St. Paul daily globe., 1896-03-06
HOW TO BECOME A POWER.

Z Italys present experience points a
moral to which 1t seems to us that no
Intelligent people should be oblivious
She has engaged in her distant and dis
astrOus enterprise in Abyssinia solely
because she thought it necessary in
order to preserve her position as a
first-rate power in Europe. Her do
mestic affairs in the meantime are in
the most deplorable condition. Prob
ably no people in the world are more
unsparingly taxed or less able to meet
taxation than the common people Of
Italy. The nation is hopelessly in
debt its revenue. even with a larger
taxation than can be borne, is unequal
to its expenditure, and a perpetual
deficit is bringing it within sight of
national bankruptcy In such a condi-
ton of affairs its governing officials
choose to throw away millions of dol
lars in operations in a distant land,
which, if successful, could add nothing
but a worthless prestige to the ma
tional name.
which the nations of Europe hope to
maintain their dignity and reputation
Their own continent having been par
titioned and offering no opening for
military operations without precipitat-
ing general war, all of them are
filibustering about the world, espe-
cially in Africa, in search of an empty
glory. They are apparently all of them
still under the spell of the first Ma
poleon, without the possibility of reap
object of his career of conquest. A
deliberate following of Italy's policy,
instead of maintaining her place as
first-class power in Europe, must re-
suit either in wiping her off the map
altogether, or in reducing her to the
present position of Egypt.
There is a way in which Italy might
within a comparatively short time, be-
come power respected and possibly
feared by all Europe. 1t is the way
that would be adopted by an individual
who found his resources wasted and
himself at the mercy of importunate
creditors. Suppose Italy were tomor-
row to begin the abandonment of her
whole military policy. She might re-
nounce all schemes of foreign conquest
withdraw her armies from Abyssinia
cut down her military establishment
to the small force necessary to pre-
serve internal order, and dispose of her
navy to the highest bidder She would
not be in whit greater danger from
hostile neighbors than she is today
The sole protection that Italy now has
from aggression is the necessity Of
maintaining the balance of power in
Europe. Does anybody suppose that
Russia or Germany or England is afraid
of Italy's army or navy today? If any
one of those powers desired, it could
sweep Italy from the face of the
earth. The country is in no con-
dlt1on to engage in a successful war
with any one of them. Such a war is
not prevented by the existence of
Italy's army or navy. because the
greatly superior nations do not need
to fear them. 1t is prevented by their
theory of the necessity of keeping the
present balance of power undisturbed.
The same force that protects Turkey in
her weakness and infamy would pro-
tect Italy without a garrison on her
frontier or an ironclad on the Mediter-
ranean.
The Italian people are industrious
and frugal, and their country is fer
tile and abundant in resources. If they
were to give up their worthless mil
itary ambitions, cut off all this vast
expenditure at a blow, tighten taxa
ton, encourage the development of
native industries, use their resources
to pay off their debt, establish their
credit and acquire a surplus for their
treasury, not only would they have
peace and prosperity. instead Of pov-
erty and riot, but they would, within
the next ten or twenty years, have
amassed such an amount of wealth as
would make them ia more formidable
to ary aggressor than their present
army and navy combined. By this
policy Italy would become in fact in