The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-06-24

and which was presumably as strong as
| the government, was so great that only
habitual or professional students Of
finance paused at that point to give the
matter very serious thought. Those who
| did prophesied, with what now seems mfu
velous foresight, the results which would
| flow from this riot in irredeemable paper.
no matter how we'll backed.
Sure enough, when they had acquired a
! taste for that kind of fnanciering in
which the printing press is the most &C
| tive agent, the people began 70 cncern
| themselves less with the question Of how
to raise funds for the replenishing OF the
| treasury than how 20 spend the money
| which could be made by simply pulling a
lever and setting a machine in motion.
For several years scarcely any form Of
| extravaganza which promised a temper
airy qualification was TO absurd in prin-
ciple 10 find support from some party or
faction OF a party among the so-called
plain people," II was the same plain
people under whose encouragement con-
gress plunged the country into the pres
ent war. The trouble with the plain peo-
pie is usually that, however excellent their
| purposes and however patriotic their i'm
pulses, they are not accustomed to look
ahead and see where certain course is
bringing them out. In the matter of pen
sions fr instance, while they pride them
selves on the generosity which prompts
them to relieve the necessities of the
soldiers widow, they do not keep in mind
the fact that the government has no fixed
income, and that every dollar given to
the soldiers widow has 10 be taken out
OF the pocket of some mechanics widow
among the rest. AS in the greenback era
it took several hard-fought political cam
paigns and a long period of trade depres-
sion to teach these sangune souls that
Tor every debt there must be a day Of
liquidation, and that when a borrowed
dollar burns hole in ones pocket today
1t means that tomorrow that dollar or It's
equivalent must be eaned back by labor
and stress and sweat in order to meet
the creditors lawful demand.
While, therefore, il is a matter OF pride
to every American that his countrymen
are able and willing to come to the sup
port Of the government in a great crisis,
and supply from their purses and tills
and safes the means of carrying a pub
lie enterprise along. 1t behooves the
thoughtful citizen TO try to protect his
fellow citizens from injury through their
own generosity. The argument which we
shall hear freely advanced at the close
of the present war; if it comes ut happily
for US as it now seems probable, is that
we need stop at nothing we wish to do on
the grounds of expense, because we "have
only to issue bonds" and go aheod; and
the American who ventures to question
the wisdom Of increasing the national
debt for any purpose which has temper
arlly captured the fancy of the people, will
be denounced as a selfish and narrow
minded conservative. if not actually as
traitor to his country.
Ihese thoughts are suggested by the dis
covery that the project for the purchase
OF the island of st. Thomas, which was
preached early in the present year, and
dropped merely as a prudential considera-
ton, is to be revived as soon as the pres
ent war is over. Having decided to take
Porto Rico as a part of the programme
for the subjugation of Cuba, the inner
lalistes have now made up their minds
to keep it. But to make it of strategic
value 1t will be necessary, they think, to
prevent any other nations acquiring the
Virgin islands, st. Thomas and St. Croix.
Whlch lie Just across the narrow passage
between Porto Rico, Culebra and Bisque
Islands, being thus sort of natural outer
rampant for the defense of the east coast
Of Porto Rico. 1t is not at all likely that
we shall have any trouble with Denmark
which would Justify US, even speciousIy,
in aSS9ilinpr no in -,
possessions, as in the case of Spain. We
shall, therefore, undoubtedly set about the
acquisition of the islands by peaceful pur-
chase. 1t may be argued that we have
once proved our inability to acquire these
Islands under the most favorable condi-
tons; for in President Johnson's admins
tration we did go so far as to inspect them
with special view to purchase. and the
president concluded negotiations to that
end with the government of Denmark.
but the whole scheme was knocked in the
head by the senate's contemptuous ignor-
ing Of IT, and it was never seriously re-
vived until just before the outbreak Of
the present war.
Why its friends failed 10 push If 10 suc-
cess on this last occasion, the guesses
u
stated that Denmark had herself with
drawn from the informal compact on the
ground that matters had proceeded too
far between Spain and ourselves-that
was the beginning Of April-to justify a
neutral nation in disposing Of any of her
territory to either combatant. The fact
IS, however. that the hostility manifested
IN the senate at that time was such that
the friends of the scheme did not cara
to take the risk of taking a vote on f.
and allowing it's prestige 20 be injured
by making the strength Of the opposition
public. No such compunction would in
fuence them after the present war was
ended. Moreover. II is known 10 these
very men at the time they withdrew their
Dill that we should soon, if we went 20
war at all, enter upon a career Of terri
torial acquisition; and they felt assured
that 1t would be easier to reconcile the
American public to the idea Of buving s.
Thomas and St. CToix after we had begun
this career than before The whole mat
ter has been figured out with care. and the
steps taken at the close OF the war for ac-
curing the Dutch Islands viii have the
majority already prepared in the s4na,s
so that there VIII be nothing 70 Go but
let their anniversaries conduct their cam
paign 10 their hearts content, and then
take vote.
But the thing VIII not stop here. The
recent discomfort u the sugar growers
IN Jamaica has been noted n Washing
ton. and already the eyes OF some q our
land-hungry statesmen have been cast in
that direction. one senator, speaking she