The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-06-21
What Would Happen In Case of
War.
PATRIOTISM AND THE MILITIA.
Martial Spirit In the south--Love For the
Old Flag-Business Prosperity In Dixie.
Cotton Prices and Diversified Crops
Bank CIearings.

I not long DelOfe the INAUGURATION OF IrOSl'
dent Mckinley General Algor was in Eng
land and found himself at dinner one
I night where there were a number OF Eng
lish army and navy officers These gen.
tlemen were quite curious TO know how
the United States expected TO defend itself
IN case Of war with England
Your northern frontier is 5000 miles
long understand. a" remarked a British
army officer, and is without Notifications
! Is that true?"
That is true, replied General Alger
We have no Notifications there at all %
At this all the company expressed great
surprise They could not understand it
| A long frontier absolutely unfortifed and
scores of important cities without proteo.
ton
why Is IL soi" asked one Of them at
length
We'll, III tell you, =" said General Alger
There are IN the United States 20, 900, =.
GOO Of people, There are in Canada 5 900,
600 or 5000, 600 My countrymen are not
such towards that they see any necessity
for 1000, 600 of people terrifying them
selves against 5000 600.
The American Spirit.
The BritishCrs quickly saw the point
and did not press the matter any further.
but they wanted 10 know about our great
seaboard cities-New York, Boston, Bal
timore, Philadelphia and others.
"AIe they fortified? And what would
happen If you should get into war with
England, for instance, and we were To
send over 80 or 40 great battleships?"
Il am perfectly willing 20 answer that
i
cities are not without Notifications But
leaving out of the question the defense
which these Notifications and our own
navy would afford, making no mention Of
the development of torpedo dcfenses, which
would be very rapid if danger threatened,
taking no account of the difficulty your
ships would experience in operating far
away from your coal supply, let us assume
that you could shell New York or Boston
and destroy the city. You couldn't do
anything more Have you forgotten that
q quarter of century ago one Of the
greatest of American cities was completely
wiped out by fire? The destruction of Chi
cago by the flames was more thorough
than any work Of ruin your battleships
could work. Yet Chicago arose from her
ashes, almost in "a twinkling, greater,
more beautiful, richer and more powerful
city than ever before. That is precisely
what would happen in case you were TO
shell one of our seaport cities"
This was somewhat of poser TO the
English gentlemen, They could not meet
u spirit like this, which surveyed with
equanimity the possibility of the destruc-
ton of great city by shot from big guns.
They were forced to admit, however. that
there was no use trying TO get ahead OF a
nation that could look at things in this
way. After u little pause, during which
the Englishmen appeared to be thinking
up some new line of attack upon the Unit.
ed States, one of them exclaimed:
but you have 10 army in America.
Only $4,000 or 800 men. How could
you defend your country with that number
of soldiCrs?"
LAS to that" replied General Alger,
There are some things you do not know
We have 20, 900 men in our state militia
organizations, all trained and equipped.
They could he put in the field on pa hours
notice. In two weeks more we could put
goo, 900 men in the field, in three months
800, 600 more and in six or nine months
we could send out 5000, goo armed sol.
diers. If you want to understand the pos.
siblities of the United States from the mil.
itary point of view, look at the war of the
rebellion and remember that a foreign
nation would have TO contend against not
the north or south alone. but the two com.
bined -
War Feeling In Dixie.
1t is a curious fact that there is more
war feeling among the senators and repre-
sentatives from the southern states than
among those from the north This feeling
crops out in many ways and is believed to
reflect public opinion in the sections be-
hind them ! have asked number of sen.
ators how they explain it, and the most
usual answer Is that the men of the south
would hail with JOY an opportunity to
fight again under the old dag The young (
men of Dixie have more of the martial !
spirit than their fellows of the north, and
If there were TO be war between the Unit |
ed States and Spain, for instance, prob
ably enough volunteers would offer from
the south alone to ill out the quota of our
armies five times over Southern men tell |
me there is a feeling among their people |
that the south and north will never be |
completely reunited till there has been a
foreign war in which the men from the |
states formerly in rebellion will have an |
opportunity to demonstrate their love for |
the Union by going to the front Many |
late war" refer TO struggle with foreign |
power rather than to the rebellion,
Business and Crops.
Accompanying the president on his tour
through the south. was able TO talk with
q great many prominent men of that sec.
ton All agree that the south Is now as
as ever before Not since the |
war have times been as good throughout
that section. 1t Is true that cotton does
not bring 10 or 10 cents. as in the old days.
but cotton at cents is as good for the |
south, with present prices of all the things
the planter has to buy. as 10 or l2 cents
was in the old days. A dollar will now
go more than twice as far as 1t did then.
and cotton brings considerably more than
one-half the price. Besides, the people of
the south have learned to diversity their
crops and to farm more economically.
In this connection a remark recently |
make by Postmaster General Gary Is wor-
thy consideration. He pointed out that
the bank olearings In the country are now
only per cent less than they were In the
Hush times, while prices of merchandise