a course of three Lectures on JJ /. ITS CAUSES DEC. 26th. II. ITS COST JAITY 5th. III. ITS CONSEQUENCES . . " 12th. Course Tickets $2.00 Single Lectures 75 Proceeds to be devoted to the relief of the poor of Denver. LECTURES BEGIN AT 7.SO P.M. H. SIBLEY MOORE, \ DWIGHT F. PECK, I Committee. SIGMUND KOBLER, ) INTRODUCTION^. 7 (From the Denver Daily Times, December 2Qth, 1932.) TO-NIGIIT'S LECTUKE. We take occasion to remind the readers of the Thnes that Hon. John W. Minor will deliver at the Opera House this evening the first of his prom- ised series of lectures in aid of the Charitable Kelief Fund. The distinguished lecturer has chosen for his topic, under the title of '^ Bietigheim," the events connected with the great war of 1890-91, and will treat this evening especially of the causes, political and otherwise, which combined to bring about the stupendous conflict culminating in a vic- tory so glorious yet so dearly bought ; reserving for his two subsequent lectures the narration of the thrilling events of the campaign, in which he par- ticipated as a line officer, and a glance at the im- portant social and political changes wrought by that memorable crisis in the world's history. In this connection, although Mr. Minor is well known to the citizens of Denver, among whom he has dwelt, honored and respected, for over a quarter of a century past, we deem it not out of place to reproduce here a short sketch of his life, which we find in the Congressional Directory for the current session — viz. : John W. Minor was born at Dayton, 0., Sep- tember 25th, 1870, and received a common school education ; in 1883, on the death of his father, an Episcopal clergyman, he was sent by his mother to a relative at Kansas City ; found employment in the law-office of Clark & Benzinger, and later as 8 li^^TRODUCTIOiq-. law-copyist and clerk with Hon. John S. Darrall, devoting himself in leisure moments to studying for admission to the bar ; on the breaking ont of hostilities in the spring of 1890 was commissioned second lieutenant in the Fourth Kansas Infantry, went to Europe with that command, and partici- pated in all its engagements ; was successively brevetted first lieutenant at Hoheneck and captain at Colmar for gallant conduct ; while in command of his company during a momentary repulse on the third day's fighting at Bietigheim was severely wounded, and carried within the enemy's lines ; was restored to his friends under the Articles of Surrender after the battle, and as lieutenant-colonel of his decimated battalion was enabled to rejoin his command in season to participate with it in the famous triumphal review of the allied armies at Paris in June, 1891 ; returned home with his com- mand, and resuming his law studies at Kansas City, was admitted to practise in 1893, and shortly there- after to partnership with his former patron, Mr. Darrall ; w^as elected in 1895 to the Kansas Legis- lature, and served tliree successive terms there ; was appointed. United States District Attorney for Col- orado in 1904 by President Fairchild, and removed to Denver, where he has since resided ; in 1912 resigned District Attorneyship and was elected Mayor of Denver ; in 1916 was elected State Sen- ator, and in 1920 President of the Colorado Senate. In 1924: went to Europe with his family, revisiting most of the scenes of his former campaigns, and on his return in 1926 was elected as a ]^ationalist INTRODUCTIOlSr. 9 to the Seventieth Congress ; was successively there- after elected to the Seventy-first and Seventy-second Congresses, and was re-elected to the Seventy-third Congress as a Nationalist, receiving 26,079 votes against 23.476 votes for Plardcastle, Democrat. BIETIGHEIM." ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. I. ITS CAUSES. In tracing, so far as our own country is con- cerned, the events which led to the crisis of 1890, it is not necessary to go farther back than five or six years — that is, to the time when the Kepiibhcan Party, after holding the reins of Government for a quarter of a century, blotting out negro slavery from the statute-books, and laying forever to rest the pernicious doctrine of State Rights, finally fell from power through the disgust created in the popular mind by the aspirations and jealousies of its leaders. From the inauguration of President Cleve- land in the spring of 1885 dates the beginning of an era of real reunion between the North and South. With the return of the Democratic Party to power the old sectional feeling which, since the earliest days, had been more or less a barrier to national unity, forever disappeared, and there can be no better proof of the union of sentiment which ex- 12 "BIETIGHEIM." isted at that period than that represented in Wal- lace's historical painting in the Senate Chamber at "Washington, entitled ^' The Burial of General Grant," where troops from Massachusetts and New York are to be seen marching side by side with troops from Yirginia and Georgia, and where a host of Confederate veterans, headed bj their former commander, Johnston, are portrayed following their departed conqueror to his last resting-place. To one closely studying the politics of that day it is of great interest to note the development of the struggle between a deep-rooted sense of allegiance to party on the one hand, and an independent de- votion to purity in politics, without regard to party, on the other. It was the latter sentiment that placed Mr. Cleveland in the chair, and it was his tacit acknowledgment of that fact that animated his entire administration. His manly and determined stand on the question of Civil Service Reform, and his bold repudiation of the baneful Jacksonian theory of victors and spoils, enabled him to free himself from the worst elements of the party that nominated him, to rally in their stead to his sup- port a large and respectable following, including many of his former opponents, and to lay the foundation of that great national party which has since controlled the Government. With all the more admiration must this important step toward political reform be regarded when it is remembered under what bitter attacks by his own party and harassing foreign complications it was carried out during the latter half of President Cleveland's ad- ministration. The Panama Canal imbroglio brought ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 13 about by De Lesseps's disappointed vanity, the troublesome question in regard to tlie Sandwich Islands Protectorate, and the imminent danger of a costly war with China growing out of the perse- cution of Christian missionaries, combined to dis- tract public attention from home politics and the conduct of internal affairs. Yet, thanks to the President's common-sense and firmness and to the prudence and sagacity of his advisers, all of these questions were successively solved in a manner satis- factory to the national honor ; and when the famous National Convention, composed of delegates chosen from every Congressional district in the United States, without regard to former political connections or party ties, assembled at Louisville in June, 1888, to select a candidate for the Presidency, the en- thusiasm and unanimity with which the candidacy was offered to President Cleveland was only equalled by the popular regret which was felt on his an- nouncing his refusal to stand for a second term. About this time, too, an enhanced value began to be put upon the rights and privileges of Ameri- can citizenship.* Thinking people commenced to * The privilege and franchise of American citizenship should be granted with care, and extended to those only who intend in good faith to' assume its duties and responsibilities when attaining its privileges and benefits ; it should be withheld from those who merely go through the forms of naturalization with the intent of escaping the duties of their original allegi- ance without taking upon themselves those of their new status, or who may acquire the rights of American citizenship for no other than a hostile purpose toward their original governments. These evils have had many flagrant illustrations. — President Clevelaiid's Message of 1885. 14 '^BIETIGHEIM." doubt the wisdom of longer leaving our doors wide open to the emigration of the world, and of receiv- ing with o))en arms and without let or hindrance all the impoverished elements of overcrowded Europe. It became only too evident that our naturalization laws had been shamefully prostituted to political purposes. Hordes of social demagogues who had been thrust out as firebrands from Germany, Austria, and Russia, and possessing only a sufficient smattering of knowledge to render them dangerous among ignorant working people, were availing themselves of American citizenship, either with the avowed purpose of returning, passport in hand, to their native countries to resume their seditious work, or to remain and stir up social strife in the larger cities of the land which had adopted them. The attempted general uprising of workingmen in 1887, on the anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, the founder of the International Society, while it proved futile, and resulted in the summary execu- tion of the thirteen conspirators who were proven to have organized it, yet served a good purpose in compelling public attention to the pressing need of a restriction upon naturalization and foreign immi- gration. The country w^as, moreover, becoming too rapidly peopled ; a steady stream of Germans, Scandinavians, and Irish was flowing westward from the Atlantic seaports to the Eocky Mountain regions ; corporations composed principally of far- seeing English capitalists had managed quietly to pre-empt immense tracts of fertile territory from ITS CAUSES, COST, AN'D CONSEQUENCES. 15 the public domain ; -' it began to be frequently asked in the newspapers and at public meetings whether our forefathers, the founders of this repub- lic, had ever calculated the full extent to which the poor and oppressed of all the world would ulti- mately avail themselves of the generous offer of a home and protection from tyranny, f Presently these casual inquiries took the form of a general call for legislation to amend the evil. The National Party's platform of 1888 demands a residence of ten years and the payment of a poll tax as require- ments for a foreigner's naturalization. A proposi- tion of this character was, in fact, brought before the Senate at its ensuing session, and would no doubt have been promptly acted upon had not, at that juncture, events of far greater moment monopoHzed the attention of Congress. But the voice of the * Washington, December 8th, 1885. — In the Senate to-day a memorial was presented by the New Hampshire Legislature, pointing out that non-residents, aliens, principally British sub- jects, owned 20,000,000 acres of public lands in New Hamp- shire, and urging the necessity of legislation to deal with such purchases. f IMMIGEATION — CHANGED SENTIMENT. It is a very striking circumstance that the great foreign im- migration to the United States, which formerly was our com- mon boast, begins now to be regarded by a large part of the people, in the older communities more especially, with very different feelings. Instead of swelling with pride at the thought that the Eepublic offers an asylum for the poor and oppressed of every land, they are asking themselves whether the welfare of those already here does not require more dis- crimination as to who shall be invited. — New York Sun, Jan- uary 28th, 1886. 16 " BIETIGHEIM. j» people, foreign born as well as native, was out- spoken and strong in declaring that the time had come when the guards stationed at the doors of American citizenship must be strengthened, and a warning be sent over to the peasantry of Europe that in future thej would be welcomed only on more stringent conditions. In material matters the country had prospered during the period which we are now considering. The high protective tariff which, under the Eepub- lican regime^ had fostered enormous monopolies, with regularly recurring seasons of delusive pros- perity, of overproduction, of strikes, stoppages, and failures, and then of apparent prosperity again, had finally to give way to a more moderate scale of entry duties, enabling foreign wares to compete fairly on their own merits with our domestic prod- ucts. Throughout the Southern States there was especially noticeable an increased tolerance of senti- ment and a marked growth of manufacturing enter- prises. The effects of schooling began to be appar- ent among the negro population, who disappointed the expectations of many by proving themselves, for the most part, orderly and industrious citizens in the towns, and good workers in the rural dis- tricts. The spirit of wild speculation which had possessed the country after the close of the Seces- sion period received its death-blow in the disclosures made upon the trial of the swindlers who had in- veigled General Grant and his entire family to their financial ruin, and in the preventive legisla- tion enacted immediately thereafter. The paper ITS CAUSES, COST, AN^D CON-SEQUENCES. 17 fortunes of the Goulds, tlie Yanderbilts, and the scores of other reputed millionaires of that day gradually shrunk to tlieir real values, hundreds of other supposed capitalists passed quietly out of sight, and a healthier view on the question of money-getting— in fact, of morals in general, took possession of the public mind. It was the inevi- table reaction from the extravagance and corruption invariably following a costly and successful war. The result of the Presidential election of 1888 fairly astonished the country. 'No less than five electoral tickets had been placed in nomination. It was impossible, even up to the day of election, to predict the result, as the ^National Party had never yet polled its strength in a Presidential contest, while both the Democrats and Republicans kept up their customary blowing of trumpets about the walls of their political Jericho, so that no one knew what to expect. But when the result was an- nounced, it was found that the Democrats had car- ried New Jersey, South Carolina, and Mississippi, the Republicans Rhode Island and Yermont, and the l^ationals all the remaining States, with three hundred and ninety-one electoral votes out of a total of four hundred and twenty -four. It was a scathing rebuke to political schemers and corrup- tionists, an unmistakable declaration that the peo- ple were tired of ^^ machines" and ^'bosses," and had once more determined to govern themselves. The liquor power, too, had become so insolent in its demeanor and so corrupting in its influence on politics that there was a revolt of public sentiment 18 " ^^BIETIGHEIM." against it, both North and South. The triumph of the National Party proved a death-blow to this domination as well. So overwhelming was the victory that the defeated parties, in the practical American spirit, accepted it with a good grace, and at once set about turning the new order of things to the best account possible. All patriotic people rejoiced in the unity of sentiment existing through- out the country, as well as in the consciousness that the minority, though divided on most issues, was yet large enough, when united in case of need, to make a vigorous opposition to any arbitrary or un- constitutional acts which the victorious majority might attempt. But no such attempt was to be made. On the 4:th of March, 1889, when President Bayard deliv- ered his inaugural, not a cloud was visible on the political horizon. The voices of factions were stilled, peace and prosperity prevailed, and not even to the most sagacious observer was there any portent visible of the storm of excitement which within a twelvemonth was to burst upon the land. Re- lieved of the pressure of the overwhelming hordes of office-seekers, who under previous administra- tions had been wont to monoJ3olize the attention of the Executive, the President and his Cabinet were enabled to devote their time and energies to the consideration of the more important issues which presented themselves, such as the Public Lands and Forestry questions, the pitiable condition of the Northwestern Indian tribes, then being rapidly decimated by consumption and small-pox ; ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 19 the feasibility of bridging the Mississippi at New Orleans ; the organization of the militia forces of the respective States upon a national basis ; and the devising of further means for extending our foreign trade througlF the agency of the consular service. These and other important measures would doubtless have taken form and shape in the Presi- dent's ensuing message to Congress, when, sud- denly, out of the midst of the clear sky fell the thunderbolt which awoke the country to the re- sponsibility that was upon it, and sent the cry for reparation or war ringing like a tocsin throughout the land. The act which provoked the first outburst of popular feeling was undoubtedly one of wanton cruelty and aggression. One Christian E-einhardt, a native of Germany, had emigrated to this country at the age of nineteen, and settled at Carson, Nev., where, five years later, he was made a citizen. He had also managed to amass suflicient money to pur- chase a modest home, and in the summer of 1889 revisited his birthplace, Miilheim-on-tlie-Rhine, for the purpose of bringing back his widowed mother and only sister to share with him his home and for- tunes in the West. Immediately after his arrival he was ordered to report as a deserter from the Ger- man army. In reply he showed his passport as an American citizen. He was arrogantly informed that "that j^aper" was of no avail to him there, and that he must pay a fine or report for arrest within three days. He at once communicated the facts to the United States Consul at Cologne, who 20 "bietigheim." in turn telegraphed them to Mr. Pendleton, our Minister at Berlin, who had already given much attention to such questions."^ As no diplomatic action could be taken in the matter until an arrest had been actually made, or* a fine collected, the Consul was instructed to go personally to Miilheim, and report promptly all that occurred. On the fourth day Reinhardt was, in the presence of the Consul, taken by force from his mother's house, by a file of soldiers, and, upon offering resistance to the arrest, was shot dead, passport in hand. The Consul, who denounced the act as a cold-blooded murder, and demanded the immediate arrest of the soldier, was set upon by a mob, and barely escaped with his life. On reaching Cologne he telegraphed the facts to the Legation ; Mr. Pendleton lost no time in calling at the German Foreign Ofiice to demand an immediate disclaimer of the outrage and a promise of prompt reparation, at the same time cabling to Washington a statement of the en- tire affair, and of his action. A reply from the President sustained his course, and instructed him to press his demand, and make no concessions. Upon one or another pretext, however, the Berlin * Word has been received that Minister Pendleton's study of the question of German-American citizenship and the viola- tion of its rights is going to result in the hearing of the com- plaints of German- Americans whose rights have been interfered with while visiting the fatherland, and that a remedy is to be provided if possible. Minister Pendleton's report on the sub- ject is expected at the Department of State early enough to afford a basis for a proposition for an amendment to the Ban- croft treaty.— TFas/imgrto/i (Z>. C.) Repuhlican, October 20ih, 1885. ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 21 Government temporized, and after repeated calls at the Foreign Office our Minister was able to obtain nothing more satisfactory than vague assurances that an inquiry was being made concerning the affair. Meanwhile in America the excitement wa£ indescribable. In many places Bismarck was burned in effigy, the naturalized German element being foremost in the demonstrations. Mass-meet- ings were held everywhere. At one in St. Louis, where over fifty thousand attended, such transpar- encies as " Germany Must Apologize or Fight" and '' Reparation or War" were freely displayed. Cablegrams by the score and from every quarter of the land daily poured in upon the American Minis- ter at Berlin, urging him to stand firm at every cost. The newspapers teemed with instances of the arro- gance of German authorities toward naturalized Americans revisiting their native land ; it was dis- covered that thousands of similar complaints, under the title of " military cases," had been pigeon-holed at the Berlin Leo'ation throuo^h the indifference or sycophancy of former ministers ; ^ it came to light * EXPELLING AMERICANS. AFTKB HIS POLISH IMMOLATION, BISMARCK TURNS TO UNITED STATES CITIZENS. (Bp Cable to the Neco York Herald.) Beelin, November 11th, 1885. — The German-Americans who were recently expelled from the island of Foelir, Schleswig, have been ordered to leave Prussia before November 15th. Two naturalized Americans, natives of Tarp and Schottenburg, have also been ordered to leave, one by the end of November and the other by the end of the year. Beelin, December 11th, 1885. — The Vossiche Zeitung pub- lishes a letter from Schleswig in reference to President Cleve- 22 ^^BIETIGHEIM." that previous administrations liad been vainly ap- pealed to to right outrageous wrongs of this char- acter ; and that several well-known members of Congress, now among the loudest for war, had been requested to bring similar acts of arrogance to the notice of the House of Representatives, jet, for some reason, had neglected to do so. But now the long smouldering fire of indignation against Ger- man arrogance blazed up into a fierce flame ; the return of the Lasker resolutions, and the unciWl treatment received by a former Minister at the Ger- man court, Mr. Sargent, were revived in the public mind ; and to fan the flame, cojDies and translations of Bismarck's speech in the Reichstag on the former question were printed on tissue paper and circulated by hundreds of thousands among the people. The popular demand for immediate action de- cided the President to call an extra session of Con- gress. The shooting of Reinhardt had occurred late in August ; on the 12th of September Mr. land's Message. In alluding to that part of tlie Message re- garding an apparent tendency on the part of the Imperial Government to extend the scope of the residential restric- tions to which returning naturalized citizens of German origin are asserted to be liable under the laws of the Empire, the writer says : " The German Government treats alike, regardless of where naturalized, all Germans who emigrate in order to escape military service and then return to Germany. The Government will not tolerate American or Danish colonies within its territory. The Schleswig expulsion edict is a warn- ing for those liable to military service if seized with a desire to emigrate and then return to Germany as naturalized citizens of another country." — New Twk Tribune. ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 23 Pendleton demanded his passports, bade farewell to the German Court, and withdrew to London to await further developments. Congress assembled on the first Monday in October. So eager had been the response to the President's summons, that only three Senators and less than twenty members of the House failed to answer when their names ^vere called. The organization of both branches was promptly effected. Meanwhile popular feeling was so intense that eager crowds gathered before the telegraph offices and bulletin boards in all the larger cities and towns. At Washington the Cap- itol was besieged by a shouting populace, requiring a strong force of police and militia to keep open even a passage for the entrance and egress of mem- bers. The President's Message was read in execu- tive session to the assembled bodies amid profound silence. It was temperate in tone, and after recit- ing all the details of the Peinhardt affair, supported by a mass of correspondence, telegraphic and other- wise, submitted the case to the sovereign represent- atives of the people for such action as might be deemed '' just, dignified, and best befitting the honor of a great nation." 