The Irish standard., 1898-12-10

dlHy dIlu navy Ill CuDd ana CUBAN
winters, who will claim that the United
States would not have left the Philip
pine islands severely alone. at least for
some time to come? But the tactics of
Spain were to manoeuvre us all over
the face of the earth. She sought to
weaken us by dividing and scattering
our forces. Hence our Asiatic squadron
under Admiral Dewey was compelled to
strike blow at Manila. In order to do
this he was obliged first to sail into the
harbor, through the narrows, over mines
and under the frowning guns of Cavite.
The deadly work Of the Spanish mines
had already been demonstrated in Ha-
vana harbor in the destruction of the
Maine. That every one of ships of
war did not share the fate of that ILL
starred vessel can be regarded as little
less than miraculous. 1t is but reason
able to presume that few, very few, of
the naval commanders of all history,
perhaps no one now living other than
Dswey himself, would have ventured in
to that veritable mouth of hell at that
time. But the commander of our Asiatic
squadron happened to be the right man
in the right place at the right time, and
the right thing was done. This might
not occur again in a thousand years. So
why should we not keep all the advan-
tage we have gained by this master
stroke of one of our naval commanders?
He is woefully lacking in comprehen-
sion who concludes that the United
States is overreaching the limits of her
original designs, when she insists on
holding other provinces than Cuba that
came into her possession during the pro-
gress of the war. The supreme purpose
of this nation is to lift up humanity
wherever she can. She Is just as much
interested in the Filipinos as she is in
the Cubans. Had not the Vaccinations
of Spain made it necessary for us to take
the Philippine islands now, who will say
that the future might not see us headed
that way on exactly the same mission
that took us to the Antilles last summer?
Why, then. should we defer what can
now be easily accomplished without fur
Their strife, to be undertaken later, when
the power Of the enemy has been restor-
ed in Asiatic waters, when repetition
of the Dewey act would be absolutely
necessary to our success, but impossible?
The United States has been embar-
raised by a considerable number of her
own citizens every time she has essayed
to take a step forward in the campaign
of progress. They We're opposed to the
war of independence, but that war was
fought to a glorious contamination by
Washington and, his brave soldiers,
nevertheless. They were opposed to the
civil war and met in convention in the
midst of it and resolved it dismal fail
ure. But there was patriotism, national
confidence and moral courage enough in
the United States to continue that war,
too, to a glorious finish. And there were
those who could see In the impending
Spanish war last spring nothing but de-
feat and disaster to Uncle Sam. Before
the, old maids alone, of the New England
seaboard towns, imagined that a Span
jsh man-of-war would loom up under the
eastern horizon at any minute and shell
their homes. They could not realize
that our North Atlantic squadron and
our Flying Squadron were out on the At
lantic to arrest the progress Of the Span
ish armada, or that it was possible for
Of resisting foreign fleet. They simply
had no confidence IN their own country.
Such people are never fit to rule or
mould the sentiment of nation. They
are always afraid. They are always op-
posed to everything in the line of prog
ress. They have always constituted
part of our body polite and in all human
probability will always be with us. 1t
they have never been numerous enough
to dominate the policy of this great ma
ton in any crisis Surely they will not
be able to accomplish anything in the
which is just now commencing itself to
the highest intelligence Of our country.
1t is argued that if we keep the Philip
pines we will be obliged to keep an army
there and ships of war. Very we'll. We
only commenced to build our navy a
dozen years ago. If we had needed the
criticisms of those who were opposed to
it where would we be today? We need
navy and will have the largest and
most efficient one in the world ere long.
1t has recently been demonstrated that
Uncle Sam can handle a navy to good
advantage. Anything that necessitates
the building up of a great. strong Amer
lean navy l am in favor of, for I am
satisfied that our protection must be in
navy in the future,
WILLIAM KENNEDY.