The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-06
vately acquainted with it at the War
Department
WHY FRANCE Is PREPARED


modified if we take closer standpoint
and examine the causes and reasons
from which that patriotic impulse
sprang up: First, France was taught
terrible lesson in 1870 for being utterly
unprepared, whereas her adversary was
prepared to perfection: second. she is
in peculiar position in Europe. being
| a single republic there. and as such
| regarded as a natural enemy by all
monarchical powers except, Russia but
| Russia may fail her at any future time;
| third she stands between three direct
enemies-England, Germany ana ltaly.
Standing in such an unenviable position
and having been taught such terrible
lesson in 1870 for want of preparation.
can she be blamed now for striving by
all means not to be caught mapping
again? France is in a greater danger
| than any other European country, so
| she understands it, and that accounts
for her great ornaments to face emer-
gencieS and maintain her place in the
| first rank. But it would be most alb
surd to think that a country surrounded
| by enemies would be so rash as to take
the initiative of a war. The thousand
gray-haired heads of the French cham
| bers now running the political ma
chinery are not so blind as to follow IN
! the footsteps of the hare-bralned thlrd
Napoleon, who was so easily attracted
| in Bismarcks trap. Both France and
| Germany know well that, organized and
| armed as they both are, a new war be-
| tween them would result IN such I'M
heard of disasters that even the winner
could not be compensated for his losses
| whatever Naturalization could be OBJ
tanned from the loser.
There is also great rivalry between
Great Britain and France, but those
| two countries have everything to lose
and nothing to gain in a mutual con-
| fiict, in which their tactics would be to
starve each other. as neither or them
could land army on the Other ter
ritory The present military organiza-
| tons of the continental great powers,
| where every able-bodied man is Well
| trained soldier. afford an immense ad-
| vantage over the voluntary enrolment
| which is still the mode of recruiting in
Great Britain Thus the British army
| is by far unfit to face the French army,
| especially on French soil, where it would
| be confronted by one five times larger.
On the other hand, the British navy
| outnumbers the French navy by nearly
| two-fifths, which makes French IN
| vasion of England impossible. Thus
| neither would attempt an invasion. The
/ contest would probably be fought at the
| entrance of French sea ports, where
the French war ships would be sup
| ported by the land forts. There much
| would depend on the role played by the
| submarine boats. with which expert
1 ments have been going on in Touion for
some time. and possibly also in Eng
| land, although it is not known Whlie
| the British fleets would very likely
cause the more bodily harm to France,
| the latter could starve Great Britain
more effectively than Great Britain
could starve France. The former is the
| most powerful at sea, but she needs to
| be so. as she is the most vulnerable
with her merchant marine, and she
needs thrice as much display to protect
| herself as any other of the great DOW
ers In view of an eventual war with
po1o nd Eran h11i1 for
pedo boats independent of her regular
| fleets for the exclusive purpose of prey
| ing on the merchant marine. Those tor
| pedo boats, being of low build, are not
visible further than seven or eight
i miies away and thus escape detection
| from cruisers, which can be detected
from twenty-five miles away. The chase
of the cruiser against the torpedo boat
| is, therefore, impossible, all the more so
| that the fastest cruisers are not any
| faster than those torpedo boats, which,
if let loose on the Atlantic ocean, hard
| ly any merchant vessel would escape
| capture. A continental power could
| stand a long blockade by drawing her
supplies from the neighboring countries,
while Great Britain, living almost Who'll
ly through her sea trade, would be liter
| ally in state of starvation in less than
three months.
The lingo party in England, the Chau-
whist party in France ana the fanatic
parties in Germany and the other ma
|
upon each other, but held back by their
| masters. Those dogs will not endanger
the peace of Europe as long as their
masters keep COOL Jingoism in Eng
land is at times very restless, but the
| Liberal party and the old Queen are
strong enough in wisdom to avoid be-
ing thrown off the pacific path. Neither
does the Russian bear utter any belli-
! cose note. In 1875 she roared out on
Turkey all the rancor she had in her
heart. Since then she has been satiated
| and thinks only of rest
FUTURE OF ITALY.
What is going to become of Italy
| That poor country has reached the cul-
minating point where bankruptcy shows
on one side and great internal crisis
on the other side. 1t seems that nothing
i can save her but such a radical and
sweeping revolution that of the
| French in 1889. Disarming would be "a
way out of the present imbroglio. but
disarming has become a danger for that
country on account of the general dis
content publicly manifested by the popu.
lar masses. Moreover. the mania and
passion of Kaiser William for large
armies has developed to a dangerous de-
gree in his pupil, King Umberto, who
| will not reduce his army until the ad
rlinistrative machinery of the state
i
under popular upheaval Hitherto the
| deficit in the national budget, which Is
| growing larger every year, was met By
raising loans or increasing taxation. bu
those two sources of supply are ex
| hausted. The floating debt cannot bt
| funded and this makes further loan:
| impossible. The financial markets o.
| Paris and London were shut off to Ital!
| long ago, and the markets of Berlin
| and Vienna are also being closed t.
| Italian bonds. Further taxation is alss
| impossible, as 1t would paralyze al
branches on which it would be imposed
| All incomes derived from industry ant
| domestic trade are already taxed to thu
| almost incredible extent of 40 per cent.
| and agriculture is crushed under a 8
| per cent. tax. As a consequence mucl
| land is left uncultivated or farmers sci
| their lands at sacrifice and emigrat
to France, Algeria or America The ia,
| collectors, whose task has become hope
lessly tedious and arduous, are publicl.
| called Briganti di Calabria. American
| will not be so surprised to see SO man,
| Italian immigrants when they are toll,
| that professional labor in Italy is, OF
the average, paid but so cents day
. | while the nonprofessional has droppe,
| to Is and 20 cents
| There is another administrative abus