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THE VICTORY OF
HON. CH AS. A. TOWNE In tho Arena.
At Heraclca, with the Romans In tu
multuous retreat before him, I'yrrhus
the Eplrot took counsel of his prophetic
oul and dreaded the repetition of such
a victory. Things ore not, necessarily,
what they seem. Fnblus, falling back
again and again as his enemy ndvanccd,
was regarded by the camp followers of
his pursuer as not only defeated, but
disgraced. Subsequent observers huve
reached a dlfercnt conclusion. To his
routed soldiers fleeing before the Im
petuous onset of Charles XII, Peter
the Great admln!Ftr-d the consolation
that the victorious Swede was but
teaching them how to conquer him.
The political campaign of 1896 tesult
d In the upparcnt success of the gold
standard. Its forces Immediately en
tered upon an armed occupation of the
country and began carrying out an elab
orate program fpr making the conquest
Mcure and permanent. They nre multi
plying and provisioning their strategic
utposts, and their comninndiug officers
display all the swagger and Insolence
of conquerors. In the latest operation
uccessfully concluded by their arms
the great state of Ohio surrcndeied at
discretion, and the victorious satrap
who had conducted the siege returned,
flushed wlthrrlde nnd swollen with offi
cial plunder, in more than Homan tri
umph to the capital.
But the end is not yet. Those who
are not blinded by spectacle and pa
geantry or deafened by tho obedient
shouts of hired retainers; those who
have studied the motives of the com
batants, the origin of the dispute, and
the fundamental nature of the contro
versy, know full well that these dem
onstrations In the gold-standard camp
are at least premature.
A great cause is rarely won In a sin
gle engagement. The final and decisive
cattle comes only after a long campaign
of strategy and maneuvers, In the
course of which many skirmishes be
tween detachments of the main armies,
and even some partial collisions of the
latter themselves, will occur, and with
varying fortune. Meantime, If one of
the forces be composed of seasoned vet
ran troops, thoroughly disciplined,
well appointed and provisioned, com
manded by experienced tacticians, pos
sessing unlimited resources, and oper
ating on interior lines; while the other
consists In large degree of raw levies,
undrilled, supplied but poorly with ac
coutrements and commissary, under
Ulcers not bred to arms, with nearly
empty war-chest, and attacking from
scattered bases of operation; It may be
well that for the former every conflict
that ends short of the complete de
moralization of their foe is a defeat,
while for the latter every skirmish or
collision that tries their valor, adds to
their confidence, Improves their disci
pline, and teaches them mutual reli
ance, Is a victory.
The campaign of 1896 was not a final
engagement. It was but the greatest
of the scries of preliminary tests of
strength and courage that precede the
death grapple. And yet It was a stu
pendous battle. It was a magnificent
struggle. Little wonder that the sup
porters of the gold standard, who, an
ticipating an easy encounter with far
Inferior forces, found, when the conflict
was over, that they had gained a de
cision over an army stronger by almost
a million men (Mr. Bryan received
6,502,923 votes. The largest popular
vote for president ever before given to
fc...!date was Mr. Cleveland's In 1892,
viz., 6,650,918.) than any that had ever
before gathered under the banner of a
cause at an election, should at first mag
nify the importance of the event and
regard the result as conclusive. But
they are beginning to realize that error.
After Innumerable Interments of the
"dead cause of silver," and after ten
thousand obituaries upon Its splendid
leader In that contest, an Increasing
number of the principal gold-and-mo-nopoly
organs are wnrnlng their par
tisans against over-confidence, advising
them that neither bimetallism nor Bry
an Is dead after all, and adjuring them
to prepare for the last great clash of
arms that Is to determine the fate of
the country.
Before 1S9G the line of battle between
the cause of an appreciating money
measure and its allied evils i one hand,
and that of the general wellare of the
masses of mankind on the other, had
not been plainly drawn. An approxi
mately clear definition of that line Is
the first and greatest victory for the
people growing out of that campaign.
For many years the cunning of those
who have beon planning to subdue the
republican party Into an obedient In
strument of the purposes of the selfish
Interests of the world was able effectu
ally to disguise both Its ulterior de
signs and the gradual steps by which
the party was being led Into a practical
championship of them For a long time
the language of Its platforms was per
mitted to breathe fidelity to principles
which its actual administration of the
government was constantly discredit
ing. For example, in 18S8 that party in
Its national platform ranged itself on
the side of the people In the two fol
lowing pronouncements, the one for bi
metallism, and the other against the
trusts:
"The republican party Is In favor of
the use of both gold and silver as mon
ey, and condemns the policy of the
democratic administration In Its efforts
to demonetize silver."
"We declare our opposition to all
combinations of capital, organized In
trusts or otherwise, to control arbitrar
ily the condition of trade among our cit
izens; and we recommend to congres"
and the state legislatures, In their re
spective jurisdictions, such legislation
as will prevent the execution of all
schemes to oppress the people by undue
charges on their supplies, or by unjust
rates for thp transportation of their
products to market."
