CHAPTER XII.Back in God’s Country Again.A Grand Constitution that could Govern the World. The American Flag must Rule the Western Hemisphere and None Save God can Prevent this. America’s Perilous Over-confidence. Our Great Navy in 1999. England’s Friendly Offices in 1898. America and Great Britain Firm Friends Forevermore.Having thus briefly reviewed the condition of Europe in 1999; the changes that had been effected in the map of that continent; the cordial relations existing between the American Eagle and the British Lion in that year; the acknowledged supremacy of America and England over the entire world; the obliteration of Spain in 1930; the fall of France in 1935; the banishment of moslem rule from Europe and the grandeur of British rule in Africa and India, let us again return to God’s own country,The United States of the Americas, which chosen land, in 1999, became the wealthiest, most prosperous and powerful of all nations upon this inhabitable globe. Having traveled abroad in the preceding chapter to secure a glimpse of the world’s condition in that year, we gladly set foot again in the new world to examine more closely and accurately into the status of the great American Colossus.If there are any who believe that the great and infallible constitution of theIt Could Govern the World.United States of America is not broad and strong enough to include in its scope and government every country in our Western Hemisphere from Alaska to Patagonia; if there are any Americans who believe that Central and South American Republics can never be governed under our American Republic, employing the same language and the same coinage, all sheltered under the noble flag of Bunker Hill, to such unbelievers in the future expansion of America we appeal in vain through these pages. They fail to understand that America has a great duty to perform and is destined to become the light of the world.To any fair minded and candid student of history the conclusion must come with force that America withIt is the Hand of Destiny.her forty-five states in 1899 was a mere local affair compared with the certainty of all the other republics joining under one government with ours in 1999.America in 1899 was yet in the cradle of her infancy, occupying a modest and narrow strip of territory extending from Maine to Florida; fringed by Canada on the north and laved by the waters of the Mexican gulf on the south.Her position on this continent was that of a Gulliver by whose side the other southern republics looked likeLilliputians. Providing that the giant is gifted not only with strength and a stout heart, but governed, also, by good principles, why should theLilliputianRepublics of Central and South America fear? Would it not be better for them to make common cause with their great American neighbor and live under one flag?In 1899 the tendency of the period was to consolidate; the “trust epidemic” thenUncle Sam’s Big Trust.raged at its height; the aim of that period, at least in commercial affairs, was to gather together the small concerns and unite them into a whole.The United States of the Americasin 1999 was largely built on the trust principle. Uncle Sam was running the biggest concern in the government line and the little South American Republics had simply been gathered in by the big fellow. They all were merged into one great American nation, governed by the same constitution, and all lifted up their gaze with patriotic pride to the Stars and Stripes.At this juncture it might be interesting to learn by what means and in what manner was this vast American Republic protected by sea and land in 1999. Conscious of her vast resources and enormous strength, America from the close of the Civil War in1865 to the year 1885 remained practically unarmed, keeping on hand a mere corporal’s guard in the shape of an army. Her navy up to 1882 consisted of an aggregation of warships of more or less antiquity, mere washtubs with smooth bore guns, whose ordnance, discharged against a modern battleship, would have about the same effect as throwing boiled peas at a brick wall.Twenty years after the close of the Civil War, in 1885, America had commenced toUncle Sam Wakes Up.rub her eyes and to awaken from her perilous Rip Van Winkle siesta of two decades and to realize, at last, that a strong navy had become a national necessity. Over-confidence is a dangerous foe to national safety. America, a land filled with liberty-loving patriots and master mechanics, set to work none too soon to provide herself with a navy; fighting machines that in point of speed and prowess would compare favorably with the output of the best foreign shipyards. It became obvious to the veriest child that if our national dignity at home or abroad were to be maintained, and, if we did not proposed to be bluffed by small concerns like Chile and Spain, the best thing to do about a navy would be to build it at once, forthwith, “and on the word go.”Congress took spirited action in the matter,making liberal appropriations for the construction of a first grade fleet of modern warships, armed and equipped with best and most penetrating rifles. This patriotic and sensible policy had been inaugurated none too soon.The month of January, 1898, found America in possession of a small, but highlySmall but Powerful.efficient navy and on the brink of war. What we had in the line of war vessels was of the best, but America could proudly boast of something immeasurably better than a few fine ships and heavy guns. We possessed what no Congress or Parliament could make to order or purchase by appropriation, and that was a keen, patriotic sentiment throughout both the American army and navy.