The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-02-22
WHAT TO FIGHT.
Sam Jones on WARS and Rumors
of Wars"
h Financial Question Also Comes In
Lessons Taught by the Battlefield
Patriotism Tha Champions the
Rights of the Home.
~IcoPYRIoHT, 1861

ton. And hen Germany and Great
Britain are getting their horns in the
mud and paving dirt, and old Uncle
Sam is shaking his fist at somebody.
Turkey is gobbIing a little, and Russia
Is mewing like a cat, and Canada is hiss
ing at the stars and stripes in a pub
lie thcatcr, ct cetcra. Itsccms 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 n
foreign country. As long as men are
selfish and proud and mean there are
going to be rows and fuses. Great
Britain is proud and dcgmatic and stub
born, and will tote off anything she
can put in her pocket. But she cant
put America in her pocket with Ven
ezuela, and | doubt if she tries to put
Venezuela in her pocket. Talk about
our being of one blood. and all that
sort of thing. Don't brothers fight?
Haven't brothers murdered each other?
They say a family row is the worst
sort of a row.
But while many in this country and
perhaps in other countries are talking
about wars and the Monroe doctrine.
etc, Il finanCicrs seem to be looking
after their pockets. 1t is said that this
country will not go to war with Great
britain, for Our finanCicrs will not let
us. 1t is avariCe that got up the
trouble; and they say the hair of the
dog IS good for a bite, maybe avarice
can keep it down. lam much more con-
Cerned abuSt our financial and COM
mercial conditions than | am about the
war with England, or whether the
Cubans will lick the Spaniards, or
whether England will steal Venezuela
This financial question comes closer
home to us all. 1t gets the creditor
and the debtor both on their metal.
When things get so the creditor can't
collect his money and the debtor cant
pay it, thia are in bad shape. IssU-
ing bombs VS.. t going to help US, for the
treasury reserve is now down to $50
0CO,O0O, or less, and Gfter it has been re-
plCnished can be brought down again
to any point the a]varicc of the dcplctcrs
dictate. Some say the remedy is in
bimetallism. \ silvcrite told me the
other day that bimetallism was the
cure for the whole business, but | re
marked to him that England is a cred
itor country and we are a debtor COun
try and England could bankrupt us.
He replied: Then let's go into bank
Tuptcy." Yes, but" / replied, 'all OF
us don't want to go in it. All you fell
Iov-r ,rI~rn ,tC,1. -, 4r,I, . ,sFD n-l
ten children and a dog and a backing
brush, you are ready TO go into bank
rUptcy; but a fellow that has any as
sets outside of those you muster in
your inventory isn't quite ready TO go
in" Many blame Mr.. Cleveland, some
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 cussingmachinery loose
on congress. l have a thousand times
more respect for Mr.. Cleveland, whole
Cides what be ought to do and does it,
than for n congress hat can't agree
upon anything and can't pass anything,
ever a saloon.
But l don't believe there will be much
fighting done, and ! don't believe there
will be much financial disaster. The
wisdom and prudence, the
and rational views of men who can and
will lead in these matters will keep off,
at least for years to come, the crash
which will bring wreck of fortune
and ruin of commerce.
If we should get up a general row and
fight we have got about 100000 of
men in the United States out of q job
who thirst for martial glory, and there
are enough of us peaceably disposed to
stay at home and work and keep the
country in bread and meat. Wars are
costly and cruel, but then they are
lessons; and some lessons men learn in
no other way. What was the use of u
civil war? The north could have bought
every colored man in the south on the
block and moved him back to Africa or
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-slayery men had
rather have a licking and give up what
they have than to dispose of it profita-
bly, and have a surplus and a sound hide
instead.
We are 30 odd years removed from the
battlefields of our civil war. and yet
the old gray-headed soldier boys of the
blue and the gray seem to be the ones
who are itching most for n fight and the
readiest for the fray. The average hui
man being don't carry a lesson 30 years
without forgetting largely all that there
was in it. The average fighting fellow
has to be licked or to lick somebody
oftener han every 80 years or he 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 all in my eye. II
had rather be a home guard private
than a brigadier come home to die"
The c~onquests of common sense found
ed on the golden rule are the only con-
quests that bring acrown and complete
triumph.
Wa seem to ohave n surplus of every
thinG-corn, cotton, wheat, oats, hides.
hogs, wool, and so on. If a war didn't
do anything else it would clean up our
surplus commodities, and for a few
-.II 49,. - Is-L