Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-11-17
euRope'S AAxEo PEACE.
Tho Terrible Strain ON the Nations tn
Next War.

Tho Terrible strain ON tho NAtiOuS- inc |
Next War.
The whole continent seems to be under
some horrible enchantment. The armed
peace sits like vampire at the bedside
of the people, draining their life blood
while they sleep. Hence, say some, war
is certain. The nations cannot stand the
strain much longer. Sooner or later,
and sooner rather than later. they will
rush to war rather than wait to be slowly
suffocated by the sheer weight Of their
armor.
AS the armed peace is a nightmare |
fouler than the world has yet suffered, SO |
the next war is an appalling catastrophe
from which imagination shrinks aghast.
For there is nothing in modern history
that It will resemble. Hitherto, down
even to the last wars, when empires have
gone to battle it has been war of SOL
diers. The next war will be war OF
peoples. In the Russo Turkish war it was
an army framed on the old system which
was repulsed at Plevna, and ultimately
swept in triumph to Constantinople. In
| the Franco German war the French army
was largely professional, and it was be-
cause the standing army of professional
soldiers went down like ninepins before
the irresistible rush Of an armed nation
that all military systems have been revo-
lutionized. Now every nationhas armed
all its able bodied adults.
| In former days the mastering Of half
million Of soldiers was regarded as
mighty feat. Today Prince Bismarck
adds to the ranks of the army of the
fatherland, with one stroke of his pen,
100000 fathers of families, and not
a single voice is raised even in passing
protest. Germany in the center Of
Europe fronts east and west with an
available host Of 3.000,000 trained SOL
diers. France will have between 2,000,-
coo and 3. 900, 900 ready to hand. Rus
sia before long will be able to put 5000
600 into line. Austria and Italy we need
not count. The blast Of the trumpets
that proclaims the beginning of war will
summon tho manhood of Europe to the
work of slaughter.
Not only will the number Of the COM
batants be far beyond those which were
raised even in the days of the First Ma
poleon-the grand army with which he
crossed the frontier ON his march to
Moscow only consisted of the same num-
ber of men that has been added this year
| W tllc 1CI N-DuO tlIt SIlIiV III
which it will be brought out will differ
for the worse Prince Bismarck has
frankly told us what kind of war it will
be. We shall fight, he said, If we dc
fight, until we are bled as white as veal
1t will be duel to the death--a war in
which the avowed object of the COM
batants is the utter destruction of theil
; adversary.
"Saigner blanc" to drain the very
life blood of your enemy until you leave
his carcass as white as that of the cali
from which the butcher seeks to drain
: every ruddy drop of gore-that is the
: declared ideal of the foremost nation OF
the continent in the year of grace 1888
The imagination refuses to picture wha
it means. All our recent wars wer'
short. The longest was that of the Cri
mea, which was little more than tn,
. siege and the defense of single fortress
! by professional soldiers. The Franco
Italian war was almost an affair o
weeks. The Danish war was over al
most before it began. The Austro- Prus
, sian-Italian war lasted just six weeks
. The Franco German war was over in 81,
9 months. The conquest of Turkey wa
q completed in about the same time.
But the next war will not bc over il
six weeks or six months. To bleed eacl
: other white. when both combatants ar
: pretty well matched and when there ar
: millions of men in reserve, is an affai
. of years. But when all the business
suspended, and the reapers have beei
= summoned from the farm to the battle
fields, it will be impossible to carry OF
:. war on this scale for years without ute
: collape and CHASTITY famine. Hence til
: enbattled millions will fight with tn
:, grim and desperate energy of men VIII
- know that, like Judas, what they d
y they must do quickly. They will strik
;, terror. All the tourney rules of civi
:, lied war will be- in danger Of going b
the board. It will be contest Of titar
waged with the ruthlessness of iendi
q The next war will be in danger Of dt
!; generating into the Nineteenth centur
version of the horrors of the thirty year,
war, on scale far more gigantic. an
therefore characterized by crimes ia
) more colossal. l.-Pall Mall Gazette.