“The man behind the gun,” anxious to lay down his life by the side of the powerfulThe True American Hero.breech-loading destroyer he loved so well to train and groom; “the man behind the gun,” who loved and cared for his mighty weapon as a father would his child; watching it by night and day, praying for the hour when he might belch from its throat missiles of destruction into the enemy’s ranks,—“the man behind the gun,” God bless him, is America’s own true born. In the hour of peril, at Manila, Santiago and at PuertoRico, these heroes, man and gun, did their duty right nobly and well. In 1999 the world still rang with the valor of their deeds.But America in 1898 found herself still unprepared. The war issue was lodged with a power of the third magnitude. Left alone with the Dons the tale would soon be told. Only one year before our war with the yellow and red flag, an American gentleman summed up the situation in a very concise manner: “When we get at the Spaniards, they’ll hold together just long enough to get kicked to pieces.”But Spain had other partners, two powerful nations, who, for selfish reasons, would have been only too glad to give Uncle Sam a punch in the ribs. Germany, having been fortified by a bribe from Spain for her co-operation against America, having been promised by Spain as a reward for assistance the entire group of the Philippines, was only too eager to close the bargain. The Teutons were spoiling for a fight with Uncle Sam, ostensibly in behalf of Spain, but more especially for a grab at the Philippines. France, on the other hand, distinctly recollected that she owned and held the bulk of Spanish securities and if the Dons in their brush with America took “a header,” these Spanish securities would not be worth a last year’s bird nest. And now comes an important question: Was America prepared in 1899to clash in naval combat with the combined forces of Spain, France and Germany? Josh Billings would have made short shift of his reply by saying: “Well, hardly.”Spain’s two unhappy partners, in their dilemma then turned their eyes and stepsCalled at the Captain’s Office.toward a little island that lies slightly north of their territory. France and Germany heard the growl of the British Lion and before they joined Spain in a war against America, John Bull must be consulted. As a result of their interview this ill-mated pair became well convinced that England would put up with none of their nonsense and would not remain neutral should they join Spain in hostilities against America. France and Germany became converted to other views and very wisely decided to remain at home, meek as lambs, while Uncle Sam was carving up Spain to suit the queen’s taste.In 1999 our American patriots did not propose to get caught in the trap of January, 1898, in which America found herself. In the year first named America was able to meet in war any combination of European nations that might hazard themselves in the field against her. The unfortunate spectacle of a great nation like America, on the eve of war, rushing around as we certainly did in March, 1898, buying up odds and ends of war vessels and fairly begging to buy smokeless powder at any price, willnever again be repeated in this great country. The lesson of 1898 was yet fresh in the minds of all in 1999. Americans of the twentieth century were too shrewd to get caught napping again in that manner.In 1999 the United States of the Americas embraced eighty-five states. CanadaThe New American Navy.had been divided into two American States, namely, East and West Canada. The original territory of the United States in that year consisted of sixty-two sovereign states; Texas alone had been divided into three separate states. To these were added the six states of Central America, namely, the newly created American States of Mexico, Nicaragua, Salvador,CostaRica, Guatemala and Honduras. Next came the newly admitted American States of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Chile,Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Patagonia, making a grand total of eighty-five states, which formed in 1999 the United States of the Americas.By enactment of Congress provision had been made that every State in the Union must build, equip and maintain at its own cost at least one battleship of the most modern type and unrivalled power; one armored cruiser of the highest speed, (35 knots per hour,) and three submarine destroyers of the most approved pattern and of the most enterprising character.As a result of this wise policy the navy of the Americas in 1999 consisted of eighty-five (85) first grade battleships; one hundred and seventy (170) of the swiftest and most powerful cruisers; two hundred andFive hundred and Ten Warships.fifty-five (255) submarine destroyers, popularly called in that year, “uplifters.” Such was the numerical strength