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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 19, 1907)
3TULYTlt, 1907 ,?- 5, The Commoner. I.. on that sldo of thoocean, that tho geographical position of tho United States protects it against any attempt to land troops, and even in tho event "of! a miccessful landing, that no enemy would dare to take chances with tho 10,000,000 citizens of the union available in time of wan It Is only recently, however, that military critics there have dared to express a doubt, and, as .will bo shown, with good reasdn, concerning tho correctness of those deductions. To oppose a Japanese invading army in California the coast fortifications, in co-operation with tho fleet, .would have to bo depended upon, "and, consid ering the long stretch of coast line, would bo Insufficient. Fortifications are to be found in tho vicinity of the larger cities of good harbors, but these provide for a bombardment seawards Should a hostile fleet once obtain a landing for troops at an unprotected point, and such points are numerous along the extensive coast line, tho coast fortifications could be easily attacked from the rear and would in a short time be at the mercy of the enemy." Denver News. - A Washington Letter Washington, July 15. The phrase is that to be prepared for w'ar is the best guarantee of peace. But there are other militant phrases which .count. In our own country there are certain sections in which a significant movement toward a hip-pocket justifies a shot from the men thus menaced. Among nations an appar ently innocent movement of some 200,000 tons of fighting ships to" a strategic point suggests trouble. Of all the things that the United States or any other civilized nation should avoid, war comes first. It can "be avoided if jingo news .papers, and a fighting administration will keep still. ..But when a great section of the press, ' and tlj.e spokesmen, of the administration join in discussing a war, between Japan and the United States, it Is fair to say that danger is ahead,.., , ' The Pacific, coast of the United States ,1s as much. Its territory as the , Atlantic coast. The navy department is quite . as thoroughly justified under ordinary circumstances In sending a fleet to San Francisco as it would be in forwarding such a fleet to Cape Cod. But the circumstances are not ordinary. For nearly a year past men of influence and standing; members of the cabinet, newspaper owners, builders of battleships, politicians great and small have joine,d in an effort to force a war between Japan and the United States. Some months ago Japan planned to send , a fleet of warships--only three or lour to visit our 'Paciflc coast . ports. The proposition was a friendly one. The Paciflc coastTesponse was unfriendly. Japan was courteous enough to withdraw its plan for a visit, lest it should an tagonize some of our people in the Pacific coast. Thus far the chorus of. ' jingoism has been, sounded from this side of the Pacific; not from th'e Asiatic side. Wliat, after all, may be the outcome of this newspaper jingoism? A war that might embroil, all Europe. What are the forces that might bring it on? Newspaper outcry and the action of ah ..administration looking for war, founded upon ' war, ready for war and eager to continue itself . In power by a n,ew power. - Let us not forget that Mr. Roosevelt's po litical fortunes are based upon his one fortunate " expedience in a very brief war. it is now made clear that the greatest fleet of Amqrican battleships ever gathered under one admiral's flag will presently proceed to the Pacific coast. True, on the second of July Everyone connected with the navy department or the administration denied that they were go ing. But at tho critical moment Secretary Met calf in San Francisco promised the people of the 'Pacific coast the opportunity to look upon this great array of floating forts. Now it is fair to say that the United States government has a right to send its warships wherever it chooses; and particularly to "send them-into harbors over which its own flag floats. ' From our point of view there is no reason to question the announced purpose of the admin istration to send the biggest fleet ever gathered under the flag- of one admiral to our Pacific ports. . , v But what of the other fellow's point of viewjLet us just ..suppose fop a moment that jingOf newspapers.j like the New. York Herald, had ; been systematically working : up a senti nentlnr England ,-qgainst the United States. 'That English, immigrants had been denied? en-. trance to this country; that English boys had not been pormittcd accoss to tho schools of Bos ton; that "hoodlums in Boston had broken tho windows of every English chop house or alo house there; and then that the admiralty of Great Britain had thought it wise to have its Channel fleet, thogreatest fleet that England knows, tako a cruise to Halifax and anchor thoro twenty battleships strong? Would tho United States regard that as a compliment, or as a hostile move? Would tho present government at Washington look upon that as N merely a transfer of the ships of a frlondlyN nation from one of Its ports to an other? International law is one thing. Interna tional courtesy another. When you mass troops along tho frontier of a friendly nation, you are within tho bounds of law, but not within thoso of courtesy. If President Roosevelt sliall per mit tho most powerful fleet that the United States has ever possessed to enter the Paciflc, he will be inviting troubles. If they dp not ' come, the action of this government, taken by the president, will only be that of a bully at tempting to over-awe a weaker neighbor. The court proceedings In Chicago to attend which Mr. John D. Rockefeller was haled with so much