Again, In Its platform of 1892, It reit
erates these positions:
"The American people, from tradition
and Interest, favor bimetallism, and the
republican party demands the use of
both gold and silver as standard money.
"We reaffirm our opposition, declared
tn the republican platform of 18S8, to all
combinations of capital, organized in
trusts or otherwise, to control arbitrar
ily the condition of trade among our
Citizens. We heartily endorse the ac
tion already taken upon this subject,
and ask for such further legislation ns
may be required to remedy any defects
In existing laws and to render their en
forcement more complete and effective."
Meantime the clutch of special inter
ests upon the party and upon the gov
ernment, and that, too, regardless of
what party was In power, was becom
ing tighter and more relentless. By
plain administrative usurpation a pre
tended construction of the law was
made whereby the government surren
dered its option to pay Its demand ob
ligations in either gold or silver, and
rave to the holders the right of com
pelling payment In gold; and In every
conceivable way the attempt was made
to eke out by the Interpretation and vi
olation of statutes whatever the law
lacked of having put us absolutely upon
THE VANQUISHED.
the gold Btnudard. At the same time,
under the it petus of declining prices
and reduced consumption resulting
from the appteclattoti of gold, and with
the encouragement and favor of gov
ernment, the Uusts nnd monopolies
continued to giow In numbers und in
power.
When the republican national con
vention met In 1896, the gold-and-mo-nopoly
Interests thought themselves
sufficiently strong to take a gieat step
forward In the ussertlon of their pur
poses. It was not deemed quite mifu
to go at one bound from the direct and
positive promises of bimetallism of 1SSS
and 1S92 clear over to unadulterated
gold monomntulllsm. The process must
be a little more gradunl thun that. A
sort of half-way resting place was need
ed, and this was found In a weak and
transparently dishonest declaration for
an international agreement for the free
coinage of silver, Intended to quiet the
BUspicious but predisposed-to-be-dclu 1
ed bimetallism, followed by an emphat
ic and unambiguous assertion In favor
of the gold standard, designed ns an as
surance to the creditor Interest of tho
woild. Here Is the famlllnr plank:
"The republican party Is unreserved
ly for sound money. It caused the en
actment of the law providing for tho
resumption of specie payments In 1879,
and since then every dollar has been
as good as gold. We are unalterably
opposed to every measure calculated to
debase our currency or impair the cred
it of our country. We are therefore
(sic I) opposed to the free coinage of sil
ver except by international agreement
with the leading commercial nations of
the world, which we pledge ourselves to
promote; and until such agreement can
be obtained the existing gold standard
must be preserved. All our silver and
paper curnGtcy must be maintained at
parity with gold, and we favor all meas
ures designed to maintain Inviolably the
obligations of the United States and all
our money, whether coin or paper, at
the present standard, the standard of
the most enlightened nations of the
earth."
It cannot be regarded ns a mere co
Incidence that this platform which
hus signalized the capture of the repub
licans by the British money stand
ard, should have had never a word to
say on the subject of trusts nnd mo
nopolies, which nre the offspring and
adjunct of that standard. It Is wholly
appropriate, nnd, Indeed, Inevitable,
that a party that had ceased to "de
mand the use of both gold nnd silver as
standard meney," should also cease Its
"opposition to combinations or capital,
organized In trusts and otherwise, to
control arbitrarily the condition of trade
among our citizens." And It was also
natural that. In the campaign that
followed, all the trusts, monopolies and
unrighteous combinations of capital In
the country should rally, ns they did,
to the support of the party that had be
come their vassal, and should place at
its command their uncounted millions
of money and thelre unparalleled co
ercive terrors.
The disreputable methods by which
the contest of 1S96 was notoriously won,
the vast and Infinite detail of Intimida
tion and corruption with which the per
fect organization of the republican par
ty covered the entire country as with
a fine-meshed net; the contemptuous
frankness with which the large finan
cial concerns, tho gold brokers, the le
viathan bankers, and the oppressive
combinations of wealth allied them
selves everywhere with the republican
propaganda; the general mendacity and
brutality of the metropolitan gold
press; these and many other similar in
fluences served to solidify the forces
that fought for popular rights, to en
courage them with proofs of the Justice
of their contention, and to inspire them
with that high moral conviction with
out whose sanction no groat cause was
ever yet victorious.
Events that have succeeded the elec
tion have only emphasized these results.
The conduct of the administration has
thoroughly unmasked the attitude of
those republicans who denounced that
platform as a disguised gold-standard
device, nnd left the party because of It.
