Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1878-05-29
IN. BEST Ass,suae for Republic

ing army Of twenty-five thousand
men for the United States. There
Is one dream that ought to be dear
to the devotees of Republic, at
least, and that is that "parliament
of mankind and confederation of
the world" which have been the as
piration of liberal men since the
iron shackles of rank and privilege
were first broken by the French
Revolution. If the United States
depends to-day for its pre.eminence
on either its army or navy 1t
should occupy a forty-third rank
amongst the nations Of the earth.
Its navy-although the Republican
party has estensibly spent nearly
half q billion upon 1t since the war
NEARLY five hundred million dol.
lars-to.day counts for nothing.
or the six so.called first-class
frigates which compose the top
sawyers of this Republican contri-
button to our national status, only
one can be trusted out of harbor
with the certainty that it won't
sink before the next harbor of
refuge is reached. AS to their abil-
ity to cope with the splendidly APP
pointed and perfectly built vessels
Of England, or any other first. class
power, it is not to be thought of for
q moment. The first thunder of o
hostile naval artillery would send
the American navy to Davy Jones's
locker instanter. In one sense we
are sorry for this and in another
not. Considering the amount of
money the Republican party has
nominally spent on the American
navy it is lamentable that we
should not, from a marine stand
point, at least, find ourselves armed
capable against the world. The
Republican party, instead of the
loyal service and good work for
which we have SO literally paid, has
preferred, while acquitting itself of
aninfinite amount of cant of a super
fine cast, to sink the money spent
on the American navy into the
pockets Of its parasites rather than
into those loyal hearts OF
oak, with iron incrustment, which
have formed the glory of the
American and English navies, the
former in the old days, the latter
in the present. Nevertheless we
are not sorry that our navy is as
helpless as It's to-day. 1t makes
more broadly apparent the fact that
this country depends for its recog-
milton abroad not on the amount
of actual physical and dynamical
forces 1t has on water or in the
field, but rather on that moral and
intellectual though intangible
force which should form the chief
claim of Republic to the recogni-
ton of mankind. If we palter
with a navy, however, with our
liberal OUTLAWS, we should have a
good one; but the day of navies
has passed. The coagulated cor
ruption which, under Republica
administration of the government,
has clogged our navy, is none the
less deserving of the reprobation
and loatliing Of honest men be-
cause a navy itself is not indispen-
sable.
As to the army, what are the
facts? We have to-day a regular
army more than twice as large as
that which existed prior to the
war. With the exception Of Alas
ka, we do not to-day own an inch
OF territory that we did not possess
then. The sum total of the Re-
publican party's contribution to
the domains of the Republic con-
sists of the territory of Alaska, for
which Seward, Republican Secre-
tary of State, paid 100000, and
which is not worth seven cents. 1t
was bought to afford the Republic
can party another opportunity to
show its innate love Of corruption
by the establishment and protec-
ton of the Alaska Fur and Seal
Company. But such as Alaska is,
it is not garrisoned, and it would
be an infamy to station United
States troops there az addenda to
the schemes of a lot of corrupt
spectators.
Who can be ignorant of the fact
that settlement, railway extern
sions and mining enterprises have
much abridged the extent of terri
tory which has now to be guarded
by troops of the United States?
Whose does not know this is Gull
pably not the inmate of q lunutic
asylum. Texas has to-day three
times the population which
she had when the standing
army of the United States
consisted of only ten thousand
men. This is so with New Next
co, Arizona, Washington Territory,
Montana, Dakota, and other Terri
tories, only in an infinitely greater
ratio. When the United States
army only consisted OF ten thous-
aud enlisted men, it had, in addi-
ton TO guarding these territories,
to meet the whole peonle of ITfah