Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1898-04-07

MY \ Y
COMMODORE SCHLEY.
Qn Case of War He Would Command Our
Flying Squadron)
ley has come up to my expectations.
He has not been stampeded by public
opinion. He has been cool, calm, Dig
nifed and worthy of his high Office"
Thus you see that the men of high
rank and standing are pleased with con-
servatism and deliberation on the part
of the man who yields power with wis
dom, and who seeks to preserve the
national honor with prudence. They
who berate a president for not moving
i'll accordance with clamor do not real
izu the weight of responsibility which
requires that a president shall care
fully consider all of the elements in the
international equation before him. The
great men Of both political parties APP
prove of the course which has been pur-
sued, although the people have been
exceedingly impatient ever since the de-
struction of the battleship Maine, for
not one man in a thousand has enter
tanned the belief that the disaster was
"A accident. Indeed, the most signifi-
cant occurrence in the proceedings of
the court of inquiry was the muster of
the survivors of the Maine, where every
man answered in the negative when
asked if they had any complaint to offer
concerning the management OF the bat
tleship. Not one of the survivors be-
lieved that the explosion came from
within the battleship.
1t is not to be wondered that our
people were inpatient; and that many
Of the nervous sanguine people should
wish for prompt and aggressive action
on the part of the president. But it is
to the credit of the people, as whole,
that they were conservative enough to
await the result of the official inquiry.
They had confidence in their president
and in their republican institutions.
They knew that the ship of state was
guided by man who had shouldered
musket in his young manhood, in de-
Tense of his country, and they knew that
he would not prove recreant to his great
trust.
The people did not at first realize, as
President Cleveland and President Nc
Kinley realized, that this peaceful and
peace-loving country was not prepared
for war, that our sea coasts were with
out proper Notifications and that our
navy was not on war footing. But
they soon grasped the situation, and
saw that ample preparations were being
made for the conflict, if it should be-
come inevitable. Therefore they
waited and hoped for the best.
During all these troublous days Pres
ident Mckinley and his constitutional
advisers resorted to every available
means and precedents to avoid the hor-
rors of war. But at no time was there
any trepidation or doubt of the result
Of combat. 1t was important that our
harbors and waterways leading to our
great cities should be fully prepared for
emergencies, and the work was pushed
along with Napoleonic celebrity. Why,
two months ago, any Spanish man-of-
war could have steamed up the Potomac
river and bombarded our national capi-
tai. Men in congress were talking war,
and people throughout the country
were talking war, when, with all of our
vast resources, we would have been at
first helpless.
Goliath, of Gath, could have crushed
David with the weight of his right hand;
but David had the sling with the five
smooth stones from brook, and his
weapon proved formidable enough to
Stay the giant of the Philistine forces.
Thus, the American giant would have
been helpless before the weapons of the
well-equipped Spanish navy, but that
time has passed. Our 7O,OOO,OOO people
are now in readiness for emergencies.
For this condition of safety we have to
give credit to the conservative man who
quietly fulfills his oath of Office and safe
guards our national honor.
SMITH d. FRY