I am aware of the fact that Senator
Wolcott recently, In that speech In the
senate toward which persons of all
classes of opinion look to with so much
anticipation, to which they listened
with so much disappointment, and
which they recall with so much regret,
was careful to the verge of painful so
licitude to show that, at every step in
the unsuccessful negotiations of the In
ternational monetary commission, It
had enjoyed the support of the presi
dent of the United States. But the same
speech that praises the president exco
riates his secretary of the treasury.
The senator. In specifying certain ob
stacles that hnd Interfered v.ith his ne
gotiations In Europe, referred to "pre
tended statements In letters and Inter
views from the secretary of the treas
ury, to the effect that there was no
chance for International or other bi
metallism, and favoring the permanent
adoption of the gold standard."
But In his catalogue of embarrass
ments he studiously refrains from list
ing what everybody of common infor
mation knov s to have been the most
eerlous embarrassment of all, namely,
the special message of President Mc
Klnley of June 24, 1897, wherein he dis
tinctly endoises the proposed plan of
the so-called Indianapolis sound-money
convention, which thnt convention It
self, In January preceding, had formally
declared would embraced three funda
mental fentures: 1. The permanent es
tablishment of the gold standard; 2. The
retirement of the greenbacks and
treasury notes; 3. The erection of a
huge system of banks of issue.
Why be at pains to mention a long
list of petty Interferences with the pro
gress of negotiations, while keeping si
lence as to the th.ng which, even If It
had stood alone, must effectually have
damned every proposition of the Wol
cott commission? What could have been
the estimate of our sincerity formed by
the great European cabinets, when, in
the very midst and at the most crucial
point of negotiations for an Interna
tional agreement for the free coinage
of sliver, entered upon at our Instance,
the cable Hashed across the ocean the
text of the president's astounding spe
cial message to congress In emphatic
recommendation of the gold standard '
Is it to be wondered at that the "state
ments of representatives of New York
bankers In England," of which the Ben-t
ator complains, should have been be
lieved when, as he says, they ascribed
to the president views favorable to the
gold standard?
Senator Wolcott also, and very prop
erly, reprobates the statement of Sec
retary Gage before the banking and!
currency committee of the house, that
the first object of his currency plan Is
to "commlte the country more thor
oughly to the gold standard," a plan
which, the senator carefully observes,
"the president's message specifically
does not endorse." It would be more
accurate to say that the message "does
not specifically endorse" the secretary
bill; for, aside from tho fact that the
secretary Is the administration's flnnnco
ofilccr, even tho president's annual mes
sage, despite Its halting and evasive
method, carried, In effect, a recommen
dation not materially different from
the secretary's.
But, for one, I wish to record my ex
cessive weariness of this carefully prac
ticed policy of distinguishing between
the president nnd his chosen and sworn
olllclat subordinates. It Is not only dis
crediting to the chief mnglHtiate to as
sume that he is not In control of his
own administration, but It Is an Insult
to the intelligence nnd common sense
of the country to attempt to make It
appear that on the overshadowing
question of the hour the president en
tertains one conviction nnd his Hocie
tary of the treasury a diametrically op
posite one. This Is especially true when
It Is remembered thnt the very ques
tion of their respective views on the
subjects of coinage nnd currency has
recently been made the theme of criti
cism nnd of acrimonious controversy In
congress nnd In the public press; and
that the secretary's resignation, laid
before the president because of this very
criticism, wns not accepted. The sec
retary's views ate the piesldent's views.
If this hnd not been the case he would
never have entered the cabinet. If not
the case today he would have been al
lowedyes, he would have been request
edto get out of It. Mr. Gage's opin
ions were no secret before his appoint
ment, nnd he hns not disguised them
since. He lias the courage of his con
victions. Moreover, he is a nuin of too
much personal Independence and too
much self-respect to occupy his high
olllclal position, nnd one of such closj
confidential relations to the president,
under false pretenses. If Lyman J.
Gnge were not In nccord with his chief's
policy on a question deemed by himself
to be of dominating Importance, ho
could not be kept In olllce. He Is In
harmony with the president, and it Is
no violation of confidence to say that
he has so stated.
It Is certainly a gain of very large di
mensions that the campaign of 1896 and
the developments that have followed
It, have clearly defined the Issue that
must be decided by the electors of the
country before the unrestricted nnd
legalized reign of gold-and-monopoly
can begin. The republican mnnagcts
declared In their campaign text-book of
1892 thnt "nine-tenths of the people are
blmetalllsts." It was undoubtedly true
then, and It Is true today. No man of
Information doubts that In 1896 a plain
and honest declaration for the gold
standard would have met the Indignant
rebuke of an overwhelming majority
of the voters of tho United States. Upon
such a declaration the republican party
Willi be driven to make Uh fight In 1900,
with the open, and probably avowed
and defended, alliance of the trusts and
combines. Then no subterfuge will
avail them. The people will see clearly
and will strike unerringly. The decisive
battle will be joined In 1900, and we shall
win It.
