| Show NfW AMERICA IS HERE WHAT Of THE t FUTURE Summary of the Situation That Furnishes Food For Serious Reflection SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND SOME OF ITS CONSEQUENCES A Big Navy and a Small Army Among the Results of the Conflict J BY HENRY NORMAN Special Commissioner of the London Chronicle 1THE ARMY AND iA V Copyrighted 1SOS by Henry Norman j Washington June 30The vision cia ci-a new heaven and a new earth is still unfulfilled but there is a new America The second American revolution has occurred and its consequences may bas > b-as great as those of the first I have waited till the end of my visit before putting my impressions on paper for it is easy to be mistaken about popular popu-lar sentiment in this country Th American people are as sensitive to emotional or intellectual stimulus as a photographic film Is to a light but they are also to a remarkable degree a people of second thoughts Their nerves are quick but their convictions are slow The apparent change Was Wa-s great and so unexpected that at first I could not brIng myself to believe in its reality or its endurance Unless all signs fail however or I fail to Interpret in-terpret them the old America the America obedient to the traditions of the founders of the republic is passing away and a new America a America standing armed alert and exigent in the arena of the worldstruggle is ta ing its place The change Is threefold 1 The United States is about to take Us place among the great armed powers pow-ers of the ward 2 By the seizure and retention of territory i ter-ritory not only not contiguous to thei I borders of the republic but remote I from them the United States becomes i a colonizing nation and enters the I field of international rivalries 3 The growth of good will and mutual I mu-tual understanding between Great Britain and the United States and the settlement of all pending disputes between be-tween Canada and America noW virtually vir-tually assured constitute a working I union of the Englishspeaking people against the rest of the world for common com-mon ends whether any formal agreement agree-ment is reached or not Viewed in the light of the events it may conceivably bring forth this trio of changes may be described without I exaggeration as the event of the century cen-tury There Is little to say about it that has not already been said but asa as-a subject for comment it has this advantage ad-vantage that there is little mystery about it One great element of uncertainty un-certainty of course remains tfie final direction taken by American public opinionbut with that exception one may speak a a witness and not a a prophet First then with regard to the future army and navy of the United States The war has taught this country a severe lesson A few weeks before the outbreak of hostilities I read in a leading lead-ing New York paper a carefully detailed de-tailed estimate based upon returns from every state in the Union showing that am 1 army at 10000000 men could be promptly raised This ludicrous I notion undoubtedly corresponded to the popular view of the countrys capabilities capabili-ties Anybody who remembers certain I statements made during the Venezuelan Venezue-lan dispute will not think this remark extravagant I was known that the patriotism of the people was equal to the supply of any number of volunteers volun-teers th resources ct the country were kn wn to be limitless the combination com-bination innumerable men with limitless lim-itless resources is all that Is required for a vast army Such was the reasonIng reason-Ing Buf nobody Is misled by i today The president has called out 200000 men and they have responded with extraordinary promptitude But in a few days two months will have elapsed and the hhole force is yet far from ready tel take the field Fifteen thousand thou-sand mqn nearly all regulars have gone wlti General Shaf ter to Santiago a few thousand are to be sent to reinforce inforce him as quickly a possible about 700 have gone to Manila 20 tae t-ae waned for Porto Rico and are not avaiable while the main army of Cuban Cu-ban invasion will hardly b ready I should suppose for anethcr mjnth yet A montlf ago it was commonly sdI sd-I that 750p men were going at once to Cuba The United States could not despatch half that number of equipped soldiers then although she had over 100005 mn with the colors Th statement state-ment remains true a month later There is i nothing astonishing in this but It h is provoked murh indignant criticism there You have the men hurl then against the enemy ha been the cry In certain minor directions criticism has been justified as the war departme frankly admits The camps should have been ready before the men were collected in great numbEr Equipment Equip-ment arms clothing shoes was too long lacking The confusion at Tampa where cats of stores were sidetracked sidetrack-ed over I I distance of 13 miles without a invoice or bill of lading to show the contents of the