Outlines of Universal History, Designed as a Text-book and for Private Reading

by George Park Fisher

BISMARCK'S FALL.—William II. began by continuing the policies which had been characteristic of the closing years of his grandfather's reign. It was not long before he became restive under the leadership of Bismarck. He desired to make his own personal aims more prominent. In 1890 there was a struggle over the renewal of the laws against the socialists and a consequent general election. The Emperor seized the opportunity to declare his purpose to improve still further the situation of the working classes, and, with this in view, to call an international congress. In Prussia he declared it to be the duty of the state to regulate the conditions of labor. Such declarations took the control of the electoral campaign out of Bismarck's hands. One result was decided losses for the conservative groups. Bismarck tried to maintain his ascendency by insisting that, according to a cabinet order of Frederick William IV., the king of Prussia must communicate with the ministers through the president of the council. William retorted by denying Bismarck's right to negotiate with the chiefs of the parliamentary groups, and by requiring a decree reversing the obnoxious cabinet order. On March 20 he demanded Bismarck's resignation. Bismarck left Berlin amid a great ovation a few days later. For some years he and his friends formed an unofficial center of opposition and criticism. He died in July, 1898.

GERMANY SINCE BISMARCK'S FALL.—Bismarck's successors were Count Caprivi (1890-1894), Prince Hohenlobe (1894-1900), and Count Bülow. It was tacitly recognized that the anti-socialist laws had failed, and they were not renewed. The socialists as well as all other groups received the additional advantage that somewhat later a law was passed permitting societies of all kinds to affiliate. It was estimated that in 1900 the Social Democrats controlled over 2,000,000 votes. The government vainly attempted to dike the rising flood by laws providing a practical censorship of art and of literature, but these had to be abandoned. In the parliamentary life of Germany the most significant change was the disintegration of the old parties, the strengthening of such groups as the Catholic Center and the Social Democrats, and the creation of a strong Agrarian party or interest. The Agrarians became prominent during the controversy over a commercial treaty with Russia. This treaty was part of a general attempt to develop the European market to make good the loss through the adoption of high tariffs in countries like America and France, and, at first, by Russia herself. Although Germany could not furnish enough grain to feed her own people, and there was a tariff on imported grain, the price kept falling, while the prices of manufactured articles steadily increased. The peasants and the landowners felt that they were threatened with ruin. Accordingly they formed an alliance in 1893, and a parliamentary union which, from that time on, was so formidable as to force important concessions from the government. Among other important measures of this period were the adoption of a new Civil Code for the empire, to go into effect Jan. 1, 1900; the reduction of the term of military service to two years; and the efforts by the successive naval programmes of 1897 and 1900 to create for Germany a strong sea power capable of supporting her trade and colonial aspirations.

FRANCE: BOULANGER.—In 1888 the continuance of the Republic was endangered by the support which many of its enemies and some of its ignorant friends lent to the pretensions of General Boulanger, who had made himself popular as minister of war by his army reforms and by his belligerent attitude toward Germany. When he ceased to be minister, and particularly after he was deprived of his military command, he began an energetic propaganda for a revision of the constitution, with the cry "Dissolution, Revision, Constituent." The royalists gave freely to further the campaign, hoping that moderate men would be frightened into calling the Count of Paris to the throne in order to save the country from another military empire. The Boulangists took skillful advantage of the fact that the deputies representing each department were elected "at large," and not on single district tickets, so that it was possible for Boulanger's name to be placed on each departmental ticket, and so in time to receive the votes of all France. With such a mandate it would be impossible for the moderate Republicans to resist him. For a time the scheme was successful. Boulanger was even elected on the Paris list. Had he been willing to undertake a coup d'etat he might then have overthrown the Republic, but he wished for a more peaceful triumph at the approaching general election. This his opponents deprived him of by abolishing the method of election "at large," so that each deputy was to represent a particular district. Boulanger was soon after attacked on a charge of treason before the Senate acting as a high court. He fled to Belgium and a little later committed suicide on the grave of his mistress.

PANAMA CRISIS.—Hardly had the danger from Boulanger subsided when, in 1892, many of the leading politicians were discredited by the disclosures made in the judicial investigation of the bankruptcy of the Panama Canal Company. It appeared that the company had spent large sums to muzzle the press, so that ignorant investors should not discover the precarious condition of the enterprise. It had also contributed to the campaign expenses of friendly deputies and directly purchased votes in order to obtain authority to negotiate a loan in a manner ordinarily illegal.

Although several deputies and senators were tried, no one was convicted save an ex-minister, who confessed that he had accepted 300,000 francs. Had the exposure come a little earlier, it must have led to the triumph of Boulanger. Its principal consequence was to bring new men of less tarnished reputations to the front.

