THE SPIRIT OF CONQUEST. 523 



acres, which, divided among the German families, would give about 

 5£ acres to each. It may be asked, How will the conquerors take 

 possession of these lands? If each family delegated only one of 

 its members, that would suppose an exodus of 6,400,000 men, 

 going to scatter themselves from the Vistula to the Amoor. What 

 a disturbance so great an emigration would make in the economical 

 condition of Germany! Moreover, would every German colonist 

 be willing to leave his home, his family, his business, and all his 

 cherished associations, to install himself on the banks of the Volga, 

 in Siberia, the Caucasus, or Central Asia? He would acquire 5-| 

 acres, more or less, it is true, but is it certain that that would bring 

 him more than it would take from him? On the other hand, if the 

 Germans should have their shares administered by agents chosen 

 from among the natives, what complications, what annoyances 

 would arise! The Germans might perhaps get rid of these dif- 

 ficulties by selling their lands. But what price could they com- 

 mand, with 3,600,000,000 acres all put into the market at once? 

 Who would buy it? It is only necessary to look at the facts at close 

 range (besides a mass of difficulties we have not spoken of) to com- 

 prehend that the direct appropriation of the territory of one great 

 modern nation by individuals of another does not enter into the 

 domain of realizable things. 



The appropriation of the landed properties is therefore chimeri- 

 cal. The confiscation of personal goods to the profit of the con- 

 querors also offers insurmountable difficulties. There remain the 

 public riches. Few countries could pay indemnities of 5,000,000,000 

 francs. But even that colossal sum becomes absurdly insufficient 

 when it is equally divided among millions of takers. 



All this is most plainly evident, and yet the spirit of conquest 

 and the fatuous idolatry of square miles are more active than ever in 

 the old world of Europe. 



Let us see now what this mad aberration costs. We will begin 

 with the direct losses. 



A whole continent of our globe, twice as large as the European 

 continent, having 8,000,000 square miles and 80,000,000 inhabit- 

 ants — North America — is divided into three political dominions : 

 Canada, the United States, and Mexico. As none of these countries 

 covets the territory of the other, there are on this vast continent only 

 114,453 soldiers and marines, one military man for TOO inhabitants, 

 while in Europe there is one for 108. The American proportion 

 would give 514,286 men for all the European armies. As there are 

 no savage elements in Europe to be restrained by arms, half of the 

 North American contingent ought to be enough to maintain internal 

 order there. Europe needs only 300,000 soldiers at most ; all the others 



