The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-07-01
THE ARMY AND NAVY.

1.-THE ARMY AND NAVY.
copyrighted, 1858, by Henry Norman)
washington, June S0.-The vision CT
a new heaven and a new earth is still
unfulflled, but there is a new America
The second American revolution has
occurred. and it's consequences may be
as great as those of the first. 1 have
waited till the end of my visit before
putting my impressions on paper, for
/ it is easy to be mistaken about popu-
| lar sentiment in this country. The
American people are as sensitive to
emotional or intellectual stimulus as q
Photographic film is to a light, but
they are also, to a remarkable degree,
/ a people of second thoughts. Their
| nerves are quick, but their convictions
are slow. The apparent change was
so great and so unexpected that at
] first 1 could not bring myself to believe
in its reality or its endurance. Unless
all signs fail, however, or I fail to in
terpret them, the old America the
| America obedient to the traditions of
the founders of the republic, is passing
away. and a new America, an America
/ standing armed, alert and eXigent in
the arena of the world-struggle. is TAX
ing its place.
| The change is threefOld:
1. The United States is about to take
its place among the great armed pow
ers of the world.
| 2. BY the seizure and retention of ter
ritory not only not contiguous to the
borders of the republic, but remote
/ from them, the United States becomes
a colonizing nation, and enters the
field of international rivalries.
9. The growth of good viii and mu-
tuaI understanding between Great
Britain and the United States and the
! settlement of all pending disputes be-
tween Canada and America, now vir-
tually assured, constitute a working
union of the English-speaking people
! against the rest of the world for COM
mon ends, whether any formal agree
ment is reached or not.
Viewed in the light OF the events it
may conceivably bring forth, this trio
of changes may be described without
: exaggeration as the event of the cen
fury. There is little to say about it
that has not already been said, but as
| a subject for comment il has this adj
vantage, that there is little mystery
about it. One great element of I'M
certainty of course remains-the final
direction taken by American public
opinion-but with that exception one
may speak as a witness and not as
prophet.
First, then. with regard to the future
army and navy of the United States
The war has taught this country
severe lesson. a few weeks before the
outbreak of hostilities I read in lead
ing New York paper a carefully de-
tailed estimate, based upon returns
from every state in the Union, showing
that an army of 100000 men could
be promptly raised. This ludicrous
notion undoubtedly correspondent to the
popular view of the cOuntry's capaDili-
ties. Anybody who remembers certain
statements made during the Venezue-
Ian dispute will not think this remark
extravagant. 1t was known that the
patriotism of the people was equal to
teers, the resources C. the country
were known to be limitless-the com
bination of innumerable men with lin
itless resources is all that is required
for vast army. Such was the reason
ing. But nobody is misled by it today.
/ The president has called out 100000
men, and they have responded with
extraordinary promptitude. But in a
few days two months viii have elapsed,
and the whole force is yet far from
ready to take the field. Fifteen thou
sand men-nearly all regulars-have
gone with General Shafter to Santiago;
q few thousand are TO be sent to re-
inforce him as quickly as possible;
about 1000 have gone TO Manila; % eco
are wanted for Porto Rico and are not
available, while the main army of Gu
ban invasion will hardly Be ready.
should suppose, for another month yet.
month ago it was commonly said
that 1900 men were going at once 10
Cuba. The United States could not
despatch half that number of equipped
soldiers then, although she lad over
100, 900 men with the coiors. The stase-
ment remains true a month later
There is nothing astonishing IN this.
but it has provoked much indignant
criticism here ''You have the men
hurl them against the enemy" has bes n
the cry. In certain minor directions
criticism has been justified. as the war
department frankly admits. The camps
should have been ready before the men
were collected in great numbers Equip
ment-arns, clothing, shoes-was too
long lacking. The confusion at Tampa,
where cars of stores were ''side-track-
ed" over a distance of Is miles. without
an invoice or bill of lading to show the