Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1899-10-12
VOLUME IRONTON. MO. /
a Parallel Case.

After making a careful study of the
| income and expenditure accounts of
| the French government the Philadel-
| phia Inquirer comes to the conclusion
that the nation is surely drifting
toward bankruptcy. But strangely
enough the Inquirer fails to find a
striking parallel between the dangers
that threaten the French and the
American republics, although it is
frank enough to admit that mihtarism
is the underlying evil of the French
system of government. The national
debt of France is, in round numbers,
about $4,000, 900. 900, and increasing
every year. The cost of maintaining
the civil establishment is very great,
because of the fondness for pomp and
show, but it will be surprise to some
to know that the civil expenses are
very much greater under the republic
than they were under the empire, and
the same is true of the war establish
ment.
The same spirit of militarism that is
insinuating itself inso our national life
seized upon France almost before the
republic was organized, and it has been
growing stronger ever since, but large
ly among the aristocracy. To-day
France is a republic in little more than
name, the government being dominated
by the general staff of the army, which
corresponds to the army, which cor
responds to the army and navy rings
in Washington. President Mckinley
and nearly all his official following
have imbibed the spirit of militarism
so literally that they are inflated with
the idea that more military and less
civil rule is demanded. Naturally and
necessarily the people are already
groaning under the burden of taxes to
maintain the initial step toward mill
tarism, but burdensome as it is, it is
nothing to what it will be. In fact the
people could not carry the burden by
taxation of the cost of maintaining the
military establishments contemplated
by the administration, so bond issue
after bond issue will be required. It
will come very much lighter on the
people to pay the interest than to pro-
vide outright for current expenditures
on account of the army and wars in
the far east, if not in Cuba as well.
The administration of William Nc
Kinley is adopting, or rather has
adopted. the same policy of having the
dominate in the affairs of the
nation that France adopted after the
downfall of the last empire. and there
is no reason to believe that the conse-
quences will be different in this coun-
try. Including the pension roll, the
American military establishment al
ready costs more every year than that
of any other nation in the world, and
the demand for more and still more |
money is increasing every day. 1t is
costing four times as much to wage the
war of conquest IN the Philippines as
the entire military force of the United
States required before the Spanish
American war, and no one could tell
how long the Filipino will be able to
resist American sovereignty. The par
allel between the republics of France
and America is severely distinct. On
Iy he who persists in closing his eyes
to the fact fails to see it. There is this
however, France is nearing
the depth of national degradation un-
der militarism, while the United States
is nearing the brink. Perhaps the
people of France are not able to rescue
their country. but the people of the
United States are abundantly able to
rescue their nation, but will they do itp
X. c.. Times.