The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-09-05

and political character, without ray OF
military achievement or warlike enter
prise? Doubtless these were the queries
which have moved the Emperor of Rus
STA to this gigantic undertaking to rem
der conspicuous the closing decade Of
his reign by the contamination Of the
long cherished hope and ambition of all
the Russian rulers for more than q GEN.
tury-that of the expulsion Of the Ma
hommedan from Europe and the re-es-
tablishment Of the supremacy of the
Cross from the Bosphorus to the Allan
tic. This was the aspiration OF Alex
ander when he hurled his whole mill
tary force on Turkey, and placed
in command of his magnificently
equipped legions. his numerous Grand
Dukes, his brothers and sons and his
famous Generals, and ordered them to
| overwhelm and subdue the barbarous
Turk and extinguish Mahommedan rule
in Europe.
And thus far there has been q giant
| effort, an enormous expenditure of
valor, Of treasure and Of blood, to COM
pass the most sterile and inglorious
results which have in modern times
crowned 80 gigantic an enterprise. De-
feats, disasters, and failures OF the
most notifying character have on all
sides attended their progress. The
| Turks, considering their vastly inferior
resources, have shown themselves as
they did four hundred years ago, the
superiors Of these Wanting champions
OF the Gross in all military, intel
lectual, moral and physical quail
ties. As strategists their command
ers on both sides Of the grand arena
Of the great conflict have foiled
and barred the Russian progress and
| repealed their invasion. Their chief
tains have won laurels, which the Rus
slams have lost in nearly every battle
and movement. The invader has be-
come defender, and is more anxious to
secure a retreat than to push his ad-
vance to the objective point Of the cam
paign, which was opened with 80 grand
a flourish Of trumpets. He now quivers
on the ragged edge Of extreme peril and
| ehSSAotsAhpIS 1so W LhO OCslO DAlb VI LID
army from the tolls into which it has
been 80 rashly and unwisely hurried.
And how has. this extraordinary fail
ure been brought about? Why has
Russia failed so signally to re-enact the
grand drama Of the German invasion Of
France? The answer Is a simple one.
Russia and the Russians are not Ger
many and the Germans. The victory
OF Germany was due to the intelligence,
the science and art Of her people, to
the recognition by her government OF
The full dignity and rights of man to
the discipline and self-control and ma
tional spirit, which come Of large intel
lectual and moral discipline and
thorough training in all the social du-
ties and arts of Christian civilization.
The Russians fail for the lack Of all
these qualities; neither their govern
ment nor people have emerged from the
condition Of stolid serfs, semi-savages,
who have scarcely advanced beyond the
state Of enlightenment and progress in
the arts Of freedom and civilization Of
their Scythian ancestors of thousand
years ago, and whose government has
never regarded them as entitled to
aspire to any higher sphere of social
intelligence and enlightenment than
that OF mere vassals and insensate serfs
of political and hierarchical abso-
lutism. In this age no such govern
ment or people can successfully cham
pion any cause, least Of all that of re-
ligion which is the source of all the
grand intelligence, social elevation, en-
lightenment and progress in the arts
and sciences, that have given such power
to all the nations and peoples which
have practised and illustrated the noble
and refining precepts and morality of
the Christian faith