The elections of 1897 proved how valu
able to the opponents of the gold stand
ard had been the lessons and discipline
of 1S96. Despite the facts that business
conditions had somewhat Improved, to
a small extent as the result of the stim
ulus to certain Industries afforded by
a tariff which they wore permitted o
dictate, and to a much greater extent
due to a demand for our staple exports
caused by the Indian famine nnd the
unprecedented shortage of all food-product
crops In Europe; that the whole
claque of subservient newspapers wore
constantly engaged In bolstering confi
dence with glowing pictures of prosper
ity; that the republlcnn managers con
centrated In a few states the large rem
nant of the millions of unspent cam
paign funds of the preceding contest,
together with the other means and
methods that made the campaign of
1896 so Infamously memorable; that the
administration massed Its place hcldcrs
In the critical localities and employed
Its prodigious patronage with unexam
pled skill as an Instrument of "prac
tical politics" yet the opposition to
the rule of gold and monopoly had more
than held Its own.
In Iowa n plurality of G5.552 for Mc
Klnley in 1896 fell to 29,987 for the re
publican candidate for governor in 1897.
In Maryland the conespondlng repub
lican pluralities were 32,224 and 7,109;
In Massachusetts, 173,265 and S3, 543; In
Ohio 47,947 and 2S.165, while the legis
lature stands as follows: Senate, 17
republicans, 19 opposition; house, 62 re
publicans, 47 opposition. In Virginia
the Chicago platform received a plu
rality of 19,341 in 1896, while In 1S97 the
plurality of the democratic candidate
for governor was 52,815. In New York
McKlnley's prodigious plurality of 263,
469 was changed Into one of 60,889 for
the democratic candidate for chief Jus
tice. Kentucky, which, after a cam
paign of tremendous tension wherein
the full power of the republican na
tional committee wns supplemented by
that of a friendly state government and
the aid of the Watterson-Cai lisle de
mocracy, had given McKlnley a plural
ity of 281 In 1896, came back to the op
position, as Mr. Wattcrson himself now
avows, with the emphasis of 17,804 plu
rality. In Nebraska, where every char
acteristic machination of the enemy was
employed In the desperate hope of deal
ing a fatal blow at the prestige of Mr.
Bryan, the fusion plurality of 13,576 In
1896 was more than maintained, the fig
ures rising to 13,819 notwithstanding a
falling off of thirty thousand In the
total vote as compared with the presi
dential election. These results, every
thing considered, were most encourag
ing. Since the campaign whose result was
to seat Mr. McKlnley In the White
House, no political contest has been
waged In the country whose outcome
wns watched with so much interest as
that wherein Marcus A. Hanna was
struggling to secure his return to tho
United States senate from the state of
of Ohio. The significance of this con
test lies not so much in Mr. Hanna, al
though he Is a remarkable study him
self, as in what he represents In our
civilization and politics. So far as I
know It has never yet been contended
that he possesses any special ability be
yond what Is rather vaguely Implied by
the designation of "successful business
man," which may mean a great many
things, some of which, admirable and
common as others may be, would be
thought very slight qualifications for
senatorshlp. He has no professional
training, no learning, no legislative ex
perience, unless the assiduous pursulc
of ranchlses nnd special privileges
through municipal councils nnd state
and nations! legislatures can be salt,
to have furbished It. He la simply a
man of coarse and strong fibre, mas
terful, ruthless, not given to fine hu
manitarian distinctions, who has fully
comprehended, not by mental process,
but by natural sympathy, the material
Ideal of end-of-the-- century success,
and has pursled It until he has grasped
It and made It his own. In this pursuit
he seems to have become thoroughly
familiar with the "business methods"
of our era: tho power and eloquenco of
money, and how to make It work and
talk; the resistless force of combination
to destroy competition, absorb markets
and wring profits from necessity; the
unhappy weaknesses of human nature,
ind its stops which circumstance puts
under the hand of the unscrupulous "to
sound what note he pleases," the ad
vantages of a vicarious corporate re
sponsibility; the convenience and sulll
jlenoy of a huslncis conscience. By tho
nature of his Interests and the charnc- i
ter of his methods he Is distinctly a
personification of the gold Rtnndaid nnd
its concomitants, the trust and monop
olies. When Mr. llnntia beenry chairman
of the republlcnn national committee
nnd took luminal charge of the cam-
pnlgn of 1890, It wns his boast that ho
urougiit "buKlncfn methods" Into poli
tics. He unquestionably spoke by tho
card. The conduct of nffalrs speedly
exhibited the fact. The colossnl ma
chinery thnt wns at once erected, not
more vast In Its extent than minute In
Its detail, perfect tn Its ndjustment, und
noiseless In Its operation; the Immense
amount of money jalsed, beyond tho
"wealth of Oimus or of Ind," nnd ut
terly out of commit Ison with any pre
vious campaign fund, tho eompiehen
slvo organization thnt attended to tho
manufacture of news nnd tho circula
tion of llternture, tho Instlgntlou and
manngetnent of spontaneous excursions
of clamorous pnttlots to Canton, the ex
ercise of bland persuasions by tho
banks, the gentle methods by which
necessitous wuikmeu were cajoled or
coerced and mortgaged farmers con
vinced or compelled; these nnd u thou
sand slmllnr things weie the marks of
a "bimlncss enmpnlgn" without nn np
pronch to a patnllel In all our previous
history, nnd destined to have but few
successors If tho republic Is to endure.