of the American Navy during the closing period of the twentieth century, on a peace footing. In the remote possibility of a war, provision had been made to mobilize the American fleet upon a far more formidable standard of efficiency. The total number of our war craft of all classes aggregated in that year, five hundred and ten (510) vessels.When one reflects that the coast-line of the great Republic, along the Atlantic and Pacific shores of the Americas, embraces fully 34,000 miles, every mile of which was entitled to our national defence, it will be recognized that the American Navy in 1999 was barely in keeping with the vast proportions of the Republic it had been created to defend. Indeed, it was regarded as being a modest establishment of its kind, judged by the standards of that period.The question very properly offers itself, “If the United States of the Americas in 1999 represented such a powerful nation, wealthy and prosperous, potent in enterprise and industry, what use had it for anavy of five hundred and ten warships?” This question is easily answered by quoting an old and sterling axiom: “In time of peace we must prepare for war.”The folly of March 1898, when America, on the eve of war with Spain, rushed inNot to be Caught Again.breathless haste into every European navy-yard to purchase any thing that could float a gun, and offered haystacks of gold for smokeless powder, was not to be repeated in 1999. It was recognized in that year that the best guarantee for peace was to maintain an efficient army and powerful navy, to exact a proper respect for a flag that protected 531,000,000 American citizens.The big American Republic in 1999 did not propose to place itself, with its vast population and interminable coast-line, in the humiliating condition of China, a people who, though mighty in population, remain helpless as infants in matters of national defence. America did not intend to suffer the fate of China. Although her territory was vast and her population reckoned by the half-billion, America did not propose to permit European cormorants to pounce upon her coasts, and, as in the case of China, steal a whole country under the guise of civilizing it. In 1999 the Americas maintained a formidable army and navy in order to impress the fact upon theworld that we were not like lambs, wholly without means of self-defense.The perilous American policy, inaugurated after the Civil War, of existing without any army or navy worthy of the name, was exposed through our war with Spain. Americans cheerfully acknowledged the fact that England’s friendliness tended to bring that war to an early close. Even Spain in 1898 professed to hold our army in exalted contempt, regarding Americans as a nation wholly unfit for war, at best, a nation of wheat raisers and pork-packers. Many Spaniards honestly imagined that Admiral Cervera could sail his squadron into New York harbor, land his marines at Coney Island and after bombarding the clams and battling with lager kegs, march his men over the Brooklyn Bridge and capture City Hall.In 1999 Americans did not propose to again get caught napping, as in the “good oldEternal Vigilance in 1999.days” of 1898. They remained armed and ready for war on drop of the hat. No nation in the former year would venture unaided to combat the great American Republic. America in the twentieth century became invincible.
CHAPTER XII.Back in God’s Country Again.A Grand Constitution that could Govern the World. The American Flag must Rule the Western Hemisphere and None Save God can Prevent this. America’s Perilous Over-confidence. Our Great Navy in 1999. England’s Friendly Offices in 1898. America and Great Britain Firm Friends Forevermore.Having thus briefly reviewed the condition of Europe in 1999; the changes that had been effected in the map of that continent; the cordial relations existing between the American Eagle and the British Lion in that year; the acknowledged supremacy of America and England over the entire world; the obliteration of Spain in 1930; the fall of France in 1935; the banishment of moslem rule from Europe and the grandeur of British rule in Africa and India, let us again return to God’s own country,The United States of the Americas, which chosen land, in 1999, became the wealthiest, most prosperous and powerful of all nations upon this inhabitable globe. Having traveled abroad in the preceding chapter to secure a glimpse of the world’s condition in that year, we gladly set foot again in the new world to examine more closely and accurately into the status of the great American Colossus.If there are any who believe that the great and infallible constitution of theIt Could Govern the World.United States of America is not broad and strong enough to include in its scope and government every country in our Western Hemisphere from Alaska to Patagonia; if there are any Americans who believe that Central and South American Republics can never be governed under our American Republic, employing the same language and the same coinage, all sheltered under the noble flag of Bunker Hill, to such unbelievers in the future expansion of America we appeal in vain through these pages. They fail to understand that America has a great duty to perform and is destined to become