Los Angeles herald., 1890-03-27
THURSDAY, MARCH 81, 1890.
COULD EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION BE
OVERTHROWNP


of great railroad from the center OF the
empire easterly and down the Amoor to
the mouth of that stream. The Mus
covite empire has already pushed sim
liar public work from the shores OF the
Caspian sea southerly into the heart of
Asia far on the way towards the gull OF
Persia. The object of the new enter
prise like that of the old one is half
commercial, half military.
In speaking of the Amoor-yalley road
Chinese statesman says that every
move made by Russia will be met by
China in a similar move for self-defense
against Russian aggression. A few years
ago such a statement from any Manda-
rim of the Flowery Kingdom would have
been heard with peals OF laughter from
all occidental nations. But the times
are changed and circumstances are
changed in them as to the military sig
nifcance of China.
1t was at the conference at Berlin to
settle the Eastern question after the
last Russo-Turkish war that the Russian
representative in that body called the
attention of the assembled nations of
Europe to the move made by Lord
Beaconsfeid on the political and military
chessboard by the bringing of large
army from India to the island of Cyprus
in order to overawe Russia. His was
the first warning note of the danger to
European civilization in arming with
modern weapons and of instructing in
the tactics of modern warfare of the un-
told hordes of Asia. The utterances of
that Russian may eprove to have been
prophetic.
Western Europe has been overrun
more than once or twice by the swarm
ing millions that poured out of the
crowded hives of the far East. The mil
lions of China added to those of India,
make sum which for mere numerical
strength SO far surpasses all the. COM
hined populations of Europe, that these
latter sink into utter insignifcance.
This preponderance of mere numbers
has not hitherto counted for much from
military point of view for the reason
that the disciplined and well-armed
troops OF Russia, Germany and Austria
under the direction of generals well
schooled in the highest science of war,
more than double discounted the mil
lions of mere numbers of unarmed and
undisciplined mobs OF men.
But so it was when the legions of
Caesar met and subdued the hosts OF the
Gauls, Ariovistus and Orgetorix with
their Helvetii, Marcomani, or other
Allemanian tribes. Yet in few more
generations we find these same tribes
and others behind them sacking Rome,
plundering Italy, overrunning Spain and
taking possession of all the provinces
conquered by the trained valor of the
legions of former time.
Be it remembered that this movement,
as Gibbon shows in that matchless work
on the Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire, began at the great wall OF
China. Alleman was impelled by Goth,
he by Visigoth, he by Vandal, he by Hun
and he by Tartar, until the remotest
East was reached.
Could such programme by any possi-
bility be worked out again in the
days to succeed ours? Let us see.
England has made pretty good soldiers
OF the people of India China is learn
ing very rapidly the arts of modern war;
She is arming her troops with European
rifles, and she is acquiring a navy of
very respectable efficiency. Granted
that this is to go on, and that these
people acquire little experience similar
to that gotten in the brush with the
French in Tonquin. Assume that few
small encounters with Russian troops
ropean armies at several points develop
in the Chinese little skill in handling
their men in masses, and in the men a
little skill in the use, of their arms and
in the evolutions Of an engagement.
Then assume war in Con-
tinental Europe, which would embrace
nearly all the more important
powers. Array Russia and France
against Germany and Austria, with their
allies on both sides. Such war would
exhaust the strength of all Europe, both
the strength of fighting men and that of
financial means to carry on a war;
These are all the conditions for sue
cessful invasion from Cathay which
would tread under the feet of the Bar
barians, as we call them, all the civiliza-
tion of Europe. With inexhaustible
hosts of men, and with abundant finan-
cial means to carry on the war, one can
readily imagine Russia succumbing to
China, England's power in Asia cast off
by India, and one bulwark after
another of occidental civilization
broken down by oriental fanaticism and
by the hunger Of Asiatic hordes longing
for the riches of the West. There is
stoical disregard of life in the half
starved, overworked coolie of China
which, when armed with modern weap-
ons, makes him dangerous foe. Some
brilliant feuilletonist may startie the
world with new Battle of Dorking, /" in
which the Chinese or Hindus shall play
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