The popular Imagination, quickly and
powerfully Impressed with the unlqus
personality that seemed to bo respon
sible for these phenomena, has epitom
ized them In a name fated to a melan
choly Immortullty. Let me be the first
to write It as a common noun: hanna
ism. And so hannnlsm was at stake In tho
Ohio benntorlal election. It Is not yet
time nor Is this the place to write the
full history of thnt election. With a re
publican mnjorlty In tho legislature of
15 on joint ballot, Mr. Hanna was cho
sen by a vote of 73, exactly a majority
of the membership of 145. A loss of one
vote would have beaten him. This nar
row escape was duo to a revolt among
the republicans against hannnlsm, and
the election has resulted In fastening
upon that party for seven long years
more the Increasing burden of that ter
rible IncubUB. In the nbsence of tho
power to choose a member of the son
.to whoso vote and Inllucnco would have
been against the present policies of the
republlcnn party, It Is tantamount to
a victory for their oponcnts to be nblq
to point to tho now senator from Ohio
ns a "terilble example" nnd evolution
of those policies In operation.
That no fitting clrcumstnnce might
be wanting to the ceremonial of so om
inous an Installation, fate ordained
thnt It should be preceded by an in
fnmy and followed by a sacrilege. Dur
ing the session of the house on the dny
of, nnd JUHt before, the meeting of the
Joint assembly to ballot for sonotor,
a member of the house of representa
tives arose in his place, and, rofoirlng
to well known nnd circumstantial
charges of bribery In the Interest of Mr.
Hanna'B candidacy, charges made by
the member himself, demanded that
those accusations be Investigated be
fore proceeding to the election of a
senator. Said he, in part:
"Mr. Speaker: I rise to a question of
privilege, a question both affecting my
character as a legislator and related to
the proper performance by this Lody of
Its duty In the election of a United
States senator.
"I am aware, Blr, that the house yps
terday refused to pasp a resolution t
suspend the rlues nnd proceed to in
vestigate certain charges preferred by
self against a leudlng candidate for this
great office. But, sir, I made those
charges upon my honor as a man, and
In response to my duty ns a representa
tive. If they are false I ought to be ex
pelled from this body. If they are ttue,
that candidate ought to withdraw from
this contest. Either I am not fit to be a
member of this house, or he Is not fit to
be a senator of tho United States. He
must himself admit this. He, no well :.s
I, ought to demand a vindication. How
can he refuse to submit himself to the
same test as I Invoke? One of us Is
guilty; which Is It? or my own honor
and reputation, I demand that you as
certain and declaic the tiuth. Why does
not he nlsd demand It?"
He then offered a resolution of In
vestigation. What ensued Is told In the
following extract from the report of tl"
proceedings In a Columbus gold stand
ard newspaper. Note the unconscious
humor of the sentence I have capital
ized: "On a motion to suspend the rules for
Immediate consideration of the resolu
tion, the vote stand 52 nyes, 56 nays.
On the motion being lost there were
cheers on the republican side and In the
galleries. The vote wns precisely the
same ns all the votes yesterday and the
two ballots for tho short and long terms
for senator. There are 109 members of
the house. THE E6 HANNA MEN AL
WAYS VOTED SOLIDLY."
This wns the Infamy.
Now note the sacrilege. When the
bribery charges had been contemptu
ously brushed away nnd the destined
goal scnntllj won, the beneficiary of the
event Bent the following telegram:
"Columbus, O., Jan. 2. Hon. William
McKlnley, President, Washington: God
reigns and the republican pnrty Btlll
lives M. A. HANNA."
How a man who had Just passed
through the sort of campaign by which
he had been successful, pursued by
memories of lockcd-ln nnd guarded leg
islators and their harried and persecut
ed wives, of spies and Informers, of
devious and shadowy proceedings that
were Boon to shrink behind the coun
selled sllenc of unwilling witnesses In
a bribery Investigation, could affect to
think Deity chargeable with any part
of the responsibility, or that his election
tended to establish tno fact, doubtful,
supposedly, till then, of the existence
of the Almighty, Is a question I leave
to causlsts and philosophers. It Is be
yond me. One can, however, under
stand how the senator, after so long
having his vnnity fed by the sycophants
who do his bidding nnd accept his
bounty, and who constantly ascribe to
him the entire vitality of the repub
lican organization, should have reached
a condition where the distinction be
tween himself and the party was not
quite clear, nnd In w hlch his own elec
tion would seem like a demonstration
(hat the party was not dead.
