Omaha daily bee., 1905-06-24
OTHER LANDS THAN OURS.

spain mas ulaue CONSIDERABLE progress
since the war with America in the di-
| rection of economic and administrative
reconstruction, but the budget state
ment Of the premier is not so favorable
as the annually recurring surplus would
seem to indicate A surplus last year OF
more than S5,6OOOO0 and estimates for
the current year which are within tho
revenues by a margin of 100000 certainly
do look as though the Spanish finances
had been carefully husbanded. The states
men of the country so regard the sub
ject, for they are now talking seriously
of the rehabilitation of the navy. which
we left so pitifully crippled after the
affairs at Manila and Santiago de Cuba.
An examination of the details Of the
Spanish revenue shows, however. that
while the aggregate has been increased,
the sources which reveal decreases are
precisely those which would show in
creases were there any real Improvement
in the fundamental situation. For In
stance, the revenue returns for 1904 in
dicate a falling off in the receipts from
industry and commerce, from landed prop
erty, farms and live stock, mines, trans
portation taxes and tobacco taxes. These
decreases are emphasized by corresponding
increases in the taxes collected from in
comes excise charges of various sorts,
lotteries and exemptions from military
service.
Chancellor Won Bulow did not accept the
title of prince until 1t was offered to him
for the third time. The first occasion was
after he had succeeded in passing the tar
if bill against the obstruction of the So
cial democrats, and the second-so 1t Is
reported-was when the Reichstag ratified
the new commercial treaties. His rise
has been rapid one. He is still less than
81 years of age, and 1t was only In Oc-
tober, 1897. that, after having success
slvely served during the previous decade
as minister at Bucharest and as ambassa-
dor at Rome, he was appointed to the Oh
flee of German foreign secretary Owing to
the great age of the then chancellor
| Prince Hohenlohe, the foreign secretary
ship acquired unusual Importance and
pro ninence, and when, in 1899, he had sue
ceeded In securing the Caroline islands
by purchase from Spain after it's defeat
by America, he was raised to the rank OF
count. On October II, 1900 he succeeded
| Prince Hohenlohe as imperial chancellor.
! Since then his parliamentary successes
| have been many and brilliant. The gem
| eral disposition is to attribute his pro-
motion to his more or less successful In
tervention in the affairs of Morocco,
! though the final outcome of that expert
ment is still uncertain. One important
| German journal remarks THE honor
| conferred upon the imperial chancellor
may not be solely due to the development
| Of German policy in Morocco, but It would
not have been regarded as opportune If
Germany had at this moment sustained
| diplomatic defeat in that country"
A company has Just been organized in
Russia, under direct imperial authority, to
| construct the long-talked-of Baltic and
| Black sea ship canal, and 1t is declared
| that the necessary capital s2OOOO0,OOO will
| be raised without difficulty by Dutch,
| French and American capitalists. The
| strategic Importance of such a canal, If 1t
should ever come into existence would be
| immense For one thing the Dardanelles
| would cease to be a source of controversy.
| Commercially the canal would enable the
| Donets coal. which is found in an extent
| of territory al large as all England, to drive
! British coal from the Russian market The
Russian Baltic ports now consume every
year about 4,5OO,OOO tons of British coal, for
| which they pay more than $25,COOOOo. 1t
would reduce the rail haul of export grain
from an average of about 1000 miles to
| 800 or 400 miles and enable Russian wheat
and rye to compete on extremely advant-
ageous terms with foreign imports. 1t
| would bring South Russian iron to the
St Petersburg works and stimulate
! trade of all kinds. 1t is estimated, besides,
| that a large percentage of the transit trade
| from the Mediterranean to northern Europe
| would be diverted to the new route. The
| calculations of the engineer, whlch, OF
course are exceedingly sanguine, point to
total traffic Of 2OOO0,OOO tons, which he
| reduces to 100000, which at A.5O per ton
would yield s22, 100000. Upon these figures
! he builds expectations Of profits of 10 per
| cent upon the investment
The appeal which Field Marshal Lord
| Roberts has made to tho British nation 10
| contribute funds for the organization ana
maintenance of rife clubs throughout the
| country. to avoid q resort to conscription
| in the event of war, is practically re-
vival OF the volunteer movement to which
Louis Napoleon's suspected plans for the
invasion of England gave birth. The situ-
| alton in Great Britain now Is almost identi@
| cal with that in the time of Napoleon III,
| only that It is the fear OF Germany and
not of France which possesses the British
| neople The kaiser's ambitious naval plans
| have excited the strongest suspicious OF
| sinister designs on the British isles. The
| first of the measures adopted to counteract
| them was the reorganization of the British
! navy and the establishment of new naval
| bases along the eastern coast to command
| the North sea- The. creation of rifle clubs
| will be the means of training the young
| mon of the country in the use OF the long
range weapons of the present day. 1t Will
build up a strong and effective army which
can be mobilzed at short notice for home
defense.
II looks as II the efforts of the Lads
Drill association, an organization in Eng
land headed by the earl of Meath, an ac-
tive promoter of physical culture, whose
object It is to convert all the large schools
into recruiting grounds for the army, are
likely to be rewarded with considerable
measure of success. At all events, the
| headmaster of Harrow, one of the most
famous of the large public schools. has be-
come a convert TO the views of the asso-
ciation Every boy under his tuition has to
learn how to handle a rife and pass a
standard in shooting as part OF his reg
ular course. The boys of each house use
the rife range In turn, out Of school hours
and are compelled to be regular until they
have attained a certain measure of pro-
fciency. At first there was some grumbling
on the score that the rifle drill would In
terfere with cricket, but as this has not
been found to be the case, the boys have