The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-04-26

must then cross the Balkan Mountains only TO
ind themselves In the province OF Roumelis,
which is to Turkey what England is to the
British or the old province OF Brandenburg to
the German Empire. Here, then, we should
have Russian army with broad river, two wide
hostile provinces, and rugged range Of noun
tans in its rear; an army Of desperate fanatics
n ts front and an equally fsnatiosl population oil
around its camp. There 10 large element of
Greek Christians in the population OF Bulgaria
which, IL not altogether friendly, would not be
lmplaosbly hostile to the Russian invader. But
Roumelia is almost exclusively
pEopLED WITH MoHAmMEDArs,
and every step OF the two hundred miles between
the Southern foot Of the Balkans and Con stahti-
nople would be contested by four hundred thous.
and Turks, fighting for their religion. their Pope'
their harems, and the ingrained traditions Of
their race; fighting their hereditary foe, whom
they hate with hatred that has lost it's natiopal
character and become personal; fighting, more
over, under the direction OF English brains, with
English weapons and sustained by English re.
sources.
8 It Is said that Russia can mobilize six hundred
Thousand fighting men for foreign service; that
is to cay reckoning her invasive force at two
fftha Of her total military resource, which is
large estimate for 1t must be borne in mind that
strong autocratio governments like Russia can
never spare 20 large proportion Of their mill
tary strength for foreign service as free or popu-
lar governments like Great Britain can. But
suppose the Russians could get the flower OF an
army across the Balkans, which had numbered
eix hundred thousand at the crossing OF the
Danube. That would imply fighting force Of
say four hundred thousand fairly debomched upon
Roumelia. They would not then decisively out
number the Turks, and the logic Of history Is
cumul ative to teach that with anything like
equal mum bers and an equal ground the Russians
are
NO MATCH FOR THE TURKS.
In times past two Russian armies have gotten
across the Balkans. One was annihilated and
the other surrendered. The fate Of the third
would, in all human probability, be the same.
THE OTHER LAND APPROACH
to Constantinople, that is to say over the Geor-
gisn CAUCASUS along the southern shores OF the
Black Sea and through Asia Minor, is beset with
vastly more insurmountable natural obstacles
than the European route. The way through a
por ion OF the latter would be smoothed by the
presence of a large friendly element among the
native population, while the country for the whole
of the distance Is fertile and thickly settled But
In Asiatic Turkey, at least along the route indi-
Gated, the population Is exclusively Mohammedsn,
devotedly Turkish and deperately fanatical,
while the country itself is half desert and hall
mountain, with no highways for the movement
OF troops, and no product adequate to their cub.
sistence.
In short, 1t seems literally impossible for q
Russian army to reach Constantinopls from any
direction by land, even with no resistance bu
that of Turkey to resrd her progress.
THE APPROACH BY SEA
is even less feasible than either of the two land
routes above discussed. In order to assail Con
stantinople by water the Russians would have tt
command the Black Sea with q naval foros
capable OF wiping out the Turkish marine ant
keeping 1t wiped out. Such force would have
to be built in the Black Sea itself, because ths
Turks control the entrance thereto, and no Rus
sian ship purchased or constructed outside coult
| get through the Dardanelles, to say nothing o
| the narrower and more atrongly fortified Bos
phorous. Now, when ii is known that the Turk
ish navy in immediate readiness for the defens,
Of Oonssantinop, o is rated In the lists OF Europe
| CONSIDERABLY STRONGER THAN
the entire Russian navy in all seas, it will b.
readily perceived that the Turks are not in seriou
danger from any attack by way OF the Black Sea
This is, of course, q very incomplete outline O
the situation; but II is sufficiently full to sho,
that the Turkish state is likely to outlive by sev
eral weeks, il not months, the date Of demolition
fixed by the sapient writer's on our daily press
Now IL any journal ought to be well-informed o.
European topics, that journal
| IS THE HERALD.
It has the most perfect system Of Europesl
news-gathering known to journalism. and i
ought to have better editorial sense than tina
displayed in recent comments on the respect
i've forces and resources of the prospective com
batants. Perhaps our friend Jim Bennett sti
cherishes the hope OF marrying that Danisl
princess, and the present tone Of the HsraId ma,
be intended to propitate the Czarowitch who ha
hitherto shown disposition to select his brother
in-law. can imagine no other reason for th
Herolds persistent falsifcation of the situation
to the undue exaltation Of the Russian and to th
unfair depreciation Of the Turk as
| FIGHTING QUANTITY.
For it is clear to every well.informed min
that in case there is no Interference or interver
ton by the other powers Of Europe, this war b.
tween Turk , and Russia will drag itself out will
out any decisive result until the aggressive enc
ergies Of Russia are exhausted, and will then on
In peace calculated TO last until new gener
ton of slaves can be raised in the Muscovite En-
pre to be butchered along the Danube,
TWENTY YEARS HENCE,
In another vain effort to seat thick .heade
Grand Duke on the throne Of Constantine.
Not long since met an English officer, a lie'
tenant colonel in the British army, who was (
miliar with the military aspect of the Easter
nnastion Ha had saar sexxica In III Grim ea