Evening journal., 1908-07-06
Editorial Opinion
The Parade of War.

manship the clearest intellects that cor
see beyond to-day and properly weigh
tendencies Leaders think Of tomorrow.
Is anyone so shallow as to believe the
big American feet was sent from the At
lantio TO the Pacific simply for practice
cruiser 1t is plain to the commonest un-
derstanding that this demonstration has
already had a powerful influence upon ,he
politics Of the world. Before il began ard
while it was on the first legs Of its course
we read much and heard much Of Japa
nese ambition. and the uppermost thought
in the minds of men was the possibility
Of conflict between the civilizations Of
the Far East and the Far West But under
the smooth surface Of international suav
ity the facts boiled and in the end Japan
invited the feet 10 call and the invitation
was accepted-and the war talk ceased
Did the United States mean to impress
Japan7 The official answer to this is posi-
tive and impatient denial, but Japan was
impressed.
America sends around the world the
greatest fleet that ever made the voyage.
Now Great Britain mobilizes in the waters
greatest fleet ever assembled in any sea
Think of 3O1 ships of war manned by S.
600 menl The other day. not far away from
the same place, Germany put 50 ships
through war evolutions Now the British
play at an attack on the English coast
an attack from Germany's direction. Hen
dreds of columns are printed about the
significance of 1t all. with the British sob.
erly asserting that It has no significance
beyond the usefulness OF getting the ofa
GERS and men into a larger knowledge OF
their Professionalism, let us remember
Is war. But who can fail to be profoundly
moved by the possibility of this wonderful
spectacle-by the vast damage it might
make in the possessions OF any naHon
against which its thousands of guns might
be trained?
In September there will be another war
show in Europe. Germany will mobilize
her troops by the tens Of thousands and
play the game on the very edge OF the
boundry line that separates her from
France. Again it will be said that this
means nothing beyond mobilization and
exercise. But the experts OF all nations
will be watching every move and weighing
drill. Forty million Frenchmen will be
considering the potentialites of the multi
tude disciplined into the perfection OF a
marvellous machine, which the German
army is.
Match against the fleets and the armies
the Possibilities OF the airship such as
Count Zeppelin demonstrated this week
when he performed maneuvers in the ar
that broke all previous records. From a
fleet Of such machines could be dropped
explosives that would annihilate armies
demolish forts and sink the largest ships
Great governments are building monsters
of the Dreadnought class. but however oig
the ship may be It is in danger of the
torpedo from below. of the bomb from the
sky and of the shots from every side All
the endless accomplishments Of invention
are enlisted in the universal race for the
national equipment of destruction
So on land and sea and in the paths of
the heavens the parade Of war goes on
II is a gruesome sight--and God grant It
may always be parade and never realityl
Undesred Picturesqueness.
New York Evening Mail.
1t seems that there are some weu-to.
do people who have not a keen apprecia.
ton OF the picturesque, or at any rate Of
the proximity of it TO their doors.
They are fully aware Of course, that
poverty and misery are picturesque. Paint
ers delight to picture the poor. No artist
cares particularly about the regular and
massive afternoon return OF Snug resident
Of Fifth avenue to their comfortable
doors. or about their daily debarkatfon
from the Tuxedo train and entrance into
waiting automobiles. These scenes are
commonplace. But when the hungry and
miserable line up for Mr.. Fleischmann's
loaves, the artists love to see them. and
study their Jagged and bony proportions.
Not so the bread-lines well-to-do neigh.
bors. The residents OF that elegant Bo
hemia just north OF Washington SQUARE
complain that the bread-line brinSs TO
their midst too many of that class of
citizens who, being hungry and poorly
clad, are undesirable They want the in
sutution suppressed.
BY the way how would It do for the
weil-to-do residents Of that section to sun.
press the berad-line by making it unneces.
sary?