the light of the world.To any fair minded and candid student of history the conclusion must come with force that America withIt is the Hand of Destiny.her forty-five states in 1899 was a mere local affair compared with the certainty of all the other republics joining under one government with ours in 1999.America in 1899 was yet in the cradle of her infancy, occupying a modest and narrow strip of territory extending from Maine to Florida; fringed by Canada on the north and laved by the waters of the Mexican gulf on the south.Her position on this continent was that of a Gulliver by whose side the other southern republics looked likeLilliputians. Providing that the giant is gifted not only with strength and a stout heart, but governed, also, by good principles, why should theLilliputianRepublics of Central and South America fear? Would it not be better for them to make common cause with their great American neighbor and live under one flag?In 1899 the tendency of the period was to consolidate; the “trust epidemic” thenUncle Sam’s Big Trust.raged at its height; the aim of that period, at least in commercial affairs, was to gather together the small concerns and unite them into a whole.The United States of the Americasin 1999 was largely built on the trust principle. Uncle Sam was running the biggest concern in the government line and the little South American Republics had simply been gathered in by the big fellow. They all were merged into one great American nation, governed by the same constitution, and all lifted up their gaze with patriotic pride to the Stars and Stripes.At this juncture it might be interesting to learn by what means and in what manner was this vast American Republic protected by sea and land in 1999. Conscious of her vast resources and enormous strength, America from the close of the Civil War in1865 to the year 1885 remained practically unarmed, keeping on hand a mere corporal’s guard in the shape of an army. Her navy up to 1882 consisted of an aggregation of warships of more or less antiquity, mere washtubs with smooth bore guns, whose ordnance, discharged against a modern battleship, would have about the same effect as throwing boiled peas at a brick wall.Twenty years after the close of the Civil War, in 1885, America had commenced toUncle Sam Wakes Up.rub her eyes and to awaken from her perilous Rip Van Winkle siesta of two decades and to realize, at last, that a strong navy had become a national necessity. Over-confidence is a dangerous foe to national safety. America, a land filled with liberty-loving patriots and master mechanics, set to work none too soon to provide herself with a navy; fighting machines that in point of speed and prowess would compare favorably with the output of the best foreign shipyards. It became obvious to the veriest child that if our national dignity at home or abroad were to be maintained, and, if we did not proposed to be bluffed by small concerns like Chile and Spain, the best thing to do about a navy would be to build it at once, forthwith, “and on the word go.”Congress took spirited action in the matter,making liberal appropriations for the construction of a first grade fleet of modern warships, armed and equipped with best and most penetrating rifles. This patriotic and sensible policy had been inaugurated none too soon.The month of January, 1898, found America in possession of a small, but highlySmall but Powerful.efficient navy and on the brink of war. What we had in the line of war vessels was of the best, but America could proudly boast of something immeasurably better than a few fine ships and heavy guns. We possessed what no Congress or Parliament could make to order or purchase by appropriation, and that was a keen, patriotic sentiment throughout both the American army and navy.“The man behind the gun,” anxious to lay down his life by the side of the powerfulThe True American Hero.breech-loading destroyer he loved so well to train and groom; “the man behind the gun,” who loved and cared for his mighty weapon as a father would his child; watching it by night and day, praying for the hour when he might belch from its throat missiles of destruction into the enemy’s ranks,—“the man behind the gun,” God bless him, is America’s own true born. In the hour of peril, at Manila, Santiago and at PuertoRico, these heroes, man and gun, did their duty right nobly and well. In 1999 the world still rang with the valor of their deeds.But America in 1898 found herself still unprepared. The war issue was lodged with a power of the third magnitude. Left alone with the Dons the tale would soon be told. Only one year before our war with the yellow and red flag, an American gentleman summed up the situation in a very concise manner: “When we get at the Spaniards, they’ll hold together just long enough to get kicked to pieces.”But Spain had other partners, two powerful nations, who, for selfish reasons, would have been only too glad to give Uncle Sam a punch in the ribs. Germany, having been fortified by a bribe from Spain for her co-operation against America, having been promised by Spain as a reward for assistance the entire group of the Philippines, was only too eager to close the bargain. The Teutons were spoiling for a fight with Uncle Sam, ostensibly