'No sooner had the reading ended than a score of members were on their feet demanding to be heard ; but among them there was no voice for peace, nor even for arbitration. The cooler-headed members kej^t their senses and their seats, w^aiting for the storm of excited oratory to pass, and for the mo- ment to arrive when the question of declaring war against the most powerful military empire in the 24 '^BIETIGHEIM." world might be discussed with dignity and calm- ness. While all were unanimous in agreeing that an insult had been offered for which full reparation must be demanded, the views as to how that repa- ration could best be obtained were so conflicting that a continuous session of nearly forty-eight hours had been held without result, when, to the surprise of all, a second message from the President was an- nounced. It transmitted a cable dispatch from the Government of Great Britain, offering the media- tion and arbitration of Queen Victoria, if by that means hostilities could be averted. The proposition served to divide the members, and thus fortunately to prevent a hasty and intem- perate declaration of war. From the members rep- resenting Irish constituencies it met, of course, with opposition the most bitter. The debate was renewed with added vigor, while the crowds which still thronged the corridors and grounds of the Cap- itol, being informed of the new phase of the ques- tion, also became divided in sentiment, and gave now cheers, now hisses for England and the Queen. The press took up the arbitration question in most instances favorably, and these opinions, coming back by telegraph to different Senators and representa- tives, influenced to some extent their own views. Every parliamentary means was resorted to by the opposing factions to defer a direct vote until one or the other could be certain of a majority, and it was only after the session had reached its fourth day that a call of the Yeas and ISTays on the question of accepting Great Britain's offer resulted in an ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 25 affirmative decision by a scant majority of five. The country acquiesced, though at first rehictantly. Gradually, however, the wisdom of the course adopted impressed itself upon the public mind, while general confidence was felt in the fairness and impartiality of the chosen arbiter. The Council of Arbitration met at London early in January, 1890, the United States being repre- sented by Dr. Woolsey, of Yale University, a recognized authority in international law ; Hon. William M. Evarts, the most brilliant legal mind of that day, and Senator Randall Gibson, of Loui- siana, a man who, though much younger than the other two, possessed tried political sagacity and many accomplishments. Germany sent Count Ilatzfeld, one of her former ministers to the Court of St. James, Count Munster, an exceedingly able diplomat, and Herbert Bismarck, a son of the Chancellor. The Prince of Wales presided over the council as representative of his royal mother. The attitude of Germany, if not arrogant, was cer- tainly not conciliatory. While feigning regret for the tragical issue of the Reinhardt incident, she took the ground that it had resulted from his offer- ing personal resistance to lawful military authority ; and that as he had been answerable for military service to the German Empire prior to his acquiring American citizenship, such citizenship could not be recognized by the German Empire until the prior obligation had been discharged. This pres- entation of the case caused the excitement in America to break out afresh, and greatly strength- 26 ^^BIETIGHEIM." ened the cause of the opponents of arbitration. Many openly urged a recall of the delegates to the council and an immediate declaration of war. Yet Congress, though by a bare majority, stood firm in the course it had chosen, and it has since been generally conceded as certain that had the Council of Arbitration been permitted to complete its work, the verdict would have been favorable to the claim of the United States. But before it had been in session for a month other great events intervened to put an abrupt end to its proceedings and to pre- cipitate that general European conflict which to all observant minds had, though long and oft deferred, seemed in the end inevitable. Let us now turn for awhile to a consideration of the events which had been transpiring in the Old World contemporaneously with those which we have been describing in the New. Where so many thousands of soldiers were constantly kept under arms, and where so many disturbing elements ex- isted, requiring all the tact and statecraft of public men to prevent collisions or outbreaks, it seems in- deed wonderful that the clash of arms was so long averted. Chief among these constant causes for disquietude were the Cerman colonial policy, w^iich proved aggressive in its character ; England's con- stant irritation against Russia on account of the lat- ter' s stealthy but steady encroachments on her Northern Indian frontier ; Russia's unceasing in- trigues in the Balkan Peninsula ; France's watch- ful eagerness to avenge Sedan and recover Alsace and Lorraine ; the commercial jealousies engendered ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 27 in tlie opening np of the Congo Free State ; and lastly, the spread of the Socialist movement, en- dangering, in case of a general war, the safety of every capital in Europe. But of all these ques- tions, the one probably most calculated to keep Europe in a constant ferment was Russia's ambition to drive the Sultan from Europe, and gain control of the Dardanelles. The treaty of San Stefano and the action of the Berlin Conference had but served as temporary delays in the prosecntion of this plan ; and when, in 1885, Bulgaria and Hou- melia proclaimed their independence as a united kingdom, although the voice that spoke was that of a Bulgarian Jacob, the hand was but too ]3lainly that of a Russian Esau. The impoverished condi- tion of the Turkish treasury and the discontent and corruption existing in official circles at Con- stantinople contributed still further to stimulate Russia's sleepless ambition. An outbreak, in fact, occurred in 188T, which well-nigh assumed the proportions of a revolution, and which was only suppressed by the most prompt and severe meas- ures. In the following year an unsuccessful at- tempt was made upon the Sultan's life by one of his most trusted advisers, who was afterward shown to have been one of a band of conspirators, many of whom were discovered and summarily put to death. In short, the crescent was waning, and the downfall of the Mohammedan power in Europe had come to be looked upon as certain to ensue whenever the course of events should afford Russia the slightest pretext for a renewal of hostilities. 38 '^BIETIGHEIM." As far back as 1880 Bismarck's attempt to divert the stream of German emigration into colonial channels had begun to make itself apparent. That some outlet must be foand for the overcrowded populations of the Fatherland was plain ; and it was the great statesman's aim to found in various quarters of the globe colonies where German emi- grants, while finding all the land they required, might still remain German citizens and dwell under the same monarchical influences which had sur- rounded them at home. The hundreds of thou- sands who had gone to the United States and had there acquired citizenship, with a republican free- dom of thought, speech, and action, constituted an element of antagonism to monarchy which, though the Atlantic rolled between, could not but make its influence keenly felt upon the thought and temper of the German middle and lower classes at home — an influence which found voice in the growing strength and boldness of the Democratic party in the Reichstag. Warned by this spread of ideas which in time must inevitably undermine the throne, Bismarck shrewdly set about providing colonial possessions where, under home protection, German industry and thrift might, instead of being lost to the Fatherland, only serve to increase its power and influence, and expand its realm.* To *BISMABCK's TEBRITOEIAIi DESIGNS — EAISING THE GEBMAN FLAG IN THE SOUTHEBN PACIFIC. San Feancisco, Cal., December 21st, 1885. — Private advices by the steamer Oceanic, wbicli arrived here on Saturday from China, state that the German man-of-war Nautilus has raised ITS CAUSES, COST, AJS'D CONSEQUENCES. 29 this spirit was due the cordial support accorded to the Congo Free State project by calling together tlie Congo Conference at Berlin ; the attempt to plant the German flag on the Caroline Islands, en- gendering an. enmity on the part of Spain which, as we shall see later, bore bitter fruits ; the per- sistent encroachments of German traders in Japan, China, and the Corea ; and the notorious failure to establish a colony in Southern Brazil, whence, after the expenditure of half a million dollars and many lives, the survivors were glad to return to Germany at any price. Meanwhile, notwithstanding the restriction upon immigration, which began to be freely talked of in the United States, Germans had continued flocking thither by thousands annually, and the schemes of Bismarck not only practically failed of their object, but, worse still, succeeded in engendering in Eng- land, Belgium, Holland, Spain, and Italy a sense of deep popular irritation against the arbitrary spirit in which it had been attempted to carry them out. It may, in short, be said that by this and various other means Germany had, by the arrival of the year 1890, succeeded in rendering herself the most unpopular — in fact, the worst-hated nation in Eu- the German flag on the Marshall and Gilbert groups of islands, in the Southern Pacific, and claimed for the government a pro- tectorate over them. These islands number about fifty in all. The natives are said to be civilized and to have been for many- years under the influence of the American Missionary Society. Further particulars are expected by the Australian steamer due here on December 28th. 30 *' BIETIGHEIM." rope. Still, she remained unquestionably the most powerful. The iron hand of military power kept down all disaffection and maintained German unity intact, notwithstanding the ominous signs of revolt against Berlin despotism, coming now from Baden, now from Bavaria or Wiirtemberg, now from one or another of the numerous Duchies or Principali- ties attached to the triumphal chariot of Prussia. The Emperor William's openly expressed desire that Germany should preserve the peace of Europe during the remainder of his lifetime was fortu- nately fulfilled, and the sunset of the grand old sol- dier's days proved indeed as tranquil and calm as their morning and noon had been fitful and stormy. It is related that one day during the closing years of his life he had gone to a chapel connected with the Berlin Dom for the purpose of inspecting an allegorical painting, which represents the kings of the earth depositing their emblems of royalty at the feet of the Saviour. The court preacher addressed the monarch, who made the following reply : ''What you have said to me personally 1 accept with all modesty, as a man whose days in this world are numbered. During my long life, and especially of late years, Heav^en has showered many blessings and mercies upon me ; but the worldly homage paid me I deposit on the throne of the Most High, who gives us the strength to accomplish whatever good we can do in the world." Could the monarch who gave utterance to such sentiments as these have only been spared for a few years longer, who can say what influence his presence and exam]3le might not ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 31 liave thrown into tlie scale to preserve peace and avert that tremendous conflict the causes of which we are now considering ! But he had reached a ripe old age, and the grim messenger wlio knocks impartially at the peasant's hut and the palace gate hrought him at last his summons. From that mo- ment began a new era in the history of Germany. From the day that Frederick ascended the throne, the star of Bismarck was in its descendant, and with it waned the brilliant sun that had shone over united Germany. First came the quarrel of Baden with Bavaria concerning the latter's small strip of territory on the Rhine ; then the renewal of the Brunswick succession question, and finally the ridic- ulous frontier dispute between Wiirtemberg and Hohenzollern, which by the beginning of 1890 had assumed a national importance and threatened a disruption of friendly relations between Wiirtem- berg and Prussia, had not events of far greater weight compelled both contestants to lay aside their minor differences and make common cause against a common foe. To at least one nation in Europe these evidences of internal dissension in Germany were auguries of the dawn of a day long awaited. Although nearly two decades had obliterated all traces of the battle- field of Sedan, the memory of its disgrace still rankled in the heart of every Frenchman.. Every French mother who brought forth a boy conse- crated him with his first breath as a soldier to Fi'ance, and taught him with his first prayer at her knee to hsp the w^atchword '^ a has les Pricssiens.'''' 32 **BIETIGHEIM." During all the years that had elapsed, none ever acknowledged that the battle for Alsace and Lor- raine was ended : it was only a prolonged truce, during which the temporarily prostrated contestant was gathering fresh strength for a renewal of the deadly struggle. The female statue representing the city of Strasburg, on the Place de la Concorde at Paris, was tenderly draped with emblems of mourning every year by the populace, as that of a loved sister in captivity. Since the restoration of peace and the establishment of the republic France had prospered incredibly. With the exception of the quixotic hostilities in Tonquin, she had con- trived to hold aloof from foreign complications. The Presidential election of 1886, to which many timid ones had looked forward with misgiving, had been safely passed ; Bonapartism had met its death- blow from a Zulu spear in South Africa ; and even the Poyalist element had begun to concede tacitly that the republic was, at least for years to come, a fixed fact. The stern and prompt suppression of the Radical uprising at Lyons late in 1887 showed not only that the Republican leaders were in ear- nest, but that they had the support of the people and of the army, and were in a position to cope suc- cessfully with the dangerous elements in their own party. The enthusiastic reception given to Presi- dent Grevy on the occasion of his visit in 1887 to the United States, to attend an international celebra- tion in honor of the statue of " Liberty" in ]^ew York Harbor, and the friendly tone of his speeches during his journey and after his return, had served ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 33 to cement the brotherly relations between the two countries, so happily inaugurated bj Lafayette and Kochambeau, and had resulted in the framing of a special and reciprocal tariff treaty between the two governments, under which French wines and silks were admitted on a reduced duty, in return for similar privileges accorded to our wheat, pork, canned goods, and agricultural imj)lements at French custom houses. As may be imagined, Germany looked upon this rapprochement between the United States and her traditionary enemy with no friendly eye, the more so as some of the more indiscreet of the mosquito press of Paris, with Gallic childishness, began loudly hinting at a possible alliance, both offensive and defensive, with the United States, in case of an attempt to recover the lost provinces on the Rhine. So offensive, in fact, did these utterances become, that the German Minister, von Schlozer, felt obliged to bring them officially to the notice of the French Government, and to request a disavowal. The offending journalists were promptly punished by the infliction of trifling fines, but not until pop- ular sentiment had had a good opportunity of dis- playing its full sympathy with the ideas suggested. About this time everything American became again as popular at Paris as it had been in the days of Franklin and Adams. The caprices of the good people of the giddy French capital found expres- sion, for instance, in naming a number of the boule- vards after the leading cities of the Union. The Avenue de la Grande Eepublique" became the (( 34 **BIETIGHEIM." ''Avenue des denx Grandes Repiibliques," and the " Rue Bayard " the '' Rue President Bayard." The works of the leading American authors were translated and read with avidity. Barrett, tlie American tragedian, was accorded the honor of appearing as Cassius in Shakespeare's Julius CcBsar on the boards of the Comedie Frangaise, supported by an American company ; and although the Eng- lish text was used, the house was thronged, and dis- tinguished honors were heaped upon the player. In the official world a similar feeling prevailed. The action of the French ministry in refusing M. de Lesseps's extraordinary demands for protection in his hour of need was unquestionably a concession to America's openly avowed opposition to the project. Nor only this. The French Government, by order of the National Assembly, sent commis- sions to this country to study and report on our sys- tem of agriculture, of public education, of canals and railroads, and of telegraphy. In the United States these substantial proofs of respect and friend- liness were appreciated, and met in a similar though perhaps less demonstrative spirit. But the day was soon to come when the alliance thus begun was to prove of greater significance and value than the world at large, which had been inclined to regard it as a mere accident, had ever anticipated. Among the other causes of disquietude in Europe to which reference has been made was the strife for commercial supremacy in the then newly organ- ized Congo Free State. There existed at that time a general belief that Europeans could, with proper ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 35 precaTition, become acclimated in that region, and the opening of the Congo to foreign trade was re- garded as only the preliminary step to the peopling of all Central Africa by the Caucasian race, to the ultimate extinction of the African tribes. Unfor- tunately time had not yet demonstrated the vision- ary nature of these expectations, and so the rush for the Congo began. Capital was subscribed with- out difficulty for the construction of the railway around the rapids from Yivi to Stanley-Pool. Yivi and Leopoldville, from insignificant native villages with a few barracks built by European pioneers, grew ra23idly to be commercial towns, the one with twelve, the other with seven thousand white inhab- itants. Enormous warehouses were put up at vari- ous points along the stream, and in these were stored stocks of merchandise and provisions far in excess of the demands of the market. Before long it be- gan to be painfully apparent that the resources of the country, present or prospective, were far from adequate to repay the capital already invested.* Yet Europe was slow to accept the idea of a failure, and everything possible was done to bolster up pub- lic confidence in the future of Congo trade. Stock comj)anies, based on inaccessible mines, impossible railways, and untenable tracts of farming and graz- * New Yoke, December 2d, 1885. — It is believed that the reso- lutions of the Berlin Conference in respect to the Congo will be sent to Congress with adverse comments by President Cleve- land on the ground that the climate and resources of that part of Africa are not favorable to commerce, and that the United States are indisposed to engage in entangling alliances. — London Standard. 36 *'BIETIGHEIM." ing land were organized, and the bourses of Europe were flooded with the shares. International jeal- ousies and rivalries kept the settlers themselves in a constant qaarrel, and the absence of any authority competent to preserve order over so vast a territory caused much the same condition of society as that which existed here in our Western territory a cen- tury ago. Notwithstanding the strictest regulations on paper, quantities of gunpowder and alcohol passed into the hands of the natives, who, at flrst disposed to be friendly and peaceable, soon became mistrustful, then vindictive, and finally openly hos- tile. The quarrels among the settlers were constant and serious. If an Englishman was killed by a Portuguese, or if an Italian stilettoed some un- offending Hollander, there would ensue a lengthy diplomatic correspondence between their respective home governments, but that was all. Germans would by force of numbers succeed in ousting Bel- gians from some good trading nook on the river ; the latter would move farther up or down the stream, and in turn oust some party of Englishmen less numerous than they ; and the Englishmen per- haps resisting, there would be bloodshed, and who was to right the wrong ? For a time it kept all Europe in hot water, until, in the presence of greater events, the Congo commerce dropped temporarily out of notice, and the settlers were left to fight it out with the climate, the natives, and each other as best they could. Meanwhile over all Europe hovered the dark, in- tangible spectre which, under the various names of ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 37 ''Nihilism," ''Socialism," "Communism," etc., was threatening war not upon any particular gov- ernment, but upon all government, upon society, upon religion, upon the family tie, upon all that we have been taught to hold sacred and dear. Silent, yet vigilant ; unseen, yet ceaselessly active, it re- sembled some monster serpent, coiled for a spring, and encircling all Europe in its slimy folds. For long years it had been content to limit its ghastly work to assassination. At one time it would at- tempt the life of an obnoxious monarch ; at another, aim its pistol at some Cabinet minister, or again strike down a trusty police official, whose vigilance had proved an obstacle to the carrying out of its hellish plots. There is reason for believing tliat the secret police of the various leading governments at that period were thoroughly advised in regard to the nature and strength of the various socialist or- ganizations, and regularly informed of their pro- ceedings and projects. It was this Argus-eyed vig- ilance which kept the revolutionists in abeyance so long as peace prevailed ; while, on the other hand, that society was living upon the thin crust of a volcano, which might at any time belch forth fire and blood, was a fact to which rulers could not be blind. Finally, in self-defence, each nation re- sorted to the expulsion of all foreign Socialists from its territory, thus hemming them in within the boundaries of the countries to which they respec- tively belonged. This, to some extent, simpliiied the problem, and enabled the police to localize the elements with which they had to deal, and to keep 38 *< BIETIGHEIM.'' every suspected or dangerous individual where tliey could laj hand on him, if need be, at a moment's notice. Yet, in spite of all this surveillance, Social- ism grew and prospered, and assassination went on as before. Sometimes the perpetrators were dis- covered, sometimes not. Those who were discov- ered, tried, and convicted often boastfully avowed their guilt in open court, and defying their judges, went to execution with a smile upon their lips. In this fanatical desperation, this misguided heroism, prompting thousands of able-bodied men in every land in Europe to stand ready, on the simple draw- ing of a lot, to take their lives in their hands and go to almost certain death in carrying out the behest of the order, every European Grovernment recog- nized an adversary which threatened to become in time more formidable than the armies and navies of its neighbors. It was a fierce tiger crouching, and ready to spring so soon as, by any chance, the hand which held the chain sliould relax its grasp. England had perhaps been the greatest sufferer among all the European powers at the hands of these desperate revolutionists. 