The Van Buren press., 1896-02-15
TT WILL BE SETTLED.
Arp Interested in the Dispute Over
the Venezuelan Boundary.
Bill Studies Geography-He Finds That
Great Britain Is "a Very Great Country,
But VIII Submit to Arbitration.

Tia fS jtoV lNNSA FSN ASSpSA AAoil plo
editor of The Australian Agriculturist
that is published at Sydney, in that far
distant land. This letter has travelled
more than half around the world for 5
cents and is worth S5 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 responding out of
the abundance of his good will for the
South. Il am an Englishman," says
he, .tbut all my heart was with yLur
people in their great struggle. Robert
e. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were my
heroes. | was living in England then
and made Confederate flag and hung
it over the mantle, and when your final
surrender came l draped the flag with
Grape and it is still hanging whore |
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
whipped the rabbit fight and now make
the pest profitable by shipping the meat
in refrigerator chambers built in the
vessels. The pelt is also transported
to foreign ports.
Since receiving his letter we have
been studying geography and the cyclic
pedias about England and her posses
ions. Compared with Great Britain's
apminions the United States is small
affair. Australia is as large as our
whole country. Then, there are hun
tina belong to her and she has territory
away down in the antarctic regions.
She owns big slice off of South Africa,
where the gold and diamonds abound.
She virtually owns Egypt and the
Nubian country. She has about as much
territory in North America as we have
and she controls the commerce of sew
eral South American States. Her mer-
chant marine is more than that of all
other nations put together, and yet the
powers that govern and direct it all at
London make but little noise about it
and don't brag half as much as 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 won
derful people and make the world pay
tribute. No wonder they have got so
much money. They own about one
sixth of the land area of the world and
| half the commerce of the seas They have
260, 900, 600 subjects in India alone-four
times as many as we have people in the
United States. And over all these coun-
tries and islands and governments they
appoint Englishmen to fill all the Off
ces and fatten on the spoils.
1t is we'll enough for us all to study
geography again and refresh ourselves
about England. Our best ancestry came
from there and we have reassn to be
proud of it. We are proud of our own
country and our republican governmen
| and our wonderful progress, but some
how or other we have not yet been able
| to get along without English money. Not
only 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 only her brokers.
Now we do not suppose that England
will go so far as to fight for that land in
Venezuela, but will eventually submit
to arbitration. This is history repeat
ing itself. We had a long quarrel will
and both sides made big show of fight
and perhaps would have fought but for
| the counsel and high character Of Daniel
! Webster. He and Lord Ashburton set
tied it and the jingoes on both sides had
to hush up and acquiesce. | 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 OF
fight" But we dident fight, neither did
we get up to that line by several hun.
dred miles. Mr.. McLane and Lord
Aberdeen settled it at forty-nine. There
are generally two sides to all such ques
tions and the sober-thinking old men
can't be carried off on patriotic emo
ton. We were all jingoes when we
were young, but age and experience has
modified and Modified our rashness. II
was not the old men who got swamped
in New York the other day when the
war panic shook up Wall Street. 1t was
the young and timid and inexperienced
TIE old men knew that panic would
soon pass away. 1t was the young peo
pie who got panic-stricken in the Balti
more theater the other night and were
| crushed to death. When | was young
shouted "54-4O or fight" and hurrahed
for Polk and that shibboleth elected
him, and now don't propose TO hurrat
for fight until there is more reason
for it than | see now. In the first place
there are some very eminent men who
declare that this is not case where the
Monroe doctrine applies.
Professor Wolsey stands pre-eminen'
for his learning and he declares thai
the Monroe doctrine has nothing to dc
with such case. Whether it does ol
not confess that my impulses are tC
take Venezuela's part on general prin
| ciples 1t is human nature To be fol