The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-21
The Lowering War Clouds.

Turn to whatever quarter of the globe
one may, the spirit of belligerency is
active, the preparation Of nations is
martial. the talk of men is warlike. Ev-
cry sign points to war. The universal
press is the barometer whose readings
indicate an impending storm. They are
sensitive to those changes which place
now one and now another topic fore
most in the public attention. When
men become beilicoSe they rarely fail
to meet with accommodation. So with
nations. Some one is sure to be stirred
into knocking the chip from the Shout
der. Then comes the fight. We are so
absorbed in the tumult of war, asSer-
ton and contradiction, that the similar
conditions abroad escape us. 1t is the
significant thing that this condition is
general.
Russia is evidently preparing for an
other attempt to unlock her back door
and open the Dardaneles to her war
ships. Disraeli and Bismarck baked
the Bear twenty years ago. but the
purpose has never been relaxed for a
moment. The Chinese partition had
not come to divert the powers and
make the Graeco-Turkish outbreak the
looked-for opportunity; but now that
Germany England and France are
waiting for a spring to rend the Mon
golian, Russia is preparing for her OPP
portunity. She masses troops on the
Armenian frontier; sends Edhem Pasha
from Thessaly to the Macedonian from
tier of Bulgaria, and is insisting upon
making Prince George governor of
Crete. The volcano fire Of revolt
rumbleS underneath the whole Aus
trian empire. Czech, Slav and German
break into riot when they meet, and
the press Of France and Germany calm
ly discuss the partition of AuStro-
Hungary when Francis Joseph sleeps
with his fathers.
The Dreyfus matter brings Germany
and France to a point where a clash
seems imminent. His trial and con-
Viction involved an affront to Germany
which the naughty spirit of Wilhelm
will not bear patiently. Dreyfus was
charged with selling to Germany the
secrets of the French army. The secret
paper on which he was convicted WIS
found, it was said. in the waSte-paper
basket of the German minister, Will
helm, Hohenlohe, his prime minister
and Won Bulow, minister for foreign
affairs, each declared that Dreyfus had
communicated no army secrets In
spite Of this Dreyfus was convicted
and, in the lola trial, the government
interferes practical y to give to the Ger
man government the lie direct The
Gov hoe l.;
his time in patience, but this affron,
will not be left unresented.
In the East the situation is critical
Russia'S temporary occupation of Port
Arthur grows into a permanent occu-
patton of Manchuria. France enlarges
her demands for concessions, to grow
into possessions, in Southeastern China,
and England insists that no partition
shall interfere with her freedom of
trade. Japan still holds Wei-Hai-Wei
in pawn for payment of the remainder
of her war indemnity and, on default,
declares her intention to make the
holding permanent. Russia announces
her determination to keep Japan in
sular, and gathers forces and fleets in
the Sea of Japan, While Japan in
creaseS her war strength. Down in
the Southern part of Africa we have
President Kruger telling his volksraad
that the claim of England to suZerain-
ty must be refused and the nation
made independent, while France and
England are sparring for vantage
ground in central Africa Thus the
skies are lowering wherever one turns
If the clouds do not burst into war, it
will be because of the absolute uncer-
tainty of what would the conditions of
warfare under the revolutionary
changes in armament introduced since
the last great war The Japanese
Chinese naval conflicts but added to
this uncertainty.