'Not to mention the constant effort made by the Irish, or Fenians, as they were then called, to embroil her with the United States, she also had to undergo, for a long series of years, dastardly attempts to blow up her public buildings by means of explosives, or to lay London and her other large cities in ashes. Scarcely had the excitement attending the attempt to blow up the Tower and the Houses of Parhament died out of the public mind, when a plan to destroy ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 39 "Windsor Castle was discovered and Jiappily frus- trated. In September, 1887, great fires broke out simultaneously in many quarters of London, and while the flames were yet unsubdued, the telegraph brought intelligence that conflagrations were raging in Birmingham, ShefSeld, Hull, Manchester, and. Liverpool. The losses occasioned by these fires aggregated upward of twenty millions of pounds ; and although the Government failed to prove that they were the result of a joint conspiracy, nobody ever doubted that fact. Many of the incendiaries were caught, and every one of them proved to be an Irishman. Though all were convicted and sen- tenced to death or penal servitude, they all, without exception, strenuously maintained to the end that they knew nothing of each other's acts. In 1888 a similar attempt was made, but vigi- lance and promptitude prevented its resulting in any serious harm. On the last occasion, however, as if by preconcerted action, the people of every large city in England arose en onasse^ outraged beyond expression at these cowardly acts, and demanded the expulsion of every Irishman not an avowed sup- porter of the English Government. The sturdy British patience was exhausted, and every disloyal Irishman was given one week in which to leave England for good. In some places those who were known as violent antagonists of the Govern- ment were soundly beaten and sent out by force, but in the main the expulsion proceeded quietly, and within ten days England was rid of hundreds of troublesome agitators and conspirators, most of 40 " BIETIGHEIM." whom sailed for America. Our Government, how- ever, took energetic action, and treated them as political criminals to the extent of requiring as a condition of each one's landing that he should fur- nish bonds to preserve the international peace ; this the most of them happily failed to do, and were consequently obliged to return to Europe or to scatter to Mexico and South America, where they were heard of no more. Strong British garri- sons meanwhile occupied the principal centres of disloyalty in Ireland ; for a time there were at- tempted assassinations and occasional outbreaks, but the Conservative Party, which had returned to power in 1887, was determined to deal with Ireland with an iron hand, and results proved the wisdom of its course. By the close of 1889 Ireland had come to be better governed and more tranquil than ever before under English rule. To this result the loyal assistance of the Roman Catholic clergy and the co-operation of the United States Grovern- ment in suppressing Fenian plots on American soil had contributed to a large extent ; the later fact had, moreover, cemented the bonds of brotherhood between the two great English-speaking nations of the earth, and it was the current remark of that period that Great Britain and the United States combined would be able to dictate either peace or war to the entire continent of Europe. The inter- change of friendly visits between the two countries by the distinguished men of each was constant. In 1887 the Prince of Wales, accompanied by his second son, revisited the United States, and was ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 41 received with an enthusiasm surpassing, if anything, that which had marked his first visit thither when a mere youth. Ex-President Cleveland's reception in London, in 1889, was not less cordial, the prince accompanying him in an open barouche, through crowded streets, from the Mansion House to the Parliament Buildings. I find in an illustrated paper of that period — it is called a '^ comic'' paper — a cartoon entitled '' The Modern Siamese Twins," representing John Bull and Brother Jonathan, in their traditional character costumes, standing linked together by a ligament of flesh and blood on which is inscribed '' We Are One." It is not necessary to detain you here by narrat- ing in detail the history of Great Britain's varied foreign relations during the decade immediately preceding the war of 1890. A nation with so many and so widely dispersed foreign possessions, and whose drum taps, as it was then the Briton's pride to boast, daily followed the sun around the globe, was almost constantly finding itself engaged in some foreign war or another. The campaigns in South Africa, in the Soudan, in Burmah, in Ceylon ; the desperate uprising among the hill tribes of India in 1887, and the French Canadian outbreak about the same period, growing out of the execution of the half-breed Riel two years before — all these kept England's army busy, but without adding a square foot of territory to her possessions. Behind all lurked the spectre of Hussia's crafty ambition to secure the approaches to the north-western frontier of India. Notwithstanding that Lord Salisbury's 42 '^ BIETIGHEIM." prudent statesmanship had succeeded, in 1885, in estabhshing a boundarj-line for Afghanistan which, it was fondly hoped, would prove an effectual and permanent barrier to further encroachments, Rus- sia within a twelvemonth renewed her insidious practice of advancing her foreposts, now on this pretext, now on that, here bj bribery, there by force, until the time came when her foothold was certain, and concealment was no longer necessary. Then the mask was thrown boldly off, and one morning in January, 1890, the telegraph flashed the news abroad to the world that a Russian army corps had occupied Herat. The act was tantamount to a declaration of war. England promptly accepted the challenge, and set on foot war ]3reparations on an enormous scale. The long-cherished hatred of Russia which burned in every Englishman's heart was aroused to open action by this sudden and unexpected act of treach- ery. But while both nations were arming and put- ting forth all their energies for the deadly conflict certain to ensue, the telegraph brought another startling announcement. A Russian frigate, while passing through the Dardanelles, had been fired into and sunk by the Turks. Thus England found an unexpected ally. Diplomatic relations between Constantinople and St. Petersburg Were at once cut off, and Russia threw an overwhelming force of her own and Roumanian troops across the Danube into Bulgaria. Austria followed suit by sending two army corps to Servia and Bosnia, and concentrating a large fleet of war ships at Trieste. ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 43 Tliis move aroused still greater indignation in Great Britain, and Austria's policy was universally con- demned. People recalled the famous remark made by Mr. Gladstone a few years before. '' Take," said he, '^ a map of the woi*ld and show me, if you can, one spot of earth upon it where Austria has ever done any good." But it was not with England alone that Austria had now to reckon. Italy called upon her for an explanation of the menacing arma- ment at Trieste, and France promptly backed up the demand by officially expressing a hope that Austria's explanation would prove to be of a con- ciliatory and satisfactory character. Meanwhile all eyes were turned upon Germany, anxious to learn what course she would pursue. Nor did they re- main long in uncertainty. The action of France provoked much comment at Berlin, and a week afterward large bodies of German troops had oc- cupied Alsace-Lorraine, with heavy reserves on the Rhine and along the Swiss frontier. All this frantic hurrying to arms had been the work of less than a month. It was late in January when the Russians occupied Herat, yet before March had opened two thirds of Europe was under arms and ready for conflict. But even at this critical moment, while it was not yet too late, there came from the great Repub- lic of the West, beyond the sea, a voice pleading for peace, in the name of humanity and Chris- tianity. The Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, then in Congress assembled, adopted and transmitted to the several Great Powers 44 '' BIETIGHEIM." of Europe, through the Department of State and their respective representatives at Washington, that famous " Appeal for Peace " which has ever since taken rank, side by side with the Declaration of In- dependence, among th^ memorable State documents in the world's archives. To you, my hearers, who have heard this document recited so often, and who have, many of you, declaimed it from the school rostrum in your boyhood's days, it is unnecessary that I should repeat it here. But its calm, unim- passioned utterances, its powerful portrayal of the dire consequences of war, as contrasted with the beneficent blessings of peace, and its noble offer to waive for the moment on the part of the United States the pending dispute with Germany, if by so doing the former country could mediate as an im- partial arbitrator between the Powers in conflict — all these stand out in bright letters of light in your memory, as the golden hues of a sunset which pre- ceded a dark and terrible night of storm. But alas ! the appeal was vain ; ifc fell upon deaf or unheeding ears. An English fleet was already on its way to the North Sea, and Turkish troops had already met with a serious repulse on the Ser- vian frontier. Austria had returned a haughty reply to Italy's demand, and both the latter country and France were in a ferment, and hurrying troops to their respective frontiers. It was at this juncture that the Joint Council of Arbitration then in session in London for the settle- ment of the pending dispute between Germany and the United States was brought to an abrupt termi- ITS CAUSEC, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 45 nation by England's withdrawal from the position of arbiter. Mnch as this step was to be regretted, it was, under the circumstances, clearly unavoidable, for Germany no longer concealed her intention to side witli Russia and Austria, her copartners in the Tri-Imperial Alliance. The withdrawal created lit- tle surprise, for it had been foreseen from the mo- ment the German troops had begun to move toward the Rhine ; but it revived anew in the United States the excitement and the indignation against Ger- many, a feeling which was stimulated by great gen- eral sympathy with France, and a sense of brother- hood with England in her impending struggle. The disposition of Congress, however, so far as tak- ing any immediate action against Germany was con- cerned, may be inferred from the proposition con- veyed in the ^^ Appeal for Peace" — viz., to waive our differences with Germany for the time being, in order to eifect a bloodless settlement of the greater questions then pending on the Continent. But the German Government's subsequent action toward us rudely dispelled the last remnant of this conciliatory feeling. It is stated that when the '' Appeal for Peace" had been read in the Reichstag, Bismarck retorted with a sneer, '^ Good ! Let the Americans wait ; we can attend to them afterward ; for the present we have more important business." At the same time numerous complaints came in by cable to the State Department in behalf of Ger- man-Americans who had been arbitrarily impressed into the German ranks and sent off to the front. These high-handed acts, coupled with the Chancel- 4G ** BIETIGHEIM." lor's sneer, laslied tlie people of tlie United States into a furj, and scattered forbearance to the winds. Many leading Congressmen wlio had liitlierto fa- vored every honorable sacrifice for the maintenance of peace were now loudest in asserting that the moment had arrived for prompt and decisive action. The country was clamorous for war, and thousands of volunteers stood ready in every State in the Union, waiting to offer themselves for military ser- vice so soon as the Government should make a call. On the 8tli of March Congress resolved almost unanimously — there were but ten dissentient votes — ^' that war be and the same is hereby declared to exist between the Empire of Germany and the de- pendencies thereof and the United States of America and their territories.' ' The President was empowered to raise and equip an army of three hundred thousand volunteers ; to employ all the land and naval forces of the United States for the prosecution of the war ; to issue letters of marque ; and to call for such public loans as might be neces- sary for executing this authorization. Such was the temper of the people, that within a week after the issue of President Bayard's procla- mation the quota of each State was filled, and half a million men liad volunteered for active service. Camps of instruction were established at every State capital, whither the quotas, as fast as en- listed, were sent to be placed under military disci- pline and drill. The supreme command was given to General Howard, who established his headquar- ters at Louisville, Ky., and at once proceeded to ITS CAUSES, COST, AT^D CONSEQUENCES. 47 take steps for the organization of tlie immense army of raw troops which he found under him. In the acGomphshment of this task lie had the invaUiable assistance of thousands of veteran sokliers both in the North and South who had seen service in the War of Secession, and wlio, though now past the mihtarj age, Avere jet active in every State in giv- ing instruction to the new troops. The fever of excitement which had possessed the country before war had been dechired now gave phice to a cahn, resokite quiet and determination. As yet it was generally believed that the army would only be required for purposes of defence, in garri- soning the frontiers and sea-coasts, and that what- ever active warfare was carried on would be done by the navy alone. None at first thought of ag- gressive inilitary measures against Germany. Ey the middle of April the new trooj^s were in readi- ness to move. The country was divided into four military departments, with headquarters respec- tively at Burlington, Yt. ; Baltimore, Md. ; Hous- ton, Tex. ; and San Francisco, Cal. , with the troops so stationed in each as to be available to repel attempted invasion at any point. Active measures were at the same time taken to strengthen the sea- coast defences and the frontier forts, especially along the Mexican border, for our relations with Mexico at that time, owing to recent outrages by predatory bands on the Rio Grande, were such that it was considered as quite possible that a German military force might land at Yera Cruz and march upon us inland from that quarter. By the 1st of May the 48 '' BIETIGHEIM.*' greater part of tlie military preparations were dis- posed of and the troops in positions in the respec- tive departments. Our navy in the mean time had already won brilliant honors. Thanks to the fore- sight of President Cleveland, whose recommenda- tions to Congress in 1885 had borne good fruit, our naval armament had been brought np to a condition where it could rank with the other great navies of the world. Within a month after the declaration of war two German merchantmen were brought into Philadelphia with prize crews on board, and a naval engagement took place off the English coast between the German frigate Kaiser Fritz and the United States ironclad Adirondack, resulting in the dis- abling and consequent surrender of the former ves- sel. But while these events were transpiring at home and on the sea, all Europe was in a continued fer- ment. France had declared war on Germany with- out waiting for Italy's action, and a sharp engage- ment had already taken place on the Alsatian frontier at Avricourt. The Tri-Imperial Alliance had at last assumed tangible form and shape. Germany, Kussia, and Austria stood shoulder to shoulder, con- fronting the remainder of Europe, arrogant and defiant in the belief that their combined force was sufficient to accomplish whatever usurpation of power or distribution of territory might be agreed upon between them. Opposed to them were Eng- land, with her scattered forces and comparatively unprotected sea- coast and colonies ; France, with a million and a half of men under arms and eager for ITS CAUSES, COST, AN^D CONSEQUENCES. 49 revenge ; Spain, who had seized the opportunity to revive the Caroline Islands incident, and had joined fortunes with France ; Italy, bitterly incensed against Austrian aggression, and Turkey, armed for the death struggle with her traditionary enerny across the Danube. The Swiss Republic had at once proclaimed its neutrality, and strongly garri- soned its frontier at every point. Belgium also en- deavored at first to hold aloof from the struggle, but was drawn into it later by unavoidable com- plications. Holland and Denmark succeeded in keeping entirely out of the fight, though, as results ultimately proved, with no permanent advantage to themselves. Thus, then, at the opening of May, 1890, the armies of Europe stood arrayed for combat. A line of bristling bayonets, extending across Europe from the North Sea, along the Rhine to the Austrian Tyrol, and thence down to the Adriatic, marked the outposts of the Tri-Imperial forces, confronted by the armies of France and Italy. The Balkan peninsula was occupied by Russian and Austrian troops, ready at a moment's notice to make a dash upon Constantino]3le ; a Russian army had already invaded Northern India. The Mediterranean and North Sea swarmed with war vessels, and squadrons of the opposing powers had been dispatched to the Pacific and Indian Oceans to attack the commerce or colonies of their enemies, as occasion might offer. England, at the first show of hostilities, had seized the Suez Canal, and, with the aid of France and Italy, was holding it, without danger of being dis- 50 ^'BIETIGHEIM. " turbed in its possession. The necessity, however, of concerted action was apparent, if an effective re- sistance was to be offered to the three empires. Accordingly, on the 10th of May, a Council of Plenipotentiaries, representing Great Britain, Spain, Italy, and Turkey, assembled at Paris to conclude with France an alliance, offensive and defensive, against Germany, Austria, and Russia. An invitation was extended to the United States of America by the council to become a party to the alliance. The proposal was a tempting one under the circumstances, however much its acceptance might be at variance with our oft-reiterated policy of non-interference in European politics. Never- theless, it was tempting. Times had changed, it was argued, since the Monroe doctrine had been proclaimed. Then we were a young republic, struggling for recognition among the people of the earth ; now w^e were foremost among the nations, and seeking just reparation from Germany for a wanton outrage ; should this musty tradition of the olden time be now allowed to stand in the way of a vindication of our national honor ? Moreover, Congress, in deciding upon the question of the proposed alliance, was greatly influenced by earnest appeals from France to come over and help her in her time of need as she had done for us in the Revolution. Should we accept, it was urged the weight of the American arms thrown into France's side of the scale would ensure a certainty of triumph over Germany, their common foe. The proposition proved popular. ITS CAUSES, COST, AND COIvrSEQUENCES. 51 Here were so many thousands of young men lying idle in the camps and clamoring to be led againsb their foreign enemy. There was something so novel, so alluring in the idea of an American army landing on the European continent and carrying the Stars and Stripes to victory on the very soil of their wanton aggressors, that the voice of the country was all but unanimous for the proposed alliance? and Congress accordingly, on the 25th of May, voted to make common cause with the allied powers, and authorized a further call for two hundred thou- sand men. The decision caused unbounded enthu- siasm both at home and abroad. London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, and Constantinople were illuminated in honor of the event, congratulatory cablegrams were received at the State Department from the various allied Governments, and at the English and French capitals, notwithstanding the gloom which otherwise prevailed, there were great popular rejoic- ings over this powerful accession to their joint cause. At this point, my friends, I close my narration of the events which preceded and led up to the war of 1890, We have seen how the long-smouldering fires of European jealousies and ambition have been finally fanned into a flame, and how, at the behest of their rulers, the immense standing armies which for years had been eating out their countries' very substance in times of peace, have at last sprung to arms, and stand confronting each other ready for the deadly fray ; we have seen our own land, after repeated measures of conciliation and forbearance. 52 ** BIETIGHEIM." also at last drawn into this maelstrom of conflict, and ready to bear its share of disaster or conquer its share of victory in the defence of its most dearly cherished doctrine of protection to every citizen, however humble. In my next lecture I shall nar- rate the varying fortunes which followed our flag in the dire struggle that ensued, terminating in the glorious victory with which Providence crowned our arms. And now, in conclusion, a few words in re- gard to the remarkable manner in which the records of that memorable period have been and are being preserved. It is a trite remark, yet one which none of us will care to gainsay, that no historian can truthfully and impartially chronicle the events of his own day and generation ; yet, on the other hand, it is equally true that the historian who would faithfully and without bias record the events of an era that is past must depend to a very great extent upon the fidelity with which those who lived in that era have collated and preserved the great mass of details, true or false, prejudiced or unprejudiced, to which all periods of popular excitement give birth, and from which, only in the crucible of careful afterthought, can be distilled that pure truth which is to abide forever. To illustrate this fact, we have but to note in the historical annals of our own country the striking contrast between the comparatively meagre records which exist of the War of the Revolution and of the times of Washington as compared with the wonderfully complete and detailed histories of ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 53 the War of Secession which are to be found in every library in the land. During the former j^eriod jour- nalism was in its infancy, our people were strug- gling for an existence, physical as well as national, and but little thought aj)pears to have been given to gathering and preserving reliable data upon which the historian of the future — a Bancroft, a Lossing, or a Headley — might depend. But during the Se- cession struggle thousands of printing-presses were in operation throughout the land, army correspond- ents and reporters were active everywhere, sol- diers' letters from the front were reprinted in their village papers, the widest publicity was given even to the smallest detail of news, files of the leading dailies w^ere carefully bound and put away upon li- brary shelves, scrap-books were regularly kept by thousands of patient readers, and one of these latter was, I find, even put in print under the title of '' The Rebellion Becord," and forms of itself a very comjDlete compendium of the spirit and deeds of that eventful period. The works of Greeley and S win- ton, intended by their authors to serve as histories of the war, though falling far short of that intention for the reason that they were written while the pas- sions engendered by the strife were yet hot, must nevertheless have proved invaluable as works of reference to later authors. Indeed, Mr. Matson acknowledges this fact in his masterly book, " The War Between the l^orthern and Southern States," now generally conceded to be the standard work on this subject. But more valuable still, not to him only, but to all others who in this twentieth century 54 ^^BIETIGHEIM.