The record-union., 1898-12-13
AN UNJUST ASSAULT.

The "Oregonian' charges the Presi-
dent with being a weak man, one CROP
Ing and feeling his way, making blum
ders and tolerated only because Of the
respect due the office. Wherein was
this evident in the late war, or the
months just preceding it? While by
no means a man worshipper or the
champion of President Mckinley we
believe in fair play for him, and hence
we assert that in two distinct respects
he proved that he has courage and
strong will power, namely, he resisted
with perfect calm the powerful demand
and pressure for recognition of the bel
1igerency Of the Cubans, and again the
demand for the recognition Of the in
dependence of the so-called Cuban re-
public
In both cases the entire country now
admits that he was right and that the
popular and Congressional demands
were unwise. It required more than or
dinary backbone and self-reliance to
stand out as Mr.. Mckinley did upon
those two points. But on third he
was equally firm, and just as well
grounded, namely he resisted the "on
to Havana" cry and refused to rush
into the war until the country was in
some large degree prepared for it, In
that stand it is now conceded on all
hands that he was right, and the whole
people commend him for it.
Here then in three foremost instances
he proved that he has a will of his
own, decision of character and plenty
Of stubbornness. The historical facts
stand him in proof in these three cases;
but there are others He distinctly
manifested firmness in exacting from
Spain the concessions she finally made.
He resisted the appeals and pressure Of
a powerful church; he resisted the an
peal Of the representatives of all the
great Powers Of earth, made through
their official representatives to be es-
pecially merciful to Spain in exacting
terms of peace. He resisted a powerful
L
sentiment of the same order, and he
held out against even the forceful COM
mercial influences of the same stripe.
He certainly stood like a rock against
the powerful money force which wished
10 saddle the Cuban-Spanish debt upon
this nation, and is manifesting it's an
ger to this hour because the President
would not permit the Peace Commits
sioners to even consider the proposition
The President by peremptory order
declined to accede to the recommended
lions of the General commanding at
Santiago when the first terms of sur
render of the Spanish forces were COM
munlcated. He insisted, against the
wish of General Shafter that the Span-
1sh soldiery lay down and surrender
Their arms, and confess themselves pris-
oners of war, and would not hear to any
other terms. The President prevailed
over his military representative at Sam
fiago, and to-day all the nation says he
was right.
champion of the man, the press should
be fair to the officer, and that Justice
demands that it should deal honestly
with him. To do so it must concede
mat IN the instances specified the pres
ent President of the United States has
proved that he has resolution, will and
courage. Otherwise we would not to-
day have Porto Rico. Spain would not
nave yielded the Philippines, and Blan-
co would still be in command in Cuba.
In the adjustment of the Philippine
acquisition we think the facts show
that the President acted with firmness
The pressure upon him by anti-acqui-
sitionists to reject the Philippines and
shape a policy that would restore them
70 Spain, or commit them to internecine
war has been exceeding great. We. on
this side Of the continent, in the con-
genial atmosphere of acquisition SEN
timent, can scarcely realize how hot
and fast and strong is the opposition
on the Atlantic side to retention of the
this opposition the President has firmly
held.
No matter If he felt his way to the
position he occupies-that was better
than to have stumbled. 1t will remain
in all history recorded for his admins
fration that the United States of Amer
lea, resisting the moral power Of Eu-
rope, resisting the sentiment of vast
body of its own people, wiped out the
last remnant of Spanish misrule and
domination in the West Indies; that ii
gave to the nation at last the control
of the Gulf of Mexico and the delta of
the Mississippi; that 1t gave us that
long desired acquisition, an Eastern
outpost in the Caribbean Sea; that it
delivered to the American nation and
civilization the key to the mid Pacific.
and that it planted the flag Of freedom,
tolerance, human charity and the benef-
icence of free institutions in the Asian
archipelago.
To do all this in the face of the civ
ilized world opposing. with but two
exceptions, Russia and England: to do
this in the face of a hot home opposi-
tion and despite the clamor of polis-
tcal opposition looking only to the
worsting of its opponent, required we