The morning call., 1891-12-19
THE DANGER OF WAR.

The United States may be much nearer
war than people generally imagine. Existing
differences of opinion between this country
and Chile appear to be too radical to admit
Of compromise, and there is nothing which
could be submitted to arbitration, like a
boundary dispute. American blood has
been shed by mob, and thus far no dis
position has been evinced by the shedders to
make atonement. The calm and temperate
remonstrance of this Government is met
with eQuivOcatiOn and evasion. both
couched in language TO which the epthet
truculent will apply. A strain is being put
on the authorities at Washington which,
with all their pacific instincts, they can
hardly resist very long.
1t must not be assumed that the present
rulers of Chile are deliberately seeking a
quarrel with the United States. They must
be credited with enough common sense to
see where such a quarrel would land their
country. But they are controlled by a brutal
and ignorant populace which does not realize
the consequences of war between Chile
and the United States. That pOpulace has
seen Chile oYerrun Peru, and it is actually
so ignorant that it fancies it could deal with
the United States in like fashion. 1t
is so inadequately supplied with in
formation that it believes the United
States sympathzed with Balmaceda in
the late civil war. and it cheriShe5
rancOr accordingly. 1t has wild idea that
Chile could send fleet up here and dictate
terms of peace after n bOmbardment OF San
Francisco. !All this seems silly and child
ish. But il must be remembered that the
Chileans, and especially the people of the
seaport of Valparaiso, are extraordinarily
ignorant, and that never in their whole ma
tional existence have they had lesson such
as most peoples require to teach them good
behavior. The danger is that this mob will
Uverawe the Government at Santiago just as
the Paris mob 0verawed the Imperial Gov
eminent in 1870, and that it will prove i'm
possible 10 get satisfaction out of Senior
Mont.
The national impulse of sensible Ameri-
cans would be to ignore these evden ceS of
Chilean fOolishness and to leave to other
nations the duty Of infiicting the chastse-
ment which national folly is sure to bring.
But the trouble in this case is that we can
not afford to be forbearing. There are at all
times American vessels in the roadstead Of
Valparaiso and American sailors in the
streets of that port If the precedent is es-
tabliShed that the latter may be murdered
and the vessels molested with impunity it
will be unsafe to permit mutual intercourse
to continue. Every American who visits
Chile Will carry his life in his hand and the
end will be war.
In the meantime the new Secretary of
War, who is precisely the man for the oc-
casi0n, should lose no time in placing our
seablard cities on the Pacific in a position
of defense. Complete defenses we can
not have so long as the Ordnance Depart
ment has neither heavy guns nor disappear
ing carriages to mount them on. But it is
an open secret in military circles chat plan
of defense was long ago agreed upon by
stationary torpedoes, backed up by such
vessels as can be obtained from Mare Island.
1t is reckoned that even as matters stand
the General commanding would be able to
give a good account of any Chilean fleet
which adventured so far from home as our
waters. The true tactics for the occasion.
however, would be to crush the Chilean
fleet at Valparaiso by concentration Of
naval force and 10 occupy 1quique until
terms of peace were agreed upon. The
concentration might be effected within a
couple of weeks, and then it would be to the
interest of both parties that the conflict
should be short, sharp and decisive. When
Mr. Arthur was urgently pressed to throw
the moral influence of the United States 10
the side of Peru in the late war between
Chile and that state he could not see the ad-
vantage of maintaining a balance of power
on the west coast OF South America. That
was Derlaps a pity