The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1889-04-13
PROSPERITY AND WAR.
The Unsound Doctrine Preached by
N Bombastic Naval OFFICER.

From the Louisville Courier Journal
Admiral Porter, of the American
navy, is thirsting tor blood. He is
quoted by the Washington Star as say
ing:
"We are always prosperous in war;"
Ii this is true, of course, the more
war the more prosperity, and the old
admiral is right in his demand for a
war with Germany about Samoa.
War means death and destruction; :;
it not of our own men and property. at
least of the men and property of Ger
many. We do not see how any nation
ever can prosper by destroying men
and property. Germany conquered
France, but she had to pay dearly tor
it. The north conquered the south,
but certainly from 1860 to 1879 were
not prosperous times in any sense.
War is destruction, not prosperity.
Ii destroys the very foundation of pros
perity. 1t disturbs all industry. II in
terrupts commerce. II diverts men and
money and energy from productive to
unproductive employments. War is a
costly privilege, or pleasure, or duty,
as occasions arise. There are times
when only war will settle dispute,
and then war must come, cost what it
may.
Admiral Porter seems to have i'm
bibed the theory of the protectionists
that the fewer goods we have the bet
ter off we are. Wealth consists not in
scarcity, but in abundance. Scarcity
advances prices, yet il is sigu not of
prosperity, but of poverty. If half the
Il .,,t kNa
morrow, the price might advance to
twice what 1t is day, but the world
would be poorer, not richer.
To show just how war would oper-
ate to interfere with, if not destroy our
prosperity, we may quote from the in =
terview with Admiral Porter:
GAS the country knows, 1 have been
urging in letters and reports the i'm
portance of building up powerful
navy. We have the wealth and re =.
sources 10 lead the world III a navy
But. taking matters as they are, the
government should 60 to England and
France, both countries being ahead of
Germany in modern naval vessels and
guns, and buy all the rified guns we
can find and bring them here. We will
very soon make use of them. Here is
list of the entire strength of the Ger
man navy. 1t is more than we have,
but we have the money and conld easi-
ly spend $3.50 100000 in ships and ap-
pliances of war"
That $3.50, 900, 900 represents fully one
years export of cotton. We now ex-
port it for the comforts and convent
ences of life; for those things that add
to the prosperity of the people; tor
raw materials TO employ our mill
hands. etc., etc. That is tight and
proper. But Admiral Porter's scheme
of prosperity would force us to ex-
change it for guus and ships of war
and force us to do without other things.
These guns and ships would not add
any thing to the wealth of America by
destroying the property of Germany.
When America has to go to war, she
will prosecute it with Sherman's idea
that "war is hell;' SO it is. Admiral
Porter's idea, that war is prosperity, is
delnsion, tit only for consideration by
the ways and means committee of the
next republican congress. 1t is con-
trary TO human reason and to universal
experience, but it accords entirely
with the theory Of political economy
upon which the republican party is
acting.