But this Is not the measure of the
senator's egotism. His Ineffable pre
sumption allowed him to recall, and by
a petty paraphrase subject to his own
Ignoble use. that magnificent burst of
Inspired oratory In which Garfield, who
could sometimes storm the very heights
of eloquence, calmed nnd subdued the
angry mob which. In the surprise and
horror following the announcement of
President Lincoln's assassination, was
about to attack and destroy the office,
of one of the great newspapers of New
York:
"Fellow citizens," cried he who was
destined to follow the great martyr In
both his high office and his martyrdom,
"clouds and darkness are round about
Him! His pavilion Is dark waters and
thick clouds of the skies! Justice and
Judgment are the establishment of the
throncl Mercy nd truth shall go be
fori Ills facet Fellow citizens! Gud
reigns, and the government at Wash
ington still Uveal"
Ho who, with Impious hand, would
hno torn this resplendent Jowel front
the crown of Lincoln nnd set It Jauntily
among his own blurred und bniren tto
phlcs, Is a fit typlflciitluu of that de
cadence which has changed tho repub
licanism of 1860 Into the rcpubllcnnlr ti
of 1898. Such a demonstration Is Itself
a victory, or who, ennobled by tho
memory of Lincoln, will long coiiBent to
wear tho servile livery of llunim?
Nnvnl Offloo on n Cnookorbonrd.
By a little checkerboard with mlnln
turc warships as the chcckeis, naval
games by the big bugs of the Ameri
can navy have been played nt tho naval
war college at Newport, H. I., during
the past three years, on a vast scale.
Every naval campnlgn which It Is pos
sible to conceive tho United States
might bo culled upon to undertake, has
been anticipated on this little board.
These plans hnve actually been work
ed up by what Is known umong Amer
Icnn officers ns tho "nnvnl gnino." Tho
greatest seciecy has nttnehed to nil de
ductions made, from these games, fr
on the outcome hns depended tho pol
icy to bo followed by the iinval author
ities In Important operations.
Many of tho most distinguished offi
cers of the Amerlcnn nnvy here partici
pate In theso war games, and conspicu
ous on ninny occasions hnve been Cnp
tnln Alfred T. Malum nnd the present
commander of the battle ship Indiana,
Captain Henry Taylor.
In the work nt tho Newport Naval col
lego a large chnrt, allowing the actual
theatre of war, Is spread upon a table.
Presiding over the game are three
Judges officers of ripe experience. On
one Bide the United Suites fleet Is as
signed to tho keeping of nn ofilccr, say
a lieutenant commnudcr. A hostile fleet
icpresented by yellow colois (the colors
of Spain) Is placed In chnrgu of a sec
ond officer. Each officer Is assigned a
Bpcclllc duty. In the ense of the I'nlted
StntcH force the object alined ut Is the
destruction, say, of the port of Havana,
to be followed by the effectual blockad
ing of Cuban ports.
The jellow fleet Is found at the outset
on the coast of Spain. It Is composed of
a stipulated number of battle Bhlpfl, ar
mored cruisers, torpedo deBtroyers and
gun vessels. Curiously enough, the
make-up of the "yellow lleet" tnlllos
with tho exact composition of the pres
ent naval force of Spain.
The "yellow fleet" Is charged with
seizing the wntcrs of Cuba nnd with
clearing those waters of an enemy. The
accomplishment of the object mention
ed Is deemed equivalent to opening all
Cuban ports to Intercourse with tho out
side world.
From now on the gnmo Is conducted
on war principles. Tho "yellow fleet"
enn steam n certain distance nt u cer
tain rate of speed on the supply of conl
carried In the bumpps. The officer
hnndllng that fleet must not move his
force with a rapidity beyond practical
limitations. In the workings of the
game a day Is set down ns one minute.
It Is contemplated thnt ten days will
be required to steam the "yellow fleet"
to Cuban waters, and still cnnblc It to
arrive with sufficient conl to enter ac
tion, so ten minutes must elnpse In tho
making of the move. During this ten
minutes Interval the Amerlcnn fleet has
been permitted to execute what Is pos
sible in ten days of work. Several ports
have been bombarded, troops have been
brought up from Florida and landed,
and Btlll other Important operations
consummated.
On the approach of the hostile fleet It
Is met by tho henvy vessels of tho Unit
ed States Bquadron. At this Juncture
a clnjrt looking very much like a great
checkerboard Is spread out upon "the
table. The squares represent 100 ynrds
In distance, nnd assuming that the
ships move at n flfteen-knot speed, the
time necessary for crossing these
squares must be adhered to. On this
great checkerboaid the two fleet com
manders maneuver their ships the same
as In real action From time to time
the Judges rule out this vessel or that
vessel, which, according to their Judg
ment, has been long enough under fire
to warrant the assumption thnt It has
been placed out of action.
