Omaha daily bee., 1902-06-14
OTHER LANDS THAN OURS.

1870 ~ w So
stocking the devasted Boer farms. the Brit
ish government undertakes to lend an in
definite sum, evidently all that Is asked for
under the prescribed conditions, without
interest for two years and thereafter at
3 per cent. and repayable over a term Of
years, to aid the Beers in rehabitating
themselves. AS IL was supposed over a few
months ago that the Beers would be as,
sessed a part Of the military expenses Of
Great Britain, and as indemnities have
been exacted by Germany from France.
Russia from Turkey, and the western world
from China, this proposition by the con-
queror to give the defeated SIS, 900, 900 and
lend them as much more as they need on
easy terms deserves especial notice in the
world at large. The cheerfulness with
which the Beers have submitted and their
expressions Of goodwill toward King Ed
ward, show that this magnaminity has been
adequately recognized on the spot. Nature
is bountiful, the gold output will be as
large as ever within a few months, money
and capital are to be provided by Great
Britain and the material losses Of war will
be rapidly obliterated.
zee
The future OF Spain cannot be forecast
with any degree of confidence, so sluggish
is the conservatism of the people and so
apathetic is the current Of national life.
Militarism, with General weyler's ascend
ancy over the army as absolute as it is,
may be a menace to the future peace and
welfare Of the kingdom, and among Sa-
gasta's ministers not even Moret seems
strong enough to take his place and to
carry out wide-reaching, comprehensive
measures of financial, administrative and
nHnaaftnnnI rafArpn HrRIOn&ad Nronat-
ton period in Spanish politics seems in
evitable; but there are already encourage
ing signs of progress and Improvement.
One of these is a material increase in the
purchasing power Of a deprecated cur
rency;-another is the lessening Of the pres
sure Of taxation; and stlll another is the
buoyant feeling of hopefulness pervading
the more progressive towns. The times
have changed for the better since the loss
of the colonies and the close of the war
with the United States. The fighting days
of the army, with the terrible tolls paid to
pestilence, are over; and, while conscrip-
ton remains, military service is now a
system of parade ground maneuvres and
occasional police work. The heavy weight
of unremunerative colonial expenditures
has been removed, and there is a nance
for the revival OF home industries and
the development of mineral and a~gricul-
tural resources of a country as rich as II
is old. The American friend the enemy
cannot perhaps claim credit for altruism
so far as Spain is concerned, but in real
ity he has bought about deliverance from
economic ruin and left the misgoverned
nation free to pull itself together and
to concentrate its attention upon its own
resources. Unless all signs fail, a better
day is dawning for the historic peninsula.
1t seems likely that France alone of the
naval powers will have much use for sub
marine vessels in the near future. A Ger
man authority, writing in one of the naval
periodicals, says that it will probably
fnd them valuable for coast defense. The
islands lying along it's extensive Atlantic
coast, together with the depth of the ocean
there. offer excellent hiding places for these
craft, which would make a blockade ex-
ceedingly difficult. The large harbors and
ports of England are also near enough, the
writer thinks, to be assailed from this
quarter. Submarine boats, skillfully and
boldly handled. and sent against an Eng
lish port Immediately on the declaration
of war, would probably interfere with the
mobilization of the English ships and do
great damage. These reasons may justify
France in spending considerable sums for
the improvement Of its submarine boats.
Whether Germany needs them, he says,
is another question. The German coasts are
hardly accessible for submarine vessels,
on account of the shallow water, and the
difficulty of entering the rivers and bays
owing to sandbarks and strong currents.
Under such conditions, the coast defends
itself to a certain extent. A blockade could
be established from the high sea, which
does not lend itself to the successful OPP
~erations Of submarine boats. He concludes
that for the present and for q long time to
come the battleship will continue to be
the decisive naval weapon.
sss
A Parliamentary Blue Book, embodying
the returns Of accidents and casualties
on British railways for the year ended
December 81, 1901, makes the surprising
showing that train accidents did not cause
the death Of a single passenger during the
entire twelve months. This is the first
time so gratifying a showing has been
made in the annual railway returns Of
Great Britain. 1t does not mean, how
ever, that there were no train accidents.
In all eleven persons, railway employees,
were killed and 637 we're injured, Of whom
4I0 were passengers. NOn6 Oh tue injuries
were known to have been fatal. There
was a considerable mortality and a large
number of casualties on or about rail-
ways due to other causes than train ac-
cidents. For these grade crossings were
chiefly responsible, and almost to as great
an extent was unauthorized trespass upon
right-of-way The railways were also used
TO a considerable extent for purposes Of
suicide From these figures IL may be In
ferred that Notwithstanding the Anticipated
equipment and unprogressive business
methods which American railroad men criti-
else in English railway management, those
corporations manage to TAX very good care
OF their passengers, and that riding on
trains is, statistically. about the safest
thing an Englishman can do.
go
An interesting Illustration OF the din
culties which attend the administration Of
oriental countries is found in the con-
dition Of AFFAIRS in Gutarat, the southern
part of Rajputana in central India, where