*' have undertaken to clironicle that desperate and bloody fratricidal struggle, must have proven the admirably systematic measures taken by certain en- terprising publishers of periodicals and newspapers, some twenty years after the war had closed, to secure from surviving prominent participants, civil and military, articles descriptive of their personal reminiscences of the events in which they had taken part. I find, for instance, in our City Library, a bound volume of the Century Magazine for 1885 in which several of the leading engagements of that war — Shiloh, Manassas, and Malvern Hill — are de- scribed by both of the opposing commanders, the descriptions being accompanied by maps, diagrams, and illustrations of the most complete character, I find, again, in the files of that staunch nationalist journal, the New York Tribune, for the same year, a series of articles on '^ Abraham Lincoln" fur- nished by a number of personal friends who had been in daily intercourse with him twenty years be- fore. I mention these facts as showing the activity of that period in ensuring the preservation and transmission of absolutely reliable records. The same remark applies to the systematic thoroughness with which the records of the great struggle of 1890- 91 have been preserved and are being transmitted to our descendants. As yet the permanent history of that momentous period, the history of which is to take its place beside the works of Gibbon, Macaulay, Bancroft, MacMaster, and Matson, has not been given to the world. But to the mass of records of that period, both printed and written, ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 55 which await the advent of the masterhand that shall blend them together into a book befitting the mag- nitude of the subject, I am indebted for the facility with which I have been enabled to bring together, in the space of these lectm'cs, a general outline of the great subject in hand. II. ITS COST. Never was spectacle more grand and inspiring tlian tliat which, on a bright morning in June, 1890, greeted the beholder who, from the ramparts of Fortress Monroe, looked out upon the wide waters of Hampton Roads. Line after line of stately craft lay marshalled at anchor upon the dancing tide, forming a marine pageant which in extent and grandeur surpassed any that the world had ever be- fore witnessed. Upward of a hundred large ocean steamers, with steam up and colors flying, and decks and rigging black with cheering soldiers, were awaiting the signal to weigh anchor and turn their prows eastward, past the distant capes, out into the broad Atlantic. Beyond them rode proudly at anchor a majestic fleet of twenty iron-clad frigates, some bearing the Stars and Stripes, others the tri- color of France. A score of dispatch boats, dart- ing hither and thither, in and out among the fleet of transports and war- vessels, were carrying the final messages and orders preparatory to departure. A host of smaller steam and sailing vessels, laden to the water's edge with enthusiastic multitudes who had come from all parts of the country to bid a God-speed to the departing troops, plied their way *' BIETIGHEIM." 57 over the rippling waters, or paused under tlie shad- ows of the ocean monsters while the last words of adieu were spoken. From every side strains of martial music came wafted over the w^aters, min- gling with the screeching of steam-whistles and the exultant cheers of thousands upon thousands of voices. Suddenly from a bastion of the fortress a single gun boomed forth its echoes, and then an- other and another. It was the signal for departure ; and lo ! before the white puffs of smoke had van- ished away on the light breeze of that summer morn, the scene had been transformed to one of new activ- ity and life. The vast fleet of transports slowly rounded into lines of four abreast ; the war vessels steamed into stately ranks on either side, as their convoy ; and then, amid the roar of cannon, the whole fleet moved majestically seaward, carrying with it the hearts and hopes of our nation. Alas ! how many a brave heart throbbing with exultant pride that morning under the blue coat of the Amer- ican citizen-soldier was soon to be forever stilled in the sleep of death on some distant battle-fleld ! How many long days of danger and nights of waking, what hardships, exposures, and deadly conflicts were in store for those whom Heaven should spare to return as survivors crowned with victory to their beloved land ! These troops composed the first and second army corps of the American contingent sent to co-operate with the alHed forces in Europe, and were drawn mostly from the Central and Southern Military Departments. Pennsylvania was repre- sented by eight regiments of infantry and two bat- 58 *' BIETIGHEIM.'' teries. There were tliree fine regiments of South. Carolinians and two others of stalwart Kentuckians, with not a man in the ranks under six feet in stat- ure. Ohio sent a '' Buckeye Brigade" of five regiments of infantry and one of heavy artillery ; Virginia, a brigade of five thousand men, entitled the Washington Guard, and Georgia an equal num- ber of infantry, with two batteries. Illinois, Indi- ana, Michigan, lov/a, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Kansas were each represented by two regiments, and North Carolina and Tennessee by one each. The entire contingent, fifty thousand strong, was under command of General Terry, an old army of- ficer. • Generals Fairchild, of Wisconsin, and Fitz- hugh Lee, of Yirginia, were the corps commanders. The former was already favorably known to the country by having served as Major- General of Division at Gettysburg, where he had lost an arm, nearly thirty years before, and by subsequent ser- vice as Governor of his State^nd United States ^ft^^^CMinister to Spain. The latter, agisftof the great Confederate leader, and himself a Confederate veteran of renown, resigned the governorship of Yirginia to assume this command. Every one of the division and brigade commanders had, without a single exception, seen active service on one side or the other in the War of Secession, and many of the regimental field officers were also^ veterans of that struggle. Among the line ofiicers and men all classes of society were represented. Clerks, stu- dents, laborers, farmers, mechanics, had all sprung forward with alacrity in response to their country's ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 59 call. There was a regiment from the Pennsjh^ania mining regions composed entirely of Irishmen ; an- other entirely of Germans from Wisconsin. Each command, in addition to the National colors, was al- lowed to carry the flag of its respective State. All the troops were armed with Springfield rifles and wore the United States regulation uniform, which at that time was practically the same as it is to-da}^ Among those who witnessed their embarkation and departure were the President and his Cabinet, who had come from Washington in a revenue cutter for that purpose. Only those whose experience carries them back to that time can realize by what herculean efforts and at wdiat enormous cost this large army had been organized, uniformed, armed, equipped, fed, and provided with railroad and ocean transpor- tation within such an incredibly short period of time. Yet with such admirable precision and har- mony had the work been carried out by the War and Navy Departments that the transports, which had been summoned by telegraph from every avail- able point, began to arrive in Hampton lioads simul- taneously with the arrival of the troops by rail at Norfolk and Fortress Munroe, and within one week thereafter the embarkation was complete. The command of the naval squadron of fourteen vessels and of the entire fleet of transports had been en- trusted to Admiral Cooper, to whom also Admiral L'Espes reported with a squadron of six iron-clads which the French Government had dispatched to assist in the convoy of the American troops. It was hence generally surmised, and, as results proved, 60 ^^BIETIGHEIM." correctly, although, the fleet sailed under sealed orders, that its destination was some point on the French coast. That the undertaking of transporting so large a force of troops over three thousand miles of ocean was not unattended with great danger, 'even in the presence of so formidable a convoy, was a fact generally admitted, for German and Russian fleets were already patrolling the seas from Land's End to Cape Finisterre, and the cable almost daily brought news of some naval engagement off the European coast. Yet it was believed that our navy, with the co-operation of the allied fleet, was fully equal to the task of landing safely on European soil not only these fifty thousand men, but the second fifty thousand who were already assembling at For- tress Monroe awaiting transportation and convoys to the same destination. Among those whose departure from Fortress Monroe has just been described, there was a young lieutenant of Kansas infantry — a mere boy in years — who, through all the perils and hardships to which so many of his comrades succumbed, was, by the infinite mercy of Providence, spared to return in health and strength to his native land, and, after the lapse of many years, to stand before you this even- ing and recount the changes and chances of that memorable campaign. (Loud applause.) From the first day of his enlistment up to the day when he was mustered out of service he made it a prac- tice to jot down in writing his impressions and ex- periences as they seemed to him worthy of record, and from these notes, which he has carefully pre- ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 61 served, he proposes to read you occasional extracts m the course of this lecture. For instance : " Steamer Sldonia, June idih. {Eighth dmj out.)— Only four men on the sick list in Company B this morning. Weather splen- did. Captain thinks if all goes well we shall sight the French coast to-morrow night or early next morning. Exchanged signals at close quarters an hour ago with the Baltic, with South Carolina troops on board. The fleet keeps well together, and the sea before, behind, and on both sides of us is dotted with our transports under sail and steam. The war ships keep mostly in the advance, with a squadron of four or five bringing up the rear of the convoy and looking after the stragglers. Signals have been going to and fro actively, and the vessels appear to be keeping more closely together. Cole and I counted sixty-seven in sight at one time this morning, and as I write the number cannot certainly be less. In all probability, as we near the European coast the critical period of our voy- age approaches. It is generally believed among those who give the matter a thought, that a vigorous attempt will be made by the enemy's fleet to prevent our landing. '^Jiine 30th. — The constant exchange of signals to-day indi- cates that some important movement is in progress. All the transports— by actual count one hundred and nine — are in sight, the entire fleet being within an area of, I should judge, not over five square miles. The war vessels keep close by and move in three squadrons, one in advance and one on each flank. We are evidently nearing the waters where an attack from a hostile fleet is most to be apprehended. " Later. — Half an hour ago — it is now noon— a signal came from the flag-ship to ' Lay to.' The entire fleet of transports at once shortened sail and shut off steam, and we are now moving forward at only a snail's pace through a moderately smooth sea. The reason for the order soon became known throughout our ship and caused intense excitement. A squadron of eight war vessels has been sighted to the north-eastward. Our ad- vance squadron and four iron-clads from those guarding our north flank have gone forward to ascertain who the strangers are. It is barely possible they are Englishmen and friends. 62 '' BIETIGHEIM." " Later. — Another squadron of four or five war ships has just hove in sight to the southward, and rumor says they are flying the Austrian colors. A second detachment of our convoy, com- posed of three vessels, has been dispatched to meet them, leaving us only two frigates, the Chicago and Manhattan, as a guard. The transports have come to a dead stop, and we are tossing idly about on the waters, awaiting events. ^'July 1st. — God be praised ! the victory is ours, but at what a fearful cost ! I scarcely know where to begin with a narration of all the thrilling events which have been crowded into the past twenty-four hours. It all looks to me now like a dreadful dream from which we have awakened to find ourselves push- ing on, under full pressure of steam and sail, toward the French coast, already in sight. " I had gone below about 2 p.m. yesterday to try to find a spare corner to sit down and write to D , when Captain Collins came rushing down breathlessly, exclaiming : ' Come, Minor — where are you ? — the ball has opened.' I hastened on deck, and saw far away to the north-east a great cloud »of white smoke rising above the sea, through which, here and there, were dimly discernible the masts and spars of the combatants. *' Look there, too," said Collins, pointing in the opposite direc- tion. I turned and saw that our fleet to the southward was also already engaged. Great Heaven ! and here we were, fifty thousand good men and true, full of patriotic ardor and fight, compelled to stand idly by and see our fate decided by a score of war ships ! The suppressed anxiety and excitement among the men was something terrible. The thought of being sent to the bottom by a stray shot from one of the enemy's guns was not more terrible than that of defeat, and of being thus ignominiously captured by ship-loads without firing a gun. As we stood with compressed lips and beating hearts listening to the reverberating echoes that came booming over the waters from northward and southward of us, the Chicago signalled * About ship, ' and an hour later the transport fleet, headed by the two war ships, had steamed far away to seaward again, in a north-westerly direction, and to a point out of the possible range of the guns of either of the contending fleets. There we lay-to once more, and again the terrible suspense began. The ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CON"SEQUENCES. 63 incessant roar of cannon still reached us from far away over the waters, but the combatants were no longer visible to others than the signal-men aloft. *' But this quiet did not last long ; it was the dead calm pre- ceding the storm. The cannonading from the southward seemed to grow nearer and nearer, and turning our eyes eagerl}' in that direction, we perceived that three vessels had detached themselves from the main body of the combatants, and were steering directly toward us. Orders were at once given to beat all the men to quarters. ' Steam north-west, and keep together,' signalled the Chicago, and off we went again seaward, our two escorts following slowly in our wake. But the approaching ships gained on us steadily. * Two Austrians and a Frenchman bearing straight down on us,' reported the signal-men in the round-top. The Austrians were in the lead, evidently bent on reaching us first, and pay- ing no attention to the French ship which followed them, closely firing as she came. Now was the moment for action. The enemy must have been within five miles of us when we saw the Manhattan suddenly put about and make straight for them, we still steaming away seaward at full speed to keep out of harm's way. In a few minutes the Austrians rounded to and opened upon her with a full broadside from each, but so far as we could see without checking her course. It was evi- dently her plan to endeavor to engage them both, until the Frenchman could come up and make the struggle more nearly an equal one. But in vain. One of the enemy kept on, head- ing straight for us, and when within two miles of us sent a shell which carried away the foremast of one of the transports, and the smoke-stack of another. Now came the Chicago's turn. Sending her first officer in an open boat to the Alaska to take command as flag officer of the transport fleet, the noble ship, as if endowed with life and conscious of the work before her, put quickly about, and amid the cheers of the soldiers hastened to meet her foe. In spite of the rapidly widening distance between us, we could watch the splendid manoeuvring of both vessels as they approached each other. The enemy's ship had now ceased sending shells after us, and turned its attention to the Chicago. In the midst of the cannonading, there suddenly came a dull rumbling roar, and not long after, the other 64 '^BIETIGHEIM." Austrian again hove in sight, with the Frenchman engaging her as before, yet both heading direct for us, regardless of the Chicago and her antagonist. 'Crowd on all steam,' signalled the Alaska ; yet some of the slower transports, ours included, had already commenced falling behind, and were in imminent danger of being overtaken and captured. Seeing the danger, and determined to protect the transports and troops at every cost, the Chicago, by a sudden feint, turned, and leaving her opponent, pushed to head ofE the second Austrian, now rapidly nearing the hindmost stragglers. Then began a desperate struggle, the two vessels grappling each other at short range and delivering deadly broadsides, with the muzzles of their guns almost in each other's ports. Such a prodigious rain of iron and steel nothing could long withstand. The Austrian struck her colors, and ten minutes later the Stars and Stripes were flying from her fore, and the Chicago and Frenchman were making for her consort, which had already intercepted and cut off two or three of the hindmost troop-ships. Stray shot from the fight were falling thick around us, yet in the midst of it all the enthusiastic cheering of the troops as they saw our flag run up on the conquered iron- clad could be heard at every interval in the terrific cannonade. And now the Frenchman had grappled with the remaining Austrian frigate, and it was a war to the death. The Chicago, though badly dis- abled, joined in the attack ; but Providence willed that it should be of short duration, for we saw the ill-fated Austrian slowly careen and then disappear beneath the waves, yet de- livering a deadly broadside at the last moment, even when her ports v/ere level with the water' s edge. " A hush like that of death ensued for a few moments, and then, when the truth flashed upon us that we were saved, for the time at least, there burst forth from thousands of throats a prolonged outburst of cheering such as can only come from men who have through long hours of peril and anxiety stood helplessly by to watch and pray for victory. The scenes which I saw around me beggared all description. Men who but a half hour before had stood mutely brave in the presence of almost certain death or captivity were now weeping like chil- dren, frantically embracing each other, or falling on their knees in fervent thanks to God. But when the first flush of ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 65 triumph had passed, we awoke to realize the horrible signifi- cance of the scenes through which we had just passed. The Manhattan had exploded her magazine and gone to the bottom with all on board ; the commanding officer of the Chicago and over a hundred of her officers and crew had been killed out- right, and of the survivors barely enough were left uninjured to man the ship ; the Frenchman had suffered the least, though her losses were considerable ; on the captured Austrian two thirds of the crew were found dead or wounded, and the sur- render had been made by an ensign, who proved to be the ranking surviving officer. The troop -ships had also suffered severel}^ principally the slower ones, which had been struck by random shots. Our vessel providentiallj'- escaped any injury, but the Damascus was found to be in a sinking condition, and her troops, consisting of a Virginia battery and a battalion from Baltimore, were transferred without serious loss of life to other vessels. Signals were immediately sent out from the Alaska for the foremost transports to slow up and allow the others to rejoin them. The engagement had not lasted over three hours at most, and by six o'clock the bulk of the fleet was close together again, with the Chicago, the Frenchman, and the Austrian prize near at hand. Meanwhile the roar of cannon had continued without intermission in the quarter to the north-east, where the main engagement had been in progress since early in the afternoon. A dispatch boat brought the intelligence that a fleet composed of eight German and seven Russian iron-clads had made a desperate but futile attack on Admiral Cooper, with the intention of breaking through his lines and reaching the transports. The firing to the south- ward had also broken out again furiously, and erelong it seemed for awhile that a greater danger than before threatened us, for a fleet of not less than ten or a dozen war ships ap- peared on the horizon, moving rapidly northward, firing as they came. Again we got the signal to steam seaward, while the gallant Chicago and her two consorts once more prepared for action. But suddenly the signal was countermanded — what could it mean ? The reason was soon apparent. We saw the remaining three frigates of the Austrian fleet making under full steam for the scene of the greater combat, pursued by and keeping up a running fire with two of our own and one French 66 " BIETIGHEIM. j> iron-clad ; and to our surprise two splendid double-turret armored ships, which certainly were new arrivals on the scene. *' They are Spaniards," shouted the signal-men from aloft, and another deafening cheer went up from our decks, and was re- peated from ship to ship in the fleet. It "was their opportune arrival that had turned the tide of battle and completed the rout of the Austrian squadron. Eagerly now we awaited the issue of the combat still raging to the north-eastward, where, for nearly five long hours, fifteen of our American and French ships had been valiantly defending us against an equal number of the enemy. The scale of battle would, we were certain, turn decisively in our favor so soon as the re-enforcements in the shape of the two Spaniards and the three of our own fleet who were running down the Austrians should reach the scene of the fight. But we were not permitted to stand by and see the result. Our distance fronl the French coast— we were ofl St. Nazaire — was estimated at not over a hundred to a hundred and fifty miles, and it was wisely decided by Admiral Cooper, while he was engaging the war ships, to let the transports make a desperate run for it to the south-eastward, and try to make the port of Eochelle. Instructions to this effect reached us about 8 P.M., and then off we went at full speed, soon leaving the incessant roar of cannon far astern. At ten this morning we sighted the French coast (Sables d'Olonne), and now (at 3 P.M.) there is every prospect that before dusk all the trans- ports will be safely riding at anchor, and safe in port. " July Uh. — A significant fact it is that this anniversary of American Independence from European tyranny witnesses the first landing of American soldiers on European soil. The debarkation of the troops began early this morning, and our regiment has already gone into camp in the outskirts of the city (Kochelle). In order to expedite the landing of the entire force, a portion of the steamers have gone up the Gharente to Eochefort and other points, and it is expected that by to- morrow noon the whole army will be safe on terra Jznna once more, and that, too, within a fortnight after its departure from Fort Monroe. Shades of Columbus ! think of it. The con- dition and spirit of the soldiers are excellent. In Company B we have with us, answering to roll-call, every man but two ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 67 of those who left Kansas City, and of the missing ones, one is in hospital from a fall, and the other was lost overboard at sea. General Fairchild rode past our camp this morning and was enthusiastically cheered, *' LcUer. — We have news from the great naval engagement at last through the French papers, which call it the ' Battle of St. Nazaire ;' and the destruction and loss of life on both sides prove to have been appalling. As we supposed, the arrival of the re-enforcements decided the day, and put to flight such of the enemy's ships as were able to save themselves. But we lost three ships besides the Manhattan, and the French two, and it is estimated that, on our side alone, fully two thousand men were put hors de combat We captured four of their iron- clads and sank two more, the rest managing to escape under cover of night. The papers speak of the engagement as sur- passing in extent, desperation, and destructiveness any naval battle that has ever before been fought, either in ancient or modern times." At this point, my hearers, we will leave the young lieutenant and his diary for awhile and return to a more general view of the great events in which he was participating. Yon all know of the battle of St. Nazaire, and how it shattered, in the very be- ginning of the straggle, the prestige of the Imperial navies. It has always been England's regret that it was not her good fortune to assist in that brilliant victory ; but she succeeded in doing what was per- haps of equal importance, for two days later a pow- erful British squadron encountered the fugitive remnants of the Imperial fleet in the Channel off Plymouth, and so severely handled them that for six months thereafter not a hostile ship was en- countered by the Allied fleets in those waters. But the enemy's navy, though crippled, was not dead ; it had only turned its hostile attentions elsewhere. 