The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-01-02
THE THINKERS.
BoRR PATRIor IsM AND OURS

q little modesty in US with regard tC
our own early exploits We have
passed the primitive stage in which we
accepted uDquestiopingly the legend
that our Revolutionary f~orefatnerc
rose in one irrepressiOle transport OF
patriotic emotion and emote the B -itish
giant as the three hundred OF Gideon
smote the Midianites, but still it viii
do US no harm to improve our Q OF
proper sion occasionally by comparing
what was really done then with what
is going on among other peoples,
The American Colonies had ab oui
three million inhabitants at the time
of the r EVOLUTION. Great Britain and
ireland had ABOUT eleven million. Toe
disoroportion in numbers, therefore,
was between three and four to one.
The invading fore, 8 had to be brought
across the Atlantic in small sailing
snips. often taking months for the
voyage. As there were no cables, a
British disaster could not be repaired
before the following season.. The
standing army at the disposal Of EGG
land when hostilities broke out did not
exceed 90 600 men, and there were
only Is 600 IN the navy. Even when
Parliament began to put the army on
a war footing the first addition to the
peace fore. 8 consisted of only 1888 men,
and the Ct lVernment's plan OF cam
paign in America contemplated an
expeditonary force only 10 600 strong
The Transvaal R9DuOIc and the
Orange Free State have together about
$50 900 B 'er inhabitants. The Uaited
K,Ugoom now hes about 40 600 600, not
counting it's Colonies, WbIcn are send
ing conGlngenGs tn help it suppress the
Africanders. The disprOportion, IN
stead Of three or four to one, is over
$50 60 one The B itch standiDg army,
not including the forces il India, mum
Oers, 100, 600 men, and steam transports
carry troups to Africa on schedule
time by whole regiments to each ship
Besides the regular army, EaglaDd has
hundreds Of thousands OF organized
and trained n g 7rves to VIII Oh there
a nothing to correspond in 1775, and
here are over 100 OUO men in the navy
Toe invading force sent against the
Dutch Republics is 90 600 strong.
To meet this attack the B ers have
raised an army Of about 30 600 men
which means that practically every
mn and half-grown boy among them
us IN arms They have c ncentrateo
bet 90 coo and 80 600 men at
L Adysmith. That is more than Wash
7 ington ever had under his immediate
command at any one time in the RhOle
course OF our Revolution. H4 lost the
B title Of Lung Island with 5000 her
q ID won hat of TIT Dton with 20OO 81
had IL 600 men at the defeat of the
B andy wine, and 9UOO American troops
at the vi story OF Yorktown. There
were IL 600 men in the army with
which G 4Ges compelled Blrgoyne's
surrender at Saratoga.
IT the American Colonists in general
had displayed the vtgor. public spirit
and devotion exhibited by the B eers
they would have swept the invaders
into the sea, over-run and hello
Canada, and ended the war in the first
gear by their own power, With nc need
TO ask help OF France. They could
have given Washington 100 600 men
with lees strain than 1T COSTS the Beers
to give Joubert 90, 900. and the re-
sources OF the eighteenth century were
not sufficient to enable E lgland to
transport across the Atlantlc an army
capable of making head against such a
force.
It is only in our time that we 6ud
che American people as q whole dis
playing the splendid energytand self
devotion of these South African Dutch
It was in the Owl War, not in the
r 'volution, that we really showed
what Americans could do. Aud q COM
parison of the halEing efforts which
ven Washington was not able to stir
up TO anything like effectiveness with
che superb outpourIng of life and
wealth that ans Wered every appeal Of
Lincoln and Davis ia answer enough
TO any complaint that the American
race has degenerated. Samuel e
MCfett, in Satu "dav e yening Post.
CoNFUsIoNlN rHa FRRR SCHOOL