Evening star., 1898-05-21
A Fertile Cause for Revolution in the
Past.
CONDITION OF AFFAIRS In EUROPE
The Price of a Loaf Means q
Great Deal Over There.
LIFE UNDER MARTIAL LAW

| meant by the expression, the necessaries
| of existence" Consequently when, for one
| reason or another. the price of bread goes
up the rise is not only productive OF cruel
| hardships among the poorer classes foi
| whom IL constitutes the principal and in
some cases. the only nourishment, but it
| likewise creates alarm and apprehension
among the weil-to-do. who. without actual
| ly feeling in their purse the augmented
| price Of bread nevertheless gather the i'm
preston that it means an economic up
| heaval and a national danger. They can
hardly be blamed for this For nearly
| every national revolution has been begun
| by means OF bread riots. since the days Of
| the reign of terror, when Queen Marie
| Antoihette made her memorable comment
| on the popular cry for bread, TO the effect
| that IL there was no bread the masses
co1ld surely content themselves with cake
| Inc bread riots in Europe. which now
| threaten the existence not only of the
! Spanish throne, but likewise of the Italian
crown ana OF the French cabinet are
roughly speaking, due 20 the fact that with
the exception OF Austria Hungary and of
| russia there Is not a single country In
Europe tn4t produces anywhere near suf-
| hcient amount of grain for national con-
sumption. In France. for instance as much
| as 80 per cent OF the grain annually con-
slmed has to be imported from abroad
| TINS. too, in spite OF the efforts made by
| the various Old world governments 10 pro-
mote agriculture.
| Heavy Duties ON Grain
Heavy duties have been imposed upon for.
| elsn grain with the object of protecting
the native farmer and landowner and in
| the hope OF arresting the tendency OF the
masses to restrict their attention to manu-
featuring Industries as more remuneratiye
than agriculture. But the duties. instead
or beneflting domestic agriculture have
merely served to benefit the mfddle-man-
| that Is 10 say, the grain dealer and broker
win the consequence that the public have
annually become more and more dependent
| on foreign breadstuffs.
Until about twenty wears ago most NJ the
| gram consumed in Europe was obtained
| from Russia. But the Turco- Russian war
had the effect OF diverting the trade from
odessa and other south Russian ports to
| the United States, and ever since then the
European nations have relied upon this
country for their grain. And now owing
to the war with Spain, and to the eonse-
quent Increase of freight and Insurance
rates, the price of imported grain has gone
UP to such an extent in Europe as to place
the masses in several OF the countries. such
as, for instance. Spain. Italy and France
lace 10 face with starvation.
An Important Item.
The price OF a loaf of bread counts but
little in the eyes of the rich man, save in
American workingman, with his relatively
nigh wages, can remain Indifferent thereto.
But in Europe. where the wages of labor
| are small beyond all American conception
and where the workingman is expected to
| keeT has wife and his family on Sl.50 and
| 81 a week, the increase in the price of a
| leaf of bread even by few cents is mat
| ter of vital consideration, and entails the
| suffering Of the pangs of hunger.
Perhaps no better illustration OF the sub
I
llshed by the French government. Accord
ing TO these, the annual consumption OF
wheat il France amounts to l3U,U10,0g0
hectoliters, whereas the annual production
does not exceed in the best years 10000. OO9
hectoliters, ana last year amounted TO only
S5.Uo0.UOO hectoliters SO that 5000 600 hec-
toliters have TO be imported from abroad;
and 1t is hardly necessary to say that
whenever, through one reason or another,
there is eny particular scarcity of grain
the brokers and Dealers as well as the do
mestic farmer, take advantage thereof TO
increase the price to as high a figure as is
possible.
Price Of Wheat
AT the present moment the price of grain
in Europe is higher than at any previous
time for twenty years. Indeed, there are
some authorities who allege that there has
been nothing in the present century to
compare with the phenomenally rapid and
extreme rise Of wheat during the last week
Today wheat Is "a S1.sp, and ii is only nec-
essary to recall TO mind that when wheat
stood at that flgure 12e years ago In France
the entire country rose in insurrection, ow-
ing to the severity OF the sufferngs of the
people caused by hunger.
or course, the present situation with re-
gard TO the price OF bread is temporary
For, In the first place. the European gov
ernments-tEat IS 10 say. those of France
OF ltaly and of Spain, the countries more
Immediately concerned just at present
have ii in their power to suspend the state
and municipal duties on grain, which at
present amount together to almost 100 per
cent ad VaIorem on imported grain: and
then, too, resort can be had TO the grain
markets of India, a country which pro-
duces suf1cient corn to supply almost the
whole of Europe, though OF a quality in
terror TO that furnished by the United
states But 1t will require some time to
effect the change, and meauwhil. the price
OF bread will remain high and the popular
disturbances will continue and would doubt
less develop into fullfiedged revolution vera
II not for the rigorous application Of mar
tial law.
Martial Law.
Martial law is a term so little understood
tf it may be just as well to state here
that 1t means suspension of the ordinary
agencies of civil government as well as of
the legal machinery provided by the ordi-
nary code for the prevention and punish
ment OF crime. 1t is when the latter finds
itseII no longer able TO fulfill its duties
that the responsibility of maintaining or
der Is vested in the hands of the military
authorities of the district. The. command
ing general assumes powers that are equal
10 those of A dictator. He Furnishes crime
either summarily or else by military tribu-
nais or mis- own composition. Trial by Jury
Is for the time abolished, as are also the
pl plerogatives conferred by the habeas cor
pus law, and it is within the competence
OF the commanding general to condemn to
death citizens who have committed no Of
lenses against the laws of the land but
merely against the rules and regulations
that he may see fit TO decree. In fact the
existence of martial law in the district de-
prives all its inhabitants temporarily Of
their rights of citizenship and causes them
to be treated in identically the same man
ner as IL they were the citizens of hostile
country, subject to the dictation of a VIC
tcrious invader. 1t Is an intolerable and
exasperating position. But at the present
moment both Spain and Italy are subjected
thereto. and II is quite likely that ere long
martial law may also be decreed in France
II bread goes on increasing in price
SpectacIed CoWa