68 ^*BIETIGHEIM." England's firm grasp upon the Suez Canal proved a source of great difficulties to the Imperial plans, and early in the campaign a desperate effort to gain possession of it at any cost had been resolved upon by Kussia. It was also imperatively necessary to Russia that she should have free access to and from the Black Sea, and almost her first decisive act was to move upon Constantinople, with a view to com- manding the Dardanelles. Turkey had no adequate force to oppose against the overwhelming army of Russians, Roumanians, Bulgarians, and Servians that swooped down upon her. Her troops made a des- perate but vain endeavor to stay the advancing hosts, and almost the first news that greeted the American soldiers on landing in France was that Constantinople had fallen, and that Turkey was for- ever blotted out from the map of Europe. Not so the Turkish army, however. Composed of five hun- dred thousand trained soldiers, it withdrew to the Asiatic territory only to reappear later and confront its foes at another and more distant point. Its pow- erful iron- clad navy, too, after a gallant struggle in the Golden Horn, before the surrender, escaped safely into the Mediterranean, and subsequently proved an effective re-enforcement to the Allied fleet in those waters. At this point, in order to afford some idea of the magnitude of the struggle which was in progress, let us glance for a moment at the number of soldiers placed in the field, and of iron-clad ships put in commission by the respective contestants. I find m M I P5 ►4 H H M w i-i H M PQ M H 6^ E a ai P b li tl tc ir f( P h C e t] d J: a e t s I i .,V>:, ■%?/: ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 69 in the London Times of August 25tli, 1890, tlie fol- lowing estimate of the opposing forces as thej were at that time distributed : ALLIED FORCES. TltOOPS. 0) 'd Nation. c3 QJ CD S ^3 2 1=^ § 2 r 9 "■' o * "Si < ^rn Indi ier and anistan. Total. o i-, o a France . . 900,000 300,000 1,200,000 Gt. Brit.. 100,000 — f 600, 000 — 250,000 950,000 Italy — 350,000 100,000 — — 450,000 Spain . . 100,000 — 300,000 — — 400,000 Turkey. . — — — 500,000 — 500,000 U. States 100,000 — — — — 100,000 Total... 1,200,000 350,000 1,300,000 500,000 250,000 3,600,000 lEON-CLADS. Id xi • . a 03 Nation. o ^ . r-l ^ =J m Pi O (3 leg o m Total. ^ ^ W France . . 19 24 5 14 3 65 Gt. Brit. . 15 18 4 16 4 57 Italy — 3 1 20 1 25 Spain — 7 1 8 2 18 Turkey. . — 4 — 14 — 18 XJ. States 2 21 3 — 5 31 Total... 36 77 14 72 15 214 * After the fall of Constantinople. + Including the forces scattered in the colonies. BIETIGHEIM. TRI-IMPERIAL FOECES. TKOOPS. CD ^1 ^ »J-'.\ V ^1 ai A AW ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 93 witliin tlie next forty-eight hours. Some thirty thousand of them liad arrived at or near Carlsrnlie, forty thousand were ah-eady to Saarbriicken, eighty tliousand were en route at Luxembourg, and the re- mainder at various points between there and Yer- viers, yet being forwarded with all possible speed to tlie coming theatre of w^ar. Accordingly, on the morning of February 25fcli two army corps of French and American troops were pushed forward from Miihlacker toward Bietigheim, meeting at first with but little opposition, so unexpected was the movement. Heavy reserves from Bruchsal and Pforzheim were hurried forward with orders to keep within supporting distance of the vanguard, and the troops from Carlsruhe were advanced to replace them, their places in turn being taken by the troops from Cxeneral Cirrey as fast as they arrived. Simul- taneously the Army of the Yosges was ordered to move by the right from its position on the Khine plain around Rastadt and Baden-Baden, and passing by forced marches through the Black Forest, to fol- low down the valley of the Enz to Bietigheim. The enemy quickly perceived the movement, and at first evidently took it as merely a feint, and made but slight effort to resist it. So engrossed were they with their own projected piece of strategy, what- ever it was, that they failed to realize that their opponents had indeed been the first to open the ball and bring on a general engagement. Bat when the movement had fully developed, and it was seen that the entire Allied armies had taken the aggressive and were moving as one man by an organized and 94 "bietigheim." preconcerted movement upon a vitally important strategic point, then the Imperialists suddenly awoke to a consciousness that their schemes had gone aglee — that they had been caught napping. But their dispositions of troops to meet the new emergency were promptly made. Two hundred thousand inen were hurried up the IS^eckar Yalley to Heilbron and thence to Lauffen, a few miles farther up the stream, where tliey formed a line of battle facing southward, with its right resting at a point called Brackenheim ; another army of four hundred thou- sand Imperial troops, mostly Russians and Austrians, were started eastward from Heidelberg and ordered to occupy a line extending from north-west to south- east, the right resting on Jagstfeld on the lN"eckar. The balance, two hundred and fifty thousand Ger- man troops, were brought down from Darmstadt to the Khine plain between Heidelberg and Mannheim and there held in readiness to be flung suddenly upon any point within striking distance. All these movements took up the best part of the 25th, 26th and 27th of February. During their execution there was little or no skirmishing among the oppos- ing forces, but all the lines of railroads and all the post-roads and higliways converging toward the destined scene of action were thronged with artil- lery, cavalry, and infantry, and the grim spectre of impending battle hovered over all. On the night of February 2Yth, all along the val- ley of the lower Neckar, and over a wide expanse of the o])en, undulating country to the east, south, and west, blazed the countless bivouac fires of the ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CON"SEQUEN"CES. 95 miglity armies toward wliicli the eyes of the civil- ized world were anxiously turned, and upon which depended the political destinies of Europe. It was indeed a solemn moment, and one pregnant with weal or woe for the cause of civilization and of liberty. Here stood the Imperial despotism of the olden times, arrayed in all its gorgeous panoply, and confident in all the might of modern warfare. Here stood, confronting it, the enlightened freedom of "Western Europe and of the New World, eager to do it battle then and there in the sacred cause of progress and humanity. Hero were a million and a half of men sleeping on their arms and awaiting a morrow which for many of them was to be the last on earth. Senseless and unfeeling indeed must he have been who could have stood in the midst of such a solemn scene on that starlight night, and gazing on the silent hosts around him, or reverting to his loved home and anxious friends far away, been in- different to the thought of what for him, for his comrades, for his country, his cause, the morrow should have in store. Long before dawn all was in motion : long lines of infantry moving into position, batteries being planted on every available height, and fresh troops constantly arriving on the ground from all direc- tions. The prompt seizure of the heights on both sides of the Enz Yalley, overlooking Bietigheim, by the French and American advance, had secured the Allies an immense advantage ; so too had the pos- session of the railway viaduct, a stone structure a 96 " BIETIGHEIM. " quarter of a mile long, crossing the stream at that point, which had been fortified, and now bristled with cannon pointed up the valley. Daylight dis- covered the Imperialists strongly entrenched on the heights extending westward from the Neckar at Kirchheim, where, with incredible speed and activ- ity, they had mounted hundreds of guns of the heaviest calibre ; they had also occupied the heights along the l^eckar from Kirchheim down to Gem- mingheim, and planted batteries at every available point. Their infantry, massed by close columns of divisions in solid blocks of forty thousand men each, had been advanced to within supporting distance of the artillery. The Allies had the advantage in posi- tion, however, for they had occupied all of the nu- merous knobs and hills rising abruptly out of the comparatively level landscape to the north and west of Bietigheim, and had made them all but impregna- ble to assault. Their cannon were also thickly plant- ed on the range of hills extending north-westward from the Sachsenheims to Ilohen Raslach. Their infantry was similarly massed in solid blocks ready to support the artillery. At and around Bietigheim village were seventy thousand men, consisting of French troops and General Gibbon's (Third) Ameri- can corps from the victorious army of Metz. These troops were all from New England and New York, as were also the greater part of General Miles's (Fourth) corps, which was -massed at Gross Sachsen- heim, twenty thousand strong. The Army of the Yosges was massed in reserve along the Enz to the south-west of Bietigheim. Upon its commander, ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CON"SEQUENCES. 97 General Boulaiiger, liad devolved, as ranking officer, the leadership of the Allied armies on that eventful day. The Crown Prince of Germany was present directing in person at Heilbron the movements of the Imperial army. It were idle, my hearers, for one to attempt, in the space of a single lecture, to give a description of tliis memorable engagement, which brought into action a million and a lialf of soldiers, covered an area of twenty square miles of territory, con- tinued without intermission for four days, witnessed repeated encounters, marked by the most desper- ate valor, be"tween immense bodies of troops, and left over two hundred thousand men dead upon the field. It has oft and truly been said that Bietig- heim ranks first and foremost among the decisive battles of the world's history ; certainly upon no other field has there ever been displayed a more reckless valor, a more determined resistance, a more persistent sacrifice of human lives. It was as if a dozen ordinary battles were being fought simultane- ously side by side, each without regard to the prog- ress of the other. Tens of thousands of men were hurled headlong upon belching batteries as if their lives w^ere worth no more than those of so many sheep or cattle, and when they had fallen tens of thousands of others were found to take their places only to meet a similar fate. It was a carnival of carnage, which ended only with the sheer exhaus- tion of the surviving combatants. Looking back to those four days into which, for him who addresses 98 '^BIETIGHEIM. ' you, seem to have been crowded the experiences of a century, it is difficult to realize how any other than the possessor of a charmed life could have come out unharmed from that deadly rain of iron, lead, and steel, from that pandemonium where all the horrors and sufferings of the infernal regions seemed to ha^'C been let loose to blight and wither the fair face of God's earth. Let those of you who here in America, during those days of agony and suspense, watched and waited for news from that distant battle-field, recall the alternations of grief and joy, of hope and despair, which came flashed to you under the ocean's depths, in hourly bulletins, from the scene of action. To the younger members of my audience, whose memories do not reach back to that eventful period, I can perhaps give no better idea of the varying phases of the battle than to quote here some of those bulletins, as I find them in the New York Herald of that date : {By Mackay-Benneit Cable.) " Muhlacker, February 28ih, 3 p.m. — The engagement has now become general. Two Kussian and an Austrian army corps, estimated eighty thousand strong, have seized Gross Bottwar, and are moving southward on Steinheim and Marbach to turn our right flank. General Miles with forty thousand men has seized the junction at Beihingen, and posted a heavy artillery force on the adjacent heights. Ee-enforcements are being pushed forward to him with all possible haste. On our left the French and Spanish troops have advanced and occupied Cleebronn, threatening the enemy' s right flank, and compelling the withdrawal of some of his artillery. A desperate engage- ment between French and Germans is reported to have taken place at Wahlheim, where fifty thousand men were engaged on both sides. The French were forced back upon Lochgau and ITS CAUSES, COST, AITD CONSEQUENCES. 99 Besiglieim with heavy losses, but our artillery prevented the enemy's further advance. The cannonading continues with- out intermission. As yet none of the American troops have been engaged. " Later, 4, p.m. — The signal corps reports heavy bodies of the enemy's infantry moving off by the left flank from Heilbron and Laufen. This indicates an intended attack in force upon our right. The Russians and Austrians have halted at Stein- heim, evidently waiting to be re-enforced. A desperate battle is in jDrogress for the recovery of Cleebronn. General Cirrey's troops are arriving in force from Saarbriicken and Luxem- bourg. Two corps were sent forward this morning from Carls- ruhe to the front. "5 p.m. — The enemy have recaptured Cleebronn and driven our line back to Freudenthal with terrific loss on both sides. The German infantry made three successive charges, the last of which was successful, but it is estimated to have cost them not less than fifteen thousand men. The French General of Division Mallot, and a host of field and line officers were killed. The victorious Germans, under Von Schlemwitz, are now push- ing forward upon Freudenthal, the capture of which would compel the withdrawal of much of the artillery on our left. General Ducrot has ordered forward the corps of Arnot and Du Vivier to oppose von Schlemwitz's advance. " 8 P.M. — The day's operations have undoubtedly been favor- able in the main to the Imperialists, who have now concen- trated a heavy force, estimated at two hundred and fifty thou- sand men, opposite our right, ready to attack to-morrow, and have also advanced their lines from one to two miles along our entire front. General Cirrey's troops are being hurried for- ward with all possible dispatch ; and the entire Army of the Vosges has been ordered uf), under command of General Terry, to support the Allied right at Beihingen and Bietigheim. Notwithstanding to-day's repulse, the troops are in good spirits ; but everything indicates desperate fighting on the right to- morrow. The Herald balloon at Bietigheim reports all the roads to the north and east crowded with the enemy's infantry moving in the direction of Gross Bottwar, Steinheim, and Mar- bach. *' March Isi, noon. — The enemy's plan of battle is now fully 100 '^BIETIGHEIM." developed. It is to fall npon the Allies' right flank at Bietig- heim in overwhelming force, at the same time advancing his reserves on the Rhine plain, and carrying Carisruhe by assault, thus cutting off further re-enforcements from General Cirrey, and hemming General Boulanger in on all sides, except the south. This movement began at daylight this morning. The Imperialists during the night had posted batteries along the heights from Marbach to Pleidelsheim, and also south of our advance posts around Neckarweihingen, and at half -past six opened a tremendous fire. After two hours' cannonading their infantry appeared in strong force, advancing across the open country, from the north, east, and south, in long double lines, half a mile apart. The Allied forces had been under arms since 5 A.M., and the artillery did good execution at long range. During the night General Boulanger advanced the Army of the Vosges to Geissingen and Hietingsheim, and threw forward the main body of the troops into the peninsula formed by a long bend in the Neckar at this point. It is a natural fortress, a semicircle of hills, with the river skirting their base, and but one bridge— at Marbach— by which it is approachable from the direction of the enemy's advance. The latter came on, how- ever, equipped with pontoon trains, and prepared to cross at a number of points. The pontoniers worked under a heavy fire of cannon and musketry, but finally planted their bridges, and over a hundred thousand Bussians and Germans have already crossed. " 4 P.M. — The Allies have up to this time held their fortified position in the bend of the Neckar in spite of the most persist- ent and bloodj' attempts of the enemy to dislodge them. At noon thirty thousand Bussian infantry made a desperate charge up the heights at Benningen, but were handsomely repulsed by Gibbon's (Third) corps, who afterward made a sortie and drove them back down the heights and into the river. A second charge was attempted at the same point at one o'clock, this time by fifty thousand Germans and Bussians Tinder General Von Bomer. The French division of Brasseur had been ordered up to re-enforce Gibbon, and again the charge was repulsed, but with enormous losses. The enemy, not discouraged, rallied another fifty thousand men, and, an hour later, once more charged desperately up the hill. Gib- ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 101 bon's and Brasseur's men had meanwhile been further re- enforced by Major-General Dawson's left wing of Fitzhugh Lee's (Second) corps from the Army of the Yosges ; and none too soon, either, for the Virginians, Carolinians, and Georgians, who had come up on a double-quick to the front, had scarcely recovered their breath ere they were called upon to go into action. The Imperialists advanced steadily up the hill in three solid lines, and this time the flower of their troops had been sent to the assault. But they were doomed. On they came, the grape and canister cutting long gaps in their ranks, yet the survivors pressing onward and upward with dogged, undaunted determination. Again the Allies rushed out of the works to meet them with the bayonet, the Fifth New York of Barnum's division leading the charge. It was short, sharp, and decisive. Some of the Germans, it is true, pushed on over everything and reached even the mouths of the Boston battery's guns ; but not one of them ever went back. *' The American losses have been heavy in to-daj^'s action, the New York and New England troops having borne the brunt of the assaults at Benningen. But the slaughter of the enemy must have been tenfold greater, the slope where they charged being literally covered with their dead and wounded. " 6 P.M.— There has been bloody fighting at the bridge at Marbach and at two or three other points beyond, where the enemy had placed their pontoons ; but in every case the Allies have held their positions and inflicted severe loss upon their assailants. At latest advices (5.30 p.m.) it is not considered probable that the enemy will renew the attack to-day at that point. Heavy shells have been falling all day far within the Allied lines. The railway viaduct and most of the buildings at Bietigheim are in ruins. There has also been heavy fighting at various other points. The Allies took the aggressive against the enemy's right at noon, and threw forward three French and one Spanish corps toward Brackenheim and Kirchheim, both of which they occupied with comparatively little resist- ance. The rear-guard of the Army of the Vosges was vigor- ously attacked by a cavalry force composed of five thousand Uhlans, who succeeded in capturing a large number of wounded and stragglers. " 7 P.M.— Every thing indicates that the fighting is over for to- 102 ^^BIETIGHEIM." day. The Imperialists have been held in check on the right, and thus far have failed in their plans ; but the situation is still menacing, and there must be much desperate fighting in any case before the issue is decided, A further concentration of their forces is in progress. The enemy, apparently in view of to-day's events, has made no attack on Carlsruhe ; but the entire Imperialist reserve, which had been destined for that purpose, is reported in motion toward Heidelberg and Heil- bron. Cirrey's troops from Verviers have all arrived, and with the exception of those detailed to guard the line of com- munication from the Ehine to the Neckar, have gone forward to the front. The great bulk of both armies now confront each other at and around Bietigheim, the Allied line extending from Gross Sachsenheim to the Neckar near Marbach. *' March 2d, morning, — The Allied arms have encountered a serious and what might have proved, but for American valor, a fatal disaster. Under cover of night the Imperialists brought two hundred thousand infantry, under General von Ehrenstein, around to the vicinity of Ludwigsburg, crossing the Neckar at Hochberg and Neckar Ems, and at daylight hurled this force, from the southward, upon the Allied flank. The attack came so unexpectedly that a panic ensued. General du Sellier's division, which caught the first brunt of the on- slaught, broke and ran, spreading the panic among the Spanish troops of General Quintero's division, who also joined in the flight. The sudden firing from an unexpected quarter brought the entire army to attention ; but the Germans and Austrians came on with a rush, carrying camp after camp and earthwork after earthwork, until it seemed certain that the thought of further staying their advance was vain. Their first check, how- ever, was when they encountered the French divisions of Val- court and Meurier. These are troops who have seen much active service in Algiers and Tonquin, and are not likely to turn and run when surprised. They gallantly received the enemy's onset, and engaged him so long as resistance was pos- sible, but at cost of leaving two thirds of their number on the field. Yet this gave General Terry, whose two corps were the next to be attacked, an opportunity to prepare for fight. The Imperialists, elated with success and now over-confident of victory, came rushing on at a double-quick upon Terry's ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 103 position, when suddenly, like a stone wall across their path, arose a line of blue coats, and then another, and another ; yet on they came, still eighty or ninety thousand strong, while Terry's force at most was not over half that number. He had, however, speedily telephoned to Gibbon and Miles, who were near at hand, urging them to hasten to his support ; and hasten they did. '* 'Stand firm, now, every man of j/ow, ' shouted the gallant Fair- child as the enemy came down upon him ; ' we Americans can save the day yet.' Then came the crash. It was a hand-to- hand bayonet light ; but the Americans stood firm, and Von Ehrenstein saw then, for the first time, that his victorious advance was ended. While the troops of Fairchild and Lee were holding him in check, Gibbon and Miles came dashing in on his flank, and Audibert's (French) corps, which had been ordered too late to the support of Valcourt and Meurier, closed in upon him from the rear. He was hemmed in on all sides, and his men were falling so fast that further resistance seemed but useless carnage. He determined to cut his way out, if possible. Moving his men suddenly by the right flank, he encountered the troops of Miles ; it was vain. Fairchild closed in, with Audibert upon his rear, and forced him to about-face again and defend himself. Only a forlorn hope of two brigades, with Yon Ehrenstein at their head, succeeded in reaching and fording the Neckar and making good their escape, taking with them several hundred prisoners from Terry's command. Of the hundred thousand assailants, sixty thousand are now pris- oners in General Terry's hands. The remainder, with the exception of the two brigades that escaped with Von Ehren- stein, are lying dead or wounded on the field. " 11 A.M. — The enemy have evacuated Marbach, after destroy- ing the bridge and setting fire to the town. Schiller's birth- place is in ashes. They are now massing the remainder of their forces at Pleidelsheim and Steinheim. The balloon signal-men report heavy re-enforcements pouring in by waj^ of Heilbron and Lauffen ; these are no doubt the forces that were to have attacked Carlsruhe. Including these, the enemy can still muster over four hundred thousand men against us. The Allies, counting all of Cirrey's newJy-arrived soldiers, number over five hundred and fifty thousand ready for action, but both 104 *'BIETIGHEIM." men and horses are beginning to show the results of the last three days' terrible strain upon them. " 2 P.M.