Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-12-13

with honor. as the spaniards would
say. The friends Of the peace move
ment say, with much truth and plausi-
bility, that all the British want is the
gold and diamond mines and all the
Beers want is to be let alone. Posi-
bly, the Beers might not object to some
British gold without the trouble Of
mining 1t. With desires so divergent,
1t is urged that 1t is not yet too late
to get together on some basis which
would preserve the Dutch republics.
There are two great obstacles in the
way of getting the Beers to quit fight
ing while they are yet alive. In the
first place, they do not seem to know,
as the world knows, that they have no
chance. They cannot realize that pre-
vious battles with the British have
been only skirmishes. They like to re-
peat the remark credited to an aged
Boer who was asked the color Of the
British flag. 1--WE seen the British flag
three times" was his reply, "once at
Laingsnek, once at Majuba and lastly
at Doornkop,. and each time 1t was
white" s'
There is little use of talking to, such
people before they are disillusionlzed.
When they are partially whipped, they
may be willing to listen to suggestions
about peace, but not until then. What
England would do when conquest is in
sight must also be considered, but 1t is
safe to say that her majesty's govern
ment would be generous to the Beers
for the sake of the good opinion of the
world, in which she well knows that
she stands none too highly.
The other chief difficulty in the way
Of peacemaking is the fact that the
Beers are not diplomats, as diplomats
go, and have no faith in the promises
Of the English. Indeed they have very
little faith in anybody except them
selves, and what Is known in diplomat
ic language as kind offices would be
extremely liable to be turned down.
Another thing In the settlement of
the present war Is the fact that no in
terest will be satisfied with any sort
Of makeshift. The Beers have not OBJ
jected to the demands Of the aliens en-
gagged in mining so much on account
of the character Of such demands as ON
account Of the fact that they suspected
that the whole thing was simply an
other English scheme for annexing the
country without the trouble Of fighting
for 1t. The Beers who occupy the
Transvaal, 1t must be remembered, are
the descendants of the Cape Colony
Dutch who, made citizens of England
against their will when England an
nexed Cape Colony In 1914, after two
troublous decades, finally took refuge
In what is known as the immigration
in 1886. in which Kruger took part as
little boy.
The Boer has tried to shut his eyes
to the fact that a country that pro.
duces over $4,000, 900 of gold annually
cannot remain truly rural and that
those who are producing this gold can.
not remain satisfied with Boer civiliza.
ton. On the other hand, the foreigners
who have been worrying along with
incomplete political education and So
cial and physical conditions In Johan.
nesburg ever since the gold production
jumped to $10.000,0O0 in 1890, do not
see why the Beers should not accede tc
their request.
If adjustment of the differences be.
tween the forces Of progress and the
forces of conservatism had been an
easy matter 1t would have been accom-
plished long ago, and yet the observer
who tries to be dlsinterested cannot
help thinking that n more conspicuous
element Of good faith might have made
things easier. The Beers have not seer
the best representatives of British
character, and It is possible that the
time win yet come when they will lie
down In peace with the lion-and only
about half inside, CECIL HoYT.