The Winslow mail., 1900-09-27
Latest Intelligence Concerning At
fairs of National Interest
at the Capital.
EFFECTS OF IMPERIALISM CROPPING OUT
Signs of a subsidized Merchant Ma
rine-The Navy Department Favors
Trust ArmOr PIate-Impe rialistic
Control of the War Department.
Hanna's Fat-FryinS.
[snecial Correspondence !

zine. but that it meant encouragement
to American seamen. The sseamen
themselves very promptly punctured
this argument and predicted that own
srs of vessels would do in the future as
they are doing now, that is, employ the
cheapest seamen that could be found.
The ship subsidy bin didn't pass, but
the war department has just received
protest from the American seamen
of the Pacific coast against manning
the transport Hancock with Chinese
sailors. This transport sailed few
days ago from San Francisco for
Shanghai - t@
The citizens of the coast object to
having sailors employed who might
think it an act of patriotism TO scuttle
a ship when we are practically at war
with China. The Chinese sailors were
employed because they were cheaper
than Americans.
1t can easily be imagined that if the
United States army authorities make
cheapness the first consideration in
selecting crews for war vessels or those
carrying troops the masters of sub
sidized merchant marine wouldn't
waste any of their profits paying good
wages to American seamen unless they
were obliged toby law.
Trust ArmOr Plate.
The unsettled condition of matters
In the orient encourages those who be-
lieve in a big navy to urge that the
vessels now ordered be hurried to COM
pletion.
The secretary of the navy recently
received bids for armor plate upon the
new vessels authorized by congress.
The Carnegie and Bethlehem COM
panies bid $490 per ton for Krupp ar
NOR and a little less for other kinds.
The bidders stipulated that the MAX
ing of the Krupp armor should not be
subject to scrutiny by government Off
cials. claiming that the process is a
secret one and could only be procured
by an agreement that it should he kept
so.
What lot of nonsense. There is no
special secrecy about the Krupp meth
cd and the record of the Carnegie and
Bethlehem companies is not such that
they can be trusted to produce stan
dard armor without watching. 1t will
be remembered that at the time of the
great Homestead strike this Dor dis
turbance helped to divert attention
from about the most defective lot of
armor plate ever made for a credulous
government.
Some confding people wonder
whether the secretary of the navy will
accept these bids or build a govern
ment armor plant. OF course he will
accept them and see that perquisites
enough are allowed to bring the price
up TO the original $545, for which the
armor plate trust fought so hard in
congress. The democrats knew what
the republicans meant when they
talked about leaving the whole matter
to the discretion of the secretary of
the navy. That meant leaving it at
the mercy of the trust. There Will be
no government armor plate factory
under a republican administration.
War Department imperialism.
The activity of the war department
shows that practical imperialism is do
ing its level best to involve the country
so deeply in unauthorized wars that
f:ryan would have difficulty in straight
ening out the entanglements.
We are supposed to be on peace
footing. The war department ignores
the Philippines completely. Yet mil
lions of dollars worth of war supplies
are being shipped to Manila. There
are al sorts of things that our army
cannot possibly want during the wet
se3son.
Secretary Root hints that the sup
plies are being sent in anticipation of
further Chinese trouble. The admin
istration has no moral scruples about
helping to partition China as soon as
it has the campaign off its hands and
can get all the troops it wants.
The Russian government. it is said,
has set the example by advising its
minister to accept an escort from Pc
ling. 1t is said that the Russians in
tend IN this manner to short circuit the
whole incident. This does not sound
like Russia, for she is in better posi-
tion than any other country to force
China to give up territory.
The Chinese government maintains
a scornful silence in re.ation to Nc
Kinley's demands for free communica-
tion with our minister and his safe
delivery to our forces.
The administration is hoping that
Chinese affairs will drag along until
after election. II defeated Mckinley
can leave the consequences of his bad
management to Bryan to repair and if
reelected there will still be an oppor-
tunity to combine with Great Britain
in grabbing a port or two. The Brit
ish have landed troops a Shanghai
without protest from this government.
This means that Mckinley and his
friends of the AngIo-American alliance
are looking 10 the future and that i'm
periaiism will have even wider scope
than before.
Mark Hanna's Skillet.
Hanna is busy frying fat" and scar
ing the. eastern business interests into
the belief that Il Bryan is elected the
financial policy of the country will be
reversed.
Bryan's fatfooted declaration that
Imperialism and not the financial ques-
tion is the chief issue rather upsets
these calculations. After Bryan's
speech Hanna changed his tune and
declared that the republicans were not
going &c have any wallloyer and that
il would take plenty of money to de-
feat bryan.