The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-26
PROF. SMITH IN EUROPE
DESCRIBES THE POLITICAL CoNDI-
TIONs OF THE VARIOUS Ma
TIONs AT THIS TIMR
GERMANY's POTENTIAL RULER
seems Destined to he the Colossal
Figure Of the Present Gem
eratfOn-HOw They Re.
gard This Country.

PARIS, Aug. Is, 19Oo-It is always the
practice Of ''our European correspondent
to give his impressions touching matters
of continental interest and lnasmuoh as,
at least, those Impressions are but
clever guesses and poor guess is some
times quite as value BILE as a clever one,
venture to tell your readers what I
think of the European situation 1t was
only few days ago that an eminent
| French orator declared that the German
empire had become so powerful that 1t
was possible fer its emperor to say and to
| uo ioohSh Things without causing trouble
| with other countries. This orator admit
tea mat the kaiser ruled the most pow.
efAut country in Europe, and that not
! even France could hope to resist German
! aggression and pretensions. Since tho
| FRANCO russian war Germany has great
| ~ increased in population and In wealth
| MS growth has been more than normal
| and has its advantages and its dfsad
vantages, the latter being manifest in the
| limited area that the German peoples &C.
| cupy But tie growth OF the rational
| spirit has been even more marked. and
there is no other country in the world
where the people so unanimously know
ana reverence their fatherland ard its
| government.
| Just at the close of the war there were
| three commanding. overshadowing figures
| IN German government, 1.-THE Old En-
peror, as he is affectionately called to.
day; Prince Bismarck, and Won Noltka
formed a distinguished trio, who, because
OF OLD age would soon pass away ard
people were wondering who could fill thei,
places. "Unser Fritz" held the confidence
tnat as great soldier he had won. but
MS prlef reign left no impression what
ever upon the condition of affairs. The
eagerness with which the present emneror
seized upon the reins of governn emit. his
seeming ambition 10 parade himself: his
frequent and sometimes indiscreet utter
ances; his dismissal of Bismarck; his rest
less activity; his apparent conflicts with
the interests of certain classes. all com
olned to cause uneasiness and 80 lead tn
lhe petief that he was an irresistible man
entrusted with great power. But today he
Is p5.~Iar the most potential ruler in E,I-
rope not because of an ircn will and A
vast army, but because his people. hava
become convinced that it Is not tie EN-.
LeFof put the fatnerland that he loves
pest and his presence among Them in
spires them, ana his ringing war speeches
k1ndle anew Tie slllmbering flames of the
WdriIke spirit and recall a time when
Germans looked beyond the mountains
Tor new fields of conquest. 1t IS claimed
certainly with some good reason. that
Ems land no longer leads the way in
-NAN'A-N'' u continuation 2nG of COf.QllpSt'
mat England no longer dictates Enropedn
policy, that it is Germany that leads and
that suggests. The vigor manifested by
me emperor in sending troops to China
his prompt dispatch Of q feet there. hiq
Gncohcern about the concert of TIE now
ers' his selection of commandment.
chief OF the allied forces IN China. hIa
unusually pleasant relations. with Franc,
an taken together lend to strengthen tht,
impression that he is TO he the colossal
hgure of the present generation. Tie trio
VINO We're called the fathers of thc en
pre-. have pas sed away, but the srlefrlof
OF the imperial crown IS not timmed
ened
The seeming. content of the people tha
evidences Of prosperity everywhere. the
appearance of growth in all Large cities
the care with which all homes. the cot
tage ana the mansion alike, are made at.
tractlVe; the cheerful and intelligent
gearing OF all the people, the disappear
ance Of castles and forts to protect rulers
against their subjects. the mingling of
rulers and of people without armed
guards, all show that a good condition
prevails and that for the present the
chief concern of the government is 10
hnd an outlet for an overlooking popuIa-
tlon, and to open ports of trade in the
Tar East in order to avoid congestion
being done, and we are content to state
the fact without attempting to defend the
means used.
DEPRESSING little, it is mere platitude
to say that Europeans look upon the
United States as a great overgrown young
giant, impelled by natural impulses TO
use his strength in some way and not
prescriptions as to the manner of adj
ministering his blows. They confidently
believe that the assertion of the Monroe
doctrine is mere preteXt and that it
was not a human feeling that led the
United States into war with SPAIN or
caused our government to acknowledge
the sovereignty Of the Philippine Isl
ands for $20,00G.010. They ridicule the
proposition as simply preposterous But
they realize that America is too far away
and too indifferent to their criticisms to
Justify stronger expressions of opinion
and so they direct their censure against
England, which would, they assert, ex-
cept for an alliance with the American,
sink TO a second place among European
powers. 1t is quite useless to argue with
them about the absolute independence
of the United States in all its movements.
and that there is no alliance, secret or
Open actual or implied. between the
two governments, they eVade the discus
sion and abuse England. The South Afri-
can war Is utterly condemned. and it Is
Grant spirit in the English government
and a weakness in military skill and or
ganiZaton that call only for contempt
Great Britain will annex South Africa,
but II remains to be seen whether she
can pay the price and still maintain her
position before the world. profound
| sympathy with the Beers and their cause
exists everywhere in Europe, and the
! heroism of the handful of people strug-
Cling against fearful odds calls fer the ex-
| preston of unbounded admiration IF
matters here shall go their present pace
and in she same direction, a marked
! change in the rank of the powers will
undoubtedly take place within the next
! ten years. But does that mean a Euro
pean war? Writing from this very city
! some years ago, I took the ground that
| another European war was highly i'm
| probable. At that time / could see no
reason why such struggle should take
| place. and at present there is no uues-
| ton disturbing the governments of Eu-
| rope that calls for settlement by the
sword France will never again make
| the restoration of Alsaee and Lorraine
an occasion for war with Germany, al
| though in the event of war. she might
insist upon their return to French con-
| troll The probable cause OF the next war
| which ] fear is not remote. is found in
the restlessness, the discomfort. the self
ishness of the people at the present time
| Arbitra ton, from which so much was
| hoped, is no longer invoked, except upon
| impossible conditions, and the spirit of
| aggression, the desire to grab something
| that may by some chance be grabbed"
| by another power, will certainly prove
serious trouble among European govern
ments, in which England may suffer dis