The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-15
COMMENTS OF THE PRESS.

Minneapolis Times: The policy of the
administration has absolutely nuilified the
presidents oft repeated sympathy with
| the reconcentraGoS, and yet there is no
! doubt that the war has been waged as di-
rected by the commander-in-chief. The
/ administration has made the blunder all
along of misunderstanding the Spaniard.
i So far he has beaten us in diplomacy. in
| politeness, in sincere assertion of the JUS
/ tice OF his cause. He has proved that he
will fight. and fight hard, and while I'M
successful in the combate he has the sat
| isfaction that the powerful nation has
not yet been able to land a Knockout
blow. Every day gives him renewed hope
that his cause is not lost. Nature is
working for him. The Cuban rainy sea-
son Is coming. on. the Caribbean storm
period is at hand and Havana is not
taken. Why shouldT the, Spaniard be dis
| couraged? If Havana had been reduced
to ruins the first week of the war what
hope would the Spaniard have had?
Denver Post: What a pleasure it must
be to play congressman under the rule OF
Car Reed. As soon as one gets up from
his seat to make remark on any pend
ing subject without the previously OBJ
tanned consent of the car, down comes
the gavel with a duh, sickening thud and
cuts off short the most fiowery Grafton
and possibly the best argument for or
against the subject under consideration.
OF course the majority which elected
Reed to preside over the deliberations of
the national house OF representativ is to
blame for this condition of affairs; but
that majority no longer exists. Tom
Reed is the whole house of representa-
tives and the majority members are
cowed by him to such an extent that
they dare no longer call their souls their
own, while the minority is of course
The house is run by the car TO suit him
self, and it might just as well not be in
existence at all for all it can do one way
or the other.
New York Times: Our readers are
aware that the Times, maintaining the
doctrine that party politics should cease
at the waters edge" has steadfastly sus-
tanned the president from the beginning
of the complications that threatened war
with Spain. The task has not always
been easy. The president has kept in
Office a secretary of war, appointed for
purely political reasons, if not in con-
sequence of a direct political bargain
whose incompetency to the duties of his
place in time OF war, presumabie before
hand, is now demonstrated fact, and
matter of disguised comment in every
place where officers of the army, regular
or volunteer, are assembled. A retired Of
flcer of the army the other day gave
vigorous but not exaggerated expression
to the universal sentiment of the army
of the war department and put compe-
tent man in his place would be worth 3d.
coo trained troops to the United States.
trust organ wants to know how the an
nexation of Hawaii could hurt that mono
poly. That is to say, it pretends that 1t
wants to know. The answer, which it
Hawaiian sugar planters would start re-
fineries of their own and compete with
the trust once they were assured Of a
perpetual free market here. They do not
take that course now for fear that the
sugar trust would turn in and secure the
abrogation of the reciprocity treaty. But
h rnrr DlNr.rer n+a ..yafl on
Kansas City Times: In the earlier
stages of the preparations Secretary
Alger was considered the right man in
the right place. 1t was thought the war
spirit of the cabinet was furnished by the
secretar.-. He talked much TO the press,
and was at his desk early and late. There
was a business air about the war depart
mert which the people liked, but recent
events show that he had little or no con-
ception of the magnitude of the work in
winding up the threads of the require
ments of the occasion. His newspaper in
terviews and bold assertions to visitors
were mere sound and fury, sisnifying
nothing. One of the chief troubles is
there are two men high in authority who
are trying to make presidential hay while
the sun OF opportunity is shining. If
such condition of things We're discovered
in the German or Russian army on the
eve of campaign. there would be a
whole lot of shooting of officers
The New Yorl. World CLAIMS that the
war mas been grossly mismanaged.
Forty days. it says, the navy has been
held in leash awaiting the creation of an
army, when in point of fact we needed no
army. The navy was ready and Havana
and San Juan were unready. They could
have been taken by the navy. Instead.
however. of striking at these vulnerable
points, Sampson was sent to maintain q
peaceful blockade of Cuban ports and
Schley was held at Hampton Roads. Now
both fleets are bonbardng around Santi-
ago de Cuba, whose reduction would not
end the war and Havana and San Juan
remain untaken.
Houston Post: In the memorable cam
paign of 1896 when Mr. Bryan arose as
the champion of a great issue and the
nominee of a powerful party, it was only
natural that those who contended against
him should sometimes have been swayed
by the passions that are born of conflict
and in an effort to defeat him resorted to
almost anything that promised to be eff
fective of their wishes. There is much TO
be pardoned in the conduct of men during
the excitement of campaign that divides
nation and awakens the spirit of fac
tional bitterness to an extraordinary de-
gree. but the continued pursuit of a
former political candidate into the walks
of private life by the malice and prejudice
of his recent opponents is wholly unpar-
donable.