cases waslamentable General Shatters men have gone to Cuba in their ordinary thick woolen u j ifonns a terrible infliction In such a climate These facts cannot b denied and nobody desires to deny tem But the charges of general Incapacity neg lect and corruption that have been brought are In my opinion very unjust un-just and take no account of the dlffl cultles that had to be faced and the magnificent efforts that have been made Remember one thing always The war took everybody by surprise I was not desired it was not expected it was therefore cot prepared for If the Maine had not been blown up there would be peace today Fortyeight hours before the rupture a leading New I York capitalist who had gone to Washington Wash-ington to discover the exact situation returned and reported that he had absolutely ab-solutely certain knowledge from official sources that there would be no war Thus the government was called upon to create and equip an army from foundation to coping The regular army was small In number scattered all over the country It had never been collected since the rebellion officers of different companies in the same regiment were often strangers to one another brigade drill and even regimental drill was unheard of The National Guard of which so much was expected had In neither clothing nor arms many cases neiter A few were ready aye ready but the response of most of them has been described and scribed a a mixture of tragedy opera bouffe When I visited Camp Al ger I found one regiment of SOO men with 200 rUles and several had from 30 to 40 per cent of new recruits men who had never fired ariSe Then again the war department had not the aid from the states that it had confidently expected A hundred thousand men quickly followed by nearly 75000 more were delivered to i needing almost everything They have been transported transport-ed vast distances with two only two trifling accidents two weeks hence General Alger has assured me every man will be equipped down to two suits of uniform for the tropics the hardships hard-ships they have suffered are not c a a soldier should talk much about C2000 tons of rations have been nro 50 transports have been vided for them trspor ben chartered and fitted out besides alI al-I this the war department bas laid 1500 I submarine mines set up 40 search lights and armed a large number of I forts often building them first After admitting every reasonable criticism It is a triumph of organization I doubt if so much from so little has ever been accomplished so expeditiously and so uneventfully before And look at the display of American patriotism When the volunteers were summoned by the president they walked walk-ed on the scene a If they had been I waiting in the wings They were subjected sub-jected to a physical examination a searching a that of a life insurance company A man was rejected for two 1 or three filled teeth They came from all ranks of life Young lawyers doctors I doc-tors bankers wellpaid clerks are marching by thousands In the ranks The first surgeon to be killed at Guantanamo tanamo left a New York practice of 10000 a year to volunteer As I w standing on the steps of the Arlington i hotel one evening a tall thin man i carrying a large suit case walked out and got on the street car for the railway I rail-way station on his way to Tampa It was John Jacob Astor the possessor of hundreds of millions of dollars The 1 Rough Riders of Theodore Roosevelt contain a number of the smartest I young men in New York society A Farvard classmate of mine a rising j I young lawyer is working like a laborer S at the Brooklyn navy a not know f I ig when he may be ordered to Cuba I c Manila He i a naval reserve man I ard sent In his application for any f post from the stoke hole upwards I 1 he same is true of women When I I < died to say good bye to Mrs John Ad > go l t icon Porter the wife of the secretary 1 > the president whose charming hos rtality I had enjoyed she had gone to Tampa to ship as a nurse on the Red Cross steamer for the coast 3YCUbri And all this be it remembered is for r war in unich the country Is not in lie remotest danger and when the ul t nate summons of patriotism is un poken Finally consider the reference New York syndl u > the war loan A cite offered to take half of it at a premium pre-mium which would have given the government a clear profit of a million dollars But the loan vas wisely offer t d to the people and the small investor sets all he can buy before the capitalist is even permitted to invest And from canada to the Gulf from Long Island to Seattle the money of the people is pouring in As I write it is said the 4 lean will be all taken up in small amounts r r It is true that soldiers Sn Florida should not be fed on pork and beans and that campaigners in Cuba should not wear thick cloth uniforms But while these truths may be remembered I another should not be forgotten that the American people have responded to their countrys call with instant and