The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-06-03
THE WAR DRAGONS:
Certa Tendencies That Make
Fighting Popular.
THE SENSE OF BROTHERHOOD
1t Springs to the Front at the SuE-
gestion of TrOuble-Effect
ON Business.
THE SENSE OF BROTHERHOOD

Building, Wasbington. -...-y
Washington, June 3.-Certain tenden-
cies in our public life unavoidably put a
premium on war, and SO make necessary
strong efforts to counteract them. The
American people llabitually take an at
titudes of Hindu devotion toward any of
their rulers, regardless Of party, who
suggests possibility of war. This has
it's origin in the worthy impulse to stand
together before a possible foe, to have
our disputes at home, but to drop them
at the waters edge. A re. >resentative
in congress, now a senator, once re-
marked that the two. most sublime spec
tacles he ever saw were the stiffness and
unanimity! of congress. on the occasion of
President Harrison's Chilean message
and on that of. President Cleveland's
hushed. Partnership vanished in an
instant. ~. ~. T.. ~.
Mr.. Boutelle, of Maine,;:it will be re-
called, who furnished the only exception
to this statements and wanted moment
for deliberation before voting an sappro-
priation for ascertaining the boundary
line between two foreign countries, was
mercilessly criticized throughout the
country, and when his mental breakdown
occurred a few years later this incident
was recalled as showing that hiss I'M
fortunate condition had been some time
in coming on. ,..- -..
Correspondingly, the public man who
rides to the capitol in a closed carriage
and votes for war or measures tending
in that direction, is regarded as hero,
while the man who stands out to the last
against war, until at least he can have
the fullest assurance of it's necessity,
is pusillanimous and usually finds defeat
in store for him. Scores Of men have
been driven out of public life because of
}hnir hoc tot RI on Mt w
man ever similarly treated because of
his undue zeal in that direction
When this country was passing through
it's period of hysteria over Dewey's vic
tory which was SO easily obtained that
no lives were lost and his men could stop
to eat breakfast in the midst of the pro-
ceedings, one of the sensational New York
| newspapers undertook to run Dewey for
the presidency, on the announced theory
that every war had given us a president.
It has SO happened that the Spanish war
has already given us a president al
though not in the way expected: Every
| war will give us presidents, and not al
| ways perhaps men who have been so
seasoned with sufficiency of war as the
| first of our civil war presidents whose
| best-remembered maxims are those Of
peace.
The reason the American poole have
such a seeming preference for the advo-
|
Is doubtless to be found in the prevailing
American optimism. The greatness, Of
America has been pretty effectively
preached int the ears Of the
voting public. One of the greatest forces
tending towards socialism in this country
to-day is the American habit Of believing
in the superior efficiency Of the =instru-
mentalities Of government One may
| safely criticize an express company,
parlor car company, or railroad corpora
! tion as to its business methods, but not
the postofice, the government printing
Office, or apparently the navy-yards as
competitors with private enterprise in the
! building of ships. The American people
will have it. that the businesses which
they themselves run are the, best there is.
if this be true, there is no reason why the
4 socalistic impulse should not spread rap
l idly and government constantly widen the
sphere Of its business activities. This is
! what is actually going on. While popula-
tion is increasing at one ratio the number
4 of federal employees is increasing several
times faster, and this is largely because
! whatever Uncle Sam does our prevailing
i optimism at once enthrones.:
There are of course tendencies at work
4 in American i fe.in the direction Of peace.
i The widening sphere of commercial in.
! terests, the debts and credits in every ma
/ ton of Europe and Asia, put our COM
lmerce business classes under bonds to
I keep the peace, as. it were And they
! have seldom failed to exercise strong
and helpful Influence in that direct ion.
The increase Of foreign travel is also
beneficial. People that we see and asso-
ciate with do not seem so bad as those
whom we merely read about in the yellow
journals. It is probable, also, that the
presence here among the voting popula-
! ton Of considerable representation of
& every people under the sun, acts as an
. influence In staying hostilities.
q The United States has not been greatly
+ disturbed by foreign wars, with only
q three since the struggle for independence.
Our isolated position in the world, and the
: protection of the great oceans have been
and will still remain potent factors in
8 giving us that peculiar advantage of free
dom from the necessity Of great arma-
j ments The civil war, however. suf1ces