in behalf of Spain, but more especially for a grab at the Philippines. France, on the other hand, distinctly recollected that she owned and held the bulk of Spanish securities and if the Dons in their brush with America took “a header,” these Spanish securities would not be worth a last year’s bird nest. And now comes an important question: Was America prepared in 1899to clash in naval combat with the combined forces of Spain, France and Germany? Josh Billings would have made short shift of his reply by saying: “Well, hardly.”Spain’s two unhappy partners, in their dilemma then turned their eyes and stepsCalled at the Captain’s Office.toward a little island that lies slightly north of their territory. France and Germany heard the growl of the British Lion and before they joined Spain in a war against America, John Bull must be consulted. As a result of their interview this ill-mated pair became well convinced that England would put up with none of their nonsense and would not remain neutral should they join Spain in hostilities against America. France and Germany became converted to other views and very wisely decided to remain at home, meek as lambs, while Uncle Sam was carving up Spain to suit the queen’s taste.In 1999 our American patriots did not propose to get caught in the trap of January, 1898, in which America found herself. In the year first named America was able to meet in war any combination of European nations that might hazard themselves in the field against her. The unfortunate spectacle of a great nation like America, on the eve of war, rushing around as we certainly did in March, 1898, buying up odds and ends of war vessels and fairly begging to buy smokeless powder at any price, willnever again be repeated in this great country. The lesson of 1898 was yet fresh in the minds of all in 1999. Americans of the twentieth century were too shrewd to get caught napping again in that manner.In 1999 the United States of the Americas embraced eighty-five states. CanadaThe New American Navy.had been divided into two American States, namely, East and West Canada. The original territory of the United States in that year consisted of sixty-two sovereign states; Texas alone had been divided into three separate states. To these were added the six states of Central America, namely, the newly created American States of Mexico, Nicaragua, Salvador,CostaRica, Guatemala and Honduras. Next came the newly admitted American States of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Chile,Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Patagonia, making a grand total of eighty-five states, which formed in 1999 the United States of the Americas.By enactment of Congress provision had been made that every State in the Union must build, equip and maintain at its own cost at least one battleship of the most modern type and unrivalled power; one armored cruiser of the highest speed, (35 knots per hour,) and three submarine destroyers of the most approved pattern and of the most enterprising character.As a result of this wise policy the navy of the Americas in 1999 consisted of eighty-five (85) first grade battleships; one hundred and seventy (170) of the swiftest and most powerful cruisers; two hundred andFive hundred and Ten Warships.fifty-five (255) submarine destroyers, popularly called in that year, “uplifters.” Such was the numerical strength of the American Navy during the closing period of the twentieth century, on a peace footing. In the remote possibility of a war, provision had been made to mobilize the American fleet upon a far more formidable standard of efficiency. The total number of our war craft of all classes aggregated in that year, five hundred and ten (510) vessels.When one reflects that the coast-line of the great Republic, along the Atlantic and Pacific shores of the Americas, embraces fully 34,000 miles, every mile of which was entitled to our national defence, it will be recognized that the American Navy in 1999 was barely in keeping with the vast proportions of the Republic it had been created to defend. Indeed, it was regarded as being a modest establishment of its kind, judged by the standards of that period.The question very properly offers itself, “If the United States of the Americas in 1999 represented such a powerful nation, wealthy and prosperous, potent in enterprise and industry, what use had it for anavy of five hundred and ten warships?” This question is easily answered by quoting an old and sterling axiom: “In time of peace we must prepare for war.”The folly of March 1898, when America, on the eve of war with Spain, rushed inNot to be Caught Again.breathless haste into every European navy-yard to purchase any thing that could float a gun, and offered haystacks of gold for smokeless powder, was not to be repeated in 1999. It was recognized in that year that the best guarantee for peace was to maintain an efficient army and powerful navy, to exact a proper respect for a flag that protected 531,000,000 American citizens.The big American Republic in 1999 did not propose to place itself, with its vast population and interminable coast-line, in the humiliating condition of China, a people who, though mighty in population, remain helpless as infants in matters of national