The age-herald., 1898-04-21
TECHNICS FROM
 CURRENT TOPICS

has gone forth! The resolutions WHICH place this republic unequivocally upon the side of Cuba in her struggle for independ- ence have been adopted by both houses of the national congress. and have been sign ed by President Mckinley.
 The climax has been reached and the nation stands anxiously upon the thres- hold of an epoch in her history. The time for grand stand plays" is over; there IS no further need for statesmen who yearn with an unquenchable longing for re-elec- tion. to 'play to the galleries with pyro- technic orations and wild craving to sail through "bloody seas'' for the mainten- ance of American honor. The hour has arrived when action, not words. are to count when personal sacrifice will mean more than the most expansive vocabulary of the English tongue. whether spoken with the musical softness of the south, or with the unmistakable accent that de- notes residence in New England. If Spain's effrontery reaches the height Of national patriotism an opportunity will soon be afforded Alabamians, In the lan- guage of one of their representatives at Washington, ''to show to the world that American blood and American wealth will be poured forth freely in defense of Ameri- can honor'
 Conservatives. jngoes and peace-at-any-
 price men are ready to accept the situa- ton which is believed by many to have been thrust unnecessarily upon the peo- pie.
 The time for a discussion of the merits of the question is past
 There is every indication that fighting Is imminent, and the great masses of the people are now interested in learning upon whom will the lots fall when calls for vol unteers heard in the land.
 It safely be decided that previous expressions of warlike sentiments cannot be taken as infallible indications of speedy enlistment either in the regular army or in the national guard The vast ma 5ority of Americans are expecting the bat ties to be fought by tthe other fellow" But judging from the reports received from various sections of the south there are very few "other fellows who are pleading for the privilege of being massa- cred by Spanish bayonets, or slain by yell low fever germs in the impending war.
 " iiiiO tAO hdtioH WdllS Wlln DdIeu breath for the first blast of the trumphet and roll of the drum which shall marshall the war like hosts in battle array, the south takes the liberty of following illustrious exam- ples and of rising to point of personal privilege" She does not ask to be re- lieved from doing her full duty, whatever that may be, nor whenever it may come, notwithstanding the fact that the majority of the southern people have opposed this war with Spain. But she does beg to be heard when it is proposed to make her do the worst of the fighting and the most of the dying. General Wheeler disclaims any intention of needlessly sacrificing "the men of the Gulf states, in his recent letter to Governor Johnston He intended, so it ap- pears, that his letter should be considered as an unmistakably compliment to the eagerness CD of the people of this state to go to the front and in his memorable "personal privilege" speech delivered Sat urday in congress, he covers up the whole matter with such an array of bouquets to Alabamians that one begins to wonder If the types were wrong, or whether General Wheeler ever did write such a letter or not, and really whether this good old state even borders on the gulf.
 While this letter of General Wheelers, written to Governor Johnston, appears to have become woefully mixed" somewhere, somehow, according to the Congressional Record, the expression of that sentiment which craved southern fighters reached this section seems much wider spread than the average Alabamian would suspect, as the following extract from an editorial in a very late Tennessee paper will show:
 "A dispatch from Washington states that an army of 10000 men, composed Of the national guard of the southern states, Will he one of the first sent into Cuba in the event of war It is considered that south- erners can best stand the Cuban climate, and for that reason they will be given nreference to the militia organizations of the north.''
 Perbaps the following brief editorial'from the Cincinnati Times-Star of last Sunday voices this sentiment to sacrifice the men of the gulf states in a way that no expian- ation can be offered in extenuation. With ont fear of melting another ''personal priv ;lage" speech the Times-Star editorial is here given. It seems that the little, unself- ,sh leyen put into the national dough at Washington is permeating the whole mass above Mason and Dixon's line. The Times Star says editorially:
 ssThe climate of Cuba is greater menace to the lives of our soldiers, should the island be invaded by troops, than all the Spanish bullets and bayonets in the world. | This is the worst time of year for adverse climatic conditions. The rainy season Is near at hand, and with the rainy season comes yellow fever. Acclimated troops those of Florida and gulf states-would be | able to withstand the effects of the climate, | but the soldiers of the north would fall easy victims So great is the enthusiasm for war with Spain in the southern states that | all troops needed could be recrui . from
 that section without the necessity of iniper- | fling the northrn troops"
 The nation need not distrust itself about l the attitude of the south when the fighting beeins Southern courage has never been