— The enemy, adopting the Allied tactics, endeavored to entrench himself in a similar bend in the Neckar at Hessi»- heim, but was frustrated and driven back with considerable loss. Emboldened by his strong re-enforcements, he has actively resumed the offensive, crossing the Neckar in great force at Wahiheim, Ottmarsheim, and Besigheim, with the evident intention of silencing the batteries and overwhelming the Allied left. *' 5 P.M. — An infantry battle, in which not less than two hun- dred and lifty thousand troops were brought into action on each side, has been in progress since early this afternoon, in the open country to the north-west of Bietigheim. The manoeuvring of these heavy bodies of men is described by the Herald balloon correspondent as evincing the most consummate military strategy on both sides. Our artillery firmly holds its position on several knobs or hills which command the entire battle-field, and has been doing deadly execution, notwith- standing repeated and persistent attempts to dislodge it. Nothing decisive as yet. " 8 P.M. — The troops of both armies are resting on their arms wherever darkness overtook them. The results of this after- noon's bloody fighting are entirely indecisive and unsatisfac- tory. Cheering news comes, however, that the Allied right, a hundred and fifty thousand strong, and including the entire American contingent, has been pressing the retiring enemy northward from Marbach since noon, and will be in position to close in upon him to-morrow. The best military authority is credited with the statement that this terrible contest cannot possibly be protracted longer than to-morrow at sundown. The sacrifice of life has been unparalleled in the annals of warfare, and the country is covered with the dead, and with the wounded and dying, for whom it is impossible to care. *' March 3d, 9 a.m.— The agonies of the wounded, who are still lying helpless and neglected all over the wide extent of country over which the contending armies have fought, are spoken of as indescribable, yet neither commander has proposed a truce in order to afford them relief. On the contrary, the slaughter was renewed this morning with increased vigor by the fresh klTS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEC^UENCES. 105 oops on both sides, on the battle-ground of yesterday after- noon. Our correspondent reports that the Allied right, which forced the enemy northward from Marbach yesterday, crossed the Neckar in the night, and by a forced march is closing in upon the main body of the Imperial forces now opj^osite our left. If this prove true, it will undoubtedly give the Allies the victory. " 11 A.M. — An hour ago the Imperialists made a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to dislodge our artillery from their positions near the Weisenhof and the Spinnerei, from both of which points the lire has been especially destructive. Since then there has been a perceptible diminution in the vigor of their fighting at all points. The Allies are advancing and pushing them hard at every point. " Noon. — The Herald balloon correspondent reports that the shattered and weakened Imperial forces were struck on the flank at Lochgau half an hour ago by the right wing of General Boulanger's army, which had crossed the Neckar at night, and came up by a forced march. A panic ensued, and the enemy is now in full retreat upon Heilbron, leaving most of his artil- lery and many thousands of prisoners in our hands. His escape is considered impossible. "2 P.M. — A force of ten thousand Allied cavalry, mostly French dragoons, which had been in reserve at Bretten, moved rapidly down the post-road to Brackenheim and intercepted the enemy's flight at Diirrenzimmer and Nordhausen. A lively engagement between cuirassiers and Uhlans is also reported to have occurred at the bridge at Lauffen. The enemy con- tinues in full flight. " 9 P.M. — The enemy TTAR SUEKENDEBED UNCONDITIONAUiY." I leave it to your imagination, mj liearcrs, to picture the agony and suspense prevailing tlirougli- out the country during these four days of a battle where every household in the land was represented by some loved relative, friend, or acquaintance. So terrible were the losses, so protracted the uncertainty, that, notwithstanding the thrilling news of victory, 106 *'BIETIGHEIM." the battle was regarded as a great national calamity. Tlie cables — there were but six then— were choked with messages, the newspapers filled with lists of the dead, wounded, and missing, and the entire land was wrapped in grief and mourning which even the consciousness of victory so dearly purchased could not assuage. The President decreed March 12th as a day of national fasting, humiliation, and prayer, and its observance was both earnest and general throughout the nation. Throughout Europe, too, a deep, crushing sense of horror was uppermost in the public mind, contemplating that ghastly field where over two hundred thousand dead bodies were being buried as rapidly as possible, and where for miles around, in every available building that was left standing, as many more wounded sufferers were awaiting recovery or death. The victory of the Allies was complete. Articles of surrender were drawn up at Heilbron on the fol- lowing day, and two days later Coblentz capitulated, through the disaffection of the Russian troops form- ing a part of its garrison. Indications of serious discord were apparent in the Imperial ranks, Rus- sians, Austrians, and Germans each striving to throw upon the other the responsibility of defeat. The Allied armies, meanwhile, withdrew to the Rhine plain, and there awaited the conclusion of a peace, which could not be long deferred. Early in May the Treaty of Carlsruhe was signed. Its terms were humiliating to the Imperial signatories, but it must be remembered they had been written by the sword ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 107 in letters of blood. Germany re-ceded to France Alsace and Lorraine, with a war indemnity of one milliard of francs ($200,000,000) to that coilntry, $100,000,000 to the United States, and $50,000,000 to Spain. Russia evacuated Herat and Constan- tinople, and gave England an indemnity of £25,- 000,000 and ample guarantees against re-occupa- tion. Austria paid Italy five hundred million lira ($100,000,000) as indemnification, and accorded her certain special shipping privileges in the port of Trieste. The signing of this treaty v^as the occa- sion for many remarkable speeches deploring the horrors of war and advocating measures for a general disarmament and the perpetuation of permanent peace among the nations. Who can recall, save with a sense of admiration and conviction, the elo- quent peroration of our venerable statesman, Mr. Evarts, when, on that occasion, in the presence of the titled diplomats of Europe, he spoke these memorable words : *' In conclusion, Mr. President, I here renew, in the name of Christianity, in the name of humanity, that appeal for peace which the United States of America sent from beyond the Atlantic a twelvemonth ago to the nations of the Old World then girding themselves for battle. At that time the entreaty fell upon unheeding ears ; the still small voice of the angel pleading for peace was drowned in the hoarse, discordant tones of the unchained demon of strife. But now that the storm has swept over us ; now that the peoples of Europe and America are bowed in grief in the presence of a common, all-pervading woe ; now that in every household, be it palace or cabin, the voice of weeping and wailing is heard for those who have fallen on yonder field — in this the hush following the tempest, is it not the chosen moment in which the New World may once 108 "BIETIGHEIM." more stretch out her hands iinto the Old, and pointing to yoh ghastly spectacle, exclaim, in the name of the thousands of widows and orphans who to-day are weeping, in the name of common humanity, in the name of God, ' Let us have peace ' " ? The conclusion of the treaty was -made the occa- sion of signal rejoicings everywhere, even in the defeated countries, for the impression was general that an era of universal and ' enduring peace had finally been crystallized out of the white-hot fur- nace of war. Yet even these rejoicings were tem- pered by the prevalence of personal sorrow and be- reavement. I^ever before had grim War left such widespread blight, poverty, and desolation in his path. The treasure and blood which had been poured out like water had left a lack which only the flight of long years could eiface. But you are perhaps curious to learn what, dur- ing all these momentous events, has become of our young Kansas officer and his note-book. Where a million or more of men are brought into action, the individual is certain to dwindle in importance, and the personal adventures of this one or that one in the human ant-hill become matters of insignificance. Yet since you have listened previously to some of his recitals, it may interest you to know this much, that he got a ball in the shoulder and was carried off a prisoner to Lud wigs burg with the two brigades that cut their way out with Yon Ehrenstein ; that he was humanely cared for in a German military hospital at that place until his wound healed, and that he rejoined his command at Durlachafew days ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 100 before tlie conclusion of the treaty of peace. Tlie next important entry which his note-book records is the following : " Paris, June 16th, 1891. — This has been the proudest day of my life. The American troops have been fairly overwhelmed with attentions and honors at every point on the long line of march. The review was simply magnilicent as a militarj' pageant. General Terry was given the right of the line, with Fairchild's corps leading and Lee's next ; then came Gibbon and Miles, then the English, Italians, and Spaniards, the French troops bringing up the rear. The route, extending from the Bois de Bologne, by way of the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elj^sees, Place de la Concorde, Eue Eoyale, and Grand Boulevard to the Place Juillet, was lined on both sides for the entire distance with the troops of the Army of Paris and the National Guard, facing inward, and standing at ' Present Arms.' I find no words in which to convey any idea of the enthusiastic demonstrations of the French populace at the sight of our war-worn blue uniforms and torn, battle-stained flags. Our brigade was the second from the right of the line, and came in for a large share of the popular acclamation. As we passed under the Arc de Triomphe, our band playing * Yankee Doodle,' the scene was simply indescribable, but is indelibly imprinted upon my memory ; and I shall be proud to the last day of my life that I participated in its honors. On the Place de la Concorde, the statue of Strasbourg was deco- rated with garlands, and above it floated a silk banner inscribed, "Welcome to our Liberators. " Across the Boulevard, at the Place de I'Opera, was an arch of roses, inclosing the simple word " Bietigheim" in evergreens. From the summit of the Portes St. Denis and St. Martin floated the flags of all the Allied nations, decked with laurel leaves, and on the top of the Column of July was a colossal white-winged figure, typifying the Angel of Peace. * ^ * * * •?«• The remainder of the story is soon told. History records no more grateful or enthusiastic welcome 110 Vbietigheim." than that accorded to the brave American survivors of Bietigheim, when they once more set foot on their country's soil. The flags which they followed through the dire storm of battle and brought back crowned with victory are now enshrined at their re- spective State Capitols as the proudest trophies of American prowess and the vindication of the proudest rights of American citizenship. Thirty- three years after the events just described^ my hearers, he who now addresses you revisited the battle-field of Bietigheim, and stood once more upon the heights overlooking the !Neckar at Ben- ningen, where the Americans had fought so bravely and so well. The soft purple haze of a summer evening sunset hovered over the quiet, peaceful landscape, and nothing remained to tell of the mad passions that had once surged and ebbed over that now tranquil scene save the long lines of moss- covered gravestones within the inclosure, which, under treaty provisions, was made over by Germany to our Government for maintenance as a National Cemetery. Honest toil had resumed its wonted sway, the ruined villages had been rebuilt, the grain fields, once trampled under the iron footprints of charging infantry, now rustled with waving wheat, and the Neckar, winding like a silver band across the misty landscape, gave no remembrance that it had once run red with the life-blood of the youth of two con- tinents. All save the tombstones had passed away ; but they, in silent, solemn alignment, w^ere still ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. Ill standing there, making tlieir mute appeal and seem- ing to ask, ^' Have these brave men indeed died in vain ?" And the answer comes long and loud from a grateful country far away across the sea, and from all friends of liberty throughout the world : *' No ! these men gave up their lives to humble the arrogance of Imperial military despotism and vindicate to the world the principles of republican popular government. No ! they have not died in vain. ' ' III. ITS CONSEQUENCES. BiETiaHEiM not only made the world weep, it set the European people to thinking, and, later, to acting. It admonished the monarch on his throne that a time had already come when the right to the rulership of an intelligent people must be based on something more than mere heredity ; to the aris- tocracy it whispered a warning that the day of any other ranks or titles than those based on individual merit was drawing to an end ; it reminded the middle classes that in them, the possessors of the wealth and intelligence of the land, was in reality vested the controlling influence for its welfare ; and to the masses — the artisan, the laborer, the peasant — it unveiled all the hollowness and falsity of the tinsel idols of tradition to which they had been asked to bow down. It was evident early in 1893 that a general social revolution was impending in Europe. That it might prove a bloodless one many yet believed. The carnage at Bietigheim had borne good fruit in allay- ing the sanguinary feelings of even the more ad- vanced radicals and socialists, and in disposing people of all political creeds and opinions to a settlement of their differences by arbitration and it BIETIGHEIM.'* 113 legislation wherever it could possibly be effected. Since tlie re-entry of the defeated troops at Berlin, St. Petersburg, and Vienna, liberalism had made in- credible strides, not only in those capitals, but throughout the countries which they ruled. When the German Reichstag assembled in Novemljcr, 1892, two thirds of its members were more or less republican in sentiment. The Austrian Parliament was even more radical, in that its Pepublican mem- bers, while not more numerous than in the Reich- stag, possessed less statecraft and self-control. In Russia Nihilism had been rejDlaced by what was called the '' People's Union," with '^ Education and Freedom " as its motto. This Bund, or Union, com- prised nearly every man in the empire save the court, the nobility, the higher military officials, and a small sprinkling of the wealthy hoiirgeoisie, who sought, by holding aloof, to curry favor with the throne. The rank and file of the army were in sympathy with it almost to a man. The Bund, in short, had, by a silent, bloodless revolution, become the master and dictator of public political feeling in Russia. Thus inevitably the three emperors found them- selves isolated upon their respective thrones, sur- rounded only by a meagre and weak-kneed follow- ing of impotent courtiers or paid officials, while their opponents were strong, united, and alert. In- evitably, I said, for it was impossible in an age where the printing-press and the telegraph were daily distributing knowledge and information broad- cast, that any such antiquated nonsense as the in- herent hereditary right of one man or one family to 114 '^BIETIGHEIM." govern an entire nation should long be tolerated. None knew this better than the monarchs them- , selves. The time when the three emperors could hobnob at Gastein or Ischl and arrange the affairs of nearly two hundred millions of subjects over a dinner-table was past. They had now to look those bereaved and impoverished subjects in the face, and give an account of their stewardship ; and the first question that they had to answer was this : '' What guarantees can you give us against another Bietigheim ^" Then European republicanism took concerted action. The social revolution, which but for Bietig- heim would have been one of fire and blood, be- came a peaceful one, enacted with dignity and order, and under all due forms of law. It was not the work of a single day. It had been in prepara- tion for years, gaining strength with the election of each new Republican member from districts previ- ously represented by monarchists, and daily laying its foundations broader and deeper among the peo- ple, so that, when the change of government really came, it was only the cap-stone to a structure of which the corner-stone had long since been laid. I speak now more especially of the downfall of the three great empires, as that was the first phase of the world's political reformation — a downfall somewhat accelerated, it may be, by the fact that since the Treaty of Carlsruhe the three courts, while maintaining an outward semblance of their former friendship, were in reality full of bitterness against each other, as partners in defeat are generally apt *ITS CAUSES, COST, AISTI) CONSEQUEN-CES. 115 to be. Deprived thus of each other's moral sym- pathy, support, and countenance, they resisted with so much the less confidence the inroads of those domestic foes who were rapidly undermining the foundations of their thrones. Germany, too, had lost her tower of strength, Bismarck, whose pride and iron will had not long survived the humiliation of defeat, and in whose death imperialism lost its Stan chest and most able defender. In short, Eu- ropean republicanism, wliich had barely escaped a throttling in its birth, now waxed strong and healthy in its youthful manhood, not only capable of de- fending itself, but of doing more, of taking the aggressive and lifting up its voice and right arm to demand free government. It is to the everlasting credit of the leaders of this movement in Germany and Austria that, seeing their strength and knowing the longed-for goal to be at hand, they went one step farther to listen to the voice of humanity, and to make the blow they were about to strike a bloodless one. It would have been a very easy matter for them to precipitate a conflict in which many lives would have been lost and much property destroyed without materially endangering the ultimate success of their plans ; but they preferred to do otherwise ; they won over the army, and so thoroughly matured their plans that when on a given day — the 12th of February, 1893 — Herr Scholler, in the Berlin Reichstag, and Herr Endry, in the Yienna Parliament, ascended the Tribune and moved to proclaim the republic, the bubble of imperial power collapsed. The gov- 116 '' BIETIGHEIM." *• ernments found tliemselves in a helpless and hope- less minority, utterly unable to stay the popular tide. Resistance, even had it been possible, would have been vain. From all quarters of Germany and Austria telegrams came pouring in from prominent leaders, giving in their adhesion to the new regime. The moody King of Bavaria shut himself in one of his mountain castles and awaited events ; his royal neighbor of Wiirtemberg passively submitted to the situation, and simply offered a protest ; the King of Saxony endeavored to secure the removal and concealment of the valuable crown-jewels at Dres- den, but the attempt was discovered and His Majesty placed under guard in his own palace ; the Grand Duke of Baden, related by ties of blood to the im- perial family, first entered a solemn and vigorous protest against the change, and then withdrew with his family and suite to one of his hunting castles at Salem, near the Lake of Constance ; the large com- mercial cities, Bremen, Hamburg, and Frankfort, always more or less republican in sentiment, wel- comed the news joyfully, and promised the new Government active support. In Austria some dis- orders, resulting in bloodshed, ensued, but they were of short duration. Hungary rejoiced through- out the length and breadth of her borders at the change which freed her from Austrian subjugation, and Budapest was brilliantly illuminated in honor of the new republic. I outline thus briefly these important events, leav- ing it to your intelligent imagination to fill in the ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 117 innumerable details of the picture — tlie uprootings of old traditions, the conflicts of pride and patriot- ism, the sighs and tears over departed ranks and titles, the high hopes or gloom j forebodings for the future to which this new order of things gave birth in the hearts of the good j)eople of that day. I leave you, too, to imagine the effect which the news produced upon the rest of the world — that is, the countries not immediately interested. Russia had scarcely time to realize what had happened ere her turn came too. The atmosphere of republican- ism and the light of a new political dawn permeated every chink and cranny of the mouldy structure of Russian autocracy. The pressure of public opinion, botli from within and without, became such that it could no longer be withstood, and on the 13th of March, 1893, the twelfth anniversary of his ascent to the throne, Alexander III. publicly abdicated his sovereignty. The heir apparent, his son, I^icholas, a youth of twenty-five, reluctant to re- linquish his claims to the imperial succession, gath- ered together a small following of nobility and mili- tary officers, still faithful to ancient tradition, and offered a strenuous but brief and ineffectual resist- ance to the transfer of the government to the repre- sentatives of the people. The petty monarchs of Roumania and the Balkan provinces found their palaces besieged by eager throngs demanding their abdication. Ferdinand of Roumania refused, and was promptly deposed ; Alexander of Bulgaria submitted to the will of his peoj)le, and was subse- quently chosen their president. Milan of Servia 118 '• BIETIGHEIM." fled his kingdom and took refuge in the south of France, where he died in 1899. King Konstan- tinos, who had only been one year upon the throne of Greece, sensibly recognized the turn which European pohtical affairs were taking, and issued a plebiscites under which his people were to decide what form of government they preferred. The re- sult was a foregone conclusion ; in July the king abdicated, and Greece was once more a republic. The one great and principal danger in this rapid transfer of all Eastern Euroj)e to Republicanism was evident at a glance : it was the danger of ex- treme measures, begotten of over-confidence and of utter inexperience in the art of self-government. Ardent and unselfish as were the Republican leaders of Europe, it must not be forgotten that they were but mortal, and that they found themselves not only carried along upon the very crest of a great wave of success and popularity — itself a dangerous test for any man or set of men — but that they had to deal with constituencies reared under despotism, accus- tomed to look upon their rulers as the school-boy looks upon the rod, bigoted in their hatred, bitter in their vindictiveness, and all ignorant of the in- ward significance of " a government of the people, by the people, and for the people." To most of these the Republic was a chimera. It was a fair angel for whose coming they had yearned and prayed and waited ; yet when it came and met them and stretched forth its hands to them, they did not recognize the object of their hopes and yearnings. It may, .1 think, truly be said — it has, in fact, been ITS CAUSES, COST, AN"D CONSEQUENCES. 