Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-12-31

taken by the. English to help the
French out of their troubles, has all
been bought up, and is now held in
France. 1t IS true the war has increas-
/ ed taxes by % per cent, and diminish
ed revenue IN the proportion the two
captured provinces of Alsace and Lor-
ra1ne borne to the whole nation; but
this loss can be borne. Before the
war, the necessary revenue of France
was something less than $500, 900, 600
per annam5 the taxes now produce
$4,000, 600, and there is still def
cheney OF neally S36, 900, 900 to be pro-
vided by additional taxes. Ore-half of
the total revenue is required to pay
interest on the enormous debt; but, as
the Rentes are owned and held by
most of the taxpayers, it is much the
same as taking money out OF one pocket
and putting it into the other.
One would suppose that. with this
addition of nearly 500, 900, 900 a year
to the annual budget, the French Ad-
ministration
WOULD INACCURATE ECONOMY
retrench at every point by cutting off
! thousands Of sinecure Offices, discharg-
ing surplus employees, and, above all,
by reducing the army to peace foot
ing. But nothing Of the kind has been
done or proposed. There are on the
pay rolls of the army to-day more than
! 500, 600 armed men, stationed il garri-
sons all over France and Algeria, of
whom 30, 600 garrison Paris, and IS, 900
are kept in Algiers. The cost of the
War Department for 1873 will be $780,
600, ZOO, and of the Navy Department
$31, 600, 600, making together $121,-
600, 900 as the cost of the standing
army and navy in time of profound
peace.
THE PRUSsIAN MILITARY SYSTEM
has been adopted, to make every man
over 70 years of age serve four years in
the active army; then they are sent to
the reserve of the active army for five
years: then to the territorial army for
five years; then into the reserve of the
territorial army for six years longer,
making twenty years active Or passive
service. No substitutes are now ac-
cepted, and no bounty is paid. The
object is to have every man in France
over five feet high, and fit for service,
between the ages Of 20 and 40, on the
army-rolls as disciplined soldiers,
ready for offensive or defensive opera
tons. The French calculate that. In
few years, they will be able to place in
the field 100000 men for offensive
action, and have another 1, 500, 900 as
reserves, doing garrison duty, and
standing ready to fill up the gaps made
in the ranks Of the army operating in
the field. One thought seems to ami
mate the entire population to
CONQUER BACK ALsACE AND LORRAINE.
the next time they go to war with Ger
many. and peradventure to recover the
indemnity eXtOrted from them. with
interest thereon. It is doubtful if
there is a French man or woman, boy
or girl, now living in France, but ex-
poets and believes that the lost prov
inces will eventually be recovered
must be recovered at all hazards. They
calculate on the continued love and
affection of the people OF those prov
lnces for France; and they count on
their active assistance to throw off
the German yoke when the proper
time comes. This is the main reason
for France enduring the heavy cost of
supporting 100000 men in arms, and
submitting without murmur to the
neKorable military consumption sys-
ten. The army has been
ENTIRELY REoRGANIzED
since the conclusion OF the war. The
worthless officers have been weeded
out; stricter discipline has been in
troduced; and the muster-rolls no
longer bear the names of fictitious SOL
diers, with official bummers drawing
pay and rations for those imaginary
warriors, as was the case under the late
Empire. The German system of tao
tics and combinations is being care
fully studied by the light of the late
disastrous experience. The National
Guard of Paris is lisbanded, and the
whole population disarmed, SO that
there may be no future fre-in- the rear
from the unshot members of the late
Commune organization, which pillaged
Paris and burnt part of it, In short,
everything is being done which seems
possible TO arm, discipline, and pre-
pare the nation for the
NEXT STROGGLE WITH THE GERMANS,
for the recovery of the dismembered
provinces. The French say that Bis
marck and Moltke, and other great
leaders, will die before long, as they
are old men and that Germany will
enter upon the next war inflated with
vanity and pride, half-prepared and
half-marshaled. as France was in 1870,
which will result in series of defeats
and humiliations. This may or may
not be the case; but one thing is GER
tain, that the fighting witnessed during
the late war was
MERE CHILDs PLAY
compared with the fighting that will
be done in the next war by France,
who will enter upon it with all the
fires Of a volcano burning in her breast.
All that rage and hatred, added to
valor and discipline, can accomplish,
will be achieved. If France is beaten
! next time, it will be in despite of the
most careful and perfect preparation,
and after her mightiest efforts have
been exhausted