Show if i f C WISDOM IN WAITING S the great lakes to the gulf of barnla lArn ania la from puget sound to florl J keye ays eys from the center of the land its most remote extremities there tension ex existing that becomes ass faunte an and d more strained with each re 41 airik day it Is such a state of ag among the citizens of the american republic as must find a y conclusion one way or another jw isow md toe be terminated by either of two ir idely divergent courses a declara v agai against not spain or the ads kmon on the part of our f sina there Is no foundation for the and nothing therefore for belligerent action the for abbe pe would end nd the trouble by it entirely and going away be nd above it would have the e wed beet that a bugle blast sounding notes of a command to charge in baa upon veteran soldiers of the tue ane rush the struggle would be white that which caused it be the merest nothingness the bourge would be like pouring upon a bed of glowing coals would be a flash and an up f vw but the flash would be that accompanies extinguishment i upheaval would at once fall sae fage ground as the dead seas fruit one would be accompanied t 49 6 shout hoat of exultation which would and re echo throughout the entire ian the other would have the ef got of at once hushing the all pre v 1 murmurs first into the slightest le 4 ef 0 aurs sound which would soon bele ep so low that nothing could libb tw tWeen een it and silence e Mart martial marteal lal spirit is rife and if the je could have their way the coun wald at once be plunged into a ild contest the outcome of which carmot be conjectured but which inevitably result in the and misery of many the i destruction of countis of property the unsettled af conditions the ex jot of inconceivable sums of and the increase of indebted wa 4 extent it would not hline e tew few seem to believe be ilhard and decisive war by any M means as would unquestionably bethe be the case if we had to fight spain alone it is very doubtful indeed if that puny bankrupt power could by itself be dragged by any kind of provocation into a war with the united states spain I 1 stands in the same relation to some of the other powers that a man does who owes his neighbors large sums of money which he cannot pay at present 1 but still has resources which are at least promising now it if those creditors saw some outside parties preparing prep axing to seize the property and crush the debtor does any one suppose the creditors would permit such proceedings without a protest followed up if necessary with antagonistic antagonist ie proceedings of course not the spanish kingdom kingdo and its people are indebted to the french republic and its people several hundred millions of dollars perhaps to put it ax ai a billion would not be an exaggeration and the only hope of ever getting it is for the spaniards to maintain their government intact and hold on to their colonies it is idle to believe that the french would quietly permit the united states or any other power to pounce upon its neighbor debtor when such attack unless outside aid should be forthcoming would mean the speedy conclusion of the war in which spain is now engaged the abolition of its present form of government and the loss forever of cuba its principal so source of revenue and france Is only one 0 out ut of several although the principal one then again the queen regent of spain is an austrian and that government would not be likely to keep its hands off in such an emergency emergency especially when emboldened by france leading the way austria is one of the drei bund which has germany and italy as the remaining factors and these would sympathize more or less actively with their ally unless some very unusual circumstance were to arise then further there is a quasi alliance between france and russia and the latter would not be likely to oppose even if it did not aid the former so there to is the outlook with some but not all of its possible features brought into relief it to is not pleasant to contemplate nor should its contemplation alone deter this country of ours from fighting either or all of them or all of europe if necessary were our national h honor nor assailed our flag trampled upon or the life or property of any american citizen taken by authority of any one of then them and full reparation refused but it is a mighty not a frivolous emotional situation that would confront us in any event and not to be met because alone of the clamors of the dramatically patriotic or the sensationally heroic ti citizen when the masses see fit to rise they will assume such impetuosity as will make them a menace to all opponents at home or abroad it is for this among other reasons that the administration is keeping down excitement as much as possible and giving encouragement to all classes the while by patiently and thoroughly investigating the latest trouble the truly patriotic will strengthen the governments hands in this as surely as they will do so if the worst comes let it not be hastened until the deliberate conclusion is reached that haste is the order of the hour |