Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-12-01

bleeding To death" story. She
can now build her own shins
and within two years that source of
danger may, il large measure, be re-
(, moved. Every nation that is ready
TO face rim discovers in itself a large
reserve of staying power.
/ We can but attribute the illusion of
the continent to two causes: one
false analogy, and the other a mistake
produced by the history of ages. The
false analogy is that the Russians
ike the Chinese, have been unable to
oelieVe than an understood people
could be anything but a feeble peonla
an impression which also prevaiIad
mere for moment, though a nation
that has so often admired the fighting
E; qualities of its Ghoorka soldiers ought
&c have been heartily ashamed of II
Ihere is reason to believe that the
roman soliiers who conquered the
world were by no means big men and
| since the invention of glrnpowder all
that is demanded of the private is
strength to carry weight, a capacity
o. quick marching and endurance un-
der adverse conditions as to food and
| climate
The weight of the fighting line tells
very little. Occur de Lion could MOI
have dashed through a Japanese
square, or have stood mhurt at the
door of Front de Boeuf's castle if the
defenders had been using rifles in
| stead OF stones and beams. The mis-
take Is the fixed belief justified n
great part by history, than an Asiatic
army IAN never face a European one
CT equal numbers in a pitched field
| unless the latter is deficient either in
Willingness or in military equipment.
| me usual exception-the victories of
the Janissaries-has little to do with
the matter, for the Janissary req
ments were recruited from the tribute
CT European children. We confess
that upon this subject We share the
surprise which helps to delude the
Russians. There is nothing in the
history of Asia, at least within the
last zoo years, which points to the
possibility that an Asfatic state might
III the course of centuries produce
without employing European officers.
fighting force of the kind that the
mikado now controls.
IL is not rushing force such as
has from time to time swept in a
whirlwind over Asia and eastern Eu,
rope; but in all that soldiership re
quires, it is civilized army. led by
able tacticians, and supplied with all
the munitions and commissariat re-
| CURED with completeness that has
rarely marked large European armies
so Tar as We know, it has felt no ne
cessity for the device of acquisitions
with which Napoleon's marshals were
never quite able to dispense. Thu
causes OF the immense mental deveI.
opment-for it must be mental
which has produced so astounding a
result remain as yet unrevealed: bu'
OF the fact the Russians have the
iFliest proof. and the persistence OF
their Illusion in the teeth o. tina.
proof is one more evidence that GER
tain forms of prejudice survive the
reputation even of events. Nothine
| probably would convince Enshshmen
that Italians could be the equals of
| Frenchmen in battle, or that Napoleon
was not under the prejudice of race
| when he expressed his belief that an
Italian army, if equally well led,
might encounter any army in the
world with fair hope of victory.
1t must be remembered, too. that
the great officers and bureaucrats who
| surround the court of st. PETERSBURG
are probably but imperfectly in
formed as to the events in the far
east-they fancy that we manufacture
the kilograms out of spite-that they
are overwhelmed with criticisms or
| their greatest generals. and are prob
| ably convinced that those generals.
| to excuse their own failures. exagger-
ate alike the numbers, the equipment
| and the prowess of their foes They
have every possible motive for belev-
ing that they will win some day. AMI
even with sensible men-and the
Slav. from Tolstoi downward. is more
! apt to display genius than sense-al-
| low to their wishes an influence which
! is the stronger because unconscious
There are plenty of excuses to be
made for them. DUt the broad fat
still remains that the opinions which
| rule their conduct and which threaten
years of. war are to a great extent
based upon a foolish illusion that
they are contending with power
| which is positively. as well as relative
ly, a little" one. A similar illusion
must have dominated Philip II in his
struggle with the united provinces.
and was, We all know, one of the
causes which made Napoleon regard
the stubborn opposition to Great Bri-
tain as something which combined
insult with vexation