The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-09
THE SECRETARY AND THE TARIFF

We observe that tho New York Even.
ing Post is disposed to make certain
references 10 the war with Spain and
to Secretary Mayer serve its purpose
in the present tariff discussion. Here
is the way it deals with the point in a
recent editorial:
Secretary Meyer has been talking some
strange nonsense about the navy. n" is
certain that II We had had more battle
ships in 1898. there would have been no
war With Spain. Obviously nc is not in the
least convcrsant with the Spanish charac-
ter. II me believes that an overwhelming
naval force would have made The Span
lards take a different attitude from what
they did. And is Mr.. Never really so
ignorant that he does not know that on
the eve OF the declaration Of war the
spanish Government conceded pract-
cally everything Mr.. Mckinley asked of
IT, Including truce and arbitration? Has
he forgotten that the blowing un OF the
Maine prccipitatcd the war spirit. and
That this particular battleshlp was sent
there In the face OF General Fitzhugl
Lees protest? There is plain case
where battioship's presence did vast
harm. and no good whatever. Again, Mr.
Meyer boasts that the world cruise lust
ended has benefited our commerce inn
monSelY-gt tho very moment when Con-
grcss is busily deciding just how high
the tariff walls shall be to keen orr for
u
society TO educate Cabinet officers in the
art OF not talking absolute nonsense
particularly as the Opposition. which
usually performs this function ia at pres
ent without the intelligence necessary to
take advantage of such exhibitions as
Mr.. Meyers.
Now the idea that Spain would not
have been held back from war with the
United States by display of over
Whclmlng force is nonsense il was. in
fact, the demonstration that the United
States possessed this overwhelming
force that caused Spain TO sue for peace
before the war was four months old.
OF course Spain would have come TO
time more promptly if we had pos.
sesScd navy which was so evidently
irresistible as to show that for her no
hope OF naval victory was possible. But
SPAN was full Of the idea that Ger.
vera s Heet was more than a match for
all OF our fighting ships In fact, "A
good many of our own people were
nervous about those ships, and no one
who recalls the anxiety of our pcople
about that feet, the sensational rumors
of its being seen at one place or an.
other, the speculatjons about the dam.
age it might do, can fail TO appreciate
the force Of what Secretary Never
says, the POSTS idea to the contrary
notwithstanding.
1t was, of course. a bad mistake to
send the Maine TO Havana harbor. es.
pccially IN the face Of Consul General
Lees warning. 1t was a mistake for
which we paid full dear But with an
overwhelming fleet at our disposal
Spain would have conceded everything
asked, long before, and there would
have been no blowing up Of the Maine.
The concessions made by Spain were
so thrdy, and were so little trusted or
publicly disclosed by our administration
that they had no effect on the situa-
tion. nor could they have, as held back,
cvasive and tricky as they evidently
were. 1t is all closed book, anyhow.
and the attempt 60 convict Secretary