trouble, were merely Intended to dis cover whether It was proper to flno the Stand ard Oil company something In the neighborhood of twenty-nine million dollars a million, more or less makes little difference to that concern on Its conviction of rebating. Tho conviction covered fourteen hundred counts. It is, of course, too early now to determine what Judge Landls may "believe It his duty to do after listen ing to tfib testimony of tho president of the Standard Oil company. But it Is not at all too early to point out the utter futility of any mere ly financial penalty Inflicted upon the heads of great corporations like tho Standard Oil. It is of course Improbable that the full letter of the law shall be enforced against the Standard Oil company. If it were so enforced, $29,000,000 at the utmost would be collected from the cor poration which in turn the corporation -would within six months easily collect from the peoplo. A half a cent a gallon raise In the price of oil in some sections, a cent a gallon in others and a corresponding reduction in what the cbmpany pays to tho oil producers who must sell to it or not sell at all, would make it all up in a very brief space of timo. To fine a monopoly means only to fine the people who must deal with' It. To punish the head of a monopoly by Incarceration in jail, making him wear the stripes exactly as any other confidence man does when caught, would help. But the vay, to de stroy monbpoly Is to take away from It the unujust privileges which it enjoys, to smash its tariff protection', to destroy its partnership with the railroads, to break down its political influ ence and to see that it, whether called Standard Oil or steel trust, shall no longer be tillowed to hold itself superior to the law. power Interested in Cuban affairs Is tho United States. Spain Is simply forestalling tho brush Which she 'know"sV as we do, la coming soonor or later.' ' " 'And if sho rofuscd to withdraw tho or ders to Cervora?' ; t u 'I would send out a squadron to meetlite on tho high seas and smash It. Thou I would force tho fighting from that day to tho end of tho war.' " That was Assistant Secretary of tho Navy. Roosevelt when Spain, thon a friendly nation, thought of sending a fleet to Its own torritory, ouba. Ho thought that such an act would bo. distinctly hostile and justify tho United States In bringing on a naval battlo without the for mality of a declaration of war. Tho caso ab solutely parallels that of hig sending today a monster fleet of battloships to tho Paciflc coast. For just as tho Cgrvora demonstration could only have bpen construed as hostllo to tho United States, so tho proposed expedition of Admiral Evans can only bo construed as hos tile to Japan. The one point at which tho cases are not parallel is that Japan could by no pos sibility meet our fleet and smash it. But be cause we liappon to have tho "big stick" affords no reason why wo should uso it as a highway man uses a club. Mr. Roosevelt was always prono to over enthusiastic use of tho ships and guns at his command. Tho former secretary of tho navy, John D. Long, under whom ho sorvod, wrbtd a very good story of tho now American- naVy: This is a paragraph which might Intorest ptir peoplo and which no doubt has beon carefully studied and discussed in tho Japanese embassy: The president's Insistence that the sending of the greatest fleet ever gathered under the American flag around the Horn to San Francisco should not be a 'cause of offense to the Japanese, has led some-readers of history Washington to look, up the views of Theodore Roosevelt, as sistant secretary of the navy just prior to the Spanish war. One of Mr. Roosevelt's closest friends, now holding, by grace of the president, a most im portant federal office, is Francis E. Leupp. Mr. Leupp, like most of Mr. Roosevelt's appointees, has written a eulogistic biography of his bene factor, although It Is fair to say that In his case the biography preceded the benefaction. Concerning the matter of sending fleets to men ace the shores of friendly nations, the presi dent's biographer relates from memory this con versation with his hero: 'One Sunday morning in March, 1898, we were sitting, in his (Mr. Roosevelt's) library dis cussing the significance of the news that Ce'r vera's squadron was about to sail for Cuba, when he suddenly rose and brought his two hands together with a resounding clap. " 'If I could do what I pleased,' he ex claimed, 'I would send Spain notice today that we should consider her dispatch of that squad ron a hostile act. Then, if she did not heed the -warning, she would liave to take the conse quences.' , t. " 'You are sure,' I -asked, 'that It Is. with unfriendly intent that .she is sending the squadron?' r "'What else-xan t,be? The Cubans have no navy, therefore the squadron can not be com ing to fight thev Insurgents. Tho only naval "Mr. Roosevelt was an Interesting person ality as assistant secretary of tho navy, as ho is indeed in any capacity. Ho was zealous In tho 'work of putting tho navy .in condition for tho apprehended struggle. - Hl ardor sometimes went faster than tho president or tho department approved. ' Just' boforo tho war, when tho Spanish battlo fleet was on Its way here, ho as well as somo naval officers re garding that as a cause of war, approved iof Bonding a oquadroil to moot It -without watting for a declaration of war." -m. It would bo interesting to know whether the president vfho professes to think that send ing Admiral Evans' fleet to tho Paciflc is tho surest guarantee of peace, fs ready now to con demn the views and tho utterances of one Theo dore Roosevelt, assistant secretary of tho navy just prior to tho war with Spain. WILLIS J. ABBOTT. 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