Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-03-07

PEN DIPPED II vITKIoL.
Ex-senator Ingalls, screed ON Our Coast
Defsnses.

Ex-senator Ingalls, Sereed ON Our Coast
Defsnses.
WASHINGTON, February 6.-The arti-
Gle contributed to the New York Truth
by ex-senator ingalls, which has created
50 much comment, is In substance as
follows: The annual shrek abont our
defenseless coasts, and the lombard
ment of New York, Philadelphia and
Boston. has been emitted. Tie yearly
pamphlet describing The blood curdling
incidents and the appalling conSe-
qnenceS of the war with Chilli and
Spain in 1905, has been sent TO each
Senator and Representative in Congress.
| The editorial estimates in the metro
politan press of the amount of property
within reach of an iron clad in the lower
bay, and OF the ransom that could be
extorted from the merchants and bank
ers have all been submitted and are
filed away for use again in 1892. Their
purpose is 10 reconcile the people To
passage Of the naval Appropriation
bill and To enormous and proiligate
expenditures in time OF peace for ships,
Notifications and munitions Of war
The capacity OF the United States TO
create Il navy in an emergency was dem
onstratcd in the rebellion. The duel
between the Monitor and the Mcrrimac
In Hampton Roads reyolutiOnzed naval
warfare, aud the problem has since been
10 construct armor that no prOiectile
could penetrate, and then 10 invent pro-
jectiles that 40 amor could resist.
Eurnpcan nations have been conducting
these expensive experiments hitherto,
aud the ships Of 1850 are already
obsolete aud antiquated for at
tack or defense. Dynamite and
other explosives complicate the situa-
tion, and the navy that We are now
building at a cost OF Sj0, 100000 will be
as worthless in 1900 as Roman galleys.
England, France and Italy would gladly
sell us their fleets at 30 per cent. OF
their cost. II we are to depend upon 4
navy for protection we must have ships
enough to assemble at every vulnerable
point force as large Is could be dis
patched against H. The millions we
are Squandering on vessels that are sent
on idle errandS in "SquadronS Of evolu-
tion''-paiuted pageantS of the deep
had better be spent for earthworkS and
powerful guns to command over road
steads. channel and harbor from which
a hostile fleet could threaten To aSSail
Is there any necessity for spending
millions every year for naval defense,
or any Justification for the hystcrical
appeals To popular apprehension aud
alarm? Our poliryiS pacific. We have
lam ffs fff
tangling alliances. Wars break ont mex
prctedly. il is true, sometimes, but from
what quarter can danger bee nationally
Our relations with France
are those of traditional amity: with
Germany. of kinshipaud cDnSanguinity:
with Russia. Of fraternity. The rest
are trivial. oar only enemy is England,
and she is under bond To keep the peace.
No other nation is So vulnerable. She
has incurred the resentment Of the hu-
man race by centuries Of injustice.
Colonel Mcclure, noted Mississippi
ducliSt. had occasion 10 kick an unre- |
sisting gentleman at a hotel ia Natchez. |
Being not long after in Memphis, the |
Colonel saw his victim >ubJecting anOth- /
cr to the same treatment. Being some
what curious. AMI uncertain aS TO the .
identity Of the person, h. said: Are /.
You not the fellow kicked down stairs /.
in Natchez?"
YES" hc replied, "but. Colonel, you /
and know who To kick
England kicked us when we were /
helplcsS and feeble. She sacked and |
burned a dcfenSelcSS Capitol. She has /
kicked ireland; she has kicked Egypt
she has kicked the lIindooS, the Iulus,
the Beers, the Chinese, but she
is net in the habit of kicking
her equals. Her courage is pru-
dent and calculating. She was |
careful not To kick Napoleon until the |
rest of Europe Joined her, and She en- |
durrd Russian aggression until She had |
persuaded France 10 bear the brunt OF
the Crimean campaign. In our civil |
war She did all she could, short of open |
hostility, to destroy the Union, and then
apoloqized aud paid damages.
Lately We have had another contention
about seal poaching and the Behring Sea.
Oceans of ink have been shed in diplO- |
matte correspondence between Lord /
Salisbury and Secretary Blaine. |
Great Britain fortified Vancou-
yer. and sent ships Of war
into the disputed waters, walking |
around metaphorically speaking, beg
ging us to knock the chip from her
shoulder, or tread on the tails OF her
coat. Legally She had an open case, at
least IN some respects the best OF the
argument. \ cauSus belli could easily
have been found If wanted, and we were
assured that the danger was imminent.
The boldest held his breath for while. |
Immense appropriations were promptly
voted for fortifcationS and the navy, |
and then while the national hair was
standing on end. England suddenly /
came into our supreme Court aS suitOr
and submitted the whole controversy To /
the decision of that great tribunal. |
The newspapers that described the !
dramatic utterancc of Senators about /
the dangers OF war with Great Britain |
in another column of the |
same issue. an account of these pro-
ccedingS in the old Senate chamber, in
which Lord Salisbury submitted the
claims Of England to adjudication was "a
question of international law. 1t was
reassuring. but IL was laughablc never
thclcSs. .lonN j. INGALLS,.