The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-25
oW that the question of a future
 wife for King Alfonso of Spain has been settled. it ia nnted that

U wife for King Alfonso of Spain
 has been settled, it is noted that marrying a king of Spain has been a lottery of love in which there have been more blanks than prizes" Matrimonial bliss has been conspieuously lacking in Spanish royal families, but it Is rather too early to speculate on this latest alliance. | The little Bavarian princess is now but 12 years of age, while Alfonso is r, and it is quite certain that neither has any very firmly established views regarding mar riage. It is said that the young king is not at all bad looking, but if reports of his capricious temper are to be believed the lot of his wife-to-be is not destined to be dream of unalloyed bliss. However the personal likes and dislikes of the two persons most interested are of little mo- ment in royal marriages Usually the woman is merely a piece of property, which 1t is advisable to dispose Of to the best advantage Under such circum- stances it is easy to see why royal mar riages are so often mockeries.
 The courage displayed by the people of Galveston in bidding defiance to nature is awakening the admiration of the entire country. In spite of the terrible disaster which so recently overlook them and the possibility of it's recurrence, they have gone to work with determination to re- build their city on the same spot and make it impregnable to the onslaughts of old Neptune for all time. Although their project to raise the city's level eighteen inches seems almost too stupendous for mortal hands to undertake, they have every hope of success, and the work has already been placed on tangible basis It is proposed to fill in to a uniform depth of eighteen inches and thus elevate the city above all danger from the waves. As now situated Galveston is merely a patch of soggy land surrounded by water and so unstable does it seem that no one can wonder at the havoc wrought by the great tidal wave. When the level of the town is sufficiently raised and the great seawall entirely completed, it is believed that Galveston will be as safe place for residence as any gulf city, and more so than New Orleans, which will fall an easy victim to the first tidal wave that strikes the Louisiana coast.
 While clashes between the powers are being predicted every day the statement recently made by Admiral Schley at a dinner in Cincinnati is interesting He says that the war of the future will be very brief, on account of the inability of two nations to bear the heavy expense. and he also says the first battle will prob- ably decide the contest All of this may be very true but the admiral has over looked the fact that nations at war can some times borrow money from other powers, and thus the struggle might be prolonged until credit is exhausted, which would be problematical. At any rate 1t is quite certain that the wars of the fu- ture will be either practical annihilation or else so brief that ba~les will be over before the enemy Is in striking distance
 This would be more probable on sea than on land, since the great range of modern guns precludes the old method of grap- bling and boarding. Yet it is hard to spec ulate just what would be the outcome of a war at present between two great powers. since the Spanish-American fiasco could not be taken as an example. Until the experiment is tried all talk on the subject must be confined to speculation.
 This afternoon and tonight Birmingham will have an opportunity of witnessing a dramatization of Tolstoi's great novel,