Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1901-10-24
STEAD ON B0ER WAR
London Journalist Causticali,
Denounces British Policy.
HOW he WOULD EnD POSSIBILITIES

Says Send Chamberlain Head 4
Kruger on q Charger q Penanc
For wrongdoing and Injustice
south Africa, Mr.. Stead Insists, Los
TO British Empire, hut IL VIII Prov
. Blessing to the Nation.
Walter Wellman, staff correspondent
of the Chicago Record Herald. has late
ly had an interview with William L
Stead, in which the famous Londor
journalist, with characteristic fore,
and fearlessness, gives his views OF
Great Britains troubles at home an6
In South Africa.
Mr.. wellman quotes Mr. Stead a.
saying:
South Africa is irretrievably lost te
the British empire. but that will prove
blessing in the end. This end should
have come sooner. That is what ]
complain about. We have sacrificed
too many lives. endured too much suf-
fering. for that which was inevitable
from the start. 1t is a great pity that
Kruger did not take advantage Of the
conditions which prevailed in that
black week of December and march
straight down to the Cape. That would
have brought the end quickly enough
and saved lot of bother. But now
people say the war has gone On so long.
we have made so many sacrifices, that
we must see it through and have our
way. They say it doesn't now matter
much whether we were right or wrong
at the start But | say. right or wrong
does matter. 1t is the only thing of
vital importance now or at any other
time.
THE only end see is that we lose
South Africa. We may in time whip
out the Beers. That is not the trouble
The trouble is that we shall be utterly
unable to control the uitlanders. After
we have whipped or killed the Beers
for their benefit they will be able to do
rs they please. The uitlanders live in
the cities. and they will run the gov
ernments. If we had a loyal agricul-
tural population to depend on. we might
manage them. but the agriculturists
will be our bitter enemies. The Dutch
will never be reconciled. The uitla nd
ers-many of them not British at all,
many of them INSCRIPTIONS adventur-
ers. with no permanent interest in the
country-will never be satisfied.
"At first we'll try holding the uitland |
ers down with garrisons, but when |
uitlander for ambition and Dutchman |
for revenge join hands the garrisons |
will be swept into the sea and South /
Africa will go to the devil. so far as the /
British empire is concerned.
I'VE shall be lucky il we save Cape !
Town and Simon's Bay out of the |
wreck. But these we must have. be- |
cause Cape Town is the keystone of |
the Imperial arch. 1t guards the ocean
route to India. and every one knows the
route will go to pieces
In thirty days after we go to war with
4 first class power. Our troubles will
only have begun when we have ami
hilated the fighting Beers and ended
the war. Before the war 1t took only
), 600 British soldiers to guard our in
terests in South Africa. Chamberlain
himself says that after the war it will
take $4,000 men to keep the British
dag flying down there.
Kruger has always hoped the Brit
ssh would repent. That is his hope
today. That is what he is waiting and
lighting for. 1t is true that it is only
by repentance that we can be saved.
but there are few signs of contrition
ut the present moment. The British
masses have become so besotted, so
drunk with blood and conquest that il
tomorrow news were to come that by
Dutlawry, rapine and murder the last
Boer had been wiped OF the face Of the
earth. a wild. hoarse scream Of JOY
would go up from British press and
people. They would say, We'll, this
Ii something like business at last
The one encouraging sign Of the
times is that this war has proved q
reinforcement Of general
peace. England has borne the burden,
and all civilization Is to share in the
profits. The cost of modern war is so
enormous In money that capital and
commerce will not permit nations to
make war. 1t Is too expensive. II 1t
costs Great Britain GOO. 600 900 to put
down two little republics. numbering
all told not more than 10000 men able
to bear arms. what would II cost
France to beat Germany or England
to beat Russia? In this war, too. de-
struction on the sea played no part
We had unlimited freedom of the
ocean. A war between two first class
powers on land and sea would be
war of economic destruction SO enor-
nous that. practically speaking. war is
now an impossibility. Mammon will
not permit Mars to exploit himself.
I'm passing. I may remark that the
American mule has cost the British
empire a hundred millions of pounds.
II Ii had not been for the shipment of
mules and horses from America 10
South Africa. the Beers would have
had US whipped long ago. You are
good traders. you Yankees. especially
when you can sell without danger. II