The Saint Paul globe., 1897-03-22
ALL THE WORLD IN ARMS.
continental Powers Are Prepared
for an Outbreak of Wars HOr-
FOrs,


ola 5ne s, nations seem wholly to have lost their
OIo proud self7reliance, says the London
Spectator. Every one of them anticinates in
Vasion, possibly next week certainly next
year, and every one of them except nerhaDS
t ourselves, arms itself to the utmost limit of
IIS m resources The continental world is posi-
lively crushed down with armaments
Every new discovery in explosives costs mil
mons IN new artillery and new rifles, while the
outlay on ironclads and quick-fring guns ad-
Vances as If the nations believed that the one
Whlch voted the last shilling must inevitably
be the victor. We do not scruple to saw that
II the nations OF Europe trusted one another
as much as citizens trust one another when
passing each other in the street Europe could
be relieved annually of S100, COO 900 of taxation
ana 2,GOO,OOO at least of white men could be
released from the unproductiVe and exceed
lngly painful labor. Not only can this be
done-not only, that is, cannot armies be re-
duced to reasonable proportions say 100 900
men in barracks for every 25 900 900 peoDle-
but so deep is the fear, so imperfect the self
reliance that a change of the smallest mo-
ment IN one country is instantly initiated in
another that horses and guns are counted
down to half dozens; that the portentious
news Herr Krupp is making experiments
eXcites thrill in half a dozen first-class
capitals, and, If confirmed, will set all deal
ers in destructive chemicals agog. 1t is
certainty that If any one invented rife 10
per cent better than those now in use the
whole OF Europe would adopt it, whatever
the cost, and would believe sincerely that
would instantly invade the others, probably
without declaration of war. There is no
confidence whatever that any state would
have the fair play given, for instance in the
old prize ring. Indeed, a quite considerable
proportion of the taxes is expended on prep
arations for what is called quick mobiliza-
Zation that is readiness to strike before an
enemy is ready to defend oneself against
an Unexpectedly sudden blow which is so
universally expected that there is through
out Europe, outside of England, a popular
readiness to hang spies. The single fact
that in every city of the continent the rough
pOpu,ace will seize and maltreat or kill any
strange artist seen sketching any portion Of
a fortress is a measure of the depth of fear
which, however it may be veied, universally
prevails. No people, though armored to the
teeth. feel any security or apparently any Of
the pride which would have induced the
fighting men of old to abstain from COM
plants, to trust their defenses and to possess
their souls in patience until the attack came.
All Europe is in the state in which the wom-
of our Southern countries were WSAn
Bonaparte was nightly expected to land a
state compounded of fury, nerves, credulity
and very clear idea of how terrible the
suits of an invasion actually would be. AS
to doing anything such restoring order in
Turkey, which might involve risk of quar-
rel, the nations regard such proposals either
as lunacies or as an English farmer would
regard a proposal to set fire to a cornfield.
because from the shrieks somebody appeared
to be committing murder under the shelter CT
the corn.