The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-11-11

for barbarism against civilization even in
war. In the quality of the Turkish soldier
there is found partial advantage of BAR
barrie life but if this soldier were left to his
barbaric conceptions Of war and his bar
barrie arms what would become of him
An army corps of men like Hercules armed
with clubs could not storm redoubt held
by brigade of pigmies armed with breech-
leaders. But Turkey, which in oil the linn
its of her dominions cannot make breech-
loading rife, is yet able to face her foes with
the weapons that have been contrived and
perfected with all the ingenuity Of civiliza-
ton in other countries. Neither is it sur
prising that Turkey is able to pay for such
arms, since if a person of any resources
whatever suddenly stops paying his debts,
or even the interest on them, he has money
to spare.
Ali that the war has proved SO far is that
the resources of great nation cannot, in an
age of advanced civilization, be developed by
government of the primitive type, such rs
survives beyond its date in the Russian
Empire. Not fact proves that Turkey is
worthy to stand, but many prove that If
Russia is to be equal to her great destinies
she must burst the shell in which she
has hitherto grown. No nation that
aspires to play part in the great drama OF
fury can count in the game until it has re-
lieved itself of the government under which
it came out Of the food of Tartar invasion
five centuries since. In all the qualities OF
good soldiers the Russians have in this
war proved themselves not only superior to
world. In steady courage, tenacity and
dash, and in their susceptibility to tactical
instruction and discipline, they have shown
their high military quality. 1t is in virtue
of this quality that. while only equal, or
barely equal, in number to their foe, they
have invaded his country--completely
crushed Tim in Asia and brought him to
the verge of desperation in Europe. But
for the incubus of grand dukes they might
ere this have been in Constantinople.
Intimi dation at the Polls In France.
It was hastily concluded on this side of tho
Atlantic that since the French republicans
had come through with handsome majority
of one hundred the depth of tampering with
the ballot box which has been occasionally
touched here had not been reached in
France. The facts, however, are now COM
ing out. In the more enlightened districts
fraud of this kind was not possible, but in
49, -, 1,
the population is most ignorant, state of
things was kept up which the rascally car
pet-baggers who SO lately ruled our South
ern States could not improve on.
Intimidation is not so appropriate word
as terror to apply to the roughshod way the
Ministerial Projects, whose hands were
trained under the Empire, rode the popular
sentiments down. The war on the rural
republican newspapers extended to such
fine repressive details as surrounding the
presses with gendarmes and not allowing
q copy to be struck off until the official had
seen the proofs and cut out all that he con-
sidered Objectionable. In spite. of all this
the papers were seized regularly on tho
fimsiest pretexts and heavy fines declared
against the editors. All this, too, in
direct violation of the law. Troops
and artillery were paraded through the dis
tricts by the Protects as the United States
troops were not SO long ago by the United
States marshals in the South. Arrests were
made without any charge and wholly with
a view to frightening the ignorant into the
belief that it was dangerous to be republi-
can; false news of pretended arrests was
promulgated by the authorities with the
same object. At the voting places the in
timidation was shameless. Peasants who
feared to boldly vote the republican ticket
resorted to the use of what we call spas
ters;" but in making the count all such
were rejected. Citizens who had perfect
right to be present at the balloting and
counting were hustled out of the polling
places. Every mean and shabby trick to
swindle the republican peasants out of their
votes was resorted to, and lastly cases are
coming to light where, as in that of the
Louisiana carpet-baggers, actual frauds in
the count were SO clumsily made that they
could not be concealed This. was in the
districts where conservative. gains were re-
ported. 1t is easy now to see what became
of Gambetta's four hundred 1t is also easy
to foretell that there will be considerable
squirmlng in official circles when the inev-
liable Investigations begin. Probably the
knowledge Of this wrath to come makes the
conservatives talk so wildly of holding on.
That is the way Wells, Anderson, Chamber
lain, Patterson and the rest talked last year.
Congress Yesterday.
The republican leaders in the Houee yes
terday made q very strong effort to manu-
facture some partisan capital on On amend