The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1898-03-11
mDEMETTY Or WAR, WHICHI


bear an analogy to civil and criminal
law. Suppose that a citizens house is
entered by a burglar and a member OF
his family is murdered, would the cit
izen be allowed by law to compromise
with the burglar for a money consider
ationY Not at all But should he
even propose such a thing as a settle
ment for money for a crime committed
against his family and against society,
he would be a criminal himself and
would be imprisoned for compound
ing a felony" After the law has dealt
with the offender and he is punished
for the crime civil damage suit
would hold against any property which
he might have possessed and his heirs
would be obliged to indemnify him.
The case with a nation is the same
To propose the acceptance Of a money
indemnity for such an appalling dis
aster as the blowing up Of the Maine,
if the investigation shows that it was
done by Spanish treachery, would be
compromising felony" Yet Marcus +
A. Hanna, senator from Ohio, is report
ed as making that kind of q talk, about
as follows: "I am strictly business.
This war talk is all rot. Wall street
won't stand for it. I think can fix a
reasonable price-discount for cash"
If this report is true, he is a mon
J ster, and guilty of proposing the com
mission Of a crime-an international
crime-which, if perpetrated, would
/ bring down upon US the scorn Of all
the civilized nations Of the earth. The
only decent and respectable thing for
any nation to do under such circum-
stances, would be to demand Of Spain
a prompt disavowal of the act and an
| immediate infection Of the death pen
atty upon the perpetratOr and con-
spiratOrs in the crime.
/ When this is done, or promised to
be done, then this government could
entertain a proposition for damage
for property destroyed and a money
payment to the heirs Of the victims Of
the cata strophe. No self-respecting
nation could take any other course.
To swerve from this line of action
would be criminal.
The money bags, Of course, weigh
everything in gold, for that is their
god. They would compromise nation
al honor, sell national faith and bar
ter human flesh and blood for gold.
This is the kind of cattle they are.
They did this before and during the
civil war, and the same brood Of vul-
lures, from all reports, are on the qui
vie now to make threatened war a
means Of filing their Golfers. They
don't want war for reasons explained
by The REPUBLIC in last weeks issue.
If it comes they will hold high carni-
val on the board Of trade and specu-
late on heaped slain on fields Of battle.
But the following is the view the
, subject as taken by one Of the surYiv-
ors of the Maine as reported by the
Topeka State Journal:
Second Gunner E. L. Trail, one Ct
y the survivors Of the Maine, was in
Atlanta, Ca, last Saturday. He has g
lame arm and a scalp wound as the
result Of the explosion, and was just
. ont Of hospital at Key West on sixty
! day furlough. In speaking Of the ex-
= plOsion, he said:
"Oh, it was horribleI So horriblC
that I do not want to talk about it
: But you can say this; that unless the
? United States should declare wa1
; against Spain they viii never get ar
r American sailor TO put his foot on The
2 deck Of their war vessels again. YOJ
q can state that as fact and bet on il
/: We would be the laughing stock Of the
: world and would be held in contemp
in every port We entered.
4 Money won't wipe out the outrage o.
. replace the lives Of 25s Of as good mel
. as ever walked a deck. We don't wan
!, money and We must have war. Just Z
q think Of what an awful slaughter tia
4 and you can depend upon it that th'
- Spanish government knew all about il
= sWhat could an Ameaicsn sailor ez
|. pect IL the United States should fail &
declare war against Spain or If sd
should accept an indemnify for .
y lives? But believe We viii have va
70 and IF We do We viii whip Spain IL
be little OF no time, although IN tell 20
1t she has got some mighty fne boats"
st sTo what do yO1 attribute the d
~ ssruction Of the Maine2" vas asked.
be @To q Submarine mine explosion, {
T. course. It could have been nothin
81 else, and It vas q trap set for Us By th
g Spanish with the fuu knoHIsdEe {
g the government. Cur magazines EsI
~ not exploded t was impossible Il
IS them to explode, and 81 this 81
be about lack Of dioiplins is silly v
o. had the very best dieiPiins and sVsl
Ct prssaution sgainst accident vas 6
5n kerr
- s vas Questioned - &C. BIS posilis