The Van Buren press., 1898-10-01
AFTERMATH OF WAR.
Bill Rrp Speaks of the Situation az
the Dawn of Peace.
Men who Are Now Classed as Heroes
Says Wars We're Never Popular
with the Peopie-Squire Lath-
am and Judge Tripp.

The aftermath of war. The veterans
and their wives and many of their
children remember the struggles, the
hamiliations and the bitterness that
followed us in the windup of our civil
war. | will not speak of that now. Let
the dead past bury its dead, if it be
possible. But was ruminating about
what is to become of this one-this
little one that has taken only few
months to fight, and to conquer a
peace. but has so changed our nation
al domain that it will require years
and the best craftsmanship to adjust
and control. Just think of it-Guba,
Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the far-olf
Philippines being suddenly thrown on
our hands and all without expectation
or design. We have got the harness
upon all these horses, can we make the
teams pull the loaded wagons uphill
without baking and hold back down
hill without wearing out the breech-
ing. l reckon we can, for this nation
has fine teamsters and plenty of them.
1t takes great occasions and oppor-
tunities to develop great men. Had it
not been for this war with Spain we
would never have heard of Dewey or
Schley or Sampson or Hobson, or OF
scores of others who have made them
selves famous and are now elassed
among the heroic spirits who were
not born to die. Generally the after
is In 4 -,
famine to the yanquished, but as to
this one, "the city of Shushan is pre-
picked" and all the world wonders
what viii we do with the elephant.
Our greatest statesmen are not in ae-
cord about the Philippines and the
press, partisan and non-partisan. are
wide apart in their advice. Mr.. Car
negie has written the ablest articles
against our acquiring those islands
and John Sherman has iHdorsed his
sentiments. Mr.. Patterson, of Hart
ford, has written in the Travellers
Record the ablest argument in favor
of it. Mr.. Mcclure wants the earth
and the Monroe doctrine is now d dead
thing, with none so poor as to do it
reverence. The only question is one of
expediency. As for Cuba and Puerto
Rico | believe that everybody has set
tied down in approval, though we are
still smiling at the length of time it
has taken to feed the starving Cubans.
And now comes the political after
math. Plotting and contemplating
for the presidential succession. AL
ready the question is whose war was
it. The revolution of 1776 had its OPP
ponents and they were called tories.
They were loyal to the king and their
fatherland. The war of 1912 had its
political enemies and so did the war
with Mexico. Even so great and good
a man as Daniel Webster opposed the
latter and the whig party generally
were against it. But after it became
fact Webster was constrained to fall
into line and repeated the patriotic
motto: my country, right or wrong"
My friend, Mark Hardin, tells a good
story about that war. Our eminent
jurist, Judge Trip, of this county,
made a political speech at Carrollton
and denounced the Mexican war and
all those democrats who brought it
on. yes" said he, this cruel and un-
provoked war has cost us the lives of
10000 good men and S5O00O,OOO, and all
we have got to show for it is land,
more land, a barren wilderness peo-
pied with savages, wild hogs and rat
tlesnakes. Fellow citizens, the war
with Mexico was sin against heaven.
1t was conceived in sin and brought
forth in iniguity and all for a political
purpose. challenge any democrat to
answer my argument or give an eX-
cuse for this useless and costly war,
this expenditure of blood and money"
Old Squire Latham-Tom Latham
was always ready to defend his party.
"My party, right or wrong" was his
motto. When Judge Tripp closed and
sat down, Tom mounted the rostrum
and without apology began a furious
TRADE upon the judge. Tom was
large, broad-shouldered big-mouthed,
voluminous man, and, pointing his
big finger at Trip, vehemently ex-
claimed: What do you know about
this war or any other war? Whar is
your ensign, your scars or your
crutches-I say, whar? Whar was you
when Washington was crossin' the
Delaware and the mornin' stars
sang Yankee Doodle together-whar,
[ say?" Tripp smiled and said; 81
wasn't born. sir" THE dickens you
wasn't. No, you didn't want to be
born while there was any fight gwine
on. Whar was you, sir, when Andy
Jackson cut old Packenham's head off
at New Orleans with a scythe blade
and stuck ii on a fodder stack pole and
let it stay there until the buzzards
pecked his eyes out; what, say? Why
iidn't you git often that oldwhig bench
that you've been holdin' down so long
and volunteer under Jeff Davis to 60
to Mexico and serve your country and
kill old Scantyana, that old. one
legged Mexican euss? And here you
are talkin' about our losin' ten mil lions
of men and a thousand millions OF dol
lars Just like you was thar and knowed
all about it. Land, land, more land,
you say, and it's peopled with Injuns
and snakes and wild hogs and whang-a- |
doodles. and that's what's the matter
with you a1d your party You don't |
want land, but you want office and |
money and Saratoga carpets and yal- |
Ter watches and fine carriages, with |
steps to shut UP and let down. and lit- |
.le niger standin' on the hind plat |
'orm 10 wait on you. That's what you /
want" And Latham blowed Ike a /
,orpoise. Judge Tnpp was a fiae old /