Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-06-23

Russia AGASSsy GERMANY.

SG AstA ASAANs1 StA8A11s
ST. PETEEsBURG. March 1.-Soon after
bis accession to the throne the present
Gar caused circular 10 be sent TO his
Ministers abroad, iIstsUcting them 10 in
form the posers that he wouM strictly
sdhere 20 ths peace policy and would
0bserve most friendly relations toward
them. Recently the Cars Government
made this declaration in the Pyarifelst
Osnny pesfaH-'-ths Governments Mes
sss4t5f( fs
"On account Of the word. spoken by
Gen. Skobeleff TO the students who Wis
tied him 1T Paris. there are spreading
some alarming rusDors which have NO
The Government Of course
can neither influence the general cHec-
.ion % our foreign policy nor change our
coed relations toward the neighborlng
powers. based On the friendly ties of the
as We'll as On clear uEGer-
Standing of the national interests, and
also on mutual and strict observation of
existing treaties
Notwithstanding tEese peaceful dec
larations, the possibility OF war between
Russia and Germany Is the all-absofo-
ing topic here. The fact Is, the Russians
nave too good reason to mistrust the Off
ciel uttera1ccs OF their autocrat. Are
they not aware that on the eve Oh the last
Tu.ko- Russian war, even after thouS-
ands of Russian volunteers had crossed
the Danube, the late Car continued to
profess peaceful intentions and friend
ship for all the foreign powers. DO
they no. know that the present autOcrat
l., Eu Ia nf t,1l tr-1rtJt-p
cpunseiiors. the avowed German-haters:
There are among Russians three dis
tinct opinions as TO thu probable Issue OF
q war be.gaea RIssia Oh ono side, and
Austria and Germany on the other side.
The Liberals atfirIn tina. Russia would
suffer dreadful disaster, and that the
least tina. could be in store for her would
be another Illuminating Berlin treaty.
In case of war, they say, Germany can
move l.1UUUU mel. not counting riill-
tia and Austria so, go men while Rus
sia, al the best, can bring To the mold on
IL half as many as the other two united.
Russia western frontier, they assert.
is Ge:euceies, while Prussia has on the
same .rontisr Ave fortresses OF the fist
ciass-fhorn Puznan, konigsberg,
DantHig, ard Kussr,u-for the improve
ment of which she spent IN a lump
SIS. o0o, 900 out of the French war indem-
nity. Austria has two exce!ien: fortress
and PesemysAi-not count
ing smalkfoTts.
The Moscow Slavophiles take the view
that such war would he, in fact, Il con-
iiict between Slav civilization and Ger
man civilization, and that as the num-
Der of Stays is more than double
that of the Germans, therefore, without
doubt, the Slavs would be victorious.
the immediate result of war, in their
opinion, would he the disorgaEization of
Austria, the formation of Il number of
Siav States under the Cars protection,
and the fall of the political influence of
Germany. The Moscow statesmen arc
confident that France would gladly join
Russia in q war against Germany for
the sake of revenge.
A great number Of Russian patriots,
who manage TO keep cool amid the gener-
al excitement, believe that at the begin
ing of the war, the Russian army would
be bound to suffer series OF crushing
defeats, but that after the German army
had entered Russia, and the reserve for
ces of that great empire had been called
into action, the Germans would be over
whelmed. This is an attractive subject
for military men, who delight to discuss
it i'll all its bearings. Recently there ap-
peared two notable articles in Russian
periodicals, written by Russian military
officers, discussing the strategioal pos
ition of the three confronting powers.
Russia, Germany and Austria. One of
these writers in the Russkaia Reich Rms
s.,a Srnocbi 90 thai onxa Df t>a fnv,l
est plans of Bismarck is to weaken Rus
STA. and thus insure the safety OF Ger
many on her eastern frontier. The
strongest point of the German military
system, he AYERS, lies i'll the administer
ing Of sudden and crushing blows to
the enemy, but he pays special attent-
ion to the fact that the German army 10
unable to stand a long war. knowing
this, he says, the Germans have already
laid out . plan of war against Russia.
They will suddenly invade Russian
territory and occupy Poland and the
Baltic provinces, seizing the best forts
and strongest military positions a. once,
There thoy will stop, and, the writer be-
lieves, will battle all the efforts of Rus
sin to drive them back. Then Russia
will be forced to sign humiliating
treaty, by which she will probably lose
the Baltic provinces, and restore the Pol
ish kingdom uader the German Emps-
ror's protection. Thus the Cars empire
will be reduced to secondary place
among European powers.
Another writer on the same subject in
the Noroe prs mia comes to quite q diff
ferent conclusion, and must ask you to
take noice Of the fact that his view is
the one generally entertained by the
Russians. At this moment, he says, any
war, and pa rticularly war against Ger
many and Austria. would be a great ca
lamity for Russia, and it is the duty of
every citizen who understands the inter
ests of his country to avoid the causes
which could bring Oh such war. He
then compares the military forces Of the
respective countries. Russia, he says.
could not wage an offensive war against
Germany, nor would she need to. But,
on tho defensive, Russia il invincible.
She has every advantage on her side.
The Russians could not hinder the
Germans from invading their country,
but even II the Germans occupied 20
land, they could neither force Russia to
sign any treaty on the dictatiOn of Bis
rnarck, nor remain idle for any length
Of time. They would have to advance
toward st. Petersburg or Moscow, or
both. But such an advance would bring
surs and dreadful disaster, like that
which overlook Napoleon. Russia is an
immense country, onering no means of
easy and quick marches of an army.
Her people are highly patriotic. They
would burn and destroy every village and
town in the track of their foes, aud for
a hundred miles around them, in order
20 force them 70 march in kind of des-
ert, where no provisions can be got, and
where She Russians In small parties
could swarm upon their TANKS and de-
stroy them piecsmeal. The German ar
my. numerous il might. be az the start,
would necessarily be greatly weakened
in march Of $40 milss--the distance
from Warsaw 10 st. Petersburg or Mos
cow--every step of which would he DIS
puted, and At last it could be easily
crushed by the concentrated Russian
army.
When Napoleon crossed the Russian
frontier in 1872 be had 6l000 men at
his back. against only 220,uOO Russians.
The Russians rstreaied. and the. grand
army of Napoleon pursued them. When
DO rcsched kovuo, Napoleon had 500, 900
men: ut Vitebsk he had only 20, 600: in
the fam ,us battle Of Borodino he could
muster oniy 40 90 men. and fnaliv