The Worthington advance., 1893-08-10
oPEAN ARMIES.

EUROPEAN ARMIES.
= General Increase In the Forces 81 Wax
Although the peoples Of Europe mur
mur more and more in opposition, th.
burdens Of militarism are growing
Leading statesmen Of several Of the
great nations have lately expressed
opinions and given semi-official init.
nation that the limit has been reached.
but there is no cessation in the activity
and magnitude Of preparation. The
French military budget, the French
marine budget, and the Austrian: mill.
tary budget for 1894 were communi.
Gated to the legislative bodies of the
respective countries two weeks ago. In
each case provision for increased arma.
ment was asked.
The budget of the French war minis.
try demands credits amounting to 63G..
7Ol,63O francs. 1t provides for 2s,555
officers, which is 215 more than in the
present year; for 526, ,O4S men, or 1851
more than this year, and for 141. .O5s
horses, 534 more than in 1898. The
French marine budget for 1894 amounts
to 267 200, 900 francs. OF this amount
so,O0O,OO0 francs are to be de.
voted to the construction of new
vessels. There will >be put on the
stocks this year, according to the pro-
gramme presented in the budget, three
12,O00-ton ironclads, two frst-class
cruisers, eight second-class cruisers.
one torpedo despatch boat and twenty
four torpedo boats. Provision is asked
for the completion during 1894 of other
vessels already in course of construc-
ton. as follows: Eleven ironclads, five
armor-belted cruisers, one first-class
cruiser, five second-class cruisers, and
two third-class cruisers, in addition to
torpedo. despatch, submarine and
other smaller boats There will thus
be, in 1894, about q hundred war YES
sells in course of construction or equip
ment for the French navy.
Economy and retrenchment in mill
tary matters have been talked in Aus
trla lately, but the Austrian military
estimates for 1894 provide for "neces-
sary expansion" of the army. The num-
ber of officers will be increased, addi-
tional horses will be purchased. and
the artillery will be reorganized'' on
broad scale. Seven hundred and thir-
teen additional officers will be gazetted
to infantry regiments during 1894. A
like increase of officers is projected for
the rifle battalions, and few will be
added to the cavalry, artillery and med.
lcal corps; but these reforms will ex-
tend over several years. A brigade OF
artillery will be added, making sixteen
instead of fifteen, and total OF sixty
four regiments of field artillery. Add1-
tions will also be made to the fortress
artillery. A telephone corps is to be
attached to each army corps.
There has been an enormous increase
in the strength of European navies
during the past year or so, and the
Austrian naval minister calls attention
to the fact that during last year Great
Britain added to her feet more vessels
and greater tonnage than that of the
whole OF the Austro- Hungarian navy
put together. Twenty-one ships, rep
resenting 141,000 tons displacement,
was England's addition to her navy in
1892 Russia approached most nearly
to Great Britain in adding to her fleet
during that year, and most of the great
powers notably increased their naval
strength. The report of the naval min
ister says there was an almost feverish
activity in building during 1892, which
strained the resources of many state
yards, as we'll Of numerous private
firms. If, as some wise men argue. the
armament Of the nations is the best
guarantee of peace, the millennium
would seem to be at hand.
All the vessels launched last year bv
tho more important countries were
armored ships of the line, with pro-
tected hulls and decks, with a displace-
ment between 10000 and $4,000 tons,
the former being more general. The
armor consisted mainly of steel or
compound plates, and in a few cases OF
nickel steel. Nickel steel was also
used to some extent for naval guns.
The most notable innovation in ma
chinery was the use of three screws in
| some of the larger vessels. The use of
petroleum has been abandoned on war
ships, on account mainly of the risk of
AAC' Ac o1S guns VI lVO 10 llU IONS
| continue to give way to those of lighter
calibre, the new guns being, at the
most not more than sixty-eight tons
in weight, with a calibre of thirty-four
centimetres, against forty-five cent?
metres in the big guns. Many experts
consider this reduction in calibre as
premature, in view of the recent inn
provements in ships armor. There was
great increase in the number of
quick-fring guns of medium calibre up
to sixteen centimetres. The general
use of smokeless powder, for guns of
all calibre, is considered by the COM
pliers of the Austrian report to be
| only a question of short time. The
Whitehead and the Schwarzkopf tor
pedoes are the only ones yet adopted
for offensive operations. The expert
ments with submarine boats are noted
as not being very encouraging, and that
form of vessel is not considered to be
q serious factor in naval construct ton
as yct.-N. Y, Sun.
IN THE MATTER OF EATING.
Some Of the Causes and circumstances o,
Longevity.
It may seem hard that the man who
in youth has known the pinch of pov.
erty, who remembers how the cut OF
mutton with a supply of potatoes and
greens scarcely sutticed for vigorous