Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-05-23

The probabilities are extreme that
Greece may slip out OF the leash
placed upon her by the Powers and
plunge into war with Turkey. should
she do 80, OF course the inspiration
will come from Russia. One OF the
most astonishing features OF the de-
velopment of Europe in the last sixty
years has been the dwariing OF the
Muscovite power. The First Napo-
leon, in his conversations with the
Count de Las Casas, on the Island OF
~. Helena, said that, within a hum
dred years, Europe would become
all Cossack or all Republican. At
that time the Emperor Alexander OF
Russia was the most pictorial figure
in Europe. When the Allies entered
Paris in 1916, after the Hundred
Days, it was the parade of sixty thou
sand Russian troops, which formed
in numbers and impressiyeness, the
keynote of the superb display, which
extorted the admiration OF yelling
ton. He called ii the most magniii-
cent spectacle OF his life. Russia
figured most potentially in the over
throw of the great modern Cesar, but
il ia now seen that much of the credit
oil this result was based upon purely
Fictitious considerati ons. II Napo-
leon, al the head OF his victorious
legions, had stopped at the line OF
the Vistula, Russia, instead OF hay
ing been arti6cially magnified, would
have been annihilated. The rehabili-
Ia ion of Poland--a work OF exigent
no essity to the restoration OF the
equilibrium OF Europe would have
furnished to Napoleon the First the
the agency by which he could have
solidihed conquests, moral and mate
rial, far more far-reaching than those
Of Caesar and Alexander combined.
What would now be the issue OF Il
general European war in which Rus
STA should back Greece as against
Turkey, and the Great Powers sig
natories to the treaty OF San Stefano,
no man can have the presumption TO
say. When the great Napoleon, who
was one of the most sagacious OF poll
ticians, proved to be so far wrong in
his horoscopes OF the future, no in
ferior statesman could we'll hope TO
succeed The fact is that the history
OF the last one hundred land twenty
five years in Europe has been singu-
larly disappointing TO the really great
men who have figured in European
affairs. Frederick the Great had an
undisguised contempt for his own
German land, despised its literature
and even disdained to learn its
language, always speaking and writ
ing in French. He summarized the
European situation, scarcely more
than one hundred years ago, by say
ing that il he were King of France,
not gun should be fired in Europe
without his permission. To-day nc
gun dare be fired in Central Europe
without the permission of Bismarck
The map of Europe has been altered
in the most capricious way ever since
the great crime of the Partition Of
Poland, and the unexpected, p" if not
sure to, is likely 10 happen.
The great question Of the day is
whether war can break out be-
tween Greece and Turkey without
bringing on general European
struggle. The most intelligent opin-
ion is that it cannot. If this be true,
the large wheat crop of California
will this year prove to have been a
bonanza. 1t will be lucrative in any
event; but, should a general Euro.
pean war ensue, it will enrich our
farmers, to adopt the language emf
ployed by DR.. johnson in reference
to his friend Thrale's brewery, he.
yond the dreams OF avarice.