Should one commander In the course
of his maneuvers expose a ship within
torpedo striking dlstnnce the chances
are that the Judges will quickly notice
this point and declare the vessel to bo
torpedoed. That means that the ship
must be nt once removed from the ta
ble, or else left prone upon the board.
Again, In the process of mnneuverlng,
the enemy's fleet may be found sudden
ly scattered. The opposing fleet com
mnnder hnf his ships well In hand,
nnd launching them In close echelon
formation, he executes a veritable cav
alry charge upon the checkerboard.
The effect of this charge Is left to the
Judgment of those presiding. A Judgo
may rule that the enemy's fleet hns,
ns a result of the charge, been effect
ually broken up, and without a dis
senting voice tho victory may be passed
over to the defending fleet.
Some of these operations may be fun
damental In application. On.'y actual
service can bring out Important points
and make clear the actual capabilities
of ships and men. The German urmy
maneuvers only serve to apply the prin
ciples laid down in the war plans of
the great general staff, and at New
port what tho great geenral staff does
for tho German army the Naval War
College Is doing for the navy of the
United States.
The following Incident took !nce In
Bering sea, where "Fighting Bob
Evans" was making a vigorous effort
to stop poaching on the part of Cana
dian sealers. He was in command of
the Yorktown at the time when a par
ticularly active and elusive little Ca
nadian sloop had given the big cruiser
a long chase in the foggy weather, and
was finally overhauled. As the big
Yorktown steamed up alongside of the
sloop phe sent a shot across the bow
of the sloop, whose skipper was seen
upon the forward deck, wrapped In the
Canadian flag, and gesticulating vio
lently. Commander Evans started to
go aboard the Bloop, and as he got
within ear shot the skipper could be
heard denouncing the United States
government and blnckguardlng every
Yankee that ever drew the breath of
life. The commander of the Yorktown
stepped aboard the sloop, approached
the owner and demanded an explana
tion. The little red whiskered Cana
dian, with the British colors wrapped
around him, continued to hurl vitu
perative epithets at the United States.
Every effort on the part of "Fighting
Bob" to make his voice heard above
the clamor of the grotesque nnd de
clamatory skipper was fruitless. He
howled back at the Canndlan until he
was hoarse, and then, suddenly stoop
ing over, picked up from the deck a
piece of blubber of the consistency and
pastiness of a jelly fish, and swung It
around sharply, landing It plump upon
the whiskered face of the defiant Ca
nadian, knocking him, his enthusiasm
and his flag clean over the bulwarks
Into the sea. When the Canadian
cai. to the surface he was fished out
by the sailors and landed on deck. He
had lost his flag and swallowed a great
deal of salt water, while all his defi
ance of the United States had disappeared.
A FIQHTINQ BOAT.
There Is n steel Ash floating tn th
Rnrltnn d: dock nt Perth Amboy, ex
pected to shoot destruction into th
Spanish hoot tn caso of war. It is
scarcely us large as a Btcamboat boiler.
It Is but 53 feet long by 10 feet 3 Inchea
In dlnmcut, with a displacement of 73
tons. Yet this porpulsc-llke mass of
metal, barely able to show lto nose
above wmei, Is a monster of terror.
It hns a revolving tall nnd whirling fins.
In uctlon it is filled with dynamite en
gines of win. It shoots torpedoes for
nnd aft. . lien fired the torpedo gun
pushes the bunt back Into tho water
and out ot sight as It belches forth de
strcutlon Ukulnst tho enemy.
Experts calm that this marine de
stroyer win revolutionize naval war
fnie. It Is tlulmcd that this little boat,
Blngle-hatiticJ, can protect New York
hui nor nnitiiidt any licet of war vessels.
It dives lu.u a fish, can remain under
water for ncveral hours, going down to
a depth ot .u feet, If necessary. A few
days n go the bout loft tho shipyards of
Low Is Nixon, at Ellzabethpoit, osten
sibly for u irlp down tho Kills. Th
Spanish w at ship was anchored off Sta
tun Ibinnd, und the Spanish spies who
swnrmed i.,o water front nnxlouBljr
watched tno maneuvers of the steel
fish. The little fellow slid Into tho
Btrcam, but showing no more of Its baclc
thun you nee of u Florida alligator,
when BWlnu.iing down a river.