THE CHURCH.—In the same year the Church with direct encouragement and even pressure from Pope Leo XIII, rallied to the support of the Republic. The pope issued an encyclical to French Catholics and followed this by a letter to the French cardinals. Many royalists were afflicted by this attitude, but nearly all were submissive. They called themselves the "constitutional party," but were also called the "rallied." Their watchword seemed to be, "Accept the constitution in order to modify legislation."

PARTIES.—The radical revolutionary groups, which had been crushed in the suppression of the Commune of 1871, and which had not been able to reconstitute themselves effectively until the amnesty of 1880, began in the early nineties to make their influence more effective. This coincided with a general shifting of political power toward the Left. The assassination of President Carnot, in 1894, and the enthusiasm provoked by the cementing of the Russian alliance and by the coming of the Czar to Paris, prolonged the control of the moderates, or Progressists, as they were called in 1896. It was the persistent attacks of the radicals that disgusted Casimir-Périer with the presidency. His successor was Félix Faure, a successful business man. When he died suddenly in 1899, Émile Loubet was chosen by the support of the groups of the Left. Before the moderate Republicans lost control they revolutionized the economic policy of France, substituting for practical free trade and commercial treaties a high protective tariff.

DREYFUS CASE.—France had not recovered from the shock of the Panama scandal before she was involved in another scandal far more subtle in its demoralizing influence. Jealousy of the success of Jewish financiers, strengthened by the common feeling that capitalists are enriched by ill-gotten gains, led to an obscure campaign against the Jews and all capitalists. The reminiscences of Panama did not allay these feelings. Soon the royalists seized this instrument as a means of discrediting the Republic, asserting that it had been organized through the influence of German-Jewish immigrants who were enriching themselves at the expense of the thrifty but guileless French. It was also asserted that Jews in the army were betraying its secrets to their German kindred. As the army was universally popular, this was an effective blow at the Jews. The denouement was the arrest of Captain Dreyfus, his degradation, and his confinement on an island off the coast of French Guiana. The evidence had been slight, and it was discredited when a courageous officer of the Intelligence Department told his superiors that even this had been constructed by a Major Esterhazy. The officer, Colonel Picquart, was removed, and his place taken by Colonel Henry, who undertook to supply the necessary evidence. Although he imposed on the minister of war, he was unable to endure the moral strain, especially after distinguished men like Zola became champions of the innocence of Dreyfus, and he committed suicide after making a confession. The government was obliged to bring the case before the Court of Cassation in 1898, which ordered a new trial. Although Dreyfus was again convicted by a military court, he was immediately pardoned by the President.

OTHER COUNTRIES.—After 1897 the situation in Austro-Hungary became precarious, owing to the difficulties which arose when the time came to renew the Ausgleich, or agreement, between Austria and Hungary, first made in 1867. Neither portion of the empire was satisfied with its part of the bargain. As the Hungarians always stood together in any struggle with Austria, they were likely to get the better of the bargain. There was the additional difficulty that no agreement of any sort could be adopted in the Austrian parliament, which had become hopelessly disorganized through the savage conflicts between the various groups, Germans, Czechs, anti-Semites, etc. The only way to prevent the actual dissolution of the empire was to renew the agreement in behalf of Austria by imperial warrant. Another country belonging to the Triple Alliance, Italy, was brought into trouble by the policy of extravagant expansion, pursued especially under the leadership of Crispi. But the disastrous defeat by the Abyssinians at Adowa, in 1896, gave pause to the plans of such statesmen. Spain also suffered disaster in this period, first through the outbreak of revolt in Cuba, and then through the loss of the remnant of her once splendid colonial empire in consequence of the war with the United States.

EUROPEAN DIPLOMACY.—The foundation of the Triple Alliance had been laid by the treaty between Germany and Austria. To this Italy had acceded in 1883. Such a combination tended to bring Russia and France together, especially as Russia began to see that the only power pursuing a policy favorable to her desires was France. Finally Russian and French officers were authorized to arrange for the possible coöperation of armies in case of war, and in 1894 a military convention was completed. That there came to be a definite understanding still more comprehensive has been generally believed, but its terms were not divulged. The French minister of foreign affairs used the word "alliance" in the Chamber of Deputies in 1895, and two years later, when President Faure visited the Czar at St. Petersburg, the Czar used the phrase "two great nations, friends and allies." The consequence of these two alliances, and of the peaceful policy pursued by England, was the localizing of difficulties and the maintenance of a "concert" on all questions likely to embroil Europe. This was evident from the treatment of the Eastern, the African, and the Far Eastern questions.