The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-22


could not exist. we freemen. under a muz- !
zied press such as Spain's. any more than |
we could tolerate curtallment of our per- |
sonal liberties short of that boundary es-
tablished by law, beyond which, however |
liberty is merged in anarchy But, for
the same cogent reason that the law says
the liberties of one individual shall tter-
inmate where the rights of another begin,
so should the liberty of the press be re-
strlcted not by statutory laws but by the
laws of common decency and propriety,
by the law of respect for established au-
thority advocated alike by church and
state. and by the mandates of truth. I'm
der the conditions of our birth and devei-
opment we cannot swallow the oriental
doctrine, described as the divinity that
doth hedge a king" We cannot digest the
idea that by divine right and prerogalive.
the person of ruler is sacred. The doc
trine of lese majesty, in its extreme sense,
is repugnant. at once TO our dispositions
and our habits of thought Yet in our
natural recoil from these extreme ideas,
let us not become welded to the antthetl-
cal fallacy that the person, the character
and even the private life of our executive
are of such little moment in our national
dignity that they can, with lmpunity, be
made the marks a which every penny-a-
liner is at liberty to launch his filthy shafts
ton. The executive is not an object of =
Yeneration he should not be an idol. What
man can for long remain an idol
Before a thousand peeIing littlenesses,
In that fierce light which beats upon
throne,
And blackens every blot!
Yet, the President is most assuredly, by
virtue of his exalted office, entitled to our
IN. IA
resentative of supreme authority, we honor
not only ourselves, but the principles upon
which our commonwealth Is builded.
The aforesaid yellow journals, big ana
little Uheir name Is legion). were wroth
with the President because he did not,
like Dancing Dervish work himself into
a passion over The, grave difficulties that
confronted him; because he did not deliver
himself in his messages, of a strain or
Homeric NONSENSE because he dld NOT
thunder forth a steam calliope paean of
war, and. rushing into the thick of battle,
strew the earth Aand the ocean with the
dtsjecta membra of the Spanish army and
navy. Not being able to appreciate'the, to
them, stupendous idea that the President
was a statesman and q gentleman, they
began casting about for an explanation Of
his conduct, and land, by force of the
same law which impels a vulture feed on
CdfIlOHt upon the nduEtOQH lie tnQI the
President procrastnated to protect his
friends, the holders OF Cuban bonds His
bitterest opponents in the Senate have
turned deaf ear TO so vile theory, re-
fusing TO listen to it. Honest men blush
for the honor of their country when such
villainous subterfuges are resorted to In
futherance of craftsmanship. What a sig
nificant commentary 1t would be'upoA our
| boosted institutions, If 1t were possible that
their operations had not only produced
but raised 10 the highest pinnacle OF ma
tional glory, man beside whom Bene-
diet Arnold would shine resplendent as an
angel.
Mai. Mckinley rode through the valley
of the Shenandoah by the side of Sherl-
dan. He has been in the midst of war
He has felt the grip OF It's iron hand; he
has torn the painted mask of glory from
its face. He has not shrunk in fear but
in pity. In one hand he has held the
drawn sword, while with the other he has
endeavored to bring forth peace out Of the
warning elements around him. II Is no
evidence of cowardice that his voice was
| raised for peace. Hard -hearted, cruel, vet
withal indomitable old Marlborough, look
ing upon the bodies of 5000 dead soldiers
after the battle of Malplaquet, prayed God
that he might never be forced to behold
another battle.
The President stands to-day where he
has stood from the first, and since conciI-
| iatory measures failed to result IN peace,
we may trace his hand in the final prepa-
rations for the great drama which seems
to be upon us the last of series OF acts
of which heis the author, and the 9lrst of
which was the call for an appropria ion
of $50.0O0,O00 for national defense. This
S5O,G00,000 appropriation was required 10
repair, in our naval and coast defenses,
as nearly as possible. the deficiency which
| existed by reason of the bullet-headed pol
icy of the very august body which has
recently been so eager to rush him into
war.
We cannot even yet see clearly what y ill
be the outcome of these times but, what
ever be the outcome the average bump
tious American has had some very hard
and practical truths forced into his era
\ mum, There were slmple-minded citizens
three months ago, who, awed by the vast
extent of our territory, had no doubt that
| should the United States light her strong
| right arm in any cause, the remainder
of the world would fan over each other
| In haste to flee the wrath 10 come.
| The bumptous American has been awak-
| ened from his dream OF self-sufliciency
1 His condition is sad, but a great deal
wiser. II has required millions, and may
take millions more, to educate him. but
| the process has been effective.
Nor is II source of less qualification
that that the appearance of a common en-
envy has assured TO us the continuance
of that unity in our nation which WASH
lngton, In his farewell address. enjoined
upon our forefathers 10 preserve, as the
palladium of our liberties. Should war en-
sue we are promised the sight of a Lee
and a Grant lighting stirrup to strrup,
beneath the sef-same nag, forgetful Of
the ancient feud.
In the midst of doubts, In the midst OF
troubles, in the midst of anxieties over the
question of foreign interferences In mat
tiers which we feel are peculiarly our own
| affairs, we have been compelled to recog-
nize more than ever the existence Of a
stanch and ready friend in the kingdom OF
our English brethren. IL is singular
fact that in every movement of recent
years looking TO a reconciliation OF our
| ancient differences, England. who has less
TO gain than we. has always been FIRST TO
stretch forth the hand Of friendship. She
has done so at this time, and there Is no
ambiguity In her meaning. The voice OF
a reputable press is nearly always the
voice Of the people For many genera
lions we have been warned IN our own
land 10 mstrust always an ulterior design
| In EnQland's overtures; 40 suspect the
| ,...,...t.tad hand beneath the Kid glove