The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-12-29
GROSS DECENTRALIZATION

can institutions more gratifying to us than
another it is the freedom which we enjoy
from large standing army. 1t is a recos.
nized fact that the immortality and vice and
unhappineSs so broadcast in Europe result
mainly from their immense masses of sol
dicrs lying around the various posts idle,
and at the expense of the taxpayer. Real
genuine progress in the more graceful
amenities of life and the higher arts of civil
cation cannot be experienced so long as
a million absolute and most generally
ignorant and idle soldiers are quartered and
scattered over a country, We have noticed
lately an item Of news going the rounds of
the press that gives occasion for some in
structiye reflections on thi, matter, While
not question OF any great moment to us,
still, rs one of the nations in the very van
Of the progress and development of mod
ern events, we cannot but take Il lively in.
tcrest in lie more important affairs Of our
European friends, with whom We are
annually becoming more closely con-
nectcd. Tn, item referred TO is
the alarming prevalence OF suicides in the
continental armies, and notably in that OF
Bavaria, The Cincinnati Enquirer refers
editoria! y TO the subject and states, among
other things, that suring the month of No
venber about twenty commissioned officers
and many privatcs in the Bavaran forces
voluntarily laid down their lives, and the
mania is spreading like measles among
school-children. The royal authorities, so
we are informed, are alarmed and are at a
loss for a remedy. The estab
lishment Of Gordon, continues
our exchange may only aggrayatc
the trouble for even the Gordon may be
consumed by the mania. Sanitary rcgula-
tons aud vaccination viii stop the spread
ofyellow fever and smallpox, but clean
streets, carboic acid and bovine virus have
no influence upon suicides The Bavarian
ruler wants specific for that which is
wasting the ranks of his army But the
same thing is true in France and Italy and
other German States, and Il specific is as
much demanded in the countries named
as in Bavaria. We think there
ought to be very little mystery or
trouble in applying a remedy.
The "manig" is but one Of the legti-
mate results of iileness, and the only
specific possible is to pat this vast number
of men to useful labor. Suicides, crime,
all sorts of crime are bound to increase and
SOW their fearful decentralization through
out communities just so long as the powers
across the Atlantic persist in retaining their
enormous peace establishments. Our little
handful of regulars are kept ordinarily busy
by the Sitting Bull character of citizen,
and ii is a remarkable fact that the only
assertions or crimes noted as com
mitted by the regular soldiers of the
United States occur at posts where the
commands are enjoying season . Of moth
ing to do" The redundant populations Of
Europe, rs well as their compulsory stat
utcs, undoubtedly drive thousands of the
poorer class into the army and navy, but a
short term therein usually discloSes the
fact that these men have been made more
vicious and displeased with their fate, aud
they rapidly become worse in both physi.
cal and moral sense. Now our remedy is a
very practical and common sense
one, and we commend it to the con
sideration of the emigrant agents and bt-
reaus of this country and the old world.
Let well-directed efforts be made within
these European armies to obtain the emf
grafton of thousands who would be mot
certainly only too glad to escape from the
tyranny of the ranks and let them be
brought over to u.s. Here are fields oreycry
character of opportunity for honest labor
where competency can be easily and
speedily won, and the poor man who had
begun to grow gloomy and insane at the
prospect of life of inactivity
and denial, may feel the warm buoyancy
of heart that springs from freedom aud
success Simply put the would-be suicide
to work Decrease the useless and burden
some peace establishments and thereby
proportionatcly augment the labor of
America, and both the United States and
Europe will soon realize the improvement
on all sides. 1t is subject whose careful
consideration we suggest TO the curious
about government statistics and those
interested in the matter of foreign immigrs-
a! u,