The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-01-14
1T Will BE SETTLED.
Bill Arp Interested in the Dispute
over the Venezuelan Boundary
and Studies Geography.

anu StuuteS geography.
bave just received letter from
the editor of The Australian Agricul
turist, that is published at Sydney. in
that far distant land. This letter has
Travelled more than half around the
world for cents and is worth $5 to me,
for there Is comfort in it. had never
heard of him but somehow or other he
has been hearing from me through the
press, and says he just felt like re-
spending out of the abundance of his
good will for the South. 81 am an
Euglishman," says he, "but all my
heart was with your people in their
great struggle. Robert e. Lee and
Stonewall Jackson were my heroes. 1
was living in England then and made
q Confederate flag and hung it over
the mantle, and when your final sur
render came L draped the flag with
Grape and it is still hanging where
left it,"
Well, of course, my unknown friend
wrote this letter before the late rup-
ture, but hope there will be no war
just for his sake. His long letter is full
of information about that wonderful
country, and even tells how they whip
ped the rabbit fight and now make the
pest profitable by shipping the meat in
refrigerator chambers built in the ves-
sells. The pelt is also transported to
| foreign ports.
Since receiving his letter we have
beeh studying geography and the CYCLIC
pedias about England and her posses
sions Compared with Great Britain's
AOmiRions the United States is q small
affair. Australia is as large as our
whole country. Then, there are hun
dreds of islands in the Pacific ocean
that belong to her and she has terrific
ry away down in the Antarctic regions.
She owns a big slice Off of South Africa,
where the gold and diamonds abound.
She virtually owns Egypt and the Nu-
| bian country. She has about as much
territory in North America as We have
and she controls the commerce of
several South American States. Her
merchant marine is more than that of
all other nations put together, and yet
the powers that govern ard direct it
all at London make but little noise
about it and don't brag half as much rs
we do.
The British can't whip us over here,
of course. They have tried it twice
and failed Neither could we whip
England over there, but they are q
wonderful people and make the world
pay tribute. No wonder they have got
so much money. They own about ono
sixth OF the land area Of the world and
have 2ou 900, 900 suojecIs in Inuia alone
| -four times as lnany as we have people
in the United States. And over all
| these countries and islands and gov
crnmonts they appoint Eoglishmen to
| iii all the Offices and fatten on the
spoils.
1t is well enough for us all to study
geography again and refresh ourselves
about England. Our best ancestry
L f,,Dt, Il 1.
to be proud of it. We are proud of our
own country and our republican gov.
ernment and Que wonderful progress,
but somehow or other we have not vet
been able to get along without English
money. Not OILY our government
bonds go there for the cash but all our
great railroads have had to get the
money from England to aid in their
construction. So it Is in Mexico and
Guatemala and Brazil. England is our
chief banker and the New York banks
are ouly her brokers'.
Now we do not suppose that England
will go so far as to fight for that land
in Venezuela, but will eventually sub
NIT to arbitration. This is history
repeating itself. We had a long
quarrel with her about our northeast
ern boundary and both sides made q
big show Of fight and perhaps would
have fought but for the counsel and
high character of Daniel Webster. He
and Lord Ashburton settled it and the
jingoes on both sides had to hush up
and acquiescc. remember we'll when
during President Polk's day we had
another rupture about the line through
Oregon. We claimed all that country,
including Vancouver island, and the
political war cry was "54-40 or fight
} But we dident fight, neither did we set
up that line by several hundred miles
Mr.. McLane and Lord Aberdeen set
: tied it at forty-nine. There are gener,
ally two sides to all such questions and
} the sober-thinking old men can't be
carried off on q patriotic emotion. We
} we're all jingoes when we were young
but age and experience has modified
| and Modified our rashness. 1t was not
the old men who got swamped in New
York the other day when the war panic
shook ap Wall street. 1t was the young
and timid and inexperienced. The old
t men knew that panic would soon pass
away. 1t was the young people who
I got panic stricken In the Baltimore
: theater the other night and crushed tt
death. When ! was young | shouted
8 "54-40 or fight" and hurrahed for Poll
I and that sRibboleth elected him, ant
/ now / don't propose to hurrah for
8 fight until there Is more reason for i
t than see now. In the first place there
0 are some very eminent men who de
clare that this is not o. case whore The
< Monroe doctrine applies. Protesso
9 Wolsey stands pre-eminent for hi
y learning and he declares that the Mon
n roe doctrine has nothing to do will
I such case. Whether it does or not
It confess that my impulses. are to taxi
Y Venezuela's part on general principles
y 1t Is human nature to be for the littl
n dog in a fight--and my boys are al
o lighting mad with England. 1t look
n to me though like this commission bus
g iness was already cut and dried an
IT that no man Will be put on the commits
g sion who has not already committe
y himself to Mr.. Cleveland's policy
& don't like that. | have never seen MI
d Olney, but his picture in the last Rt
e view OF Reviews looks belligerent. III
d looks smart, but IL he was dog
10 would bite, Maybe he has been In
'r prudent in his correspondence. Alta