The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-01
M'KINlEY
[. :. WANTS TO AVOID WAR Is
THOUGHT.
SILENCE OF COURT OF INQUIRY OMNIBUS
London in the Throes Of the Hottest Campaign
in its Ristory---Present Year Promises
to Witness Greatest Boom Known
in Ship Building.
in Ship Building.

80
patches. purTortin= To report alarmiSt
uttcranceS OF President Mckinley. Sec
rotary Long and other officials. are be-
ginning 10 affect public opinion on this
side Of the Atlantic. and create the i'm
preston that there may be possible truth
in the reports which allege that the loss
Of the Maine was not due To an accident
rs at first believed here. Although war
between the United States and Spain is
still regarded as impossible. the
disposition in the city is IL
regard the approximations respecting
CUBA as altogether exaggerated. The
StatiSt points out that this is I grave
mistake. las. apart from sentiment. the
material losses inflicted upon Americans
by the anarchy in Cuba must not be
belittled."
The Stats believes, however, that
President Mckinley IS strong enough
TO resist the PRESSURE and congratu-
lateS him upon the firm md Stateslnan-
like qualities which the immediate re
sponsibilities Of his position have devel-
oped' and upon tne honorable and noble
principles which ne cnunciated at Phil
alelphia when he quoted Washington.
AT the same time continues the
StatiSt, we realize that the President
| cannot afford TO quarrel with his supper
tcrS if the latter press war
The Saturday Review is of the opin-
ion that the affair is gravely threaten
ing and upon the silence of
the of the Court of Inquiry into the
loss of the Maine as being "ominous' as
in the nervous anxiety of President
Mckinley and his ministers to avoid IL
rupture with Spain they would obviously
have FASTENED to publish anything which
would help to stop the mouths of Sena-
tors Mason and Allen, who. with the as
sistance OF certain newspapers, are yell
! ing for instant war in the best jingo
style
Proceeding. the Saturday Review re-
marks:
J "Secretary Sherman, having been 81
fenced by the simple process Of not al
lowing him to know anything. the execu-
tive has lately --ept it's secrets admirably
but it is shrewdly suspected that the
pacific disposition of President Mckinley
i largely owing to the reports of his
Naval advisers to the effect that Amer
lea is not in condition to go to war with
Spain with any certainty of an immediate
and overwhelming success. The Span
ish fleet is not TO be despised, and South
Amrican republics nave not displayed
the love for their northern sister which
Mr.. Blaine tried to instill. But all this
will not prevent t e jingoes from forcing
the Presidents hand if a scrap of evi-
dence duplicating the Cuban authorities
becomes public
The Spectator is certain that the Uni
ted States government whether moved
by information from Europe, or being
only DESTROYS of peace, is anxious to
avoid war;"
Still apart from the loss of the
Maine, the spectator thinks that the
"harrOwing consular reports from Cuba
may so fire the Americans that they will
insist upon their government ending
such miseries within American waters
Adyices received there from Madrid
show that VIII = the evolutionary or
gans. such as FL a.S, are shrieking
denunciations and threats, the response
bic newspapers have adopted Il correct
and conciliatory attitude.
For instance FL L.yeral, in a leading
article made a sympathetic reference TO
| Washington's birthday and expressed
approval Of President McKinley's speech
at Philadelphia, considering it TO be "A
rebuff for tho seeking to enpbroil the
United States and Spain and expressing
the hope that the Presidents action will
DC Ill stttoiu "ltit iS NoIAt
The ministers declare that the pessi-
mistic views of the Spanish press are
only the echo of the sensational state
ments made by certain American news-
papers, and t-.ey say they ARE more
than ever assured that the Washington
Cabinet will do all possible to prevent
anything from altering the excellent re-
~latiOns between the two governments.
Ell rails repeating the charge that the
real seat of war is not in Cuba, but in
the United States. which, by lies and cli-
canery are seeking to justify their acts
says: The war in Cuba will only end
when we send an army against the Uni
ted States
London is n the thrOes OF the hottest
campaign in its history, the contest for
seats in TIL London county council com-
pletely throwing into the shades even the
kenest foug.~ parliamentary elections.
For three weeks past the fight has been
waging alike in Belgravia and White
Chapel. Nightly there are scores OF
meeting attened by Cabinet ministers
and front Denchers' of both parties,
peers and peerless, cOmmOners, clergy.
ubl:cans, officers, diplomats, judges, doc
tors and labor agitatOrs are all involved
For the lis seats to be filled on March
3, Their are 21O candidates including j
few independents. National issues have
been included in the fight in a manner
hitherto unknown in municipal politics
until it has become a square battle be
tween the UnioniSts and Liberals, under
the titles of 'moderates and progress
sives."
The present year promises TO witness
the biggest boon in ship building ever
known, and doubtless the ship builders
Of the United States are arranging tc
participate in the consequent demand fol
finished iron. steel and machinery of al
descriptions. An idea of the enormous
amount of work on hand can be formed
from the fact that the Clyde alone
now has orders for 5S1 900 tons, apart
from the four big Cunard freight boats
which are said to De in negotiation.