The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-09-03
DANGERS AHEAD.

source the party losses exceed its gains.
-@
DANGERS AHEAD.
Fro,r the PaU Mail Gazette
Now that it has become more than evident
that the chances of success are overwhelm-
ingly in favor of one belligerent, the English
press has begun to discuss the probability of
Prussia becoming the preponderant power of
the continent in that optimst spirit which it
always displays when the affairs of any coun-
try but England are in question. The rea-
sons for congratulating ourselves on the
prospect appear to vary from the simple re-
Election that Prussia is a Protestant and France
a Catholic power to the weightier considera-
tion that the Germans have never shown
themselves to be possessed by the oonquering
and aggressive ambition hitherto peculiar to
the French. Both propositions are of course
substantially true, but each of them requires
nevertheless very considerable qualification
1t may be doubted whether King William is
not leading into France more Roman Catho-
lie than Protestant soldiers, and it is quite
certain that vastly more men in the German
armies go voluntarily to mass and confession
than there are men given to these practices
in the French. And it may be added that if
France has kept the Italians out of Rome.
there is no power on whose, possibly con-
temptuous liberation of its vagaries the Holy
See so systematically relies as Prussia
The question of the comparative aggres-
siveness of France or Prussia az a leading
military power is more interesting; but it is
very difficult to have confident opinion
upon it. France is an example of nation
formed on the principle of purely political
boundaries and her superiority to other
countries has consisted in the completeness
with which she has effaced all traces of the
interior divisions which the system of mere
political demarcation superseded. So far as
her ambition may be attributed to the prin-
ciple which governs her national organiza-
ton, it arises from there being no reason why
her boundaries should line on one parti-
cular geographical line more than on
another. When the present war began
swarm of pamphlets made their appearance
in Paris reiterating the claims of France to
the frontier of the Rhine, but Quitting aside
some audacious historical statements) the ar
gument consisted in little more than asking
the question why the power which held AL
SAGE and Lorraine should not have the Pala-
tinate also. On the other hand, when the
new German Empire is constituted it will be
as far as possible removed from mere politi-
cal aggregation; it will be an empire formed
on the principle of nationality. The concep-
tion of nationality is at present in the highest
degree vague. 1t apparently implies theory
of common descent founded on community
of language: but the definition of
common language is as elastic as
possible, and nobody can exactly say how far
the claims extend which can be advanced on
the ground of identity of race. The only
example which we have of State constructed
ON the new principle is very far from encour-
aging and yet Russia is not nearly as perfect
an embodiment of the Slavonic as will be
Prussian Germany of the Teutonic nationality.
The Insignificant exception of Posen does not
create difficulties which can be distantly COM
pared with the disturbance of Russian ma
tional theories occasioned by the German
provinces on the Baltic and by the irrecon-
cilable hostility of Poland We are as far
as possible from predicting the aggressive
ness of the new Germany when it
has assembled to the first place among military
powers The future will alone settle the
point But tits clearly rash to take for granted
that unambitious quiescence will be the per-
manent condition of great military State
constructed on principle which gives it
theoretical right to include part of France,
part of Austria, part of Russia, and even
part of Italy. The enthusiasm of the Ger
mans for the forcible severance of Sleswick-
Holstein from Denmark-an enthusiasm as
genuine and universal as ever took possession
| of people-eught by itself to be a warning
against hasty assumptions as to the future
character of German national passions
1t is not our own opinion that much COM
fort OF instruction can be got out of specula-
tions on the national genius of particular
communities, and on the course which it will
| dictate to them If they are elevated to the
| primacy of the continent Unhappily, mill
! tary success never fails to transform ma
tional genius, and not seldom to deprave it.
There is only one result which peace can
bring that seems to US likely to serve as
real and solid guarantee against that curse of
recurrent war which so fearfully afil lets the
second half of the nineteenth century This
result-which we do not regard as at best
more than probable-is an understanding
among nations about the scale of their future
armaments. All differences from supposed
national characteristics are as uncertain
as possible, but this is at any rate
certain, that if States do not keep up
great armies, they will not go to war SO
often. The existence of great armaments
brings about war far oftener than the fear of
war produces great ornaments. IL nothing
is done to effect such an understanding al
the peace, the burden of great armies will
probably become absolutely crushing. We
do not think it worth while discussing
whether the French or the German military
system is the more oppressive to industry and
the arts. No doubt, abstractly, war is
cheapest and least burdensome when CON
Quoted by a mercenary army specially trained
and paid for Its work. But the fact is, the
French and German systems have for long