The age-herald., 1898-04-01
WAR GOSSIP
 FROM WASHINGTON
BY JAY F. DURHAM.

| least pretense of an approach to the in- | tensity of excitement that has prevailed
 here for the past ten days. All other pub 1 lie questions have been dwarfed to the war | talk Rumors have flown thick and fast | to and from all directions. Those who are
 given to believing all they hear could, from | the flying rumors" have well imagined l that Spain had attacked the American fleet ] off the Florida coast, and the war with | all its ravages was in progress, and the l country on the very threshold of dissolu- | ton. Spain's torpedo flotilla has been the means of furnishing its share of sscorns. | If one were to believe all that~f1as current l sway upon the streets, the fotilla had been | met by American ships, and the latter l were all destroyed. These are but sam pies of the condition of the public mind, ready to believe every report and the more narrowing the rumor the more welcome. If the expression of the people here can be regarded as truthful reflex of the public mind, there is no disgusting the fact that the per centage of those in favor of war is long. The peace at any price, peo- pie are few here, and are made up of those who have all to gain and little to lose. The
 man who does not possess war theory is
 indeed a meek and lowly fellow. He is alone in his associations. One of the striking features of the quickly passing show is the man who has opinions who is
 frmer in the belief that they are worthy
 of large type and conspicuously displayed
 in the daily prints. The newspaper and 1 telegraph offices are thronged every night by would-be-gentlemen who have views l and most willing to volunteer interviews rpqdv-rDade the possibilities of war.
 Many of those who are the most consplcu- ous if not the most prominent and wise. who believe they know more about the sit- uatio ntalan all others, and how to handle it, Is the youthful naval officer He is the brass-buttoned and gold-laced individual
 who has become irrepresslble. He has ideas which in his opinion, if the president were
 to accept, Spain could not only be whipped,
 but wiped off the face of the map. Many
 of the false rumors, and any number of
 them have appeared before the people. have to a large extent originated by those who were supposed to be in position to know what they were talking about. Naval off,
 cers have talked without reserve, and much
 
 barrass the navy department. Those who
 do the most talking are, as a general thing, officers who never saw a battle-have come up in the navy since the close of hostilites since 1Se5
 It has been an interesting study to watch "peace-at-any- price" patriots who have
 been tramping down the tall grass in the White House yard and making visits at all times of the day and late at night to the president. The chief conspirator has been Senator Elkins of West Virginia, though he has poodle in sight. Philadel- phia has sent numerous delegations to the president representing the various peace societies They are made up largely of per sons who have never been known to do anything for the good of the country. They are modest in appearance, but do not look
 unlike they have devoted most of their at- tention to some particular creed or sect
 which has never been in harmony with the progress of the world. Boston, too. has sent it's agents. Descendants of the witches and that element of mankind who would kill their cats Monday for having killed
 rat on Sunday. These have been the people
 
 thousands of innocent people were starving to death in Cuba because of the triumph of the most inhuman method of warfare | known in the history of civilization. This is | the element to whom MT. Mckinley has given marked attention, and it is not dis l torting the truth to say he has been much | influenced by them.
 | The wife of the president Is a member of 1 a Philadelphia peace society. She has from | the outset protested against probable war | She has used her influence with the presl- | dent and has been active in fostering the visits of her peace associates from Boston and Philadelphia and elsewhere. A branch 1 of the Philadelphia organization is located | In McKinley's state-in the western reserve not far from Canton. The Ohio people have not been idle. Hundreds of letters have come from them to the president. Then. too. the clergy of this city and la- | dies have been frequent caEers American manhood from tine peace faction has had few friends American honor and the lives | of 26S seanen have apparently not been | thought of by those who have talked "peace l at any price," The repeated insults of | Spain have been passed by in silence. sses
 Still another element of voluntary in- telligence has been developed. It is the department of international law. For the past hundred years congress has been made up largely of constitutional lawyers | The constitutional lawyer has been de- throned for the time being and his brother, the International lawyer, has come to the front. Where all the international lawyers | come from Is a mystery. They fairly swarm
 in and out of congress. No conversation in a part of any size is now complete without | the presence of an international lawyer Law students are fairly bulging their heads | with international law, and 1t is offered l with the utmost freedom. In some quar- l ters even spaperfcorrespondence have become afflicted with the international law | craze. There seems to be no escape from | it. Everywhere you will there is the inter- tA,,aI Ion ~rfxr TTz II e.s-