The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-02-10
WILMINGTON. N. c.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1899.


Major Mckinley has PLAYED a sort
of double game in the matter OF the
He was believed at one
time to be in sympathy with the
grasping, expanding party. In his
speeches when he travelled he became
enthusiastic for ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. He
was quoted with appreciation of favor
ing the imperialistic view. But after
awhile he somehow changed his tune,
and struck a more conservative note.
He has never given to the country any
plan for dealing with the conquered,
or supposed, conquered outlying pro-
yinces. After long delay he has given
the correspondence to the country. Ii
he can be trusted he does not favor all
that the commissioners did at Paris.
He has lacked frmness, decision, con-
sistency He has robbed" evidently.
His utterances before the war, his
course in the war, and his uncertain
course since the war all mark a man
deficient in firmnes, in backbone. He
would nave been ready to go with any
marty in the ascendant if he could have
discerned the signs of the times. He
has run with the crowd as long as ne
thought it was on top. When it ap-
peared that the reaction a set in,
and the voice Of the country vas I'M
favorable to expansion, then Mckinley
shifted his course, took in sail, and de-
clared he was not for expansion or
words to that effect. He may be ION
est in his last attitude, but he was a
Ions time finding out just what he did
favor and where he stood. Now that
there is war again out in the Philip
pines and more Americans are killed
where will the major stand next time?
Mckinley is responsible by tue course
he has pursued for the attempt, that
is becoming successful, to fasten upon
the country a great standing army.
1t is to be hoped that the bill looking
TIC such increase, as Ager favors, will
not go through the senate. This coun-
try is in no need of such a large army,
and it is only because of the craze to
take the Philippines and hold them,
thus beginning the work of foreign
conquest and expansion, that any in
crease of the regular army would be
necessary. Let the idea of expansion
in so far as the Philippines are con-
cerned disappear, and all necessity for
a large increase of the army will also
disappear. The able, conservative
Baltimore Sun says p%ertinently:
''The excuse by which it is attempt
ed to hide the cloven hoof of the poll
tician in this attempt to saddle upon
the American people an army of 1OO,-
900 men at an additional cost of more
than 500, 900, 900 is hat the treaty
makes such increase necessary. Not
unless we mean to be more Spanish
than the ~Spaniards themselves. We
have been accustomed to denOunce
Spain for her persistency in attempt
ing to hold in subsection peoples who
were struggling to be free, just as our
forefathers denounced King George for
trying to rivet his yoke upon his re-
volted colonies on this side of the At
lantic. Now we propose, or MI. Nc
Kinley proposes for us, to go into the
business of subjugating "revolted col
onies" ourselves. We are to do what
England strove to do when our fore
fathers rose in revolt. in 1776. We
propose to do what Spain has unsec-
cessfully tried to do from Mexico to
Chilli, from Cuba to Argentina, and We
propose to do it without one-thou-
sandth part of the excuse which either
Spain or England had, in the case Of
colonies which We did not plant, have
never governed or owned, but which
Mr.. Mckinley proposes to buy for the
benefit of the trusts and syndicates.'
The Cuban business is becoming our
= densome and disgusting. 1t is revealed
what a sorry lot the Cubans are. They
wanted $50, 600, 900 of this country be-
u the United States had lost thou
sands of men in trying to free them
from the Spanish yoke. But they got
$4,000, 900 as a sop to them. Then We
are keeping at great cost tens of thou
sands of soldiers there to do ~policet
duty, when it should be the Cubans
themselves doing this duty.