Daily Kennebec journal., 1898-05-31
Iroons for the Philippines.


Last week the country witnessed a
spectacle unique in its national ex-
istence of a century and quarter.
For the first time troops wearing our
uniform and under our flag are cross
ling the seas on mission of conquest.
To be sure, in our war with Mexico
we transported troops from the gulf
states to Vera Cruz, but this was
rather a different matter from sending
troops 1000 miles across the Pacific to
clinch a great naval victory and hold
a group of tropic islands against
EuroGan foe. The cruiser Charleston
left California for the Philippines last
| week, and a force of $500 California
and Oregon troops and regulars depart
ed on transports, two days later,
for the same destination. This is the
| beginning of the practical work of re-
enforcing the American naval COM
mander at Manila. The Charleston
will be a valuable accession to Dewey's
fleet, and it carries an extra force of
men to man the guns at the forts of
Manila harbor. 1t is figured that the
Charleston will be with Dewey by
about the 10th of June. The expedi
ton of troops which has left will prob
ably get to Manila by the middle of
June. Ii is the intention of the COY
ernment to hasten the departure of
other expeditions, SO that by the time
the men who have started reach the
of troops may be on the way. AS
many as 10000 or 10000 troops may be
Much fault has been found with the
government for not shipping troops to
the Philippines earlier. On May flour
weeks last Sunday, Dewey gained his
great victory, and week later the ac-
count of the battle came from that
commander, and the need of troops to
enable him to finish his work then be-
came apparent. If e-enforccments
were dispatched Immediately the moral
| effect would have been vastly greater
than it will be now This evidence of
vigor and preparation would have
awed SPANS friends in continental
Europe have inspired terror in Madrid,
and might have started a revolution in
Spain. 1t would probably have brought
pressure on Spain from her friends in
France, Germany and Austria which
would have constrained the Sagasta
ministry, or whatever other regime
took its place, to abandon Cuba and
give up the fight.
But the government acted with as
much vigor as was possible under the
circumstances. 1t had neither the men
nor the vessels to send to Manila i'm
mediately. only a very small frag
ment of the countrys dminutive regu-
lar army was left on the Pacific coast
and available for service in Asia, and
the volunteers, of course, were not yet
organized and trained. Nor were there
any transports in readiness at the
time. The country had given no seri-
Gus thought to war until a few weeks
before hostilities began, and thus,
| it ;
prepared to push the fight with speed.
1t is easy enough now to point out the
regular army ought to have been
much larger, and the different states
ought to have taken more interest in
organizing, drilling, and equipping
their militia. So far as regards the
Federal government these mistakes
will not be repeated. The element in
Congress which kept the regular army
until the war began down to the
limit at which it was fixed more than
twenty years ago,and which fought all
projects to increase the navy will be
sienced henceforth. The nation will
always have a larger army and navy
hereafter, both as means to avert
war and to make war brief and CHEAP
for US if it comes. Meanwhile both
in Cuba and the Philippines the coun-
try will soon be ready to push the con-
hict with vigor and decisiveness.
This is very good time for Canada
and the United States to settle theil
= Ion iysi a nlinsr differences TNhn npOnlf