The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1898-09-08
The Cars Proposal.


of Furope of partial disarmament is not
only action on his part in a high degree
surprising, but in the effect which it may
have remotely ii not Immediately, it is
one If the most notable proceedings of
the present generation. The desire for
universal peace is by no means new one,
as it dates back even beyond the Christian
era, and great sovereignS and heads of the
church have both striven to bring about
its realization. But in spite of these eff
forts the great mass of mankind bias com
monty looked upon the reform as hope
less one, and 50 at the present time in the
comments made by European newspapers
the Gar is receiving more sneers than
praises.
It will probably be found that in his
own country among the higher classes
little sympathy will be expressed for this
advanced movement, and that efforts of
various kinds will be made to prevent
even it's partial fultillment. But this same
comment can be made OF nearly every
great reform that has taken place. 1t
seems to us at the present time that the
practice of duelling is not only unwarrant-
Ell. but murderous; yet our predecessors
n this country, 10 or 100 years ago, did
not, and the people of the continent of
Europe at the present time do not hold
the code in detestation. They believe, or
many OF them do, that it is necessary for
the we'll being of society, and that in the
absence of it many abuses would occur
which could not be properly corrected. In
like manner the need Of International
duels is maintained as the only means by
which desired or needed results can be Sc
cured. and in the absence of some inter
national tribunal for the purpose of en-
forcing justice there is unquestienably
good deal to be said in favor of this argu-
ment.
Poets, humanitarians and others whom
the world would call theorists have insist
ed that among civilized countries the con-
tinued appeal to arms in the adjustment
of differences is merely survival of bar
barism, and that practically no great ques-
ton can arise between nations which
might not be settled by peaceful arbtra-
ton. OF course this has been denied and
within a short time the Senate of the Unit
ed States has, in defiance of the wishes of
the great majority of the American peo
pie, defeated one of the most promising
attempts at peaceful arbitration that was
ever made. In Germany, war and prepa-
| ration for war have been proposed by no
less an authority than Won Moltke as ne
! cessary to the proper moral exaltation of
| the people.
To all such dissenters and doubters-
and they form terribly numerous array
the words of the Gar that the time has
come to seek international relief from war
must be not only surprising, but distaste-
ful The ground upon which Empero
/ Nicholas bases his argument is not esI
seutially humanitarian. On the contrary,
he deals with the subject from an emf
nently practical point of view. He com
| plains that the great powers of Europe
are wasting, directly and indirectly
/ hundreds OF millions of dollars year in
an effort TO preserve peace by making
| themselves so strong that their neighbors
will moi attack them, when this eXpendi
| tule Of money and effort might be saved
| through some mutual agreement.
| Russia is credited with having at the
present time an active army war strength
of about 100, 600 men There are be
side these, the territorial reserve of some
| :, 900 600 men, and the national militia
which could be employed in case of emer-
gency, of ], POO, 00O-that is, ), 100, 900
men, A part of these are needed for
domestic service, the strengthening, as it
| We're, OF the police system. But let us
assume that the entire military strength
of Russia was reduced TO tenth OF its
present proportions. that the active army
had only 25O, 900 men, the territorial re-
/ serves 200, 600, and the national militia
! l20, 600. This would constitute an
enormous saving in imperial expenses. 1t
would enable many hundreds of thous-
ands OF men, who now pass their time in
| drilling and preparing for war, support
ed by the taxes of their fellow citizens, to
become producers instead of destroyers
OF wealth. and to readily sustain them
selves. If by common agreement it was
possible for the great powers of Europe to
| similarly reduce their military army to
/ one tenth of their present proportions
both standing armies and reserves-each
would be relatively as strong for war
purposes as it at the present time. Two
meI, who agree to fight each with his
righr arm tied behind his back would be
quite as effective for defensive purposes
against each other as each would be if
both their hands united.
This, as we take it, is the main propo-
sitlon Of the Gar, not necessarily to do
away with war by international arbitra-
ton, though this might come in time
not to disband the armies or even to re-
duce them to such a small fraction Of
their present size as that which we have
named above; but to place limit upon
an enlargement of then, which now seems
/ to be going on at fearfully increasing
ratio, and to prevent what threatens to be
the final bankruptcy of all of the great
war powers of the world by this lessening
of needless expenditures.
To say that such an agreement is impos-
sible is to assume that European states
men are guided more by their fears and
their jealousies than by an enlightened
regard for the interests of the people
who they represent. 1t should be posi-
BILE, by international convention, to ar
range that each nation should have an &C
tive army not exceeding fixed number,
! the nation in question agreeing to hold