The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-04-16
Samoa's Passing Moment.

~ VEN the matter of the formal
announcement of peace with
Spain, by the action of the
president of the United States, did not
much engage the attention of the
American people last week: Samoa had
the floor The public in this country,
as everywhere else, likes new themes.
The whole Spanish incident closed some
time ago. so far as furnishing items of
interest to the news-reading masses: a
little full-dress, red-tape ceremonial in
the presidents office doesn't count
when something fresher and more STIR
ring is on. So true this is, that, but
for their warm and abiding interest in
the fate of the soldiers who are fight
ing the islanders, the American people
would barely keep up with the details
OF what is going on in the Philippines.
The star news of last week was that
which related to Samoa. 1t was pa
cific enough at first-there were hints a
scrapping of a certain sort, Of friction
between the members of the ridiculous
triumvirate-c consular establishment, of
grim and war-like purposes on Mataa-
fa's part, with other items of that sort
But the story of the ambush battle
fairly startled the public in this coun-
try. and it interested our people to
learn that the Germans and the English
We're quite as badly shaken up as we
We're by the uncanny tidings from Apia
1t is the easiest thing in the world, in
a country that has had a successful tilt
in a foreign war; to whet the appetite
for more experience of the same sort
Popular discussion of an alleged criti-
cal situation or of strained relations or
of foreign complications is a compare
lively new style of diversion for the
American people-they seem to rel
ish it.
Of course, there'll be no war--it is alb
surd to reckon that this country has
gone clean daft. At the same time, Sa-
moa and the possibilities of internation-
al entanglements We're last weeks
themes, and the noteworthy feature of
the case is that several men high in
official station added fuel to the flame
Certain members of the federal senate
were quoted, in press dispatches in ex-
preston of opinions which. under the
circumstances, really seem f1ippant
These senatorial expressions pass, with
our own public, at their real worth. The
trouble is that the foreigners-especial-
ly, in this instance, the Germans--take
our senators too seriously, giving to
their lightly spoken words a significance
which we all know is not carried by
what they say.
The sensible thing for level headed
Americans to do Is to keep in mind the
utter insigniticance of this Samoan ten
acre lot All told the number of Amer
lean residents there is twenty-six With
the Chinese thrown ill., the total foreign
population of the island is five hundred,
and half of these are British subjects
The whole premises do not equal Jeffer-
son county, Montana, in area. The ma
tive population does not exceed $4,000
beings, and the total annual export and
import trade is not equivalent to the
value of the merchant copper Montana
produces between Monday noon and
Saturday noon every week in the year.
The Standard need not be reminded
that acres or dollars do not count when
it is a question Of right or wrong, of
human liberty OF human degradation,
of justice to a fellow man or injustice.
But, plainly, 1t is not American public
opinion that we got into this Samoan
business on any abstract moral propo-
sition. We simply thought that it
would be a smart thing for us to have
some foreign relations. We have them,
they are absolutely no good, but they
will come high.