The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1877-05-03
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1877.
THE BUSINESS ASPECTS OF THE
EUROPEAN WAR.

There is some reason to apprehent
that more damage viii result to this
country from the speculation stimulated
by the war in Europe than vii
be compensated for by the advance
in the price of our products. The gam
bling spirit that has been manifested
during the past two weeks is fearful tx
contemplate. This city has been the
scene of great activity in operations OF
this character, and the operators are
by no means confined to those who are
By aYocation dealers in grain, but to all
classes OF society. One has only tC
watch the crowd around a Geographic
instrument that prints the state of the
market to learn how widespread the
mania for speculation has become. As
no wheat actually changes hands on any
of these operations, it follows that when
some make money, others must lose it.,
and when the excitement is over, there
will be not few wrecks to remove.
The fact to be born in mind is that to
effect considerably the prices of American
breadstuffs, the war in Europe must be
protracted struggle. This has not been
the case with the European wars. The
machinery of destruction is so effective
that it is apt to reduce q war to a few
sharp and bloody shocks. The armies
are ready by the time that the declar-
alton is made. They are moved by steam
and their movements are directed by
electricity. They meet; their fearful
death-dealing engines do their work.
and the story is soon told. A few such
collisions disables one or the other Of
the combatants. It used to be true thai
the Lord fights on the side of the strong.
est battalions; it is now quite as apt tc
be true that the Lord fights on the side
of the most improved batteries.
As to the probable duration of the
war between Russia and Turkey, it ism
easy to form conclusion. There is 6
railroad from st. Petersburg to Odessa
and there a conjunction can be formed
with the feet The Turks can make nc
effective defense on the Danube, and il
may be expected that the Russian
army will cross the stream with little
delay. This will make it necessary for
the turks to depend on the Balkan
mountains to defend them against the
invader. If the Russians should pass
that obstacle, the fall of Adrianople
would follow speedily. There is rail
road thence to Constantinople, dis
lance of 200 miles, and "a hours would
suffice to place the Russian army at the
gates of the Turkish capital. Thus the
war from beginning to end, would be a
matter of few weeks.
On the other hand, it is not probable
that the passage of the Balkan noun
tains will be very expeditiously accom-
plished. It is understood that the Rus
slams will attempt to make their way
through the Shumla pass. They have
attempted that enterprise three times
before, ansuccessfully in 1774 and 1910,
and successfully, though with great loss,
in 1920. In the gorge is the walled and
fortified city of Shumla. If, as in pre-
yious wars between Turkey and Russia,
the Turks concentrate their army there,
the Russians Will find il an obstacle of a
very stubborn character. But here the
question arises whether the war confined
to comparatively small area in Bulgaria
will materially affect the price of bread
stuffs in America. The most probable
answer is that it would not unless the
war closed the Black sea.
On the whole, it is to be feared that
the expectation which has been raised
in this country will be scarcely realized
if the war is only a struggle between
Russia and Turkey. Speculation has
advanced the price of wheat to a high
figure, and it is conceivable that the
war prices are already discounted. But
if Austria and the other powers are in
volved, ssthen may we count our gains. y
The struggle will be long and will sweep
wide path of devastation. There,will
be q demand for all our surplus pro-
ducts at high prices, and If the crop of
1877 is large, it will give an impetus to
the prosperity OF this country that can
scarcely be overestimated. Not this, but
it will go far toward solving the finan-
cial problem. A general European war
and a good crop will make resumption in
1879 an easy matter.-Sentilet.