The Savannah morning news., 1901-04-13
THE BALANCE OF POWER.
By julius Chambers.


Statesmen of many generations have
died in the harness of diplomacy, weary
and worn in the service of their respec-
tive governments, struggling TO preserve
the balance of power by treaties, agree
ments and alliances backed up with mil
itary force. Hithcr and thither on the
vast checkerboard have the pawns and
the pieces been moved to Offset every
change and yet preserve the balance.
Nothing is more interesting than to trace
in the mind the adjustments which have
accompanied the changes that have and
are taking place in the strength OF the
various powers since Charles V, Empe-
ror of Spain and Austria, abdicated and
divided his kingdom.
In the sixteenth century Charles V.
controlled Europe. Austria, the Netner>
lands, parts of Germany and Italy, Por-
tugal, Spain and vast possessions In the
Western continent and in the Far East
were governed by the will of that mon
arch, who at the zenith of temporal pow
er resigned it all to seek the calm, undis-
turbed retirement of a monastery. Hen
ry VIII was solidifying the factions OF
England into homogeneous people, with
a solid front presented to Europe. Fran
els the First and Catharine were seeking
to control the great mobiles of France and
strengthen the government by the con-
centration of interests in the throne.
Germany was divided into priucipalities,
and Prussia resisted the Swedes, strug-
Cling TO hold herself intact against
Swedes and Poles. Russia lay dormant,
swept by wars, a vast territory, but not
a nation.
1t would be useless to relate how, out OF
4 sl,N-A
warning within and warning without,
finally stiffened themselves into so many
units, and by combinations preserved the
peace of Europe by establishing a bal
ance of power. Napoleon alone dehed
these combinations or alone failed to
affect them, and consequent therto was
the rise and fall of his empire.
But greater than diplomacy, greater
than the combinations of men, greater
than the adjustment of forces have been
the scientific discoveries of the nineteenth
! century. Steam and electricity have up
set ALI geographical lines, all calculations
as to strength, and so increased the area
of operations that it is to-day an open
question in the text books of statescraft:
| What is the balance of power?
Spain began her downward career with
the loss of the Netherlands, and ended 1t
| at Santiago Bay at the hands of an enc
/
neither name nor place on the map. Hol-
land and Venice, who held in their ware
! houses and ships the merchandise of the
world, have fallen back yielding to Eng
| land; and in turn, England for a season
the power of the world falls back, yield
! ing to the United States and Germany
Prussia gathers unto herself the loose
principalties of grand dukes YIELDS them
into unit and stands in the front rank
as the Empire of Germany. The hordes
| of Russia, mastered by powerful men, are
held in despotic rule. solidified, UNIFIED
and aggressive under the absolute gov
eminent of a Gear. Sweden, Norway and
Denmark have retired from the world $
great forces, and Italy and Austria exhib-
il no strength save as factors IN an am
ance France, by the marvellous thrift
and industry of her people, remains a
self-sustaining nation. with the dry rot
beginning to faint 1t as world power.
The situation to-day is interesting in the
| view of steam and electricity and the
powers of nations. Steam and electricity
| have changed commerce from the eX-
change of commodities between nations TO
the controlling influence upon and be-
| tween nations. England's colonies have
| been her markets. Her possessions in IN
dia are valueless If not viewed from the
| standpoint of commerce. Russia, stretch
ing across the eastern hemisphere, de-
mands outlet to the sea. She fought for
ports on the land-locked seas, she fought
| the Swedes for her harbors on the Baltic
! sea- and slowly she has been encroach-
ing through Turkestan toward the Indian
ocean. Between the Hindoo Koosh and
the ocean lie the possessions of England.
| Russia looks over the mountains and
signs for the sea. Captain Burnaby' s
ride to Khiva warned England of Russia $
desires. Now stretching to the Far East,
| Russia again signs for. open seas, and
stretches out her paw for Manchuria.
The Eastern question, the question
which has hazarded the balance of power
for twenty years, has now gone to the
| Far East-to the Pacific. But two new
world powers stand ready 10 act. Two
nations made great by steam and electric
ity; the United States and Japan. They
are now factors to be dealt with in the
game played on the vast checkerboard.
And here Russia helts. There is some
thing wrong with the balance of power.