A CHARACTER SKETCH OF AUGUST BEBEL.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1651, 21 October 1903, Page 35 (Supplement)

A CHARACTER SKETCH OF AUGUST BEBEL.

“Even Herr Bebei s enemies aumit that as a jrariiamentary orator lie is witnout a rival in Germany. borne of nis speeches, mueea, are perfect nioaels ox eloquence, original in matter, terse anu vigorous m style. His language is singularly beautiful; ana cue x> ates nave given him one of the very sweetest voices in ail Europe. He nas not, it> is true, tnat power of exciting wild enthusiasm which lus colleague, Herr Liebknecht, possessed, for that he is himself too many-siaea, perhaps, * too ‘sweetly reasonable/ ms frienas would say. None the less he is by far the most convincing speaker in the iteichstag. There is a certain fatalistic ring about many of his utterances, which is in itself singularly impressive. As men listen to him a curious—and eminently un-pleasant-—sense of the inevitableness of the changes he advocates steals over them; the very calmness with which he enunciates his doctrines seems to render them the more incontrovertible. Although there is rarely a trace of violence in his speeches, until within quite recent days they were undoubtedly somewhat ruthless in tone; for he is uiie veriest Mahomet inhis views as to the measure to be meted out to opponents; he smites them hip and thigh when they fall into his power.”