Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-02
OTHER LANDS THAN ours.

unlonists. more so even than that Of the
Bury election. According to reports, free
trade and the education bill we're the
Issues. Such a change as the conversion
Of a government majority Of $500 into
q minority Of 200 has not often been wit
messed In Great Britain, and Is an ON
nous indication OF unpopularity which
even the London Times warns the govern
ment to notice. Il Is uncertain whether
tho recent imposition Of the grain taxes
had as much to do with the conservative
defeat as the education question. The lat
ter has excited an extraordinary bitter
ness among the nonconformists, and IL OPP
position TO the grain duties went as far
against the government as II did in Bury
II is evident that two very strong weapons
have been found by the liberal opposition.
zee
In his heart Of hearts the kaiser is
probably most grateful to the mobiles Of
Poland who have given him so splendid
a chance TO be Electrically medieval.
They beg him not to visit Posen at the
present time because Of the possible dan
ger to his person. In reply he puts him.
self at the head Of 10000 men-at-arms
Qet us call them 80 for the moment) and
advances on the disconnected city to over
whelm and stun It by the concrete ex-
hibltion of his irresistible power. Thus
would Occur de Lion have done, and thus
Barbarossa; and the kaiser is Of their
type. II will be a great day for Posen-
the barred doors and windows, the ex-
pectant hush, the distant fanfare Of trum-
pets, then a mist Of Uhlans, a surge Of
heavy cavalry, a cataract Of splendid SOL
diery of all arms, and In the midst Of
them the war lord himself, glittering in
steel and polished silver under his eagle
crested helmet, and saluted by cannon
and a crash Of martial music.
zee
The name Of Swakopmund is probably
Unfamiliar to the average reader, and
that Of windhoek is little better known.
II to these we add Jakalswater, Abbabis,
Karabib and Okahandja, we have a list
calculated to send one in d~espair-and
perhaps in vain-to the gazetteer. Yet
those names indicate the stations on a
new railroad nearly 24O miles long, run
ming from the coast inland in one Of the
least known parts Of Africa. The country
in question is Damaraland. commonly
called German Southwest Africa. Wind
heck is one Of the chief towns in the in
terror, and swakopmund is a port on the
Atlantic coast Just north OF Walhsch bay.
The 23s miles Of country lying between
them is rugged and wild in an excep-
tional degree. But the railroad has been
completed-it was begun less than FIVE
years ago-at a cost Of something more
than $4,000, 900, and $500, 900 more will be
spent on harbor improvements at Swakop-
mund. Passenger and freight trains are
now running daily and a great develop
ment OF industry and commerce is reason
ably expected. Now a railroad 23S miles
long is scarcely comparable with the great
"Cape to Cairo" scheme, or with the ST.
berian railroad. Yet it is long enough
to reach across the island Of Madagascar,
or from Delagoa bay almost to Pretoria,
or clear across Cape Colony to the Or
ange River colony. Such a line, opened up
is one of the least known parts OF Africa,
must be regarded as another important
avenue OF access to the Dark Continent,
and as a significant token of the march Of
| civilization under the German flag.
see
The economic conditions Of the empire
give advantage to the agitators against
the government. In his recent report on
the budget of the empire for 1902 the
Russian finance minister pointed out that
the chief evil Of the country is It's lack
Of transportation facilities. The empire
as a whole produces every year far more
food than is needed to supply its popula-
tion, and yet In some provinces grain
rots in the fields because Of local over
production, while in other provinces there
is famine. The empire is rich in iron,
coal, oil, stone and wood, but these varied
resources are undeveloped by reason of a
lack Of means to get the products to
market. In the course of his report the
finance minister said there are 415 versts
Of railway for every million Of inhab-
itants in Russia, while Austria has 716,
Britain 796, Germany ss4, France 1888
and the United States 1922. He urged
q liberal expenditure OF money In the
construction of additional railways and
canals, and asserted that while the rail-
way mileage Of the empire had been
doubled in the last ten years, 1t is still
far short of the immediate needs OF In
dustry and commerce. That increased
transportation facilities viii largely TN
prove the conditions Of the empire seems
indisputably true.
Italy, which has long had an eye on
Tripoli, as a rival to the French colony
OF Algeria, has disturbed the equanimity
OF Europe several times In recent years
by threatening to take possession OF 1t.
Hence, 1t Is little wonder that the APP
pearance Of an Italian squadron In port
there has startled Turkey, the nominal
owner Of the province. 1t is now that
the sultan feels the value CT having the
German emperor as his friend. He can
exert a restraining influence on italy.
which will doubtless prove efectual, and
in the present state of European politics
there is every reason to suppose that he
will DO 50.
In the great University Of Berlin there
are now more than 1,70O students In the
law department, and In the medical de-
partment the total exceeds 1000. Prus-
STA is not likely to suffer from a scant
supply Of lawyers or Of doctors. But
with philosophers It may be even more
generously provided, because In the So
called philosophical department the uni
verslty ~rejoices over the presence and the
assiduous devotion Of nearly 200 acolytes
of learning. Thrice fortunate Prussia
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