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Show THOSE PANAMA FIRE-EATERS. It seems like a great burlesque to read that the men of Panama have seceded from Colombia and have set up an independent government. Those wretches have not half as clear an idea of freedom or government as have Sioux Indians; they have no more idea of honor than so many wolves; they would sell their mother's marriage certificate for a dollar, except that at her marriage the mother did not think it at all necessary to be burdened by any such a document. Their status is one of utter worthlessness. Then to think of them as a brave people ready to make sacrifices for a principle is comical to any one who ever saw them. They are half or two-thirds Indian, ignorant, treacherous, cowardly and cruel without one moral attribute and destitute even of a sense of shame. The citizen soldiery of a country are generally selected from the best types of the people. Care is especially directed to securing good physical specimens. Well, a Panama soldier is a curiosity. He is about five feet in height; his gun and bayonet are generally two feet more in length than is the soldier; he wants a long soldier coat because, that, when buttoned, does away with any necessity neces-sity for a shirt; he wants a tall hat for that In a little way relieves his diminutlveness, but ho is totally unconcerned over the fact that he has no shoes. Marching in line or column one at a little distance could easily imagine that some school boys of twelve years old were playing soldier, and when it comes to fighting no one is in much danger dan-ger unless such as in their zeal, climbed convenient conven-ient tress to get a better view of the fun. A hundred hun-dred marines from an American warship armed with pick handles only would put a thousand of them to route in five minutes. To call them soldiers or for a moment to consider con-sider them qualified to hold up the banners of a sovereign state Is enough to make mankind laugh. Mr. Archibald Hurd wants England and Franco M to como to an understanding for a mutual reduc- H tion of their naval forces in the Mediterranean. M Why limit the business to France and England? y M Why not Include Russia, Germany, Austria, Italy, M the United States and Japan? Why not agree to M keep the same relative strength in the navies as M at present? It might be fixed we think, except H for Germany. Emperor William will never rest jH until he has a navy second or third among the tM world's navies. But this building of millions of M dollars worth of war ships annually will have to H stop after a while. It is indeed a shamo that H nations that claim to bo .Christian nations cannot H so adjust things as to ceaso to be in perpetual H fear of each other. H If they would but agree to give all decisions H of the Hague congress the authority of a binding H court decr.ee, the matter would be fixed. Why H can they not reach that plane of civilization? H |
