New-York tribune., 1910-01-15

SErapnerS s sons
The man OF action as historian and
philosopher has not hitherto been un-
known TO our literature or to that of
other lands. and more than once his
personality has been that of a naval Of
ecer. in fine fulilment OF the ideal which
vas set for members of that service by
the founder OF the American navy. The
present incursion of a veteran sea fighter
into the field of letters is peculiarly ap-
prcpriate. and its result is more than
ordinarily gratifying. There is probably
no naval officer now living who is more
familiar with the circumstances and con-
diticns Of our war with Spain from per-
scnal observation and participation
than Rear Admiral Chadwick, and II is
therefore fitting that he should be the
author Of a detailed review of those dip
loinatic relations of ours with Spain Of
which the war of 1898 was the logical
and. humanly speaking, oil but in
evitable elimination. For that is the
argument Of the book before us. which
the author maintains with a wealth Of
cited facts and with cogency of deduc-
ton which will scarcely be challenged
and which certainly viii rot be success
fully controverted. The folly, in which
some have INDUCED, OF attributing that
usr TO the destruction of the Maine or
20 other purely ephemeral incidents Is
suthoritatively dismissed. The seeds or
the conflict We're planted in 1853; they
eerminated just twenty years later and
.he bitter harvest was finally Earnered
only twelve years ago.
II was on February 10. 1888 that
France. beaten in the war which is here
called the French and Indian and in
Europe the Seven Years ceded to Eng
lan6 the territory between the Allie
ghsnies and the Mississippi, and by the
treaty OF cession declared the Mississippi
from source TO mouth free TO the British
for navigation on equal terms with the
French II was on the same day. too,
that France ceded 10 Spain the territory
between the Mississippi and the Rocky
Mountains, known in history as the Lou
isiana Territory. Thus the Spanish do
i7airions and the British American col
orlies were brought into contact pro-
ductive Of more or less incessant friction
and irritation until 135 years later, when
and morally spain succeeded TO the OBJ
LEGATIONS as vel as TO the authority OF
the French in Louisiana, and in 1Is3 the
United States succeeded to the privileges
OF Great Britain in the Northwest ana
Southwest territories. That Is to say
the United States had right TO naVl-
gate the Mississippi freely from source
70 mouth on equal terms with SPAN
But there IS nothing more familiar IN
the history Of those times than the
tortuous efforts of Spain TO deny ana TO
nullifv that right and to forbid lts e1-
ercise. To that end her policy was d.
-ected during the Revolution. On April
"a 171o- she secretly allied herself with
France against England. and six days
later offered England her alliance
AGAINST France. which latter being re-
fused. she declared war against England
III aid of France but not In behaH Oh
America. Again, on May 10, 1lSo, she
offered TO ally herself with the Uniteo
States Il this country would renouhce
;ts rights ON the Mississippi, the remem-
f,rauce of which probably inspired Jay
"a his superb disregard of Congressional
orders in making the treaty OF peace
Of 1888.
In our assertion in 11S3 of our rights
as The successor of Great Britain on the
eastern shore OF the Mississippi was the
re-njuatiou of the seeds of trouble be-
tzveeu the United States and Spain
There followed Spain's persistent EFFORTS
"a exclude us from that river and to in
-,4a sedition and secession in the West
as1-lAli iGal
,insor. the strenuous diplomacy or
Pjnclney, and finally the secret treaty OIL
san IIdefonso as a counsel OF SPAN
hespair. In the fulfilment or non-iuilli-
rraeut Of that treaty Spain was III uSed d!
France, for the purchase price ior
Louisiana was never paid and the solemn
obligation of France not 10 resell the
territory was soon repudiated. More
over. our purchase of Louisiana Whlle II
ended the Mississippi controversy, led 10
xtir further complications and contro-
,-ersIes with Spain, in which the United
States did not always show TO advantage.
The Yazoo business was bad enough III
11s3. But that Of West Florida was
worse, and il is gratifying 10 see that
Admiral Chadwick clearly recognizes and
frankly confesSes the facl. me LhsISd
States was greatly III the wrong he
tells US. One Of Madison's dispatches,
which was equally Jefferson's, was "a
niece Of pettifogging unworthy Of high
minded statesmen" The President and
his Secretary of State and all the Cab
inet were equally wrong ''in the face OF
seemingly patent facts" It is true that
she Spanish minister replied with notes
Of "a rudeness which no government
could tolerate but his tone was justi-
fed by the gross indignities which Spain
had suffered At our hands. The result
was that he was changed from a friend
70 an enemy OF the United States and
relations between the two countries We're
deeply embitrered.
Not the least deplorable feature of
those doings was that Texas was for the
time lost TO US, the United States was
automatically humiliated. and a legacy
cf woe WAS left TO succeeding years. The
Galveston and Amelia Island incidents
followed, and then the negotiations with
De Onis and Wives, which were con-
ducted on our part by the man whom
Admiral Chadwick regards as, on the
whole, the greatest Of American secre-