The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-05-11

The provincial spirit evinced by free
ttadefs manifests itself In a thousand
md ore ways. Judged by their talk
they seem not to realize that they are
part and parcel Of a nation which In
many respects has had no counter
part since the world began. Rome.
great rs she was in the zenith OF her
BOWER. covered no such expanse of
continuous territory, nor did she
POSSESS such vast and Homogeneous
population as does the land to which
these free traders owe their allegiance.
This immense continent with all Its
possibilities. they regard as II 1t wers
acolony that must walk in the beaten
track Of England.
Many OF them display so little pride
Of country that they would have us
copy everything English because 1t is
English. Thus eight years age. dur
ing Cleveland's fret Administration.
when 1t was proposed to build bat
De ship for the new navy. nothing
could satisfy the Administration but
mat tho new ship should be modelled
sitter English designs. Cleveiand's
Secretary Of the Navy contemptuous.
g rejected American plans for the
vessel and purchased set from an
English shlpbuildIng company at
cost OF $1,000. In doing this the
Cleveland Administration was consIs.
wi kn .
had boon Installed In power 1t had
done Its hest TO discredit American
shipbuilding by attempting to have
ire cruisers built by John Roach con-
demned. 1t did not succeed In doing
this. but 1t did succeed In driving tho
great IrIsh-American ship.builder into
bankruptcy and into his grave.
When the English plans purchased
BY Cleveland's Secretary OF the Navy
srrlved they were found to be defec.
tive In every respect. At the time the
ab.est officials of the Ordnance Bureau
d. AIRED that no ship built accordin
% these plans could float with guns
anu armor. But these warnings were
unheeded, and orders were given TO
proceed with the building of tho ves-
ssl. When at last the Texas, the name
nj the new battle ship was finished it
was found that she was In every way
Inferior to the war ships that had been
built according TO American designs.
10 great are the defects that compo
teat naval officers are OF the opinion
that the Texas will prove worthless.
A Washington dispatch states that
"when the armor Ia added to the yes.
col no one can tell what DOW struct-
ural weakness will become apparent,
though that there Will 10 come not a
doubt exists among naval officers. II
isfive years since the vessels keel was
lnid. md ut the same rate of building
t,at has been secured thus FAR tho
9'xns will hardly be ready for sea for
i've years more, copesding that she
can ever be made strong enough to go
Do sea in safety"
The Texas Is an object lesson, teach
Ing the folly OF the servIle imitation
Of everything EnRIish which Anglo.
manlacs would popularizs to tho ex
tent of their ability. Aplng Engllst
methods In all things would destro,
the spirit Of nationality without which
America can never achieve the great
things which it is within her power to
accomplish II she is only true to her.
Eslf The virus OF Anglomanla con.
SIsts in this that 1t makes those who
nre inoculated with it incapable OF
thoroughly approaching thair country
and their country's institutions.