119 said by one historian of this twentieth century— that, at the close of 1893, there were not in all the newly declared republics of Europe over a score of recognized 23olitical leaders who could have sat in the Senate of the United States and been regarded as capable men, imbued with sound, practical, and reasonable republican plans and opinions. This was not surprising ; on the contrary, it would have been surprising had it been otherwise. The enemies of free thought and free government saw all this with a furtive smile of delight, and watched and waited for their turn to come again. But it never came, and, as we may now, after the lapse of nearly half a century, reasonably suppose, it never will come. Had the dawn of European republican- ism been a synonym for bloodshed and rapine ; had dynamite taken the place of logic, and had legisla- tion been replaced by the sword and torch, it is safe to suppose that, at no distant day, possibly even ere this, people would have gone willingly back to the old regime of throne and crown, exclaiming, " Of two great evils, give us the lesser. " But, fortunate- ly, it was otherwise. Moderation prevailed ; that is to say, comparative moderation, in that no guillo- tines were set up, no cities burned, no mobs set in motion, and republicanism grew and took new root daily. The considerate personal treatment extended to the dispossessed monarchs and their families fur- nishes, perhaps, the best indication of the moderate and liberal spirit of the time. In Germany and Austria the deposed emperors were offered the alternative of taking the oath of allegiance to the 120 '^BIETIGHEIM.'* republic and becoming plain citizens like the rest, or of leaving tlie country. Both preferred the lat- ter. The German emperor and his family removed to London, where ties of kindred assured them a welcome. Francis Joseph of Austria passed his few remaining years at Paris or in the South of France. Strange to say, the Czar gave in his allegiance to the new regime, professing a love for his country which was superior to all ambition or self-interest. But he retired to a small property which he owned in the Crimea, and, though discharging faithfully thereafter all his duties as a citizen, never set foot in St. Petersburo; or Moscow aojain. The minor princes, whose name, especially in Germany, was legion, refused, almost without exception, to recog- nize the new order of things, and went into volun- tary exile, some to Paris, some to Great Britain, and a few to this country, where they or their de- scendants have in most cases become useful and re- spected citizens. When I remind you that an Oldenburg is now Lieutenant-Governor of Minne- sota ; that a Weimar represents a Wisconsin dis- trict in Congress ; that a Schaumburg-Lippe is Col- lector of Customs at Louisville, and that a Haps- burg lately declined the nomination for Governor of California, you will realize how these offshoots of European royalty have, within half a century, been absorbed into our population and become part and parcel of ourselves. 1 need not weary you with reciting in detail the measures taken for the establishment of the new / ITS CAUSKS, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 121 republics ; suffice it to say that peace and order pre- vailed, that Constitutional conventions assembled, that general elections were held, and that, early in 189J:, only three years after the echo of Bietig- heim^s cannon had died away, the provisional Ger- man, E-ussian, and Austrian republics had all been recognized by the Washington Government and by the other great powers, some of whom, how- ever, England and Italy more especially, looked askance upon the new state of affairs. But of this I shall speak later. In the United States, notwith- standino; the universal satisfaction felt with the changed political complexion of the Old World, a diversity of opinion existed as to the outlook. Many contended that republics, constructed upon the ruins of ancient monarchies, were built upon an insecure foundation and could not prove permanent ; others refuted this theory by pointing to the French re- public, which, for a quarter of a century, had weath- ered all sorts of political hurricanes. Many and sincere were the appeals put forth by the press, by organized societies, and by individuals to the Kepub- licans of Europe, entreating them to move slowly and to legislate with prudence and moderation. These had their effect, too, for the land of W ash- in o-t on and Franklin and Adams and Jefferson, from being an object of dread and mistrust to European tyrants, had now come to be looked upon as the model after which all republics should be patterned. All things considered, it is surprising how quietly and quickly the transition was effected, and how, as a matter of fact, the people settled down into the 122 "bietighbim." new order of affairs. Business continued in its ac- customed channels, agriculture and industrial pur- suits thrived or lagged as usual, people were born, and married, and died just the same as ever — in short, when the republican spectre had once become a tangible creature, people quickly accepted the fact, and the world wagged on as before. About this time there appeared on the political and social horizon a man destined to exert a power- ful influence upon the age in which he lived, and to take rank as one of the most singular characters in the world's history. I refer to Emanuel Winter- hoff. Born of peasant parents near Cassel, Germany, in 1850, receiving only such education as was ob- tainable at a public school or by studying in bor- rowed books at such odd moments as he could spare from his trade as a saddler's apprentice, he first emerged from obscurity in 1887 by the publication at Leipzig of a pamphlet entitled '' Der Arheiter, und Sein Lohn''^ (''The Workingman and His Pay "), attacking Bismarck's law for the insurance of workingmen, for which he suifered six months' imprisonment. We next find him defeated twice in succession (1888 and 1889) as Socialist candidate for the Reichstag, and in 1891, upon the re-entry of the defeated troops at Berlin, loudly denouncing the imperial Government in the streets of Frank- fort, for which he was again imprisoned, only ob- taining his release two years later, when the republic was declared. EMANUEL WIXIEWIIOEF. ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 123 Up to this time Winterlioff liad been regarded as merely an agitator. But with the dawn of the new era he appeared in the Heichstag, and soon won recognition by the depth and broadness of his views and his wonderful force and eloquence in their ad- vocacy. Unpretentious and nnselfish in all that pertained to his personal interests, imbued with a sincere spirit of philanthropy, a deep sense of con- viction which showed itself in every word and act, and a rare toleration for the opinions of his oppo- nents, this remarkable man speedily won the enthu- siastic regard and confidence of all lovers of liberty, and the silent respect of its foes. Earlier in life he had ardently devoted himself to the study of Free Masonry, and throughout his entire career he maintained the practice of its principles to be the truest and best religion for mankind. Nay, he even went further, and advocated the application of its system of organization and government to the State. ''A Universal Rej)ubhc," he declared, '' organized and administered upon the basis of a Masonic Lodge, will realize the highest measure of prosperity for the human race, and prove as endur- ing as mankind itself." Among the innumerable theories of government, some few of them practicable, but most of them quite the reverse, which were put forward during the transition period intervening between the formal declaration of the republics and the time when they finally achieved stability, none took a wider and deeper hold upon the masses than this one of Win- terhoif's. Briefly stated, his plan was that of a 124 '^BIETIGHEIM. " political structure based upon trade guilds, mem- bership in one or another of which was to be bind- ing upon every male citizen. These guilds were composed of three grades of mem-bers, the highest of which elected from among its own members a Master to serve for one year. Masters of Guilds in turn were organized into Grand Guilds of two hundred each, and elected their Grand Masters to ser^e for two years. The Grand Masters in turn met in Councils of one hundred each, and elected their Chief Councillors to serve for three years. These Chief Councillors in turn met in Conclaves of twenty-five each and chose their electors to serve for four years, forming an Electoral College, which chose, from its own members, a President and Yice- President to serve for five years, both being eligible to re-election. I make no comments upon this proposed system ; I simply recount its leading features. Its govern- ment was to be absolutely paternal in its nature. The State was to operate the railroads, steamships, telegraphs, telephones, ferries, factories — every- thing. Barter and commerce were to disappear as private sources of emolument, and labor was to be the sole standard of value. All the produce of the land, all the wares produced by the guilds, were to be turned in to the Government warehouses and credited to the guilds producing them, which, in turn, were authorized to draw out their equivalent in other produce and other wares to balance their account, the standard of value being the product of an average workman in one day of eight hours' labor. ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 125 There were to be no rich, no poor. Each guild was to provide for its helpless, sick, or infirm mem- bers, and also to furnish its^j>r6> rata share for the maintenance of the general Government, and of the employes engaged in the receipt, preservation, hand- ling, and distribution of the public property. For the punishment of all minor crimes and misde- meanors, Masters of Guilds were invested with the necessary authority over their own members, who had the right of appeal to the Grand Masters. Cases of murder, rape, arson, etc., were to be tried by the Grand Masters in Council, with the right of appeal to the Chief Councillors. There was no re- striction placed upon religious faith or worship, but pastors were to be supported by the contributions of those to whom they ministered. The guilds were to provide medical attendance and legal counsel to their members when necessary. All houses, land and real estate of every kind were to belong to the State, which was to collect the rents and credit them to the public treasury. These are the main outhnes of Winterhoffs plan, and he advocated it with all the earnestness of con- viction and all the fervor of his eloquence, not only in the German Congress, but throughout all Eastern Europe, journeying from place to place, through Germany, Austria, Hungar}^, Poland, and Kussia, and preaching the doctrine of his Universal Brother- hood to immense and enthusiastic assemblages. In January, 1898, he was at Pesth and Press- burg ; in March, at Yienna ; later in the same year he addressed an audience of fifty thousand Poles 126 "■ BIETIGHEIM." at "Warsaw, and in October lie was preaching his doctrines at St. Petersburg, everywhere attracting vast crowds. In the summer of 1899 he appeared once more at Berhn, gentle, modest, and unostenta- tious as was his wont, yet with, if possible, a deeper earnestness and determination than ever before. Meanwhile the seeds which he had sown broadcast had taken deep root, and the clamor for the Uni- versal Republic, or, as some termed it, the Brother- hood of Man, had become so widespread that many already looked npon its establishment as merely a question of time. Meanwhile the rest of Europe could not remain insensible, even if it would, to the presence of tliis glowing furnace of republicanism in its midst. France, as may be supposed, had suddenly become extremely conservative, and assuming the 7'6le of an older brother, solemnly warned tlie new begin- ners against the danger of going forward too rapid- ly. Belgium, always more, or less socialistic, had thrown off the royal yoke in 1895. The stern and iinimpressible Dutch did not take kindly to repub- licanism, neither did the Scandinavian peoples ; they preferred, all of them, to maintain tlieir monarchical governments, and, with the exception of some slight outbreaks, managed to do so in peace. In Spain sad disorders prevailed. The Biscay provinces declared their independence in 1893, and had ever since been maintaining their own Government, entirely independent of Madrid. Barcelona had also declared itself a free city, and the Spanish Government was powerless to do more ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUEXCES. 127 tlian protest. The movement had spread until province became at war with province, and city with citj, and by the opening of the present century all Spain was in ebullition and disorder, with no immediate prospect of a restoration of tranquillity. Glancing at Italy, we find her political condition at that period anomalous. The northern provinces were in a state of revolt against Xing Humbert's rule, and Milan, Florence, Venice, and other of the larger cities were heavily garrisoned by royal troops, the people passively submitting to the occupation rather than resort to uprising and bloodshed. In the central and southern provinces republicanism had made, as yet, so little headway among the masses that the king easily maintained his sway. But the situation was critical, only existing by sufferance, and none knew at what moment some chance pop- ular tumult might not apply the spark to the powder and inaugurate a new political era in the land of the Caesars. In the Vatican, if the popular opinion of that day may be credited, there was a disposition to move with, or at least not to stem, the political ten- dencies of the time. To recognize and to accord a moral support to the existing authority appears to have been then, as always, the secular policy of the Roman Church. What though Atheism and In- fidelity stalked abroad throughout all lands, fondly deluding; themselves with the belief that this new era of emancipation from political fetters would also absolve mankind from a sense of its bounden duty to its Creator, and usher in what one of their great writers has termed the '' Age of Eeason " ? What 128 " BIETIGHBIM." thougli fanatics were indeed found to preach against the family tie, against the worship of the Deity, against all that we are taught from childhood to re- gard with veneration and respect ? What though propositions were made in all the republican coun- tries of Europe to demolish the cathedrals and churches, sell their treasures at public auction, and devote the proceeds to the general fund ? l^otwith- standing all this, the Church of Eome maintained its influence over the masses, aided, whenever occa- sion offered, in the administration of pubhc char- ities, showed its consistency with the prevailing spirit of the time by greatly simplifying the interior ornamentation of its churches and its forms of pub- lic worship, and, in many instances, through the personal interposition of its priests, prevented or suppressed local excesses and disturbances. Through all this period its voice, never faltering, rang out clear and loud like a beacon-bell over the troubled political sea, ever exhorting to law and order, ever denouncing the infidel, ever pointing to the Cross on Calvary. Even those of us, my hearers, who are of another creed and communion, must unite in acknowledging the debt which civihzation and progress and humanity owe to the Church of Eome for her wise and fearless course during that perilous period. Let us now briefly consider the part which Great Britain was called upon to enact in this great poht- ical drama. You have no doubt already remarked that in the struggle of 1890-91, terminating at ITS CAUSES, COST, AKD CONSEQUEN-CES. 129 Bietiglieim, slie bore, wlietlier on land or sea, a part which seems insignificant when compared with her previous pretensions as a military and naval power. But it should be remembered that she was hampered by the Irish question, and by her wide- spread colonial possessions, and was tied hand and foot by the ever-present necessity of being prepared to suppress uprisings in some remote corner of the world. This had been the bane of England's states- manship. It had its full influence in diminishing her prestige among the nations of the world after Bietiglieim, and it has ultimately cost her most of those possessions to retain which she had placed all else upon the altar of sacrifice. Still, at the time of which 1 speak, although England was less popu- lar than ever in Europe, her internal condition gave much cause for satisfaction to her own rulers and people. Mr. Gladstone's solution of the trouble- some Irish question was the crowning triumph of a brilliant career, and when, in 1892, Albert Edward, in his fifty-second year, finally ascended the throne, he found himself the ruler of a united people who, though inevitably more or less affected by the domi- nant tendencies of the time, and zealously demand- ing political reforms, were yet in the main loyal to the reigning House of Hanover, and satisfied that a monareliy, hedged in by j^i'oper checks and limits, would afford all needed po^^ular freedom. Your true Briton, in order to respect himself, must in any emergency follow a course different from that of everybody else. In this instance it was, perhaps, just as well. John Bull never was and never can 130 *'BIETIGHEIM." be an avowed Republican. He maj, under a nominal limited monarchy, Lave just as much popular liberty as we have, and just as free a government. Such was, in fact, the case at that time. The existence, by sufferance, of royalty and nobility were but a sop to the Cerberus of every loyal Briton's vanity, a thin disguise covering wiiat was practically as good a re- public as any that could be desired. I ought to place one restriction upon the last as- sertion, and add that popular sentiment, while de- manding that Albert Edward should remain king, also demanded the disestablishment of the English Church and the substitution of an elective body similar to our Senate for the House of Lords. The latter measure was tantamount to a suppression of the nobility, so far as its political recognition v^as concerned, but it was unmistakablythe people's will, and it went into effect. A body known as the Royal Council, and composed of members chosen by the counties, cities, and boroughs, on a basis of their representation in the House of Commons, as- sembled at Westminster in 1896, and, as an evidence of the existing political harmony, it may be men- tioned that nearly one half of those elected had been members of the old House of Lords. The steadi- ness and solidity of English institutions were never better illustrated than in the system and ease with which this radical constitutional change was car- ried into effect. The Church question provoked deep feeling ; but the days of the supremacy of the English Church, morally as well as numerically, had long ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 131 gone bj. Rome had already two cardinals in Eng- land, and her ^^conversions" were niinierons and constant ; on the other liand, the Dissenters had grown numerous and bold. The Church of Eng- land could, under these circumstances, no lonirer solemnly ajDpeal to the memory of Henry YIII., and demand recognition as the " Established " Church. The lapse of time and events had already practically disestablished it ; but the fact became a legal one in 1897. Thenceforth State and Church were forever divorced ; many a fat living vanished, and hundreds of sleek and well-fed gentlemen, good fellows, accustomed to idleness and ease under a curate's or vicar's robe, were confronted with the stern necessity of earning their daily bread. It was hard for them, it was hard for the good |)eo- ple whose love for their Church had been a part of their patriotism for Old England, to see the axe thus laid at the root of the tree which had been their shelter and their pride. But in the lexicon of the world's development there is no such word as pity. How many traditions, interwoven with the very heartstrings of mankind, in its various stages of existence, have been mercilessly crushed under the advancing car of progress ! And yet to-day the grand old Church of England, surviving disestab- lishment, still lives in vindication of its sacred mis- sion, and j)reaches the holy lesson of the Cross in all the four corners of the earth. I have thus endeavored to recall to your minds a general picture of the political situation in Europe 132 ''BIETIGHEIM." thirty years ago — that is, at the close of the last cen- tury. Rememher that none of these facts which I have presented to you are other than mere historical ones. But I have sought to present them together, and in such relation to each other as to show that they were and could not have been other than direct consequences of the Titanic struggle which I de- scribed to you in my previous lecture. It was the era of the world's political reformation ; for statecraft it was an era of confusion, of chaos, if you will, but out of its doubts and uncertainties were to be crystallized an enduring peace and a strong and broad system of general po23ular government for mankind ; that political millennium prefigured by Tennyson : ""When tlie Avar-drum throbs no longer, and the battle flags are furled In the parliament of man, the federation of the world, " There, the common sense of most shall hold a fitful realm in awe, And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapt in universal law." The theories of Winterhoff, to wdiich 1 have pre- viously alluded, though crude and conceived in the brain of a man but little versed in statecraft, took, nevertheless, such a hold upon the popular mind, and proved so fascinating to the spirit of the time, eager as it was to grasj? at anything as far the reverse as possible of the system of the past, that they soon took tangible shape and form. On the 1st of Jan- uary, 1900, a procession consisting of eighty organ- ized guilds, of a thousand men each, paraded the streets of Berlin, bearing banners inscribed '^ Es Lebe die Allgemeine BrildersGhaft^'' '' " Winterhoff, ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 133 (lev Apostel der Freiheit,^^ ^' Eine Welt, EinYollc, Eine Regierung^'' and many otlier mottoes of simi- lar significance. Immense throngs witnessed the procession, and by enthusiastic cheering and ap- plause testified to the popular sympathy. In the Schloss-Platz the procession organized into a vast meeting, over which Ilerr Mollendorph, at that time a prominent member of the provisional Gov- ernment, presided. The speeches were not by any means fiery or fanatical. They were calm and argu- mentative in tone, breathing in every word a con- sciousness that might was on the side of the meet- ing, and that there was no minority with courage to lift up its voice. Telegrams from numerous guilds in Yienna, Prague, Petersburg, and Moscow were read, all glorifying Winterhoff, all urging their as- sembled German brethren to take the lead in in- augurating a Pepublic of the guilds, and all promis- ing to follow if the movement were once begun. In the midst of the excitement following the read- ing of these dispatches, Winterhoff suddenly ap- peared at the famous Kaiser window of the palace, and stood calmly regarding the sea of upturned faces below. The populace had caaght sight of him, his name was passed from lip to lip, and for full liaK an hour a tumult of unceasing cheers en- sued, during which Winterhoff stood, with folded arms and motionless, looking calmly down upon his followers. There was a smile of sadness upon his face. Perhaps he saw farther into the future than did the eager thousands around him ; perhaps some- thing whispered in his ear that popular homage is 134 << BIETIGHEIM." fickle, that earthly triumphs are fleeting, and that at best " the path of glory leads but to the grave." But whatever his musings, the sadness and the smile alike vanished wlien, lifting his right hand as a signal for silence, he told the assembled guilds in a few terse and forcible sentences that the time for planning had gone by and that the moment of action had arrived. Then the curtain rose and the world saw enacted a spectacle such as it never witnessed before or since. Not only throughout Germany, but through