The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-04-27
DON'T BEHrRRnED.MR. NrKINLEY

DON'T BIZ HI RRiED MIR. hhiNhhh
There is a class Of journals like tha
New York World that is pressing the
Government TO invade cuba at once with
such forces as 10 now has ready. We
hope most sincerely that the administra-
ton Will pay no heed, to these papers.
hut will 60 on with fits preparations until
IL feels sure that every necessary ore
paration has been made. and that it Will
not allow itself 20 De hurried in the least
it is not so important Co have an early
descent upon cuba as It is 90 have sue
cessful one We want 20 see Our pre-
parations thorough therefore. so that
when We do land our army i'm Cuba il
Will be the same thing as receiving Cap
tain-General Blanco's surrender
We can but regard the pressure TO send
TO Cuba 10y themselves the hneeuo or TWEEN
~ thousand regulars now prepared to
march as one or the very rash-st sugges-
tons that could BE- made. BY all ac-
counts. General Blanco has from sixty
10 seyenty-hye thousand men under his
command. The advocates of quick work
say that twenty thousand of our regular
soldiers are FUN match for an of these.
They may be- Of course. bat. in the nature
Of things they are not likely % be. 40
graver blunder is possible than under
rating ones enemy. 10 would Dee more
than a blunder then; il would ~ a stu
pandous crime 10 We sent twenty thousand
soldiers 10 cuba TO drive out General
Blanco and his seyenty-iiye thousand men,
in our judgment. therefore. the thing is
not TO De thought OF. The Government
should go on organing the volunteer force
until 1t gets thoroughly drilled and
equipped and then it should land one
hundred thousand troops in cuba and
end the business at once.
This brings up for consideration the
fact that within two or three weeks the
rainy season will set in in cuba ana
It Will last until October IL would Doe
On the highest degree unwise for us TO
send out troops there while the rainy
season lasts The administration should
take the time between this and October
therefore AOl uiAilAin anu OF P AAAAAilih ltH
volunteer force. and when October comes it
will be prepared 10 land a thoroughly
competent army under conditions that
will enable them TO do their work effec-
lively.
And when October comes. and perhaps
long before. the chances are great that
there will be no occasion to send any army
30 Cuba at all. We have now blockaded
all the Cuban ports from which General
Blanco can get any supplies and he has
provisions to last him no longer than
sixty days. no doubt. When they are
gone he must depend upon the interior
Of Cuba for further supplies. But the
insurgents can be depended on TO make
that most precarious source. In sixty
or ninety days. therefore. he will
most probably be compelled to surrender
his etire force or starve. We may
therefore. and most probably will. end the
war. IL We VIII only be patient, without
uring a shot or killing or losing man.
This surely would be most happy solu-
tion OF the affair.
All this IS based upOn the superstition,
Of course. that Spain VIII not send her
meet here. and We cannot believe that
she will do that. for two entirely suh-
cient reasons. The first is that her ships
arc no match for ours. She has ships
that might engage such OF our vessels as
the rBooklyn and the New York. with a
prospect OF success. But she has no ships
that are a match for the Massachusetts.
the Oregon the Iowa and the Indiana.
Her torpedo boats might. Of course. get
an their work upon these battleships, but
her fighting ships could not stand against
them for an hour. If. therefore, she send
her feet here. it will almost certainly be
destroyed. Then. again. II seems 10 as
that II would be madness for her TO send
81 three thousand miles from It's base
with the certainty almost that IL would
be unable 20 coal upon this side Of the
water. Her ships would be likely 10 fan
an easy prey TO US with scarcely any
iighting at all.
Upon the whole. therefore, 81 seems TO
as that we have everything TO make by
going slow. and that we will incur utterly
unnecessary apd very serious perlls by
dashing ina al once.
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THE ACTION OF PICKETT CAMP.