The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-03

The annual report Of the Acknowledgement
Of the Army records the interesting and
suggestive fact that about flve-slxths Of
the men enlisted during the year were
native-born, or 53,o2i natives out OF n
total 62,l Those OF foreign birth num-
bercd ISL only
The cnlistments. however were divided
with respect to nativity about as was tho
population as whole In 1890, when out
Of total OF 81, G22, $50. the foreign-born
numbered D,2i9,5i7.
II appears from this that the patriotic In
tcrest of the people in the war is the same
among natives AS among forcign-born
citizens. About one in thousand OF each
entered into the military service OF their
country to sustain the honor and glory OF
it's flag in time OF war and to defend
its authority over the new possessions
ACQUIRED by IL, and almost wholly with a
special view to service in the Philippines
1t will be remembered that when the new
volunteer regiments required for the Phil
ippincs were called and there was need also
Of recruiting up the regular army to its full
legal limit the anti-cxpansionist intriguers,
individuals and newspapers, gloated over
the difficulty OF raising tho large force
which they assumed would be encountered
by the recruiting officers. They said 1t
would afford practical test OF tho popular
support OF the Presidents Philippine policy;
and therein they were right, only the test
did not work as they expected, though they
used every seditious effort to dissuade
enlstments by picturing the horrors OF
war, circulating literature defamatory OF
the army and cxtolling AGUISALDo as a
WASHINGTON set upon by the President in
defiance OF the principles OF the Declaration
OF Independence. They must have spent "A
great deal OF money in their sedtious
efforts and everybody knows that they ex-
pended no end of oratory at public meetings
and OF writing in their newspapers to pre-
vent our obtaining troops enough to hold
our own against the Tagalog instructions
list. What they were after, as some OF them
have not hesitated to confess, was to assist
AaUISALDo in driving our army into the
sea-" after 1t had been depleted by tho ex-
piration Of enlistments. by stopping fresh
enistments at home.
A special field. whose seditious cultivation
they looked on most hopefully. was that
Of our foreign-born population. They as
sumed that the naturalized citizens couldbe
easily worked upon because they had not
yet acquired deep and passionate American
patriotism and they had come hither with
bitter prejudices against " imperialism "and
military service. OF course, CARL SCHURz
was quick to lend hand at this business,
for he is always "agin the Government"
and dilettante marplot by nature. Adju-
tant-General CoRBINs report shows. how
ever. that the enlistments among the
foreign-born citizens were about the same
relatively as among the natives.
Nor did the enlistments effected indicate
by any means the extent OF the popular
desire to enter tho military service at a
time when industrious efforts were made
to weaken the army fatally by keeping
men out OF it. A many "a 1i7, $3.50 appli-
cants for enlistment were rejected as
ineligible or physically disqualified, and
among the number, notably. were 3,l77
aliens. Moreover 1895 were recnlist-
ments, soldiers who had already served in
the war and were anxious to get to the
Philippines, that being the motive OF sub
stantially all the enlisted.
How little the anti-imperialistic hubbub
amounts to practically is thus demon
strated.