LEADING ARTICLES. 



605 



They are wrong. Without a battle-fleet to 

 nac-k them, submarines are, in the long-run, 

 useless. A battle-fleet which can keep the 

 sea has nothing to fear from them, and the 

 only thing which can prevent a battle-fleet 

 from kef>ping the sea is a superior battle- 

 fleet. The submarine is a weapon of the 

 battleship as truly as the 12-inch gun ; a 

 weapon of largely increased range, though of 

 more doubtful accuracy. 



DEATH-TRAPS. 



Even if the periscope of a submarine 



be observed by a battleship, she can do 



little to destroy her. The light cruiser 

 is more likely to succeed. In conclusion, 

 Mr. Fienncs says: — 



Wliether she is formidable or nob to her 

 enemy, sh«^ is fatal to her crew. The risks 

 in peace-time are serious enough. In war- 

 time one can only estimate that the man wlio 

 volunteered for the breach of Badajoz had a 

 better chance than the crews of submarines 

 will have. But that will not prevent men 

 from volunteering for the service. Indeed, 

 it is tlie most popular in the Navy. 



WILL THERE BE WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND 



GERMANY ? 



Will there be war? This question, 

 writes M. Pierre Albin in the Rcviie dc 

 Pans, IS, in present circumstances, a 

 familiar and anxious one to the majorit)' 

 of the French people. By way of reply 

 the diplomatist smiles and says nothing. 



However much France may be dis- 

 posed to be and to remain peaceful, there 

 are occasions when it may not be pos- 

 sible to avoid war. With Germany, 

 France desires to remain on good terms, 

 peaceful, courteous, and of " high 

 loyalty." But this by no means elimin- 

 ates all profound causes of conflict. Al- 

 though France no longer raises the 

 question of Alsace-Lorraine, that ques- 

 tion raises itself against the will of the 

 Governments. A proof that profound 

 possible causes of war exist is that there 

 is no proper treaty of arbitration between 

 France and Germany. It is not onl\- 

 questions touching the honour and the 

 essential interests of the two countries 

 which are reserved for the sovereign ap- 

 preciation of their Governments ; there 

 are also the differences which may be 

 born of the "interpretation of existing 

 treaties between the two Parties." \'io- 

 lence may be forgotten, but l^-ance still 

 suffers from mutilation, physical and 

 moral ; the loss of Alsace-Lorraine has 

 destroyed the internal physiological 

 equilibrium of France. 



DIFFERENCES OF TEMPERAMENT. 



On the other hand, the Constitution ol 

 the German Emigre and the military 

 successes of which it is born ha.s given 

 German opinion an exaggerated notion, 

 intolerable to France, of the role of Ger- 

 many in Europe. The difference be- 



tween the mentalities of the two 

 nations is not sufficiently taken into ac- 

 count by politicians, but it is a differ- 

 ence which makes geographical conti- 

 guity particularly dangerous. It would 

 be impossible to limit the risks of a 

 Franco-German war by a Franco-Ger- 

 man Entente The conclusion is that 

 the two countries must persist in their 



l.ihtiur matter.^ [nerlin. 



ON TllK WHONO ROAD. 

 .NI. PoiNCARB : " Sjktc l)Ieii. whei'e are you groiiig 



to 



DmvEP C'HAiviN: •• ;i Rerliii!" 



M. I'olN(AliE: ■■ Rut Ihat roMtl leads 118 to Sedan !' 



