The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1898-09-08
SOME RESULTS OF THE RECENT
WAR.

stupendous mistake had beer
made by our government, and sub
sequent events have only confirm
ed Ills in this opinion; and SO fal
as the Democratic party is con-
cerned. we believe that it has re-
. ceived a blow by this occurrence
from which it will not soon re-
cover; and it's effect upon the
country at large, and especially
the South, will in the end, we
firmly believe, prove disastrous.
No one will deny that the prin-
cipal causes of war alleged by
those favoring the same, prior to
the beginning of hostilities, were
the dictates of humanity and the
punishment of Spain for it's sup
posed completely III the destruc-
| ton of of the Maine.
In regard to the Cubans, the
unanimous opinion of those of our
soldiers who were SO unfortunate
as to be thrown in contact with
them upon their own soil, is that
they are utterly contemplate, I'M
trustworthy and deserving of no
consideration whatever. 1t is
highly probable that as subjects
of Spain, they were treated with
as much humanity as was safe to
accord to people of such degraded
character. 1t is certain that the
Spanish statements concerning
them, made before the war, have,
by our own people, been found to
be true to the letter, and in all
probability we shall have to adopt
the same policy towards them as
was pursued by Spain. Conse-
quently this. as casus belli, en-
tirely fails.
A great many innocent persons
should not be punished for the
faults of the few guilty ones
among them. Gen. Lee complete
ly exonerated Gen. Blanco, the
representative of Spain in Cuba,
of knowledge or connivance at the
explosion on our war vessel; and
the evidence adduced at the in
vestigation tended to prove, and
the opinion expressed by Gen.
Lee was, that it was the work of
a few individuals acting upon
their own responsibility. We
should not, therefore, have called
Spain to account for this act any
more than we did Germany for
the murder of the Chicago police
men by her subjects, or Italy for
the Malta outrages committed by
subjects of King Humbert. Be-
cause the miscreants who murder
ed our gallant seamen could not
be discovered and tried and pun
ished by our courts for their crime
as were the Haymarket rioters,
was our misfortune; and the case
stands upon the same footing as
the thousands of others where
criminals escape punishment on
account of the lack of evidence
against them. The Maine incl
dent was not, therefore, a suffi-
cient cause for war.
AS to the results of the conflict:
We have gained vast amount of
territory without which burden
we believe we should fare far bet
ter. Peopled for the most part
by semi-barbarians and with CHI
mates to persons unaaccustomed
thereto pestilential in their char
acter, it is difficult to conceive
how the lands, except Porto Rico,
recently wrested from Spain can
be of service to us either as fields
for the expectation of our pro-
ducts or as Offering inducements
to enterprising American settlers.
Considering the great expense of
maintaining standing armies in
these provinces and the enormous
loss of life among the troops that
must result from disease and wars
of rebellion; the active COMPETE
tition of their producers with ours
of cotton, sugar, rice, fruits, iron
! ore and many other articles the
results of pauper labor, all OF
{ which must be admitted free OF
| duty into this country, we fail tC
6 see how the South is to be bene
fitted by this transaction. Aftel
i II few years trial of this costly ex
pertinent, we predict that the Uni
ted States will as gladly part Will
its colonies as Sinbad the Sailo
did with the Old Man of the Sea
1t is the unanimous concensu
of opinion among we'll informed
e men that President Mckinley will
it should he live, be renominatet
rs and reelected in 1900, defeat
l. ing Mr. Bryan who, in all likeli
l. hood, will be the Democratic can
m didate. Though the Democrat