Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-07
A TWIST OF THE TAIL
Administered to the British Lion by
Doughty Senator Ingalls,.
HELD UP AS UNCLE SANS ONLY FOE
Caastic Criticism of the Present System Of
Naval Defense.
WILLING TO LET EUROPE EXPERIMENT

NEW YORK, March 6.-The article con-
| tributed to Truth by ex-senator ingalls,,
which has created so much comment, IS In
substance as follows:
The annual shrek about our defenseless
| coasts and the bofnbardment OF New York,
| Philadelphia and Boston, has been emitted
| The yearly pamphlet describing the blood
| curdling incidents and the appalling copse-
quences Of the war with Chile and Spain IN l5Uo,
| has been sent to each Senator and Representa-
tive in Congress. The editorial estimates In
the metropolitan press of the amount of prop
erty within reach of an Italian ironclad in the
lower bay and of the ransom that could be ex-
torted from the merchants ana bankers, have
all been submitted and are filed away for use
again in 1892 Their purpose is to reconcile the
people to the passage of the naval appropria-
tion BILL and to enormous and profgate eX-
penditures in time of peace for ships. fortihca-
tions and munitions Of war. The capacity of
the United States to create a navy in an
emergency was demonstrated in the Rebellion.
The duel between the Monitor and the Mer-
rimac in Hampton Roads revolutionized naval
warfare. and the problem has since been to
construct armor that no projectile could pene-
trate, and then to Invent projectiles that no
armor could resist
Result OF experiments
European nations have been conducting these
expensive experiments hitherto. and the ships
of 1880 are already obsolete and antiquated for
attack or defense. Dynamite and other e1-
plosives complicate the situation, and The navy
that we are now building at cost of SO, GOO
will be as worthless in 1900 as Roman galleys.
England. France and Italy would gladly sell us
their fleets at so per cent of their cost. Ii we
are to depend upon navy for protection we
must have ships enough to assemble at every
vulnerable point force rs large as could be
dispatched against 1t. The millions we are
squanderiDs on vessels that are sent on idle er-
rands in ''squadrOns Of evOlutions," painted
pageants of the Deep had better be spent for
earLhworks and powerful guns to command
every roadStead. channel and harbor from
which hostile fleet could threaten or assail.
Is there any necessity for spending millions
every year for naval defense. or any justIica-
tion for the hysterical appeals to popular appre-
hension and alarm? Our policy IS pacific. We
have no colonies nor dependencies, nor entang-
ling alliances. Wars break ont unexpectedly,
it is true. sometimes, but from what quarter can
danger be nationally anticipated? Our rela-
tions with France are those Of traditional amity;
with Germany, of kinShip and consanguInity;
with Russia, Of fraternity. The rest are trivial.
Our only enemy is England, and sne is under
bond to keep the peace No other nation is so
vulnerable, and none so detested. She has in
CURED the resentment oil the human race by
centuries of injustice.
Knew Who to Kick.
Colonel Mcclure, a noted Mississippi duelist.
had occasion to kick an unresisting gentleman
at a hotel in Natchez. Being not long after in
Memphis, the Colonel saw his victim subjecting
another to the same treatment. Being some
what curious and uncertain as tO the identity OF
the person, he said Are you not the fellow
kicked downstairs in NaLchez?
Yes he replied; but, Colonel. you and
know who tn kick"
England kicked us when we were helpless
and feeble. She sacked and burned defense
less capital She has kicked Ireland; she has
kicked Egypt; she has kicked the Hindoos, the
Zulus, the Beers the Chinese. but she is not in
the habit of kicking her equals. Her courage
is prudent and calculating. She was careful
not to kick Napoleon until the rest of Europe
ioined her, and she endured Russian aggres-
sion until she had persuaded France to bear the
brunt of the Crimean campaign;
In our Civil War she did all she could. short
of omen hostility, to destroy the Union, and
then apologized and paid damages. Lately we
have had another contention ABOUT seal poach-
ing and the Bering Sea.
Not Much Damage. After All.
Oceans of ink have been shed in diplomatic
correspondence between Lord Salisbury and
Secretary Blaine Great Britain fortified Van
couyer and sent ships of war into the disputed
waters walking around. metaphorically speak
ING. begging us to knock the chip from her
shoulder or 10 tread on the tails of her coat,
Legally she had an open case. at least, IN some
respects the best of the argument A casuS
belli could easily have been found if wanted,
and we were assured that the danger was i'm
minent The boldest held his breath for
awhile Immense appropriations were prompt
Iy voted for Notifications and the navy. and
then while the national hair was standing on
end England suddenly came into our Supreme
Court as sultor, and submitted the whole con-
troyersy to the decision of that great tribunal.
The newspapers that described the dramatic
utterances of Senators about the dangers of
war with Great Britain contained in another
column of the same issue an account of fhe
proceedings in the old Senate chamber, in
which Lord Salisbury submitted the claims of
England to adjudication. as question Of inter
national law.
1t was reassurIng but it was laughable,
nevertheless. JOHN J. INGALLS,.