Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-04-21


Point for Preferment by Testifyins that
"Embalmed" Beef was Eaten and ReIished
by fiimssIf-'McKinIey Placatins the GoIdbus
democrats"
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, April ii, 1899.
1t is regretable that Congress is
not in session, so that the Democrats
could inject sufficient ginger into Mr..
Mckinley to make him call Germany
down as they made him call Spain
down a year ago. The people are
stirred to deepest Indignation by the
news that German treachery in Samoa
has been responsible for the ambush
ing OF small detachment of Ameri-
can and English marines by 800 ma
tives and the killing of two lieuten-
ants, one American and one English,
one American Ensign, and four ma
rines, and the administration is doing
just as it was doing year ago-wait-
ing. Germany has deserved a sharp
call down from this government four
or five times since the war with Spain
began, but in every instance the adj
ministration has allowed itself to be
placated with little soft soap from
the German Ambassador. This Sa-
moan business has aroused the peo-
pie, and action is demanded. Senator
Stewart voiced public sentiment when
he said: "Does Germany want to
fight? II so, she may be accommo-
dated. We are u peaceful people, but
we do not permit Others to 90 around
with chips on their shoulders" And
Representative Hull, of Iowa. a Re-
publican, said: In my section the
feeling has been strong against Ger
many for six months. The people be.
lieve that she was hostile to us in the
war with Spain. The people are in
such temper that they will not permit
any trifiing or hedging on the part OF
this government" The time has
come when the mind OF the German
Emperor must be cleared in an effect
i've manner of the idea that this coun.
try is afraid OF him.
War Department officials are at last
convinced that peace in the Philip
pines is still a long way off, and the
administration is beginning to realize
that the islands were not bargain ut
$2O,OOO,OO0, and that we will pay the
money long time before we get pos
session OF the property, such as it is.
When Aguinaldo's capital was taken
it WAS announced by administration
officials that the fighting was all over,
yet during the present week there has
been almost continuous fighting over
there, aud our troops didn't have to
do all the attacking, either. Speaking
to several army officers, Gen. Shafter
said: "Gen. Lawton and his men are
achieving much success as far as they
60. The fighting against the Filipi.
nos, however, is like the brushing
away of flies; the moment the brush
ing is stopped they come back. The
Filipinos are bound to give in eventu-
ally, but l believe it is much more
serious task to subdue them than
most people think" Another army
officer said, after noting the resem-
blance of Gen. Lawton's campaign to
those against the Apache Indians:
"The Filipinos will get tired of the
chase sooner than the American Indi.
ans did, and after few years of at
tempting to keep up fight against
the authority of the United States, the
insurgents will disappear or surren-
der" That's u nice thing to contem-
plate, isn't it? Pay $20.O0O,OOO and
thousands of good American lives for
islands which we will get complete
possession of in a few years, and will
not have any use for after we get
them.
Gen. Shafter has had critics in
plenty ever since the charge was made
and never fully disproven that he had
"funked" in the Santiago campaign
and that he would nave made a mess
OF the whole business if Gen. Joe
Wheeler and others had not prevent
ed, but his testimony regarding the
canned "roast" beef brought more
harsh criticism than anything he had
previously said or done. In the face
of the evidence of nine out of every
ten witnesses who have testified that
the stuff was unfit to eat, Shafter said
it WAS good and that he ate it every
day and enjoyed it. Either, he over
did the thing in his testimony or he
was furnished with a different sort of
canned "rosst" beef from that fur
nished the rest of the army. How his
testimony was received at the White
House may be judged from the fact
that he was the guest OF honor 1T O
dinner given by Mr.. Mckinley, before
he left town, and was assured that he
would be one OF the two additional
major generals that the army will be
entitled to under the army reorgani-
cation act.
Mr.. McMinley's selection of Mr.. f..
Bartlett Trip, of South Dakota, who
was minister to Austria under the
Cleveland administration, to represent
the United States on the Information.
al Commission that will endeavor to
straighten out the Samoan tangle, was
disappointing to Il number of Repub.
licans who would like to have secured
the plum. Mr.. Mckinley is no novice
in the game OF politics. He got elect
ed by the support, directly or indi.