The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1898-07-16
The Problem at Manila.
Washington Times, June 30.

W hsnlngton lines, ) une ~.
The very acute situation which has
confronted, and we fear still confronts,
Admiral Dewey at Manila may with
perfect truth and propriety be laid at
! the door of the Administration. We do
not offer this statement in any spirit of
carping criticism. The Times has al
ways shown not only willingness but
eagerness to support Mr.. Mckinley in
everything he has appeared to do or
essay in the direction of vigorous
prosecution Of the war. or in any policy
or course likely to rebound to the bene
| fit or the glory of America That does
not operate to close our mouth to the
utterance Of a truth when it happens to
reflect unpleasantly upon the President
or his advisers.
We must say, therefore. that if con
ditions at Manila are unsatisfactory
and promising of international compli-
cations or worse, the Administration
has itself to thank for the fact, and its
wicked inertia up to two weeks ago to
blame for the troubles we seem about
to encounter. Ii there had been vigor
and understanding in the White H ouse
and the State, War and Navy building
commensurate with the demands of the
occasion when Dewey destroyed the
Spanish squadron at Cavite and placed
Manila at the mercy of his guns, there
would not now be all this talk and ap-
prehension of hostile acts on the part
of Germany. A mere force of fifteen
hundred regulars, promptly forwarded.
would have enabled our admiral to &C.
cupy the city and to hoist the Stars and
Stripes over it. If that had been au
fat accompli fifteen days ago, even
the matter which how appears about to
| become an international question would
| have been ultimately settled by the sur
render OF Gen. Augustin to the Ameri
can navy and army.
| But for weeks after Deweys victory
there was paralysis, followed by par
tial recovery and vacillation at the ma e
tional headquarters. There was ap
parently dense ignorance of the risks
which delay In sending help would in
volve, and twenty five days were per-
mitted to elapse before the first small
division of the Philippine expedition
was finally started away from San
Francisco. No haste was made in
preparation. The preliminaries of the
movement were conducted with pom
derous and criminal red tape and lei
sure, and we begin to see and appreciate
the probable consequences.
IL the President had walked up to the
necessities and dangers of the hour six
weeks ago in the way he did two weeks
ago, the international entanglements
which may have been brought about in
the Orient by our tardy Indifference
could not have been possible. II the
American flag had been floating from
the flagstaff of Augustin s palace on
the 18th of June, the hostile game that
Germany is suspected of playing would
not have been thought of.
When will our authorities learn the
lesson that they cannot leave crack
much less a door. open in times like
these, lest the wind of rivalry and en-
Wy blow an enemy INF One would
think that sad experience in the De
LONE incident, in giving away diplo-
matte advantage on the Maine question,
and. later, in INDUCING in the foolish
pacific blockade policy in front of
Havana would have brought wisdom
But there has been too much reason TO
think that every new situation has sug-
gested its appropriate perturbation and
blunder.
Ii is time to put an end TO such things.
We must accept the ills that past mis-
takes have imposed upon us and cut
our way ont of them with stern de-
termination, but the American people
have a right TO demand that the mis-
takes be not repeated