The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-16
REMEMRFsRING THE .MAINE,

Ex-senator Chandler is employed stick
ing pins into the administration. He has
for many years been the champion, pin
sticker Of the nation, but confined Ids
exploits to his senatorial enemies and
his railroad friends. He stuck his rail-
road friends once too often aRd-they re-
tired him from the senate.
Being at the head of the Spanish
claims commission it becomes his priv
ilege as wen as his duty to pass upon
the claims OF American citizens against
Spain One of the many plumbers made
by the commission that negotiated the
treaty of Paris was the assumption by
the United States of all claims against
Spain, arising out of violations Of treaty
rights by Spain, while in the possession
of Cuba This diplomatic blunder has
placed the administration in a eonpro-
missing attitude toward itself, and has
given Chandler an elegant opportunity
for his favorite pin sticking. 1t seems
that the state department has been try
ing to fix up many of these claims, in
ton, by refusing to pay the very claims
that it had pressed against Spain All
these claims Chandler proposes to open
up and settle on their merits, regardless
of consequences. If the burden falls
upon the shoulders of Uncle Sam, well,
Sam will be obliged to carry 1T. Chandler
is no respecter of persons.
One possible development Of the con-
troversy which threatens to cause re
government much embarrassment. is the
opening UP of lac Maine disaster. That
Inflated vessel viii soon be raised and
the cause of IT'S destruction will be
known. If a full investigation proves the
theory of an outward professionalism the
warship was blown UP by enemies from
wftnout-then Spain will be held
accountable for the deaths of the
crew and must respond in dam
ages. The United States having
assumed the liability will be called upon
to pay for the deaths of its own soldiers.
This is what the state department wishes
to avoid. They do not want the Maine
question opened and Chandler evidently
wants just that thing.
Was not the blowing up of the Maine
the prime cause of the declaration Of
var against Spain? Did not Mr.. McKfn-
ley himself point out the fact that when
a nation could not protect the warships
of a friendly power in the ports of it's
own territory, it was time for the world
to interfere and establish order? This
was the strongest argument that could
be and that ever was advanced in favor
of armed intervention. The fact that the
Maine was blown up in a Spanish narbor
while riding at anchor, the representative
of a nation at peace with adj the world,
was sufficient evidence that the safety
of the nations demanded that Spanish
rule cease in that particular quarter and
lie superseded by seme arm strong
enough to NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
AS soon as the treaty of Paris was rati-
fed with its. unstatesmanHke provisions,
the government was as anxious to con-
ceal the cause of the fate of the Maine
as it was to determine it few months
before. All questions of damages affect
ing American citizens were reversed
The United States which had been acting
as planting at once became the de-
PENDANT, and the legal skill that had
been employed to press the claims
against Spain, now was employed to
show that it had all been mistake and
that Spain was never liable. This Is
pretty small business for a full grown
nation to be in, and many man who
has no particular love for ex-senator
Chandler will rejoice at the way he pro-