flawless patriotism The lesson they have learned is that patriotism alone will not fight battles How fa will that lesson carry them The question requires a twofold answer WiI it build up a great army and navy Iii the United States there is a curious antipathy to a large standing army The masses of the people dread such a centralization power Nothing Noth-ing excites more hostility than the employment em-ployment of federal troops to settle state difficulties witness the outcry when President Cleveland sent regulars regu-lars to quell labor disturbances in Chicago Chi-cago I is feared that a large standing stand-ing army might lead to aggressive campaigns abroad but a hundredfold greater is the fear that it might become be-come an instrument of oppression at home So strong is this sentiment that the army will assuredly not be Increased ed to any great extent Hitherto its strength has been nominally 20000 men actually perhaps 18000 Congress has recently authorized a total of 60000 a tiny force for 70COOOOO people according ac-cording to European standards But a a result of the war the local reg ments will gain vastly in popularity and they will probably be kept up to full strength with capable men and complete equipment Moreover there are signs that the famous Seventh regiment reg-iment of New York will not have incurred in-curred its terrible unpopularity In vain In future every local regiment will probably be allowed to go to the front j a a unit and will not be dependant for its separate existence upon the whim z of the governor of its state Therefore the American land forces will be largely large-ly increased in reality though not nominally nom-inally With the navy however the case is different I cannot be used by the 1 executive for oppression ar home the need of i for defense is universally recognized i has always been the i popular arm It has covered itself with i glory during the war The fear of an aggressive policy It Is true has influenced influ-enced past naval estimates also I has always been easy to get money for coast defense ships and difficult to get it for seagoing battleships and cruisers But this will be less the case now that America has possessions over I I the sea Already one significant fact f has shown what may be expected Not only was the last naval vote by fa t the largest since the rebellion but i congress positively made great additions addi-tions to the shipbuilding recommended by the naval construction committee I a course without parallel in American history The official recommendation was for one battleship and four torpedo tor-pedo boats what congress don d-on Hay 4 was three battleships of 11500 tons four monitors of 2700 tons I for harbor defense 16 torpedo boat destroyers i troyers of 400 tons 1 torpedo boats 1 of 150 tons and one gunboat to replace I t the Michigan upon the lakes i an arrangement ar-rangement with Great Britain permit ting this is reached The bids for all these ships are to be opened in August and September I have compiled the following table comprising ships afloat I 1 building and authorized including t those purchased for this war one of these not yet launched art Armstrongs t to show that a powerful American navy is already an accomplished fact Author To Afloat Bids Ize tal Firstclass battleships 4 5 3V 1 satt I Secondclass battleships 1 battle-ships 1 1 Monitors C 4 10 Armored cruisers 2 2 Protected cruisers14 1 1 Unprotected cruisers 4 4 Torpedo boatsU 10 1 33 1 i Torpedo ers boat destroy 16 1G This list comprises only flrstrate i modern vessels it does not include a I number of gunboats the monitors built I during the rebellion the Vesuvius and i the Katahdin With no further increase therefore the American navy takes an important comparative place upon the seas but j I its Increase is certain Its admirable record during the war as regards both material and personnel the voyage of the Oregon the Russian summons to her builder and the Russian order to Cram Sons giving the nation such confidence in American shipyards with I the keenly felt necessity for Instant foreign purchases on a declaration of I war that a further large shipbuilding programme will undoubtedly receive the sanction of congress Here then is the new America in i orc aspect armed for a wider influence i 1 influ-ence and a harder fight than any she has envisaged before And what a 1 fight she will make Dewey with his dash upon Manila Hobson and his 1 companions going quietly to apparently appar-ently certain death and ships offering the whole muster roll as volunteers to accompany him Rowan with his life in his hand at every minute of his journey to Gomez and back worse than death awaiting him if caught Blue making his 70mile reconnolssance about Santiago Whitney with compass com-pass and notebook in pocket dishwashing dishwash-ing his perilous way round Porto Rico this Is the old daring of our common race I the old lion and the young lion should ever go hunting side by sideI HENRY NORMAN |
