The Columbus commercial. (Columbus, Miss.) 1893-1922, 1896-02-23
WHAT TO FIGHT.
sam Jones on "Wars and Humors
Of Wars"


Britain are getting their horns IN the
mud and paving dirt. and old Uncle
Sam Is shaking bis fist at somebody.
Turkey Is gobbling a little. and Russia
e mewing like q cat. and Canada Is hiss
ing at the stars and stripes IN q pub
lie theaters ct eetera- Itsecms that the
whole business wants to fight. and they
may get up a sort Of a general fracas.
Some one has said the way to keep
down civil war Is TO keep up a racket
and have an occasional war with q
foreign country. As long as men are
selfish and proud and mean there are
going to be rows and fusses. Great
Britain is proud and dcgmntic and stub
born, and win tote of anything she
can put in her pocket. But she can't
put America in her pocket with Ven
ezuela, and doubt II she tries 70 put
Venezuela in her pocket. Talk fibout
our being Of one blood, andraIl that
sort Of thing. Don't brothl- tq
Haven't brothers murdered eacl her2
They say family row Is TIL ofst
sort Of a row. be
But while many in this coun and
perhaps in other countries are talking
about wars and the Monroe doctrine,
etc, our fnanciers seem to be looking
after their pockets. It is said that this
country win not 60 to war with Great
Britain, for our financiers win not let
uA. It is avarice that got up the
trouble; and they say the hair Of the
dog is good for bite, maybe avarice
can keep 1t down. lam much more con-
cerned aboat our financial and COM
mercial conditions than am about the
war with England, or whether the
Cubans win lick the Spaniards, OF
whether England win steal Venezuela.
This financial question comes closer
home to us all. It gets the creditor
and the debtor both on their metal
When things get so the creditor can't
collect his money and the debtor can't
pay It, things are in bad shape. Issu-
ing bonds isn't going to help us, for the
treasury reserve is now down to $780,
100000, or less, and after it has been re-
plenished can be brought down again
to any point the avarice Of the dcpleters
dictate. Some say the remedy is in
bimetallism. A silverite told me the
other day that bimetallism was the
cure for the whole business, but re-
marked to him that England is cred
itor country and we are a debtor coun-
try and England could bankrupt us.
He replied: "Then let's 60 into bank
ruptcy." Yes, but" / replied, "an Of
Us don't want to 60 in It All you fell
lows whose stock in trade is a wife and
ten children and dog and a backing
brush, you are ready to go into bank
ruptcy; but q fellow that has any as
sets outside Of those you uH7ifr in
your inventory isn't quite re-, o 60
in.a Many blame Mr.. Cleveland, home
curse Carlisle; but a fellow that is
obliged to cuss and has some cussing
that he ought to dispose Of by rights,
let him turn his cussing machinery loose
on congress. have a thousand times
more respect for Mr.. Cleveland, who de-
cides what he ought to do and does It,
than for a congress that can't agree
upon anything and can't pass anything,
even a saloon.
But I don't believe there viii be much
fighting done. and ] don't believe there
win be much financial disaster. Tho
wisdom and prudence, the resources
and rational views Of men who can and
viii lead in these matters viii keep of,
at least for years to come, the crash
which win bring wreck of fortune
and ruin Of commerce.
If we should get up a general rowand
fight we have got about 100000 Of
men in the United States out Of a job
who thirst for martial glory, and there
are enough Of US peaceably disposed to
stay at home and work and keep the
coun. in bread and meat. Wars are
costly and cruel, but then they are
lessons; and some lessons men learn ii
no other way. What was the use Of our
civil war? The north could have bought
every colored man in the south on the
block and moved him back to Africa on
the money they spent in licking us, and
thereby averted the bloodshed and ruin
the war brought on. But some aboli-
tionists and some pro-slavery men had
rather have a licking and give up what
they have than to dispose Of it profta-
bly, and have q surplus and sound hide
instead
We are 30 odd years removed from the
battlefelds Of our civil war, and vet
the old gray-headed soldier boys Of he
blue aud the gray seem to be the es
who are itching most for fight an. be
readiezt for the fray. The average u-
man being don't carry a lesson 80 yea Is
without forgetting largely all that thefe
was in it. The average fighting fellow
has TO be licked OF to lick somebody
oftener than every 30 years or be will
muster himself out Of service on that
line. But ! think a war every 1000
years would suit me best Fame and
honor Of that sort is ell in my eye. Il
had rather be home guard private
than q brigadier come home TO die"
The conquests Of common sense found
ed on the golden rule are the only con-
quests that bring crown and complete
triumph.
We seem TO ohave a surplus of Every
thing-corn. cotton. wheat, oats, hides.
hogs. wool. and so on. If a war didn't
10 anything else It would clean up our
surplus commodities. and for q few
years things would boom on high
prices. But as long as we are over