Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-02-04
RUSSIA Axa GERMANY.

IS peace" the Gar may announce to his
subjects and to the world that his foreign
policy is most conservative, and that be de-
sires to direct the energies of his people and
the resources of his vast empire to internal
Improvement. Both soyereigns may be
sincere in their desires for peace,
but it is questionable whether they can
suppress the belligerent tendencies
Of their respective subjects. What
ever the rulers Of the two great ma
tons may at heart desire, there can be no
doubt that the Gar has everything to gain
by defeTing the evil day of bloodshed as
long as possible. Russia is at the present
time no match for Germany, notwithstand-
ing the fact that her population is nearly,
if not quite, double that Of her powerful
neighbor. The Russian people are scattered
over a territory of immense extent, and the
means Of concentrating the forces Of the
empire are comparatively few, and limited
to the southern and western provinces.
Russia wants time to build railroads, to
construct canals and to increase the strength
of her navy. Every day that the struggle
is deferred gives Germany's implacable en-
envy, France, time to recover from the dis
asters Of the late contest. There are thirty
five millions of people on the southwest
Of the Rhine, burning with impotence to
revive their waning glory and win back
their lost territory. The moment Germany
relaxes her grip on the throat of France,
preparations will be made to wreak ma
! TONS vengeance. Russia can count on
! France as her certain and most IN
swerving ally in the event of war with
Prussia. The Germans see this, and now,
while they are flushed with victory they are
eager to wrest from the Muse ovites his Ger
man provinces on the Baltic. As if to give
them an opportunity to open the ball, the
Gar is endeavoring to Russianize these
provinces, in the same manner as he has
been trying to convert the Poles into Rus
slams. The German language is interdicted,
and Russian substituted for it in the schools
and in the courts of law. The in
habitsnts of the provinces are
German at heart in their customs and SYM
pathies as well as in their language. The
Emperor William may permit them to be
Russianized without interfering to prevent
it, from motives of policy, but it will not be
with the approval of his people.
There are sources of danger in the South
as well as in the North. The great German
idea of uni6cation seeks realization in the
German provinces of Austria. If Russia
has watched the increasing power of her
rival with uneasiness in the recent past, she
regards this new aggressive movement of
Prussia with alarm. In fact, the Russian
government has officially announced that
the annexation of a portion of Austria to
Prussia would disturb the balance of power,
and, therefore, could not be tolerated.
While Germans remain under the Gar in
the North, and under Francis Joseph in the
South, there is no certainty of peace in
Europe. Germany will hardly permit
Russia to Cypress Germans without trial
of strength in the field. Flushed with a
succession of victories unparalleled in the
history of nations, and recognized as one of
the first powers in the world, she will hardly
brook interference from any source in car
rying out the national dream Of uniting all
the Germans in one fatherland. She is
preparing for the coming struggle. All her
sesports on the Baltic are being fortified,
and she is increasing her navy, evidently
with the intention of becoming mistress of
the Baltic, a distinction hitherto held by
Russia. The Gar on his part is not
idle. With all his professions of peace,
there is unusual activity displayed in
Strengthening fertilization along his extended
frontier and especially on the Baltic. He
has l tely been purchasing a number of
frst-class iron-clad steamers from British
ship builders. Whenever the storm breaks
forth, he will not be found quite unprepared
for it.
Aspeck of trouble which recently appeared
on the political horizon of Europe seems to
have been lost sight Of in the more omnibus
signs Of trouble in another direction, still
it has an important bearing on the threat
ened conflict. About fifteen years ago there
was dispute besWeen Russia on one side
and Sweden and Norway on the other, the
Gar claiming a strip of territory at the
northern extremity Of the Scandinavian
peninsula. 1t was yalueless to him
except as a highway to the At
lantic. 1t contains a fine harbor
which is kept open the greater part Of the
year through the influence of the gulf
stream. Russia had just emerged from her
disastrous war with France and Britain, in
which her need of an Atlantic seaport was
keenly felt. Her claim to the Lap province
was, therefore, an attempt to supply this
want. The claim was resisted at the time,
and would have led to war but for the
crippled condition of Russia. A compro-
mise was effected by which Russian vessels
were allowed the use of the harbor for fif-
teen years. When the term expired last
year, Russia claimed as q right, what
had only been conceded by Sweden and
Norway as a temporary privilege. The
question remains to be settled, and, in the
event Of the reaking ont Of the European
war, it is highly probable that the Scandi-
navians will be drawn into the combination
against Russia. How much further the
confagration may spread ifthe first flame
bursts forth, it would be difficult to say,
but there is little doubt that it will be the
most gigantic struggle that has ever deluged
the fields Of Europe with blood.
THE St. Louis Democrat (Radical) says