Arizona republican., 1905-06-28
PHoENEx. ARIZONA JUNE 2s, 1905
The French-uerman War Cloud.

The French-UeTman War Cloud.
 Germany's answer to France on ths
 Moroccan question, made public yes
 terday. offers France it's choice be-
 tween two eyils-to back down. or tC
 fight
 It now rests with the French peo-
 pie to say whether the preparations
 which they have been making for
 thirty-five years for a war of Ire
 vanche" are to end in an immediate
 conflict. Ever since Sedan and the loss of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. France has hated Germany as bitterly as one people can hate an other, and the dream of every French man has been a glorious revenge achieved at the cGnnon's mouth. For tunately for France, her statesmen have been cool and conservative. and although they have shared the bitter feeling of their countrymen, they have wished to postpone war-until France was ready. The policy of the French government has been to avoid another war with Germany always. unless France could enter upon the contest with more than an equal chance of winning. Another Sedan another crushing indemnity. and pos sibly another cession of territory. would not mend matters. Whether war is to result from the present diff fe-ences. depends, therefore. upon the decision that President Loubet and his ministers shall reach as to the probable outcome of a conflict. The chances are, probably, that they will with the kaiser.
 Emperor William and his advisers doubtless prefer that war should come now. while Russia, Frances ally, is weakened to the point Of helplessne5s. For generation Germany has tho roughly understood the French ambi- tions as to reconquering Alsace and Lorraine and wiping out the disgrace Of 1870. Each move of France on the military checkerboard has been met by a coUnter-mOve by Germany If France strengthened any arm of her service. Germany did the same. The net result is that each nation today has a standing army of more than 500, 900 men, armed with the latest weapons and trained in all the fea- lures of war. Besides these standing armies. each nation has reserves who { have served their time with the col ors and are ready for the call of duty |
  force on each side to more than a million.
 While the German note. made public | yesterday, is treated at Berlin as | matter of ordinary diplomacy and lacking in war-like tone there is no reason to doubt the intentions of the German government. These intentions are to provoke France to war right now, if she wants war; and as the only alternative. to force the French government to recede from it's posi- tion, confess a diplomatic defeat and loss of prestige in the eyes of the world, and to admit that Germany has achieved a dominating position among the European powers. All this is dis closed by the most cursory examina- tion of the so-caIIed Moroccan ques- tion." Unless the German emperor is following 9 policy of fore ing the hand of France and finding put. once for all, whether all this ten sion Of thirty years is to end in war, Inc position he has taken as to Mo rocco is unexpIainabIe upon any ba- sis of reason. To say that the diff -erences that have arisen over Moroc- 20 furnish any substantial ground for ! war between two civilized powers InIess those powers are looking for m excuse to fight, is to class the Ger nan emperor and his chancellor. Prince Von Ruelow. as schoolboys. The whole of Morocco is not worth noUgh to compensate either France or ( iermany for the expenae-not to speak 'f the loss of Iifc-of one week of var. Although the sultan of Morocco is lominally an independent sovereign. l Trance for years has been gradually -cquiring a controlling influence with lis government and in the internal -ffairs of his country. Last year the British and French governments, in of a closer understanding T cached an. agreement, more or less se- ret, that France was to be accorded ertain priority rights" in Morocco The kaiser was irritated. for two req ons: First, because he was not called , nto the conference. and an effort was made to keep the agreement secret rom him; second, because the con ,entiOn foreshadowed 9 future alliance