The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-28
rHE czAR.s pEAcE MovEMENr.

THE CZAR'S PEACE MOVEMENT
What will the peace conference which
| She Car has called TO meet at ST. Pc
tersburg Accomplish That is a question
which the heads of the different govern
ments of the world are asking. About ali
the governments have accepted the Cars
invitation TO send comm sloners to the
conference. Even President Mckinley,
according TO our dispatches yesterday, has
decided to send a commission. 1t is doubt
ful if a single one of the governments
thinks that the conference will be pro
ductive Of any result In the direction of
a reduction of the military establishments
of the nations. No one of them, however,
could afford to refuse TO take part in the
conference. The government that refused
10 send representative to it would put
itself on record as being against settling
disputes by peaceful methods, and of con-
tinuing the policy of increasing armies and
navies-a policy which is gradually fore
ing the chief nations Of Europe toward
bankruptcy.
No one who has not compared the cost
Of maintaining the armies and navies of
ago with the cost of maintaining them
now knows how enormous the increase
has been AID the increase is going on
all the time, while the ability of the peo-
pie of each of the nations to carry this
burden is steadily becoming less. 1t would
seem. therefore, that the nations, partic-
ularly those Of Europe, would welcome the
Cars peace movement.
France doesn't welcome it because she
is preparing for another war with Ger
many. She viii not be willing to reduce
her army and navy until she has again
under her flag the provinces which Ger
many wrested from her in the war of
1870. Germany is looking for other terri
tory as an outlet for her surplus popula-
ton She wants colonies which will help
her to consume the surplus products of
her factories. and she knows that she will
likely need her army and navy to get adj
ditional territory. Great Britain is engage
ed in great enterprises in Asia and Africa,
and has vast possessions in India to de-
fend. She feels that she cannot reduce
her army with safety to herself, and she
believes that she needs a much greater
navy than she now has. Russia would
gladly muster out one-half of her soldiers,
and cut down the expenses of her navy,
because the Car has great schemes for
the development of the resources of his
empire, but he is afraid that If he should
reduce his military establishment, and
turn his attention to the building of rail-
roads and the colonizing of the vacant
lands of his domains, other nations of Eu-
rope would grab the rich prize of China
and deny him a share of it,
It would naturally be supposed that the
people of the United States, seeing the
evils of the great military establishments
of Europe, would protest against a policy
which calls for great army and a great
navy, but such does not appear to be
the case. The talk that seems to be pop
ular is that which favors a mighty navy
and a big army. The desire for posses
sions in the West Indies, on the coast OF
Asia, and, in fact, anywhere else in the
world, is strong. The policy of conquest
and expansion appears to have pretty gem
eral approval. If such is the feeling in
this country, where, if the policy of the
founders of the republic were adhered to-
a policy that has produced results more
extraordinary than the world has ever
before seen-there would be boundless
prosperity, what ground is there for hop
ing that the nations of Europe, overcrowd-
ed as they are, and seeking outlets for
their surplus of population and wealth
that would be profitable to them, viii IA
vor the Cars peace movement?