The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-13
The Russians at Toulon.

Inc hue9lan9 NJ IOuIOn.
The Russian squadron Is expected to ar.
rive at Toulon to-day. and for upward Of a
fortnight the Admiral and the officers are
to be the recipients Of tho most lavish hos
pitality. The official programme OF the
festivities has been published. and 1t is
certain that no such ELUSIVE demonstra-
tons Of welcome have been made in France
since Queen VICTORIA was the guest OF
NAPOLEON LII. The hospitable plans OF the
French Government and Of the Paris mu-
nicipality have been known at st. Peters
burg since Sept. %. and, unless they had
been deliberately sanctioned by the Gar.
they would not now be carried out.
No one in Paris. or for that matter In
Berlin. Vienna, or Rome. Is deceived by the
diplomatic explanation that in returning
the visit paid by the French fleet to Cron-
stadt the Russian squadron is only per-
forming a duty enjoined by courtesy. The
Russian sovereign Is no stickler for the
punctilious discharge Of such conventional
obligations. He has never shown any ap-
probation OF the compliment implied In the
visit made to him by WILLIAM II. immedi-
ately after the latters accession to the
title Of German Emperor. He Is alive to
the political significance Of certain cere-
monlal acts. and II he now permits his naval
officers to accept extraordinary civilitles
at the hands Of the French Government,
it Is because he Is prepared to publish
to the world his sympathy for France.
Whether his sympathy has already taken
the form Of definite treaty does not
greatly matter. When both an autocrat
and his subjects are animated by the same
feeling Of ardent friendship. that feeling
may be trusted to take the shape Of active
cooperation in the hour Of need. Such was
the inference that We drew during the war
OF the rebellion from the appearance Of q
Russian fleet in the harbor Of New York:
and We have since had proof that the in
ference was justified.
This is not. OF course. the first time that
Russia and France have been united by
sympathy and a community OF interest.
Their armies co0perated against Prussia in
the seven years war. and for some years
preceding the expedition against Moscow.
Having been triumphant In the memorable
years 1912 and 1918. the Russians can afford
to forgive the invasion of their country il
the French are able to forget it. Even the
Crimean war left no seeds Of bitterness in
the Russian public mind. for it was well un-
derstood that NAPOLEON III. sacrificed the
interests Of England by terminating that
contest prematurely upon terms much
more favorable to Russia than the beaten
power had any reason to expect. 1t Is
true that France Is at present re-
public, type Of government by no
means calculated to please an autocrat;
but 1t Is probable that in the Cars eyes
there is no very profound difference between
n republican regime and the parliamentary
institutions. which he sees obtaining almost
everywhere throughout central and west
ern Europe. From his point OF view the
one form of polity may seem as much ex-
posed to social and economical revolution
as the other. He observes. for instance.
that. proportionately to the size Of the
assemblies. the German Reichstag has as
many Socialist members as the French
Chamber OF Deputies. Besides. should he
desire precedent for siding with n COM
monwealth against his fellow soveregns.
he could find 1t in the treaty of Basel. by
which Prussia in 1875 abandoned tho coali-
ton against the first French republic.
The simple truth Is that political reasons
OF the strongest kind are compelling Rus
sla to combine with France. Events have
proved that the Gear has nothing to hope
from the Berlin Government. and that the
HoHENZoLLERNs are as deaf to the claims Of
gratitude as were the HAPsBURGs. NICHo-
LAS lived to deplore his interposition in
Hungary; and ALEXANDER ii. had equal
cause to regret that his attitude in 1866 and
1870 made possible the two final steps in
aggrandizement When he sought
the compensation which he had fairly
earned. and had pushed his armies within
sight OF Constantinople. he was summoned
to a congress at Berlin. where he was
despoiled OF almost everything wrested
from the Turk at San Stefano. From
that day to this the Prussians have con-
nived ut tho Austrian intrigues in Bucha-
rest and Sofia to thwart the Cars attempts
to assert his legitimate influence in the
Balkan peninsula. 1t has become clear as
daylight that the RoMANOFFs have nothing
to expect from Prussia but tilnt-lke op-
position to the extension OF the Northern
Empire. Still Russia cannot afford to re-
main isolated; some ally she must have In
the face Of the unfriendly league OF the
three central powers. Tho only possible
ally Is France. and for that reason the Car
overlooks the fact that the French are re-
publicans. and remembers only that they
possess one OF the most powerful armies in
the world.
The Yellow Fever at Brunswick