Tho bom twis simply bound for deep
water below Perth Amboy for experi
mental piuciico. But had it been In full
war paint, with Its guns loaded with
dynamite. It could not have created
moie excltci lent. Spectators along tho
quays declined that the little monster
threw Its tu.l Into tho air, disappeared
in the flood, und did not como to the.
surfaco moui than twice during Us fif
teen mile tup down the river. In fact,
It was not iHlble to nny extent until it
shot up from the depths In front of
Perth Amboy. Heporis went flying dur
ing Its dlfluppeuinnee that it had gone
to blow up ihc Spunlsh war ship VU
cnyn. So Important Is the chnracter of this
boat that tno United States has Its
plans und experts uro watching every
development in Its workings nnd tests.
It may be aid to bo practically In the
control of t.ie navy department.
John P. Holland, the distinguished In
ventor of tho torpedo boat, Is a con
servative, ciircful engineer, who will not
allow his boat to make serious cruises
under water until all her machinery Is
working perfectly. There has been
trouble with the exhaust valve leading
from the gnB engine Into the sea; also
with tho electric stornge accumulators
The lnvcntoi b aim Is to obtain tho max
imum capacity for storing electricity
with the minimum weight. The batter
ies were found insufficient for the power
required. But this Is not surprising.
Nearly everything of a mechanical na
ture required for the torpedo boat Is a
new Invention of Itself. The ordinary
machines of commerce nre not udapted
morat In view, or Blmply to learn Just
to the bowels of the wonderful steel
fish. Every Joint, vnlve. socket, bear
ingIn fact, every part of the boat
must bo made to perfect lino. A devia
tion In weight of the smallest apoth
ecary scule or In breadth the width of
a hair might prevent the perfect work
ing of this little world of submarine
mechanism. A watchmaker could not
bring more patience and Ingenuity lno
his work than han Mr. Holland In his
years of experience In perfecting his
navy nnnlhllator.
Tho Fato of Cuba.
If the present crlBls between tho
United States and Spnln results In war
nnd this country Is victorious, what
will become of Cuba?
General John W. Noble, ex-secretary
of the Interior, said:
"Tho question Is entirely novel, aa our
history offers no direct precedents for
our guidance. It has been our policy
to refUBe to become Involved with other
nations In disputes about territory, that
does not adjoin our own except to pre
vent encroachments on our Monroe doc
trine. Wc, therefore, have never had
occasion to formulate a policy to apply
to a country which was separated from
us by Bea and whose stutus wc stood In
a position to fix and regulate, as In
this Instance.
"However, Cuba will either bo made
free and Independent or nnnoxed to
this country. If she Is given her Inde
pendence, tho United States will prob
ably stand us her protector. An ade
quate reason why this government can
take a position so novel will be found
In tho Monroe doctrine. Cuba will be
very weak many years nfter peace be
gins to reign in her borders and the
strong arm of the American republic
will be necessary to her support. If left
to bear her own burdens, the chances
are that she would be torn asunder by
revolution and seized by some Euro
pean power. The Monroe doctrine,
which, while not a part of the constitu
tion, 1b almost as well established, can
be Invoked to defend the United States
In the adoption of a policy which will
guard against such an emergency.
"If Cuba is annexed to the United
States she probably will be governed
by the same system of laws by which
we resulate the affairs of our ten -torles.
The coses of California, Texas,
and Louisiana are In point. California
was ceded to the United States by Mex
ico In March, 184S, nnd governed by
territorial law until 1850, when Us peo
ple adopted a constitution, under which
It was admitted as a state. Louisiana
was purchased from France In 1803, and,
ns the Territory of Orleans, was gov
erned under territorial law until 1812.
when it was admitted Into the Union as
a stnte under a constitution which had
been adopted by Its citizens. The his
tory of the admission of Texas as a
state Is similar to that of California and
Louisiana, except that It was received
by treaty.
"If Cuba Is annexed It will be dealt
with In accordance with these prece
dents. It will be properly cared for.
Yankee ingenuity and statesmanship
have never yet failed to acquit them
selves with honor and credit In hand
ling the most difficult questions of na
tional life and they will give a good ac
count of themselves In making a dis
position of Cuba."
"How much Ink Is used In Kansas
City every day?" was asked of a promi
nent stationer. "I enn't tell you with
out figuring a little," he replied. "Our
firm sells an average of thirty casks ot
Ink every year, and as each cask holds
forty gallons, It makes a total of 1,200
gallons. Taking this for granted. It
follows that it takes nearly fifteen gal
lons to carry on business tn Kansas City
one day. A peculiar thing that Is not
generally known about Ink Is that only
about 10 per cent of the Ink bought by
consumers Is used. The reason of this
Is thnt It evaporates bo very asly and
quickly. A traveling man for one of
the largest Ink manufacturing concerns
in this country was In my store this
morning," continued the dealer, "and
told me that In the City of M6xlco last
week he sold to one dealer alone fifty
casks of French copying ink. His total
eales In that city amounted fiv car
loads. I could hardly believe It until he
convinced me by showing me hln order
book.
(
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