Austria, Hungary, and Russia as well, wherever Imperialism had been laid low, wherever "Winterhoff in his wanderings had travelled, Guilds, Grand Guilds, Councils, Conclaves, and Electoral Colleges suddenly disclosed their existence as regu- larly organized and officered bodies, comprising among their leading members nearly all of those prominently identified with the provisional govern- ments. All had been arranged with wondrous pre- cision, forethought, and secrecy, even to the smallest details. The procession, the telegrams, the sudden appearance of Winterhoff at the palace window, were all parts of a carefullj^ and ingeniously con- cocted play, having for its denouement the solemn lifting of the leader's right hand for the proclama- tion of the political Brotherhood of nearly two hun- dred millions of people. It may with truth be said that no coii'p d^etat ever took the world more completely by surprise. I can give you, perhaps, no better idea of the effect it produced than by reading a few extracts from various leading journals, both at home and abroad, ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 135 in regard to it. They were collected together shortly after their publication and reproduced in a pamphlet, a copy of wliich is to be found in the Library of Congress, at Washington. From the Berlin TagUatt, January 2d, 1900. {Original.) ,, Das politisclie Ereigniss, welches in das neue Jahrhun- dert einfiihrte, mag fiir die "Welt ini Allgenieinen eine Ueberraschung gewesensein ; aber fiir den Geschichtssclirei- ber fiinfzig Jabre spater wird es die Dammerung eines langst vorgesebenen Tages sein ; eine Dammerung folg- end einer Mitternacbt, deren scbwarze Scbatten zu ver- scbwinden begannen als der Kaucb von dem blutigen Schlachtfeld von Bietigheim aufstieg ; eine Dammerung der Gnade und Wiedergeburt fiir die Menschbeit ; eine Dammerung, deren Tag so ge- baltreicb an Hofiinungen und Erwartungen ist, wie sein Morgen wolkenlos und frob- licb sein "wird. Wir reicben in diesem Glauben die Hande unsern Briiiern der Ziinfte, wo dieselben aucb irgendwo auf der Erde zerstreut sind, und senden ibnen Griisse und Gliickwiinscbe. Es lebe die Allgemeine Kepublik ! Esio perpetua*' {Translation.) "To tbe world in general of tbe present day tbe great political event wbicb usbered in tbe new century may have been a surprise ; but to tbe bistorian of fifty years hence it will seem to have been tbe dawn of a day long foreseen ; a dawn following a midnight 'whose dark shadows began to vanish as tbe smoke lifted from tbe bloody field of Bie- tigheim ; a dawn of grace and regeneration for humanity ; a dawn whose day is as preg- nant with hope and j^romise as its morrow shall be cloud- less and joyous. In this be- lief we stretch out our hands to our brethren of tbe guilds, wheresoever dispersed about the earth, and send them greetings and congratulations. Long live the Universal Ke public! Esto perpetual" I 136 BIETIGHEIM. From the Vienna Neue {Original.) , , Das Wort ist gesprochen. Die Allgemeine Eepublik ist proklamirt worden und Eman- uel WinterhofE nimmt seinen Platz in der G-eschichte nicht . neben einem Caesar oder ei- nem Napoleon, der durch das gemischte Blut von Feinden nnd Anhangern ziir Macht ge- wattet ist, sondern als das Ebenbild eines Washington, iineigenniitzig seinem Volk ewige Freiheit zusicbernd, und fiir das Menschenge- schlecbt das Muster einer volkstMmliclien Regierung herstellend. Wohin unsere deutschen Briider geben, da- hin werden die Ziinfte von Oesterreich und Ungarn im- mer bereit sein zu folgen. Die Proklamation von Berlin von gestern bat eine scbnelle und scbarfe Antwort bei alien Bewohnern der Donau gefun- den. Es lebe Winterhoff ! Es lebe die Briiderscbaft der Menscbbeit!" I^reie Presse (same date). {Translaiion.) ' ' The order has gone forth. The Universal Eepublic has been proclaimed, and Emanu- el Winterhoff takes his place in history, not by the side of a Csesar or Napoleon, who waded to power through the mingled blood of foes and fol- lowers, but as the companion of a Washington, securing, regardless of himself, eternal freedom for his people, and establishing a permanent model of popular government for mankind. Wherever our brethren of Germany lead, there will the guilds of Aus- tria-Hungary ever be ready to follow. The Berlin proclama- tion of yesterday has found a prompt and eager reponse from all the dwellers along the Danube. Long live Win- terhoff ! Long live the Broth- erhood of Mankind l"^ From the St. Petersburg Novosti (same date, new style). {Original.) ,, W tietschenii poslednich 20*^' let, nam Eusskim na stol- ko tschasto prichodillos ispy- tat' tschewo mozno dostitsch {Translation.) *' We Russians have too of- ten had occasion within the last twenty years to know what organization can ac- ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 137 drnznj'mi, tselesoobrazno or- ganizowannymi sillami, tschto wtscheraschnia burnyia proiz- schestwia, niskolko nas nie porazili. S tiech por kak my — 15 miesiatsew tomu nazad — sllj'scbali na Niewskom Win- terhoffa, w odnoi iz iewo znamienitycli rietschei, my liscliilis wsiakawo somnienia "w torn, tschto wwiedienie ■wsieobschtschei respubbki, ransche ili pozze dollzno byllo posledowat' nieizbiezno. ,, Tschto sobytie etc sowier- schillos imienno wtscherasch- niawo dnia, eto tolko odna iz mnogich sllutchainostiei, w niepreriwnom riadu wsiemir- no-istoritscheskich sobytii. ,, Nasche diello tiepier' uso- wierschenstwowat' i sochra- nit' sieitschas priobretion- noie, ,, Poka,myraduiemsiatschto nakoniets dlia wsiech prosii- alla zaria dostoinawo ludiei suschtschestwowania. S wos- torgom priwietstwuiem tschu- diesnoie soUntse •wsieobscht- schei swobody, zamieniw- scheie na wsiehda-slischkom dollgo tiagotiaschtschuiu nad nami notschi rabstwa i des- potizma ! , , Imia-ze Winterhoff a budiet zapisano miezdu samymi bles- tiaschtschimi wo weiemirnoi istoni, i pamiat' iewo-kak IDolititscheskawo spasitiela complish that wo should al- low ourselves to evince any surprise at the stirring events of yesterday. That the Uni- versal Keiiublic would come, sooner or later, we have never doubted since we heard Win- terhoff make one of his fa- mous harangues on the Nevsky fifteen months ago ; that it came yesterday is but an in- cident in the onward march of events. It remains now for us to join hands and go for- ward. The dawn for which all lovers of liberty have prayed and watched and waited has broken at last, and the emancipated world emerges at length from the dark shadows of oppression and tyranny into the glorious sunlight of Universal Liberty. The name of Winterhoff will go down to posterity as that of the political savior of man- kind." 138 "BIETIGHEIM. tschellowietschestwa - ostani- etsia bllagosllowlena wo wie- ki." From the Rome Eco (Original.) ,,11 secolo XX. s'annunzia con avvenimenti politici che scuotono il mondo intero. Da un giorno all' altro, senz' alcun segno precursore, noivediamo passare il governo e con esso le sorti di mezza Europa nelle mani di un partito esaltato, che potra esser ben organizzato ma che in fatto di esperienza neir arte di regnare e ancora del tutto bambino. Se v'e al- cunche di buono negli straor- dinaii avvenimenti d'ieri, si e I'inconsistenza dei proclamati nnovi principi, i quali, tra- dotti in pratica, non manche- ranno di ricondurre in breve tempo al migliore fra tutti i sistemi di governo, cioe alia monarchia costitnzionale. Che questa ofiEre Tunica sicura ga- ranzia per il benessere dell' intera umanita, trovo da noi plena conferma, ad onta delle politiche vicende dell' ultimo decennio. i, Ma se dauna parte noi con- danniamo le teorie di Winter- hoff, dair altra dobbiamo pur riconoscere il modo nobile e pacifico con cui le medesime vennero applicate. Se tutte d' Italia (same date). {Translaiion.) * ' The twentieth century opens with a startling political earthquake. Without a word of warning the control of half of Europe passes into the hands of a society which, however well organized, is to- tally ignorant of the science of government. We can see but one good to result from the events of yesterday— namely, that the very absurdity of the theories upon which the new society is based will lead to a speedy demonstration of their fallacy and a quicker return to the principles of a limited monarchical government, our faith in which, as the strong. est and safest political bul- wark for mankind, has never wavered through all the changes and chances of the past ten years. But while condemning the Winterhoff theory in toto, we cannot but commend the public order and decorum with which it has been put into operation. Could all popular revolutions be as peacefully accomplished, the world at large would have less to dread at the hands of ITS CAUSES, COST, AND C0N3KQUEXCES. 139 le rivolnzioni politiclie si ope- rassero in guisa cosi pacifica, il mondo uon avrebbe piu luogo di temere di dover ser- vir piu a lungo come campo di prova a quegli ambiziosi che a danno ed inganno de* concittadini che in loro confi- dano, tentano mandare ad ef- fetto teorie non ancora ma- ture, o confuse e spesso insen- sate." ambitious and unscrupulous political leaders, anxious to put on trial some favorite scheme or theory at the ex- pense of their confiding but deluded fellow-citizens." From tlie Madrid Impargial (same date). {Original.) ,, A pesar de todo cuanto la prensa republicana escribio y pronostico en los ultimos 5 alios respecto a la tendencia politica hacia la republica universal, todo lector del , Imparcial ' sera no menos sorprendido que nosotros a la vista de los telegramas de hoy, tanto de Berlin como de Viena y de Petersbnrgo. ,, Despnes de todos esos su- cesos tan turbulentosen los ul- timos anos habiamos de estar ya predispuestos a todo, no obstante un alzar tan repen- tino del telon ante una Eu- ropa del Norte y del Este to- talmente trasf ormada no pudo menos de dejar estupefacto al espectador distante. — Parece casi increible que el facto sea el resultado de una agitacion asidua y prolunga,da, y la ex- {Ti^anslation.) "Notwithstanding all that has been said and written by the Eepublican press of Eu- rope during the last five years in regard to ' the tendencies of the times,' every reader of the Imparcial will be over- whelmed with surprise on reading the dispatches from Berlin, Yienna, and St. Peters- burg, to which we give so much space this morning. After the events of the last decade, it is true that the world has been prepared for almost anything that savors of the incredible in political affairs ; but the sudden lifting of the curtain to disclose the existence, throughout Eastern Europe, of such an organiza- tion as that described by the telegrams almost baffles be- lief, and resembles more the 140 BIETIGHEIM. presion de la voluntad de una poblacion de iinos 200 millo- nes agitadd y preparada para tal fin. desde hace mudiisiino tiempo. Pronto llegaremos a saber si ese tan admirado Winterhoff sea en realidad el ,Moise' que llevara sus fie- les del desierto de f ormas gu- bernamentales contendientes y de-esterilesteorias al Canaan de la fraternidad universal, 6 si acaso bajo el modesto habito del apostol se esconde la toga purpurea de un Cesar ! ' • creation of an enchanter's wand than the preconcerted uprising of a majority of nearly two hundred millions of people. We shall see whether this Winterhoff is the Moses who is to lead his people out of the wilderness of conflicting theories of gov- ernment into the Canaan of a universal Brotherhood of man, or whether, under the coarse robe of 'the apostle,' he con- ceals the purple toga of a Csesar." From the Paris Tem^ps (same date). (Original.) ,, Les revanches du temps ne manquent jamais a ceux qui sont patients et qui sa- vent les attendre ; ainsi dans ( Translation.) " Time inevitably brings its revenges to those who are pa- tient and can wait, and his- tory furnishes no more strik- toute I'histoire ne se trouve-t- ing rebuke to Imperial arro 11 aucune reprimande plus forte a I'arrogance de I'lmpe- rialisme, comme on la voyait a Versailles le Dix-Huit Jan- vier 1871 que 1' image d'un Winterhoff, proclamant la Ee- publique Universelle de la meme fenetre du palais ou le monarch Prussien se posait autrefois selon son habitude pour repondre aux adulations serviles dela populace Berlin- oise. ,, Mais la France republi- caine.dejalongtempssatisfaite gance, as exhibited on the eighteenth of January, 1871, at Versailles, than the j)icture of "Winterhoff proclaiming the Universal Bepublic from the same palace window at which the Prussian monarch was wont to stand and ac- knowledge the servile adula- tions of the Berlin populace. "But republicanFrance,long since satisfied by the restora- tion of Alsace-Lorraine, the repayment of the milliards, and the ignominious downfall ITS CAUSES, COST, AKD CONSEQUENCES. 141 par la reprise do I'iVlsace-Lor- raine, par le remboursement de ses milliards et par la chute ignominieuse a Bietiglieim du despotisinemilitaireAllemand, n'a aucun besoin de consid- erer les evenements d'bier comme una nouvelle humilia- tion infligee par le cours du temps sur son enuemi ancien ; platot doit-elle los regarder avec cette \ive inquietude qu'eprouve chaque peuple de- voue a la cause de la liberie humaine, et du gouvernement populaire, en voyant cette cause mise en danger ailleurs par la precipitation et 1' im- prudence, poussees, soit par des theoristes fanatiques, soit par des demagogues ambi- tieux. A laquelle de ces deux classes "Winterhoff appartient, I'avenir seul saura nous dire. A I'heure qu'il est, 11 est i)ro- bablement trop tard pour es- perer que les peuples de I'Eu- rope de I'Est reviendront sur le chemin qu'ils ont pris. La B6publique des Corporations parait etre un fait accompli, et il n'y a maintenant qu'a la laisser comparaitre devant le tribunal du monde, pour re- vendiquer, si bien elle le peut, son droit a etre reconnue comme modele d'uu systeme de gouvernement pour rhomme. " of German military despotism at Bietigheim, need not regard the events of yesterdaj'^ in the light of a further humiliation inflicted b}' the lapse of time upon her ancient foe, but rather with that keen solici- tude which every people de- voted to the cause of human freedom and of poj^ular gov- ernment must feel in seeing that cause imperilled in other lands through hast)^ and mis- guided action, instigated by fanatical theorists or ambi- tious demagogues. To which of these classes Winterhoff belongs the future alone can say. It is now, perhaps, too late to hope that the peoj)le of Eastern Europe will recede from the step they have taken. The Kepublic of the Guilds ajDpears to be a fail accompli, and it now only remains for it to stand trial, and vindicate to the world at large, if it can, its claims to recognition as the model system of government for mankind." 142 BIETIGHEIM. From the London Times (same date). •'If the English reader needed any further proof of the imbecility of the Kepnbli- can leaders in Eastern Europe, it has been furnished by the monstrous blunder of yester- day. It is evident that the entire population has gone mad, that no minority exists which is worthy of the name, and that all the men who have been prominently identified with the provisional govern- ments since the downfall of the empires are now either actively participating, or at all events silently acquiescing in the inauguration of the new regime. That Winterhoff, a scheming fanatic, with enough of the strolling player about him to beguile the ear of the masses, should have succeeded in gaining such an ascendancy is all but incred- ible, and will always remain an unexplained page in his- tory. But that he should have beguiled the leaders as well can only be accounted for by the theory that a uni- versal madness has seized upon the populace, prompting them to betake themselves to that political path which leads by the surest and most direct route to the brink of the prec- ipice of destruction. Quem Beus vult perdere, prius demen- iatr From the Extra New York Herald (January 1st, 1900). •' To-day' s events at Berlin, Vienna, and St. Petersburg, which we publish in full special dispatches herewith, are too momentous, too preg- nant with consequences, for judgment to be passed upon them in a cursory way. Suf- fice it for the present to say that this popular uprising is the most wonderful instance of a perfect political organi- zation ever recorded in his- tory, and stamps its projector, Emanuel Winterhoff, as a mas- ter mind. But to organize governments is one thing, to administer them quite an- other ; and while giving the new Eepublic of the Guilds a fervent • God-speed,' the Her- ald will await with curiosity and interest the outcome of the great popular demonstra- tion which the dawn of the twentieth century has ushered in upon Europe." ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUENCES. 143 1 have deemed it best to devote so mncli time to reading you these extracts for the reason that they afford a correct reflex of the varied opinion of that day on the subject of Winterhoff and liis Hepubhc of the Guilds. We find the people of the Republic itself jubilant and hopeful ; the French patronizing and mistrustful ; the Italians and Spanish skeptical, and John Bull loudly denouncing the new regime. In this country people viewed the matter much as the French did — that is, wished the new republic long life and success, but preferred to wait awhile before considering it even a probable permanency. That Winterhoff should be chosen President was a foregone conclusion ; that he promptly declined any office and remained a simple member of a shoe- makers' guild at Cassel, his birthplace, was a bitter disappointment to his followers and a scathing re- buke to his detractors. It has, however, since been shown incontestably that under the modest guise he had chosen he continued to be the chief adviser and counsellor of those to whom the rulership was in- trusted. Tlie second choice of Chief Magistrate fell upon Herr Endry, a Hungarian, who had dur- ing many years' service in the Diet advocated re- publican principles with dignity, firmness, and tact, and who now addressed himself with all the ardor and ability at his command to the enormous task before him — a task which, however, was greatly facilitated, in its earlier stages, by the unanimity and enthusiasm with which the people themselves assisted in its performance, not only by their active support, but by carefully abstaining from raising 144 " BIETIGHEIM. " any entangling or embarrassing questions of per- sonal riglits or privileges to hamper the successful introduction of the new system. At that period the people appear to have been ready to bear un- complainingly great inconveniences, and to make unhesitatingly great sacrifices in their blind devotion to the success of the cause they had espoused^ Under the kindly warmth of such a sunlight, what plant would not blossom and bloom ? Where all consent to bear and forbear, where sacrifices are held to be privileges, and trials to be glories, the path of the ruler is simple and easy indeed. And so it proved in the early days of the Republic of the Guilds. The system went into operation with an ease and rapidity which astonished the world scarcely less than had its inauguration, and ere the year 1900 reached its close the transfer of all property to the State had been substantially effected, the Govern- ment storehouses were generally established, people were finding a ready market for everything they could produce or manufacture, and in general, to all outward appearances at least, a more than aver- age degree of prosperity and contentment prevailed. Silver and gold had disappeared as a medium of exchange, barter and trade between individuals had ceased, all purchases, sales, leases, or loans were made from or to the State, and all values were measured in ^' labor tickets" issued by the State and representing one, two, three, five, ten, twenty, fifty, or one hundred days' labor of eight hours each. Let us suppose, for instance, that Tailors' Guild No. 10 of Berlin turned in at Government ITS CAUSES, COST, AXD CONSEQUENCES. 145 Storehouse No. 3 one thousand coats the a2:2"i*eo:ate labor on wliich amounted to, say, twelve thousand hours, or fifteen hundred eight-hour days. They were therefore credited with the equivalent in ^' labor tickets."" The materials — i. e.^ the cloth, lining, fittings, etc. — had been previously debited to the Guild from this same storehouse, with whicli all its transactions must be had, and the amount of these materials, when returned in the form of finished coats, was credited back to the Guild, which consequently, at the conclusion of the transaction, found itself in possession of fifteen hundred one- day '' labor tickets" as its net earnings on the thou- sand coats, l^ovv these labor tickets were exchano-e- able at the storehouse for flour, for salt, for shoes — • in short, for any sort of merchandise or provisions. Sometimes the tickets were simply credited to the Guild, and not issued at all, the account being balanced by provisions and merchandise. Let us now suppose further that Tailors' Guild No. 10 was composed of five hundred members — namely, one hundred and fifty apprentices, the same num- ber of craftsmen, and two hundred master work- men, and that upon the labor of these five hundred two thousand others, young and old, were dependent for support, thus making the Guild iu question the representative of twenty-five hundred consumers in the community. Allowing now five hundred men to work twenty-six days in the month, at an aver- age of ten hours per day, we have a total of one hundred and thirty thousand hours' work, or sixteen thousand two hundred and fifty one-day (eight- 146 " BIETIGHEIM.'' hour) labor tickets ; for it must be borne in mind tliat the adoption of eiglit hours as a legal measure for one day's work did not prevent men from work- ing twenty hours per day if they wished to and could stand it. At the end of a given month, then, the Guild had so many one-day tickets to its credit, representing the aggregate of the amount credited on its books to the individual workmen for what they had done during the month. Thus A, for in- stance, was credited with thirty-two days, B with twenty-nine days, C, an idle or inferior workman, with only twenty days, and so on. In this way the necessities of twenty-five hundred consumers were met for one month by sixteen thousand two hundred and fifty days' labor, or for a thirtieth of one month — i. e., for one day — by five hundred and forty-one (omitting the fraction) days' labor. In other words, it took 541x8=4328 hours' work per day to sup- port the twenty-five hundred persons for that day, or 1,^5 hours' work to the support of one person ; but the five hundred workers could easily put in an average ten hours per day each, or an aggregate of five thousand hours daily, and this excess would fairly represent the aggregate of gain acquired by various individual members of the Guild through their superior proficiency or industry. But this gain it was not permitted to such more proficient or industrious workman to retain. He was obliged beyond a certain point to merge his surplus of earn- ings into the common fund. Take, for instance, the previously mentioned workmen, A and B. The former has six persons in his family beside himself. ITS CAUSES, COST, AND CONSEQUEN-CES. 147 or seven in all ; the latter has three, including him- self. Now we have seen that it cost on the average 1,,5 hours' work to support one person j^er day. A therefore would on general principles have to con- tribute 12,25 hours per day, or thirty times that — i.e., 367,5 hours per month to support his seven peo- ple, while B, with only three to support, would be ordinarily liable for only 5,25 hours per day, or 157,5 hours in the month. Now A, though a skil- ful and industrious workman, only received, as we have seen, at the end of the month, even with his best endeavors, credit for thirty-two days of eight hours — i. d., two hundred and lifty-six hours, leav- ing him 111,5 hours short for the support of his seven people, while B received credit for twenty- nine days of eight hours — i. .^^ ^. ..^ V-^ ^^ .^ £^^^ ^^ °^ A V .X^^ -i- • " " A" ,-^ 'Jv^ 0- i.'^ ^^ .vV^. ^ ' * I* Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. -p^ ' Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide i ^ O^ Treatment Date: j^^, ^002 \ ^o PreservationTechnoiogies .f 0" jP a world leader in paper preservation ^ 111 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724) 779-2111 "r >"4/ *■->.■• -JJ * A' .V .3' •1 o.