Life — April 14, 1898 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“QWWhile there is Life there's Hope.” VOL, XXXI APRIL 14, 1898. No, 805 19 West Tuinty-First St., New York. Published every Thursday. $5,008 year in advance. Postage to foreign countries in the Postal Union, $1.04 8 year extra, Single copies, 10 cents, Rejected contributions will be destroyed un- less accompanied bya stamped and directed envelope. ; The illustrations in Live are copyrighted, and are not to be reproduced without special arrangement with the publishers. P this writing there is as yet no war, but for at a fortnight has been a and continu. ght, led by the President of the ed States. It has been a fight for The President docs not want Neither does Speaker Reed. These two patriots, supported by a stroi company of faithful men at Washin ton, and sustained by the consciousness of the sympathy of millions of citizens in all parts of the country, memorable struggle for the delay which gives sober second thoughts a chance to and for the honorable settle- ment by diplomatic means of our dispute with Spain. The only ground for war which has appealed effectually to the bulk of the American people has been humanity, The extermination of the reconcentrados has seemed to us intoler- able. There are other things that we but no one of them need make war inevitable. Now the dos are being relieved, and there is a prospect that their miseries will be per: manently abated. If thatean beassured, it ought to be possible to settle the other without fi Somebody ought to hang for the destruction of the Matne, but the retribution which consists in killing thousands of compar- atively innocent for the crime of some unidentified scoundrels is imper- fectly satisfactory. It has not been dem- onstrated as yet that the destruction of the Maine is cause for v If the re- for that disaster can be t home to Spain, well and good She shall make reparation. If responsi- bility cannot be brought home to lier, hard Ace. war. e made a operate, want, reconcentra- matters men sponsibility brou LIFE sinking more of our ships and drowning more of our sailors is not an efficacious remedy. We should not forget that the respou sibility for the horrors of the war in Cuba lies chiefly with Weyler, who or- dered them, and with the Canovas gov- ernment. Canovas is dead, Weyler] been called home, and his party has been beaten at the polls, Blanco seems tobeadecent soldier. Sagasta, the pres- ent head of the Spanish Government, represents the best political ideas of which the Spanish mind is capable. The to the Maine was a disaster to him and his party. He deserves just as much consideration from our gov- ernment as the circumstances will pos: sibly admit. disaster Y J EARS ago, when there was more Indian fighting in our West than there is now, General Sherman (or some other experienced soldier) humorously suggested, as the cheapest solution of the Indian problem, that Uncle Sam should board all his Indians at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. There are rather too many Cubans to deal with precisely in that way, but it would save us care, ¢ pense, and possibly a good many lives, if all the Cubans who are dissatisfied at home could be ferried over to Florida and have a new start in life offered tothem. Uncle Sam has never under- taken as yet to make the subjects of foreign powers comfortable at home, but he has considered it part of his law- ful mission to maintain a government which should provide a refuge for all industrious and decent people who, preferring the conditions of our exist- ence to their own, were able to make their way to these shores, There area good many reasons for believing that if the Cu- bans are to be a charge upon our benevo- lence, we could take care of them a good deal easier on our own soil than on theirs. wee MILE the impetuosity of Con- gress is the factor that most im pe W peace, itisa timely thought that this belligerent body, that with so much difficulty is induced from day to day to pause while diplomacy makes a last effort, is to some extent the same Con- gress that has kept down appropria tions, both for the army and the navy. to such a degree that now, after the headlong expenditure of a huge sum of ready moncy, we are still barely a match on the sea for one of the weakest and most impoverished nations of Europe. Any Congressman who has voted against naval appropriations and now wants to fight Spain ought in some way to be made to pay the penalty of his own penny wise irresponsibility. It is a pity room cannot be found for all such islators on Commodore Schley’s flyin, squadron, so that they may gain per- nal experience of the perils to, which they are so ready to aevels the lives of others, and against which they have refused to make adequate and timely provision. RAVELERS report that the farther West one goes, the more eager the folks seem for a tight. Nebraska, the home of Senators Thurston and Alles especially cager to annihilate Spain, amt adispatch says that one hundred thou sand men will be on the volunteer list before the middle of April. Inasmuch as comparatively few Nebraska men have seen service in the navy, or are expert gunners, the chances seem to be that the utmost military service that they can hope to do would be to stand ina row and wave their hats and ‘‘hol- ler.” It isa pity that such willing pa triots have not a better prospect of practical usefulness, Meanwhile, put it down to Nebraska's credit that she has contributed food for the reconcentrados, and as much money for their relief as would pay for four discharges of one of the big const-defense guns, See — Sar dd of anyon HE most to be envi just now are the officers and crew of the battleship Oregon, which left San Francisco late ia March on her way round Cape Horn to Eastern waters. She stopped for coal at Cullao and pi some news, but she will stop as little as possible, and will be entirely out of reach of newspapers until she arrives ed up somewhere, comicbooks.com