Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1898-07-21
SHEPHFRDSTOWN W. VA THURSDAY, JULY 21, 1898.

tremely prejudicial to the interests of
this powerful sect. While only fanatics
might see in the present war a blow
aimed at the Catholic Church, all per-
sons, who desire to maintain the in
tegrity and to extend the influence Of
this church, apprehend for it painful
blow as a necessary, evenif undersigned,
result of the war. Catholic France
Indifferent as may be large part Of
her population in the matter of per-
sonal observance and practice Of re-
ligion-is, therefore, on this score es-
pecially sensible of sympathy fOrSpain.
Two other reasons-one Of which seems
to me to be the most fundamental Of
all in explaining the attitude of Ger
many and Russia, as well as that Of
France-appear not to be clearly and
generally appreciated. These may be
termed 4, psychological, and 3, polit-
ical reasons.
4 A purely psychological motive
for disappearing the course of the
United States exists in what the French
would term amour propre blesse-in-
jured self-respect, or, in this case,
piqued national pride. Europeans in
general, FRENCH and Germans in par
ticular, readily concede to Americans
skill of the first order in the purely
mechanical arts. Their conception Of
Americans and things American, how
ever, includes absolutely nothing that
cannot be reduced to an equivalent IN
dollars. In their benevolent attempt
to excuse our supposed absolute lack
of general culture and the presumed
rude general condition Of America,
they graciously assume patronizing
attitude. More could not reasonably
be expected of us, they say, consider
ing the short duration Of our history.
The snails pace of old and thickly set
tied countries afford to their inhabi-
tants no basis for Judging the rate of
progress in a country like this Hence
the distance traversed and the heights
attained by the United States are in
conceivable to Europeans, and their
Judgment Of us seems, at first thought,
in many respects absurd, ridiculous
The pretention to a sense of legal jus
tice, on the part Of people that tol-
crates lynch law" seems to them the
essence Of irony. Americans are, there
fore, in many respects semi-barbarous.
At the same time, changing industrial
conditions, growing commercial rela-
tions, clashing of political interests and
ambitions, coincident with the develop
ment of great European States, have
produced that anomalous, amorphous
thing known as the Concert of Eu-
ropean Powers" Prevention of any
extension of territory or of the sphere
of political influence Of any one power
without the consent of the others is the
keynote of this concert 1t is the
simple product of mutual fear and
jealousy. The pretext for its exist
ence-like that for every political ALI
ance in Europe, for every increase in
the strength Of an European army-is
the preservation Of peace. BY virtue
Of this understanding of the six great |
powers of Europe, every possible po-
litical complication on any part Of the
globe, that might directly or indirectly |
endanger the peace of Europe, is pre-
sumably a subject for settlement by
their cordial concerted action. Thus,
popular opinion has come to regard |
the concert as a sort of omnipotent,
scarcely fallble, and solely legitimate
universal arbiter. It's peaceful mission
renders it almost sacred. Interference
from any other source is presumptuous
arrogance, if not downright sacrilege.
This concert is as impotent in fact
as in theory it is mighty. For recent
proofs, regard the Cretan question.from
its incipiency TO the present moment,
the partition of the living body Of
CHINA political crime precedented
only in another century by the parti-
tion of Poland-witness further de-
crepit Turkey leading the whole "con-
cert by the nose and witness the de-
risive smiles Of those who see it. No
difference. To every European who
patronizingly excused this far-off in
FAINT Republic for its Tudeness, its lack .
of culture, its travesties Of justice, and
who swelled with pride on contem-
plating the culture, the altruistic de-
votion to the cause of peace, justice,
and the higher ideals Of civilization in
his own country and in the Old World .
in generate every such European, |