The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-09-10

appointment to hnd that the recovery Of
Alsaoe-Lorraine IL unlikely to be the out
como Of the alliance with Russia which they
hailed with 30 much enthusiasm. Undoubt-
edly It was the hope Of regaining the lost
provinces which produced that most incon-
gruous OF international phenomena, a coali-
tion between republicans and an autocrat.
Had the Russian Foreign ONCE frankly
avowed that It had no intention Of entering
upon war for such a purpose, the Gar
would have met with n lukewarm reception
in Paris, and French subscriptions to a Rus
sian loan would have been secured Will diff
ficulty, even II the negotiations for con-
certed action in southeastern Europe and
in the Far East had not been entirely aban-
doned. There have been, during the last
few years, very few conspicuous Frenchmen
who rave held, or have been willing to utter,
tho views expressed by GAMBRTTA toGRANT
DUFF in October, 1875, when he said II
moro and more doubt whether there will DO
any ouerTe de revanche at all. The fact 10
that nowadays, when peace IL once made
between two conterminous nations, 80
many joint interests grow up and become
rapidly strong that, with every month
that passes, the chances OF war are less
ened." During the twenty-five years that
have since passed the chances OF q war for
revenge have seemed rather to increase than
to diminish, until the whole situation WI
changed by the publication the other day Of
the Cars disarmament proposal, which, OF
course, signif1ed that Russia would be no
party to an attempt to get back Alsace-
Lorraine by force Of arms. Henceforth
Frenchmen, rudely awakened to the vanity
Of their dream, must, perforoe, consider the
expediency Of accepting o substitute for the
recovery OF their lost provinces, and we
may assume that they would rather see the
revival Of a neutral Lotharingian State on
their eastern border than witness the ir-
revocable merging Of Alsace-Lorraine in
Germany.
1t is in the German Empire, and not from
Emperor WILLIAM alone, but doubtless
also from the majority Of his subjects. that
the plan ]propounded in the Russian news
paper will meet with strenuous opposition.
The huge p~ecuniary indemnity wrung from
France in 1871 has been for the most part
expended, and, outside Of German unity,
1t is Alsace-Lorraine which constitutes
the one tangible fruit Of the colossal
victories by which Jena and Auerstadt were
avenged. The tremendous scale on which
the German military establishment has
been maintained for the last quarter Of a
century has had for its chief justification
the retention Of the very provinces which,
according to the Norosti, should now be
surrendered without a blow. No compen-
sation Is limited at, and 1t is impossible to
see whence compensation could come, ex-
cept at the cost OF weak States like Holland
and Belgium, the violent despoilment OF
which would shock the conscience Of Eu-
rope, and would be strangely inconsis-
tent with the philanthropic professions Of
the Gar. Besides, il Germany exacted a
Quid pro quo for the Remuneration Of her
conquests, France, in her turn, might de-
mand some substantial consolation for the
REIMBURSEMENT of her cherished hopes.
Upon the whole, we do not think the crea-
ton of a buffer State between France and
Germany a much more practicable sugges-
ton than was the Cars proposal for dis
armament.