Leading Articles in the Reviews. 



323 



THE NEXT WAR. 



Economic Causes. 



An article on the Economic Causes of the Next 

 War appears in the mid- August number of La Revue. 



DANGERS OF OVER-POITI.ATION. 



Sociologists view with some alarm the enormous 

 increase of population in ditTcrent countries, says 

 M. L. Raymond, the writer. The most prolific 

 countries, Germany among the number, are fast 

 becoming a ( ommon danger for the peace of the world. 

 In the last century Germany's population has trebled, 

 yet her emii;ralion has always been considerable. In 

 a century she provided the United States with over 

 six million immigrants, and, in addition, a goodly 

 number oi Germans have settled in other distant 

 lands. At the same time her economic prosperity has 

 been extraordinary — another source of danger for the 

 [>eace of the world. Not only is Germany obliged to 

 allow large numbers of her population to emigrate, 

 l)ut uniler pain of ruin she is compelled at all costs 

 to find markets for her surplus production. Having 

 delayed too long the acquisition of colonies, she made 

 the further mistake of exchanging Heligoland for 

 Zanzibar, tiie former being an important strategic 

 point and the latter of little value as a market. 



FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES. 



I- 1 .111' c. on the other hand, has considerably extended 

 and developed her colonies, yet in the last ten years 

 of the previous century there was a marked set-back. 

 In tho^e years her commerce was stationary, while 

 that of Germany, Holland, and the United States 

 made remarkable progress. I5ut the population of 

 France is almost at a standstill, while that of England 

 and Germany continues to increase. As regards e.xcess 

 of population, therefore, France cannot be a menace 

 to the world's peace. In the last decade, however, 

 the econ(jmic condition of France has improved; but 

 while her wealth is assuredly a reality, it must be 

 remembered that in other nations, too, wealth has 

 sensibly increased. In fact, the rivals of France have 

 progressed at a more rapid rate, so that France is no 

 longer the only great reservoir of monetary wealth. 



Even in the United States the plethora of people 

 is being fell. Hitherto the steppes of the Far West 

 seemed to offer indefinitely work to the pioneers of 

 civili.salion, but there are now indications that the 

 space avail.dilc for the ever-increasing tide of humanity 

 is giving out. Only this year 100,000 farmers of, the 

 West emigrated to Canada, where there is still room 

 and to spare. Comparing the density of population 

 per .square mile of various countries, we see that in 

 Canada there are only two inhabitants to the square 

 mile ; in South America there arc 7 ; in the United 

 States, ,^0 : in the Philippine Islands, 69 ; in Gtrmany, 

 303, and in japan, 315. It is due to the increase in 

 the popuLilion that the United States has been com- 

 pelled to increase its military and naval expenditure, 



and become a Great Power, with all the burden and 

 risks this entails. In ten years the American expendi- 

 ture on armaments has more than trebled itself. 



THE CHAMPION OF ARMED PEACE. 



England having found markets across the seas for 

 her manufactures, it is always Germany who, with 

 her surplus population and over-production, her 

 ambitions, and a susceptible foreign policv, remains 

 the great factor of international malaise. The only 

 country systematically opposed to any initiative for 

 the limitation of armaments. Germanx's attitude 

 discourages the best endeavours of the pacifists. She 







^^^. . 



r/i:] |Hrlin. 



The Open Air Theatre of the Powers. 

 But, .iftcr all, an opcrcU.i slioulil not continue Itn months. 



is always proclaiming in every possible way that force 

 is and will be the only safeguard of her rights and 

 the guarantee of the peace of the world. 



LIMITATION OF ARMAMENTS AND POPULATION. 



On land and on .sea the race for death goes on. 

 but all this war expenditure is only an armed peace. 

 Germany has made the greatest effort in this sense. 

 Exerywherc the numerical growth of peoples is making 

 iiie\ilably for war. Even Japan feels herself congested, 

 notwithstanding her outlets in Korea and Manchuria. 



