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274. I'.;C?O~j OMIt INQUIRIES AND STUDIES
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time, Gerr ~y, Russia, and the United Kingdom have
all grown, while France and Austria have, by com-
p~rison, remained stationary; so that now the great
world powers are four only-the United States, Britain,
Russia, and Germany, with France a doubtful fifth.
The extent of the revolution that has taken place in a
century is evident and obviously accounts for much
that is going on in international politics.
There is yet another aspt!ct of the statistics which
we cannot leave out of sight. The changes which have
occurred in the past century are still going on. The
statistics are those of growing forces, and as the rest
of the world is stationary, while there is unequal growth
among the European nations themselves, the inter-
national position cannot but be modified at some near
date in the future. An absolutely definite statement
cannot be made as to what lies before us, because
tumults and revolutions from which history has never
been free may change so much. We may recognize,
however, that if the forces now in existence continue
to operate as they have done in the past century for
only a few more generations, the close· of the coming
century must witness a farther transformation, whose
beginnings will be apparent !n the lifetime of some
amongst us. I t is a reasonable probability that unless
some great internal change should take place in the
ideas and conduct of the European races themselves,
the population of 500 millions will, in another century,
become one of 1,500 to 2,000 millions. The black and
yellow races still remaining, as far as one can see,
comparatively stationary, this will make a greatly
changed world. The yellow peril, for instance, of
which we hear so much, will have vanished, because
the yellow races themselves will be so outnumbered.
What will be the 400 millions of China compared with
1,500 or 2,000 millions of European race? Farther
progress must also be made in the re-distribution of
power among European nations. The next century
will not be far advanced before the United States,