The Portland daily press., 1898-05-28

idea that this war is, on our part, purely
unsel6sh enterprise undertaken for the
benefit of humanity. 1t may be urged
however with some force that it is but just
and fair that Spain should be made to pay
a part at least of the expense of righting
the wrongs which she has committed.
1t is not, however, this ethical aspect of
the case so much as the military tina t has
interested us. AT the present time we
have perhaps hundred thousand men of
good quality, but with little training.
Nobody will claim that this army made
up chiefly of men who have never seen
any active campaigning, and have
never been under fire can be re-
garded as in first class condition for
an aggressive campaign in a hostile coun-
try and against an enemy, we'll disciplined
and which has repeatedly been under fire,
and which besides will fight behind strong
entertainments. We do not underestimate
the quality of the material which COM
poses our army. We have no doubt that it
is of the best, far better than that of
which the Spanish armies are composed
No better soldiers ever fought than the
volunteers who served in the war of the
rebellion, after they had been disciplined
and seasoned. But training and expert
ence were needed to make them so, and
training and experience are just as neces-
sary now to convert our raw levies into
steady and self possessed soldiers. A task
which year hence would be an easy one
for our army might and probably would,
Judging from all experience, be an exceed
ingly arduous one for it to perform
today. Yet, assuming again that the
Washington correspondents are represent
ing matters correctly, the great difference
between soldiers trained and seasoned,
and soldiers fresh from the plough, the
workshop and the counting room seems to
be entirely overlooked by the civilians at
the capital who are shouting for what
they call vigorous action. A hundred
thousand troops of the kind we can now
furnish are. none too large a force
to invade CuDa, If an immediate attack
upon Havana is intended. 1t is consider
ably smaller than the Spanish force with
in the breast works of Havana. But the
vigorous campaigners appear to be adyis-
ing and insisting that this force be
drawn on to the extent of fifth of its
number for an expedition to Porto Rico.
Seventy-fve thousand men, they affirm,
are enough toEmake successful CAM
paign against Havana, notwithst standing
more than hundred thousand Spanish
troops are known to tbe behind the de-
fences of the city, well armed and
equipped and likely to fight as desperately
as did the Spanish sailors at Manila. II
the advice of these people is taken it will
be little short of miraculous if we escape
a serious setback in our advance upon
Cuba, with great waste Of life and a long
| postponement of final triumph. Very
likely it might be wise move to send an
expedition to Porto Rico and seize San
Juan in order to deprive the Cadiz feet
of any base of supplies upon this side Of
the Atlantic, but to undertake that and
the invasion Of Cuba together at this
time would be to imperil the success O.
one or the other and perhaps both. Oh
course great risks must be taken in wal
sometimes, but they should not be take1
unnecessarily to satisfy clamor.