The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-08

justified in taking that colony away
and putting it under a government
which would insure the safety of all
visiting ships Of friendly nations. In
other words, we should have a right
to say to Spain, You cannot control
the anarchist element in this popula-
! tom so get OUT"
Applying the same logic, what would
have happened if the explosion had TAX
en- place at Santander or Corunna, in
Spain, instead Of at Havana, in Cuba :?
Would you then have ordered the Span
ish government out Of Spain, on like
grounds?"
Then we should have had no such
means of redress as now. We cannot
argue from the one case to the other
because the conditions are entirely diff
ferent, and any way the matter is not
one for discussion on grounds Of logic
and consistency. The greatest acts in
history would rot bear the tests which
you would apply to this situation. We
all know the results of Lincoln's issue
Of his emancipation proclamatio yet
there is not a constitutional lawyer in
the country who will pretend to have
discovered, even to this day, clause
in the Constitution justifying that act
At the time the proclamation was is
sued, not few radicals criticised it ON
the ground that it ought to have been
the constitutional lawyers and these
critics, If we trusted the matter to
them, Mr.. Lincoln would figure in his
tory as one Of the great blunderers of
his era; and yet all the world knows
that the thing he did, and his method
of doing it, and the time he chose for
it, were the best possible, whether they
violated all the canons or not There
are some things for which no law or
precedent or logic can be cited in justi-
fication. 1t is instinct that must gov
ern in such cases, whether the act is
the act Of a statesman or of people"
But suppose the president declines
to take this view and proceeds upon
the theory which the civil courts pro-
coed upon, that there is a measure of
damages to compensate for all wrongs
which cannot be set right by restoring
the original status?"
Then I think, that a good many
others will feel as I do-as if we We're
rather crowding things, after demand
ing and receiving money indemnity
of five, six or seven million dollars from
bankrupt nation, to turn around and
insist upon the Improvement Of the con-
dition Of her poor, sick and starving
subjects. Yet that is what must surely
follow when the Maine affair is cleared
up and congress takes cognizance of
the correspondence sent in in response
W Tic TGSOlullOIlS OIL inquiry. would 1t
not be an act Of meanneSS to compel
the payment of this large sum with the
tacit understanding on the part Of the
payer that the payee will be satisfied,
and then to call up a new subject and
demand a further expenditure of large
sums on that score as the only alter
native of the payee's taking away all
the payers property? Would it not be
more merciful to take all the PAYERS
visible assets at once, ana give him his
full discharged"
The Other Side.
AS an antidote to this sort of reason
Ing another public man of prominence.
who has made a study Of foreign
finance, said today:
Il cannot see how the present COM
plication can have any but a peaceable
result. 1t takes two nations to go to
war. and war costs tremendous price:
the outlay Is not reserved for the in
demnity paid at the end, but the de-
mand for 1t begins at the very out
set.l Spain will need money with which
to begin any war she may feel dis
posed to wage upon the United GIrtes,
yet she is bankrupt, am. would not
Know where to -ss1rn. She no longer
mas her great mass Of rich colonies
whose income she could pledge as Sc
cur1ty for any loan advanced Her
last strong dependency is Cuba, which
would be the very first thing taken
from her by her enemy. Every nation
Of Europe knows that, and with no
security to offer, whittier shall she
turn? War is largely, in these prac-
tical days, a question of money, and
Tor Spain to invite hostility with the
United States under existing conditions
would be so nearly suicidal that l can
not conceive Of her statesmen enter
tanning the idea for moment On our
part 1t would be ungenerous to the last
degree to take advantage of her I'M
fortunate situation and do ANYTHING
which would make 1t needlessly diff