Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-03-01
Wansa1a pi1ot.
TUESDAY, MARCH / 1904.
Published weekly sndent red at the Post Office
at Wausau as second class matter.
The Two Johns.

F2Between John Bull and John Hay it
is a serious question what will become
of the United States.
The matter of course way in which
republican newspapers have been an
nouncing the fact that Johnny Hay is
on the qua UiUe in these days, indicates
the fear entertained by these friends of
the present administration that the
United States will in some way be
dragged into war before the present
unpleasantness between Russia and
Japan is ended. Some of these repub
hcan sheets merely announce as news,
without comment that Secretary Hay
is afraid the country will become in
vOlved. Others come out bluntly and
advise him to mind his business and
not be meddling.
There is no denying that the general
public opinion of Hay and of his chief
Mr.. Roosevelt, irrespective of party
lines, is one of expectation, coupled
with fear that they may get their foot
in it. The usage of nations is such that
no matter how much inclined the Amer
lean people may be to keep themselves
sloof from European and Asiatic
squabbling, this would constitute no
excuse whatever for us whereby we
could escape war if our government
commits some act provocative of war.
What our government does we must
back up however much we disap-
prove it.
We have our own political and social
questions and they furnish ample tasks
for us to puzzle over and solve, and if
they are solved in the wrong way we
shall, as people, suffer heavily for the
error. But the evil consequences of
mistakes as to our domestic policies
would be as nothing compared with
what would follow from our becoming
embroiled in a general war with Euro
pean nations, as an ally of England and
Japan.
Would it not even be preferable to
have Grover Cleveland in the presi
dental chair for the next four years
and let the trusts have full swing than
to become involved in such a war We
r have no doubt that would be the least
of these two awful evils. Whatever
1else may be said of Cleveland, we all
feel that he would not let us get into
this war. Today we read in one paper
that it is folly to suppose that Mr.. Hay
or MIR. Roosevelt can get US into war
that congress alone can declare war.
But this is a short-sighted idea. OF
course this country could not volun-
tarily begin a war unless congress de-
clared war. But we had lesson only a
few weeks ago to show us how easily
nations may get into war without any
declaration of war whatever. Japan
decided to go to war, and at it she
went, without waiting for daylight
even, and without saying word in
advance. Suppose our government
should take some step that would incite
some European power TO begin war
with us. Congress might do as it liked
about declaring war but there would
be war uElesS we chose to let the other
nation do all the shooting. This nation
can get into war easily enough without
declaring war. And just at present the
only friends we have among the nations
are England, Japan and China. All
the governments of continental Europe
have taken otfense at our inter-med
ding with this Eastern question, and
when nations are unfriendly to us it
won't do for us to talk turkey very
loud and expect to keep ont of trouble,
There may be nothing in the present
popular fear of the erratie and hasty
temper of our president, and the strong
personal friendship of his secretary of
state for England, but that this fear
should be SO openly expressed by his
party newspapers is too significant a
thing to give much comfort to the
optimist.