defence. America did not intend to suffer the fate of China. Although her territory was vast and her population reckoned by the half-billion, America did not propose to permit European cormorants to pounce upon her coasts, and, as in the case of China, steal a whole country under the guise of civilizing it. In 1999 the Americas maintained a formidable army and navy in order to impress the fact upon theworld that we were not like lambs, wholly without means of self-defense.The perilous American policy, inaugurated after the Civil War, of existing without any army or navy worthy of the name, was exposed through our war with Spain. Americans cheerfully acknowledged the fact that England’s friendliness tended to bring that war to an early close. Even Spain in 1898 professed to hold our army in exalted contempt, regarding Americans as a nation wholly unfit for war, at best, a nation of wheat raisers and pork-packers. Many Spaniards honestly imagined that Admiral Cervera could sail his squadron into New York harbor, land his marines at Coney Island and after bombarding the clams and battling with lager kegs, march his men over the Brooklyn Bridge and capture City Hall.In 1999 Americans did not propose to again get caught napping, as in the “good oldEternal Vigilance in 1999.days” of 1898. They remained armed and ready for war on drop of the hat. No nation in the former year would venture unaided to combat the great American Republic. America in the twentieth century became invincible.
CHAPTER XII.Back in God’s Country Again.A Grand Constitution that could Govern the World. The American Flag must Rule the Western Hemisphere and None Save God can Prevent this. America’s Perilous Over-confidence. Our Great Navy in 1999. England’s Friendly Offices in 1898. America and Great Britain Firm Friends Forevermore.
A Grand Constitution that could Govern the World. The American Flag must Rule the Western Hemisphere and None Save God can Prevent this. America’s Perilous Over-confidence. Our Great Navy in 1999. England’s Friendly Offices in 1898. America and Great Britain Firm Friends Forevermore.
A Grand Constitution that could Govern the World. The American Flag must Rule the Western Hemisphere and None Save God can Prevent this. America’s Perilous Over-confidence. Our Great Navy in 1999. England’s Friendly Offices in 1898. America and Great Britain Firm Friends Forevermore.
Having thus briefly reviewed the condition of Europe in 1999; the changes that had been effected in the map of that continent; the cordial relations existing between the American Eagle and the British Lion in that year; the acknowledged supremacy of America and England over the entire world; the obliteration of Spain in 1930; the fall of France in 1935; the banishment of moslem rule from Europe and the grandeur of British rule in Africa and India, let us again return to God’s own country,The United States of the Americas, which chosen land, in 1999, became the wealthiest, most prosperous and powerful of all nations upon this inhabitable globe. Having traveled abroad in the preceding chapter to secure a glimpse of the world’s condition in that year, we gladly set foot again in the new world to examine more closely and accurately into the status of the great American Colossus.If there are any who believe that the great and infallible constitution of theIt Could Govern the World.United States of America is not broad and strong enough to include in its scope and government every country in our Western Hemisphere from Alaska to Patagonia; if there are any Americans who believe that Central and South American Republics can never be governed under our American Republic, employing the same language and the same coinage, all sheltered under the noble flag of Bunker Hill, to such unbelievers in the future expansion of America we appeal in vain through these pages. They fail to understand that America has a great duty to perform and is destined to become the light of the world.To any fair minded and candid student of history the conclusion must come with force that America withIt is the Hand of Destiny.her forty-five states in 1899 was a mere local affair compared with the certainty of all the other republics joining under one government with ours in 1999.America in 1899 was yet in the cradle of her infancy, occupying a modest and narrow strip of territory extending from Maine to Florida; fringed by Canada on the north and laved by the waters of the Mexican gulf on the south.Her position on this continent was that of a Gulliver by whose side the other southern republics looked likeLilliputians. Providing that the giant is gifted not only with strength and a stout heart, but governed, also, by good principles, why should theLilliputianRepublics of Central and South America fear? Would it not be better for them to make common cause with their great American neighbor and live under one flag?In 1899 the tendency of the period was to consolidate; the “trust epidemic” thenUncle Sam’s Big Trust.raged at its height; the aim of that period, at least in commercial affairs, was to gather together the small concerns and unite them into a whole.The United States of the Americasin 1999 was largely built on the trust principle. Uncle Sam was running the biggest concern