The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-07-15
Our Success Will
Make for Peace
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
QO1HY is II that the European pow
MhUI ers evince a feverish anxiety TO
WUVI see the present war brought to
l(J clusc7 with the exception of
Austro-Hungary, the sovereign
OF which may be presumed to feel some
personal sympathy for his second cousin,
the Queen Regent Christina, the great
European states regard the contest be-
tween our country and Spain very much
as they regarded thc contest between
Turkey and Greece They shudder at
the appalling consequences OF the next
general war, so colossal are the eNlsung
armaments and to such n pitch OF deadly
perfection have firearms been brought.
They know, too, that a general war may
grow at any hour out OF local one,
seeing that. by the telegraph wires which
girdle II, tho globe has been converted
into n bundle of nerves that, receiving
shock at one point, feel responsive
thrill in every cell and nlament. The
determination evinced by the great pow
ers to encyst and strife the war In Thes-
sally was prompted by the same dire ex-
perience that has taught farmers on the
prairie to smother fire at It's inception,
Now II will be easy to show that. by
our interposition In Cuba, we have signal
ly promoted the desire of the European
governments TO extinguish as quickly as
possible all sporadic outbreaks of flame
that might lead to a widespread con-
Migration; and that the work OF fire
insurance, so far as we can further It,
will only be rounded out when all the
Spanish colonies shall have been turned
over to us.
For three years the state of things In
Cuba had been a reproach to civiliza-
tion and a menace to the peace OF the
world. We say n menace to the peace OF
the world because we could not have per-
sisted much longer in dog-in-the-mang-
er policy and forbidden the desperate
| insurgents to invoke the aid of some
European power. No one of the Euro
pean powers, however. could have come
| forward to rescue the Cubans without
provoking the Jealousy and enmity of
| the rest. The only interference with
! Cuba which, since the time OF Canning,
| statesmen on both sides of the Atlantic
| had learned TO regard with equanmity
was that OF the United States. 1t had
| come to pass that we held species of
commission to keep the peace in Cuba,
and, had we neglected TO discharge 1t,
| the duty of delivering the Cubans from
| horrible oppression would have fallen TO
| European hands, and the suporsession of
| Spain by a strong European power in
the Spanish Antilles would have led. soon
|
lea. We alone could upset Spain's col.
onial rule without exciting an uncontroll'
| able outburst of envy and greed in Eu-
| rope and occasoning a general scramble
for the spoils of the New World.
| --O-
| What Is true of Cuba is true of Porte
Rico; that Spain should keep it was not
conducive to the collective safety. Sc
| long as she exercised any power there
that island also would be a firebrand
| which, when not aflame, would bt
smouldering. The situation of the Philip
pines even more plainly was fraught will
danger to the peace of Christendom. No
only would the atrocious treatment o.
the Philippines and Tagals in Luzon leaC
to periodical revolts in the course o
which some foreign power would be i'm
plored to succor the insurgents, but /
response to that appeal would hav'
peculiarly grave results because the ac
QUESTION of the archipelago by any o
the maritime powers most deeply con
cerned in the Far East-we refer o
course, to Great Britain, Russia, France
Germany and Japan-would destroy th
delicate balance of power in that quar-
ter. which hitherto has been so jealousl!
and laboriously maintained. Not one o
the five powers named could take pos
session of the Philippines without givinl
umbrage to the rest; a division of th
| prize WOulu De ueHldnueu Dy II congress
or by the threat of force, and a wide
reaching war would be probably the out
come. The only nation that, at this juno
| ture could occupy the Philippines with
out disturbing the tranquility which 70
the moment reigns in the Far East
would be the United States; and. as w
should give the islanders good govern
ment, their archipelago would cease t
be a blazing or half-kindled torch
| o
| 1t is, in a word, for the interest of tn
whole civilized world that all of Spain
colonies. with the possible exception o
the Canaries should be turned over t
us. 1t is for the worlds interests be
cause, in her hands, they always hav
been. and always would be a menac
to the general peace. If this be true, an
that it is cannot be gainsaid, the soone
the transfer is made the better. TIL
| fire, which now is localized, should b
put out quickly lest it spread. A thou
sand accidents. contingencies, inadvert
ences, may lead to the very complica
tions which all of the European pow
ers. except Spain, are anxious to avoid
We except Spain because, in putting OF
the evil day and in postponing submis
sion to the terms which our duty to mar
kind compels us to impose, she can hav
no other hope no other purpose, than t
bring about such international entanglt
ments as may cause general war Spai
alone has anything to gain from such
contest; in 1t she would at least hav
allies, and would expect to see her thirs
for revenge upon us gratified. The grea
powers of Europe, however, do not mea
to risk an oecumenical convulsion fo
the sake of decadent monarchy, which
considered as the trustee of colonies
has been tried in the balance and foun
wanting. They recognize that, In seel
ing to evade the sentence of rigorou
isolation which the conscience of mar
kind has passed upon her she is leopard
ing the peace of the world, For ths
reason they are exerting. and will cor
tinue to exert, all Inc means of mori
pressure at their command to induce III
Spaniards to accept promptly such tern