OCR Text |
Show Hf THEN AND NOW. Hf The bill putting volunteer forces on an equal footing with tho regular army ' has passed tho lower house after hav iog been discussed, dobaiod and pnssed over for several years. It now goes to the senate, where reasonably prompt action is expected. Tho fact that the measure was LWt brought up in tho house so early in the tension was taken by Republican Lead-er Lead-er Mann as an indication that this Hj country is slowly, but nono the less 1 surely, drifting into war with Mexico. In support of his theory Mr. Mann re f erred to tho action of congress by which $50,000,000 was put into the hands of President McKinlcy just be-foro be-foro the Spaaieb-American war. Lm e do not believe tbe administration fl has the least intention of going to war with Mexico. At the snrao timo there is no telling what might happen, so perhaps Mr. Mann is justified In his apprehensions. Many people still "re-mombor "re-mombor the Mai no." At this writing it looks as though war with tho United States would be tho easiest way out of a despcrato situation situa-tion for Dictator Huorta, aud it is moro than probable he will try to force tho issuo rather than submit to tho elimination elimi-nation procoss suggested by Presidont Wilson. Tho attitude of this country prior to the outbreak o tho Spanish-American war was very Btmilar to the position it now occupies as regards tho terrible scones being daily enacted in tho distracted dis-tracted and disintegrating republic of Mexico. President McKinley had sot his face sternly against the Tory thought of war and bore with Christian Chris-tian fortitudo tho attacks mado upon him for trying to avert its horrors. Tho tirao came, however, when he could no longer hesitate. What followed is history. his-tory. Tt is by no moans certain that President Wilson will have any better success in averting a conflict similar in so many respects. The attitude of tho foreign powers was pretty much tho samo then as now. In spite of the snarls of oue or two London pnpors, Great Britain kept her fingers out of tho pio nnd in a measure prevonted the continental na tions irom mixing in to such an extent as to ombarrass the Unitod States, although al-though tho outcome was inevitable from the beginning. France, Gormany and Austria bo- lieved, or pretonded to believe, that Spain was the equal of tho United States at tho outbreak of hostilities. Thero wero 200,000 Spanish regulars In Cuba, and on paper tho Spanish fleet was not much inferior to that of this country. The continental powors lookod for a long strugglo and the Gcrmnn emperor em-peror plannod a diplomatic demonstration. demonstra-tion. France and Austria wore favorable favor-able and intervention on behalf of Spain was thought to bo assured. As before stated, Groat Britain's refusal to tako part put a dampor on tho kaiser's kai-ser's littlo scheme. The victory of Dewey at Mnniln, howovor distasteful to the chancellories at Paris, Borlin und Vienna, opcucd tho eyes of tho Htatosmcn at those capitals ns well as the world at largo to the fact that Spain wns not to bo mentioned men-tioned in tho Kamo breath with the United States as a fighting power, and also to the fact that the war was bo-ing bo-ing waged for a righteous causo In the holy numo of Froedom. Somo of the JGuropoan newspapers, notably the Paris Temps, predicted that war with Spain would have "grave international consoquenccB" to the United States, while tho Journal des Dobats spoko of our Intervention in Cuba as "an act of international piracy without a shadow of jufltioo about it." Tboy have pretty much tho same ideas regarding tho policy of the prcsout administration in Moxico. Thoy refuse to boliovo that our purpose is purely humanitarian. This is perhaps not so surprising when wo consider tho fact that wars in tho old world are always al-ways waged for some material advantage, advan-tage, with now and then tho tipping over of a tyrannical government. Tho truth of the matter is, we haven't any more sympathy abroad at the present time than wo had prior to the doclaration of congress that war with Spain existed, tho sumo declaration, declara-tion, by tho way, that was used when hostilities began with Moxico some seventy years ago. Fortunatoly, wo do not need either sympathy or approval. Leader Mann may or may not be justified in his belief that war la at hand; Chairman Hay may not have had that contingency in view when he pressed the volunteer army bill to pas-sago, pas-sago, and President Wilson may have good reasons for the faith that Ih in him that Hucrla will be forced by tho logic of ovonts to abdicate and that in placo of a dictatorship and despotism tho people of Mexico may enjoy a constitutional con-stitutional government in fact as well as form. These are questions for tho future to decido, but it is just as well to bo preparod for any eventuality, eventuali-ty, aud if tho volunteer army bill increases in-creases our prcparodnosB for a war we all forvently hope will never come, so much tho better. If the indications now are the same as prior to the Spanish-American war, tho outcome Is no less certain. |