The Portland daily press., 1900-09-01
BRYAN RESPONSIBLE.
1t Was He Who Brought About the
Ratification of the Treaty.
(Senator Hale's Bridgton Speech.)

(Senator Hale's Bridgton Speech.)
I disagree with great many men In
my own party. I disagree with my friend
Mr.. Swett here. am not an expansion
ist. I am In favor and believe it has been
wise always to take contiguous territory
where it could be made part of the
Union and come in as states and add to
the glory of our country as Louisiana
and Florida do, but I have never believed
In the beneficence OF q policy that COM
mits us to the colonial system which
Great Britain has tried for SO many years
and do not believe In taking in as
part of our country in any form territory
thousands OF miles away populated With
a foreign people who have no interest
in our government. But while / believe
this, I do not believe that Mr.. Bryan is
a safe man to trust these questions to.
/ believe In peace rather than war.
believe the methods are better. But
some wars cannot be avoided Liberty
with war is better than slavery with
peace. We proved that in the Revolution
and in the War of the Rebellion. But
war is simply terrible. terrific, hellish
There is nothing that destroys like war,
nothing that wrecks like war, nothing
grown older / have become more and
more an advocate of peace with honor,
than of war. was not as much in favor
as many Of my associates were, of stirr
ing up a war with Spain. believed, and
President Mckinley believed, that II he
were left alone there would have been no
war. Spain had had her day and 1T as
time for her to go. Her iniquitOus rule
In Cuba was no longer to be tolerated,
and the conditions were such that Spain
time had come. believe that it would
have been better, and possible, too. to
have negotiated her of the continent.
We should have done it but for that un-
| foreseen event, that deplOrable event,
the blowing up of the Maine, when the
whole country was aroused as the susp1c
ion grew that it might have been Spanish
treachery which had done thds awful
thing. When war came we were all
alike. We determined to make it what
1s the best kind of war, short, sharp and
| decisive. 1 reported myself, and was
glad TO do it, from my committees in the
| Senate, appropriations amounting to
$500, 600, COO. We stood behind -the ad-
ministratiOn and the people and prose-
cuted the war. The war was the whole
cOuntry'g war and we made it remarka-
| bly, short and decisive. 1t Twas not much
of war; after all. 1t was not like the
Rebellion, 1T was soon over and Spain
was overthroWn and driven from the
continent. In declaring the war we put
| in this clause in the declaration that we
made the war in thesinterest of liberty in
| Cuba and that the Cubans had right to
| be free. When the war was at its height
and when word came that the Sp anish
fleet was in Manila Bay, and was about
coming out, and was going to reinforce
Cervera, and to devastate our coast, we
didn't know how strong our navy was,
and the critical moment arrived, shall
never forget that bright, Sunday, April
morning in Washington, when few OF
us were summoned to the White House
for consultation. The President was there,
of course, the Secretary OF War, Secretary
of State, Secretary of the Navy, our own
Mr.. Long, Senators Allison, Davis and
myself. The question was, what TO do
with our squadron. 1t was then at Hong
Kong. By the help of all these, this dis
patch was arranged, one man suggesting
one thing, another something else, until
the following was at last agreed upon.
10 Admiral Dewey, Hong Kong. Pro
c6ed forthwith to Manila and capture or
destroy Spanish fleet" 1t was a most
definite errand on which Dewey was sent.
1t was a tribute to his enterprise. 1t
was a job laid out for him. 1t was one
that demanded statesmanship and ability.
1t was the way to make the war short
Ii l had only thought then, and l take
upon myself some reproach that 1 did not
think, to add to that message, land re-
port forthwith at Hong Kong" 1t might
have been done very easily and nobody
/ would have raised any objection, not a
But 1 didn't think of it. l wasn't wise
enough. There are many of us whose
hind sight is heiter than our foresight.
Many OF US far TO do things we might
have done, and failed to do this, Dewey
went down to Manila. He faithfully per-
formed his duty. He utterly destroyed
1 the Spanish fleet, without any loss to
ourselves. And then, with the natural
/ Inclination of military man, he had
Manila under his guns He sent home
for troops and more ships, and that was
granted. We began to send armies there,
and at last we got involved in the con
troversy of keeping the islands. Then
came the treaty, in which, to the surprise
| of the world, we bought the islands,
making them ours.
Now some OF us did not believe that that
was treaty of peace, but treaty of
war, and that it would be followed by
constant war, that it would cause us to
be drawn into all the great international
troubles as it has in the East. Some of
us opposed the treaty. We should have
been able, but for one thing, to have put
the islands on basis like Cuba ana
given the people an opportunity for free
government. The man who hindered
that, who brought about the acceptance
of the treaty, and all the trouble that
there is in 1t, the man who brought this
about, is this same Col. Bryan. He ex-
ercised his we'll known talent He went