Omaha daily bee., 1898-05-15

and authorizing him to accept the services
OF $4,000 volunteers. The military enthusi-
asm OF the country was aroused to SO great
pitch that more than 100000 men pre-
sented themselves for enrolment. although
for political reasons the wa- was not popy-
lar with large portion OF the people. who
condemned 1t as in the inttrcst OF the cx-
tension OF the slave power.
pcsu..s % che Mexican wsr.
But all that Is now gons and the genera
tion of today reads the story of the Mexi-
can wer with q feeling Of pride because ef
the deeds OF beroism performed by their
fathers. 1t covered the American army.
regular and volunteer. With an imperishable
renown. Although the .iescans fought
with the utmost bravery and very great
skill on the part Of their commanders they
failed to win a single important battle and
were unable to make any headway against
the far inferior but indomitable forces OF
Taylor and Scott. The AngloSaxon blood
told against the Spanish in every encoun-
ter.
The war provided some Of the best pa
triotic poetry in our history. Charles Fenno
Hoffman sang Of Monterey:
We were not many, we who pressed
Beside the brave who fell that day
Bnt who of us has not confessed
He'd rather share their warriors rest
Than not have been at Monterey?
Buena Vista inspired two noble poems.
one by Whittier and another by Albert pike,
beginning with the lines:
From the Rio Grande waters to the Icy
lakes of Maine
Let us exult; for we have met the enemy
Beneath their stern old mountains we have
met them in their pride,
And rolled from Buena Vista back the bat
tie bloody tide.
And then there is the immortal "Bivouac
OF the Dead" to be found in every collec-
ton Of patriotic poetry.
The Nation Today.
In its fourth foreign war the republic un-
furls a banner of six and forty stars, with
at least ~ ,OOO 900 of people to defend it, not
only against Spain, but against all the
world. If need be these fortysix common :
wealths, bound IN indissoluble union. can
put 100000 Of fighting men in the field
and at the same time carry on all the
| agencies and instrumentalities OF their vast
and manifold industries. The resources Of
money and credit are practically limitless.
Impoverished, bankrupt, decrepit Spain is
pigmy as compared with the nation
against which she has in true Don Quixote
/, fashion, chosen to measure swords. The
total foreign trade alone of the United
States last year reached the enormous pro-
portions of 81, ,S41, 600, 900. Spain's foreign
trade is less than one-sixth this amount.
Her railroad mileage is only 6,70S miles. as
against 1860 miles of the United States
| in 1898. The statistics of the postoffice fur
| nish good gauge Of the enlightenment and
prosperity Of people. In 1897 our post
Office expenditures were $9i,O77,242. Spain
expended for the same purpose $46l2, $40, or
| 81, 900, 900 less than japan.
Mulhall, the eminent British statsIician,
! drew up table three years ago. in which
he measured the strength of the naton, "by
| the number Of foot tons of effective enei ey
| devoted to the creation of wealth." In ;Lat
! table the United States led the world with
the enormous figures of 129. 300, coo, 600. Great
| Britain followed with 56,110, coo 900 and be-
hind Germany, Frence, Austria and Italy
comes Spain with the ptiful showing of 10,
| 640000,000. The revenue of the United States
| is two and one half times that of Spain. At
| the present time the United States manu-
| factures one-half the steel of the world; 1t
produces more than two-thirds of the ect-
ton, nearly nine-tenths OF the corn, end
leaving out wool, almost one-half OF tho
great staples Of the earth.
| In word, the flag today rsprest pts the
strongest, richest, freest and most II SOU .e-
full nation of all the centuries. ~