The evening times., 1899-04-29
The Tour of the Chicago.

The chicago, which is to be the flagship
of the South Atlantic station, is going on
a tour through various out-of-the- way
| parts of the world. to show our flag to
uneducated people. Her journey will take
her all around the coast Of Africa, for she
will go to the Azores and Gibraltar.
! through the Mediterranean, down the east
coast of Africa TO Delagoa Bay. then to
Cape Town, and St. Helena, thence along
| the west coast of the Continent, coming
finally to Rio Janeiro.
This journey is rather significant, though
it may not seem SO. 1t may appear to the
thOughtless observer that the Chicago is
merely going out for walk, SO to speak,
travelling about the world for pleasure, just
as our diplomats spend their time while
abroad in going to balls and receptions,
and amusing kings and queens. instead
of going down to dingy little Office at 8
o'clock every morning and working in their
shirtsleeves till late in the afternoon. 1t
seems to many people as il the artist has
a very easy life, with nothing to do but
sit and fool with brushes and canvas all
day long. and the author is even less oc-
a week. which takes him an hour or two,
and brings in many dollars. And those
who take this view of the world are apt
to consider that the people who thus loiter
through the world without horns on their
hands or crooks in their shoulders, are
very much overpaid. Their idea of the
proper distribution of labor would be that
the author should do his eight or ten hours
day of good hard work, and WRITE If he
must write, in the evening when he can
not get in the hay. They do not under
stand why an ambassador needs to rent
fashionable house, when he and his fam
lily could be comfortably accommodated in
six rooms, nor do they see any reason for
increasing the size of our army and navy.
when there is a postoffice which ought to
be built at Podunk.
Because our national affairs have been
more or less mismanaged by men who
held these views, Generalization of our
War Department and long-continued de-
ficiency in our naval appropriations have
caused anxiety to those who know the
world. This was. of course. inevitable in
a country which has grown as fast as ours,
and whose government Is based on the
glorious principles of freedom and equal
ity. The true American should wish his
fellow citizens to have as good chance
to enjoy life as he himself has, and he
must understand that, in this case, he will
not have quite SO easy time as IL he be-
longed to the upper class of rich and
aristocratic civilization. On the other
hand, he will make much better fight of
it than If he belonged to the Submerged
tenth of that civilization, the small per-
centage which is ground down into the
mud. He should be content with avera ze
happiness, rather than desirous of greater
happiness wrung out of the suffering of
ten other people. That is the American
ideal. though at present it is only an ideal.
We are growing out of the provinciality
which results from more or less inexpe-
rienced hands upon the reins of govern
ment, and coming TO see that the author
and the artist, and the ambassador and
the general. must have some liberties
which are denied to those who cannot do
such work. We are beginning to see that
huge, stately warship, or an extra regi-
ment or two in the army. may be worth
all that they cost. and more. And so this
apparently idle trip of the Chicago round