New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-03-19

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the answer is plain that they never acted as
such. The original thirteen colonies were sepa-
rate from each other, but owned common al
legiance to England When they threw 81 that
allegiance and declared var they did 50 not In
thirteen different documents. but in one docu-
mert as the United States Of America. Nhen
the Revolution ended the treaty Of peace was
made not in the name Of the States. but In that
of the United states If the Civil War had ended
with defeat for the North the resultant DIVISION
would have produced two nations ana no more
Thus the chain from English domination Gown
to the Rebellion is complete, and there Is not
link in II due to the so-c2led sovereignty OF the
States Not a publicist in the world OUTSIDE oi
the eleven seeding States would have dreamed
of asserting that by the recognition OF the Con
federacy each Of It's States had acquired the rlshI
70 be termed a nation. In short If but one ma
ton was established the result OF the KeNoiu-
,ionarv War but one nation existed within the
limits of the United States in 1861 IL Sou'h
Carolina had carried out her own doctrine she
vouId have taken the responsibility of firing on
Fort Sumter But she deferred 10 the Conleder-
ate Government From the outset the war look
the form not OF coercion against indiVldua
States but of an aggressive effort to suppress
rival government. Mr.. Ropes does not heS""'c
to call Il 4 war of conquest The woru Is u'9'-
greeable but it will he well to consider us pro
priety coOlly and deliberately especldHE WIG"
the country has got along far enough To "isOu9'
without heat the history n the recoiS'i "''''"
period Having placed the two parues Ill 'iie io-
spective positions which they honestly iaiii-
tanned Mr. Ropes proceeds to the STUDY VI Wv
actual events of the war as they occui'eu' ii''
estimate Of Mcclellan, mastery as an ois"''Ae''
but weak almost to incapacity as d coHiiii'"uo'
&c
minute examination of the records. In reviewing
the preparations of Mcclellan for his fehlhSul''
,roiect Mr. Ropes points out a curious error by
which in estimating he forces TO be Ieit AT
y,sbirgton the Commander-in-C Chief counted
tho troons of Abercrombe and Geary NUMBER
ing : $50 men twice over showing the haste ana
carelessness with which the estimate was ihdue'
This was in addition to q count OF 3oOo men salu
n no ready in Pennsylvania. but hardy To pe
considered when the safety OF the NauohH ''l'-
tai was in question. The risk whlch Nc''e"'I
proposed to run in descending the potomac anu
cbasonooke with an army crowded on trans
norris in complete uncertainty as u th' lhleh'i'"S
or the Confederate ironclad Merr:mac OF "S ~
the possibilities of n second battle het"eeh h''
aud tn, Monitor is cited to show the extent to
which Mcclellan was continually influenced p>
bic ,maqjnation." This criticism Is based on the
Il
emerged from two-days battle practicaHY uh-
h,r, ON the Confederate side the one brilIlant
taco % those DAYS was defeated by Jefferson
Dov,s General Joseph +. Johnston with 'he
uranin,ous approval Of his corps COMMANDERS
rronosed 10 have enough troops brought UP from
the far South to raise the Army of Virginia 10
GO 900 men, and with this force 10 mNa"e NV
North in the autumn of 1861. In view OF the ie'a-
tive proficiency of the Northern ana southern
soldiers at that time and the moral effect oil the
hattie Of Bull Run, Mr.. Ropes prChouhces '"c
nlan \ feasible one. Davis decided not 70 move
the troops asked for from the places they "e'e
supposed to be defending. His reason Was P''
s,h,v the same that Lincoln gave for Transferring
Rlenkers division from the Army OF the Io''-
mac TO Fremont in West Virginia. wnere 'heie
,,os M enemy TO f1cht-namey. "pressure
MI so,orast struggle OF the Nation In the near
t+,,re sAerns likely to be with nature herself
70 tho neonle in the ard region or upon us NcIbe
,,dr,ge sometimes in rude language toward ther
moro favored brethren in the East II shoulu DE-
co,eidered that there causes for TINS OF "h'ch
they themselves are only partly Conscious ''
tics turned once State rights; IL may !e' '"'"
an water rights The question OF HilAd''o" -
one. as Mr. Whitney shows not merely io'di u
,ho croat Plains 1t affects the problem Of I'M
ioro,,or and that is a problem which has a.
trac,ed wide attention. As population advanced
westward II was hampcred by two adverse con-
dj,ions. In the first place the distance from
Eastern and European markets IesSe"'u ~.
value of crops. and in the second the u'''e''S''
wafer supply rendered the chances OF an! '''P9
precarious II the movement OF poPu'"'''" ""'
hoor steady and equal along the whole line from
North to South the difficulty would perhaps nave
heen lessened As it is. immigrants found them
al a
d,t,ors were wholly foreign to their experience
Tbev had 10 learn how live as well as 70 make
. u,..ro The most obvious result has been
,rarred falling off in the percentage OF increase
in nopulation and that means pressure upon more
tbicklv settled regions to the eastward II
natural conditions alone are TO be depehdea Up'''
the hope Of relief from this pressure Is vail r''"
the most sanguinc Of those VINO look 10 anu
fetal means Of relief do not anticipate tAat inc
DIV and sub-humd regions OF the country can De
made 70 support their full share OF population
| The question Is to improve them az far as pos
sible Opinions this point, as MI Nh!'Hey
shows are OF the most varied description NeI-
,oir tracts will support considerable population
for an indefinite but not endless perlod ny 'h'r
mirora, deposits AS to the Great Plains, Mr.
Whitney maintains against all others that 'hey
will remain sparsely Inhabited pastoral r'gion
| ua,erad from deem wells by steam power and
windmills He thinks the importance Of artesian
well is greatly overrated In contrast 10
others he inimizes the possibilities OF the stor-
| age reservoir system. 1t has hitherto been ap-
piled only In favorable regions, and it has no' yet
been subjected 10 the dangers OF Irregular preclp-
tation and cloudbursts. The question as 10 what
share the General Governmentcu gho to take In the
efforts TO make these dry regions haDitaDle mas
| only begun to rise into consideration Meanwhile
Mr. Whitney exhibits some scepticism toward Inc
| theory that the advance Of population ana the
widening of the cultivated area have increased
| the rainfall HIS book Is supplemental to an ar
| ticle in the "Encyclopaedia Britannica which