The record-union., 1899-03-19

Graphic accounts are given Of the
splendid service of the marines at
Guantanamo, of the regular army and
volunteers at Guasimas, Caney and San
Juan, and of the brilliant achievements
of the navy. An interesting chapter
is devoted to 'sWar Correspondents and
and Dispatch Boatss,;r another describes
"A Walk to the 'front.' including
visit to the Rough Riders and an inter-
view with Colonel Roosevelt Mr.. Ken
nan served in the field hospital, where
the wounded were brought for treat
ment during the fighting that preceded
the fall of Santiago, and the picture
he paints of the heroically borne suffer
ings of our soldiers is as terrible in it's
realistic touches as anything in the lit
erature of war.
Mr.. Kennan's powers as descriptive
writer are so we'll known that it is
deemed unnecessary to enter upon any
consideration of his method or style
here. The volume comes from the
press of the Century Company, New
York, and is noticeable for it's typo
graphical excellence.
1.-THE History of the Spanish Amerl-
can War" by Henry Waterson, is
handsomely bound quarto, full leather,
red-edge volume of $50 pages from the
press of the Werner Company, New
York. 1t is lavishly illustrated with
original engravings and colored plates
We have given careful attention TO the
volume and shall complete it's reading
We are impressed with the idea that
haS
to the task he undertook. No inan
is better fitted for it, except, perhaps,
one with Mr. Waterson's ability as
writer who took active part in the war.
But as a great part of the history of
that war deals with international ana
national questions, and is not related
directly to conflict of arms, Mr.. Water
son was peculiarly adapted by reason
of his experience, his political knoWl-
edge. his wide observation and his per-
sonai acquaintance with officers OF the
Government, the army and the navy,
as well as by his knowledge as a polfti-
cal scholar, to write the history now
before us He tells the story of the
genesis of the war. the complications
which led to it's declaration and the
acts of both the Governments leading
up to it, with conciseness, but without
any omission of material detail. When
it comes to the matter of campaigns,
battles and army and navy movements,
he tells the story of the war as obtain
ed from authoritative sources and
largely from the narratives of the chief
participants in it. He declares that
he has purposefully refrained from no.
tice of any controversy growing out of
the events or incident 10 them; that
he has carefully avoided dealing with
the disputed claims of ambitious rivals,
believing, as Admiral Sch!ey has well
said, that i.there is glory CROUCH to
go around The volume was written
concurrently with the progress of
events described, but nothing was
given to the press until from official or
equally reliable sources proof of the
accuracy of recital was obtained. He
appears to have drawn largely upon the
war correspondents narratives, and
this would incline US to doubt the value
Of the book. But Mr.. Wtaerson seems
to have exhausted usual avenues for
verification of these accounts, before
adopting them. We presume that it
will not be claimed that the book is
such a history as should be written.
That cannot come until time has soft
ened the asperities of the hour, and af-
ter the last possible complication re-
garding the conflict and its causes sLall
have been settled and laid to rest But
as current narrative. a book for the
present, Mr.. Waterson's volume is
worth all that is asked for it. and will
serve as one of the records from which
the future historian will draw. There
are four chapters, in the book. however,
which enter the realm of political argu-
ment, where Mr.. Waterson is always
at home They are the four devoted to
the questions of imperialism, expan-
sion. the attitude of other countries and
the relations we bear to them in view
of the late war, of alliances and good
understandings" etc. On these subjects
the author is at home is brilliant ag-
gressive and forceful and thoroughly
informed. His own convictions (and he
is an expansionist, with some limita-
tions) are not concealed, but they are
not presented in a manner to offend
the most nervous anti-expansionist. His
treatment of the foreign questions and
relations growing out of the war and
the occupation of the Philippines, fol-
lows strictly along the lines of fact as
established by diplomatic correspond
ence and official record, and his criti-
cism of these questions reveal the
BREADTH of his mind, and the rare store
of political information with which it
is stocked
of the STORY of the Nations Series"
we have from the press Of G. P. Put
ram's Sons (New York; a volume en-
titled THE West Indies 1t is by Pro-
fessor Amos kidder Fiske, author of
''The Jewish Scriptures and THE
Myths of Israel" 1t is lucidly COM
posed history of the islands of the West
Indian Archipelago, with an account of
their physical characteristics, natural
resources and present condition. Such
a volume is timely. 1t is especially
valuable since so large part of the
islands have come within the sphere Of
our influence and domination, and be-
cause several of them have become our
property. We cannot, of course, say
that Mr.. Fiske's work is accurate
throughout, since that we have no per-
sonal knowledge of conditions in the
archipelago, and in common with most
Americans what;we know of them is
drawn from the writings of travellers
ard historians, some of whom were
Spanish and beyond all question pre-
JUDGED and onesided.
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