The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-02-20
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1895.
Americanism and Jingoism.

The United States senate, whatever
else may be said of it, is American by a
large majority. II passed the Nicara-
qua canal bill by strong vote and
now it has by stronger vote appro
priated money for the construction Of
the Hawaiian cable, two distinctively pa
triotic American measures. In the
confusion that seems to be the normal
condition of the mugwump and cuckoo
brain, Americanism, an intense ard
sturdy spirit of nationality, and lingo
ism, seem to be synonymous terms. In
their minds, or rather in what in ra
tional people is called the mind, tn
lending of government aid to the cor
struction of the Nicaragua canal is all
exhibition of jingoism. So is the cree
ton of the new navy, the protection OF
Americans and American interests in
foreign countries, the proposition to
lay telegraph cable to Hawaii, etc
Mugwumps and cuckoos seem to have
preference for everything foreign.
They prefer foreign goods. They
would let England lay the cable to the
Sandwich Islands, and intrust Amer
cans and American interests TO the pro-
lection of an English war vessel. They
borrow gold from England rather than
adopt the proposition of Senator Sher-
man and'ex-Speaker Reed to borrow of
the American people. So they go to
England for term that expresses their
contempt for Americanism, for lingo is
" English, ,quite English, you know"
ItIexpressts the aggressive, domineer-
ing British spirit towards peoples that
are weak and can be bulldozed by
stronger power-the urks and Egyp-
tians, for example. Beaconsfield was a
typical jingo, and the term gained cur
rency during his administration of Brit
ish affairs. A song, at that time popu-
lar, expresses the lingo spirit and gave
it its name:
We don't want to fight, but, by lingo, il
we do,
We've got the ships, we've got the men,
we've got the money, too"
Senator Morgan presents good il
lustration, almost sipgly and alone
among the southern senators, of this
patriotic American spirit which is not
jingoism. The northern republican
senators, like Morrill, and Proctor, Sher.
man, Frye, Allison, Hale and Chand ler,
and representatives., like Reed, Dingley,
Grout and Powers, are all stalwart and
patriotic Americans, with big A. The
next house.of representatives will have
a fine, large majority of this kind OF
Americans. Senator Morgan's remarks
on the amendment TO the diplomatic
and consular bill, appropriating $780,.
600 for constructing submarine tele'
graphic. cable to Hawaii, breathed the
true American spirit He showed the
importance, ,fromi.a political and COM
mercial point of view, of the United
States having cable communication
with the Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu is
the rendezvous of the American whal-
ing fleet. The Behring Sea fisheries,
intimately connected with Honolulu,
are of very great value. No nation has
80 large.an interest in these fisheries as
the United States has. This nation
can afford. to lay this cable for the pro
tection.of its ship in that quarter
Mr.. Morgan referred in a compli
mentary manner to Captain Mahan'i
book lauding Great Britain for her com
mercial policy, and he referred in {
tone of sarcastic pleasantly to President
Cleveland's message felicitating this
country that England would lend the
United States large part of sixty mil
lions at four per cent interest. 1t was
not the .confguration of the British
Islands that had enabled her to do that
1t was her commercial power, sustained
and.protected by her navy. He wanted
this telegraph cable to Hawaii at
point for localizing the United State
navy in the Pacific Ocean, which wa
going to be of much greater interes
and importance to the United State
than the Atlantic Ocean. The Pacif
was soon to be the theater of the great
est exploitation of craftsmanship tina
had ever been called into effect in al
the annals of American history, an,
Great Britain saw that, with an ey
that never failed to discern the move
ments of nations. In the matter O
Pearl Harbor as a naval station for tn
United States, Mr.. Morgan related a
interview between Mr.. Carter, the Ha
waiian minister at the time of the rat
fcation of the treaty assigning Peal
Harbor for that purpose, and Mr.. Bay
ard, then secretary of state, in whic
Mr.. Carter desired to have a protocol
importing that, with the abrogation G
that traatu Daarl uorLo, ,rro,,Il $500.