The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-03-17
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

hardest worked men in the country
just now. He has not abandoned
hope that peace may be preserved
with honor, but he is working night
and day to place the country in a po-
sition to wage successful war against
Spain just as though he were certain
that war is to come. His head has
not been turned even little bit by
the extraordinary confidence repOsed
in him by Congress, in putting by
unanimous vote $50,O00,OO0 III his
hands to be used for national defense
He is cool and deliberate, just as he
has been from the first. He calmly
ignores the sensational reports of this
or that European nation being about
to form an alliance with, and is as
fully determined as ever to maintain
National honor at all hazards.
Notwithstanding various contrary
assertions, it is a fact that neither the
President nor the Secretary of the
Navy has received from any member
of the Maine Court of Inquiry a sin
gle word intimating what the report
of the Court will be. They have. of
course, like all other intelligent men,
formed an opinion from the evidence
that has appeared in the columns of
respectable newspapers, of what the
probable nature of the report as far
as it concerns the explosion, will be,
but they have no inside knowledge of
what the court has done or will do.
and expect none, any more than they
would expect advance intimation of
what decision of the Z. S. Supreme
Court would be in any given case it
might have under reconsideration. There
will be no delay in acting as soon as
the report, which the President will
accept as final, is made, and Spain
will not be allowed to delay respond
ing to the demands of this govern
ment, if it be shown that the Maine
was blown up from the outside, and
of that there is now very little doubt
While the President is keeping his
own counsel as to the demands that
will be made upon Spain, it can be
set down as certain that it will be one
that will be Endorsed by the entire
American people, just as the Presi-
dents policy has been up to the pres
ent time, and it is generally believed
that it will include proposition for a
definite settlement of the trouble in
Cuba. There are already strong in
dications that Spain has adopted a
policy of delay, which it will seek to
carry out, but it will seek in vain. 1t
will either have to meet out demands
promptly or fight.
No Quaker could profess greater
brotherly love for the United States
than does the new Spanish Minister,
who was presented to President Nc
Kinley Saturday. He talked as though
peace were assured and that his great
est anxiety is to complete a reciprocity
treaty with u.s. This talk isn't throw
ing any sand in anybody's eyes.
The confidence felt by Congress in
the President is duplicated by that re-
posed by the President in his Secre-
taries of War and Navy, and by that
placed in their Bureau Chiefs by
those Secretaries. An instance of
this confidence is the case of Gen.
Flager, Chief of Ordnance, who has
been authorized by Secretary Alger
to place orders for as much war ma
terial as he may deem necessary I'M
der existing circumstances. Gen.
Flagler has directed all makers of
both guns and ammunition to run
their establishments to their full ca
pacity until further orders. But no
waste or extravaganza is to be coun-
tenanced in either the War or Navy
Department; every dollar spent will
be upon estimates, approved not only
by the Secretary, but by the Presi-
dent, and in writing at that.
Congress is very decidedly opposed
to anything that might be constructed
by the world as an alliance between
the U. S. and Great Britain. The
feeling against ''entangling foreign
complications" is quite as strong now
as it was in the days of George Wash
ington. We do not need any help
from England to fight our battles, and
we do not intend to help England to
fight her battles. This feeling has
been strongly expressed since the idea
became prevalent that England was
trying to make use of the probability
of war with Spain to inveigle the U. S.
into an alliance offensive and defen-
sive with her. 1t is all very pretty to
talk about an alliance between the
English speaking people being strong
enough to dominate the world, but
the U. s. isn't in the dominating bus
mess, and has no idea of going into it.
Besides, it has many and growing
commercial interests that are neces-
sarily directly opposed to those of
England, and otherEuropean nations.