in the government line and the little South American Republics had simply been gathered in by the big fellow. They all were merged into one great American nation, governed by the same constitution, and all lifted up their gaze with patriotic pride to the Stars and Stripes.At this juncture it might be interesting to learn by what means and in what manner was this vast American Republic protected by sea and land in 1999. Conscious of her vast resources and enormous strength, America from the close of the Civil War in1865 to the year 1885 remained practically unarmed, keeping on hand a mere corporal’s guard in the shape of an army. Her navy up to 1882 consisted of an aggregation of warships of more or less antiquity, mere washtubs with smooth bore guns, whose ordnance, discharged against a modern battleship, would have about the same effect as throwing boiled peas at a brick wall.Twenty years after the close of the Civil War, in 1885, America had commenced toUncle Sam Wakes Up.rub her eyes and to awaken from her perilous Rip Van Winkle siesta of two decades and to realize, at last, that a strong navy had become a national necessity. Over-confidence is a dangerous foe to national safety. America, a land filled with liberty-loving patriots and master mechanics, set to work none too soon to provide herself with a navy; fighting machines that in point of speed and prowess would compare favorably with the output of the best foreign shipyards. It became obvious to the veriest child that if our national dignity at home or abroad were to be maintained, and, if we did not proposed to be bluffed by small concerns like Chile and Spain, the best thing to do about a navy would be to build it at once, forthwith, “and on the word go.”Congress took spirited action in the matter,making liberal appropriations for the construction of a first grade fleet of modern warships, armed and equipped with best and most penetrating rifles. This patriotic and sensible policy had been inaugurated none too soon.The month of January, 1898, found America in possession of a small, but highlySmall but Powerful.efficient navy and on the brink of war. What we had in the line of war vessels was of the best, but America could proudly boast of something immeasurably better than a few fine ships and heavy guns. We possessed what no Congress or Parliament could make to order or purchase by appropriation, and that was a keen, patriotic sentiment throughout both the American army and navy.“The man behind the gun,” anxious to lay down his life by the side of the powerfulThe True American Hero.breech-loading destroyer he loved so well to train and groom; “the man behind the gun,” who loved and cared for his mighty weapon as a father would his child; watching it by night and day, praying for the hour when he might belch from its throat missiles of destruction into the enemy’s ranks,—“the man behind the gun,” God bless him, is America’s own true born. In the hour of peril, at Manila, Santiago and at PuertoRico, these heroes, man and gun, did their duty right nobly and well. In 1999 the world still rang with the valor of their deeds.But America in 1898 found herself still unprepared. The war issue was lodged with a power of the third magnitude. Left alone with the Dons the tale would soon be told. Only one year before our war with the yellow and red flag, an American gentleman summed up the situation in a very concise manner: “When we get at the Spaniards, they’ll hold together just long enough to get kicked to pieces.”But Spain had other partners, two powerful nations, who, for selfish reasons, would have been only too glad to give Uncle Sam a punch in the ribs. Germany, having been fortified by a bribe from Spain for her co-operation against America, having been promised by Spain as a reward for assistance the entire group of the Philippines, was only too eager to close the bargain. The Teutons were spoiling for a fight with Uncle Sam, ostensibly in behalf of Spain, but more especially for a grab at the Philippines. France, on the other hand, distinctly recollected that she owned and held the bulk of Spanish securities and if the Dons in their brush with America took “a header,” these Spanish securities would not be worth a last year’s bird nest. And now comes an important question: Was America prepared in 1899to clash in naval combat with the combined forces of Spain, France and Germany? Josh Billings would have made short shift of his reply by saying: “Well, hardly.”Spain’s two unhappy partners, in their dilemma then turned their eyes and stepsCalled at the Captain’s Office.toward a little island that lies slightly north of their territory. France and Germany heard the growl of the British Lion and before they joined Spain in a war against America, John Bull must be consulted. As a result of their interview this ill-mated pair became well convinced that England would put up with none of their nonsense and would not remain neutral should they join Spain in hostilities against America. France and Germany became converted to other views and very wisely decided to remain at home, meek as lambs, while Uncle Sam was carving up Spain to suit the queen’s taste.In 1999 our American patriots did not propose to get caught in the trap of January, 1898, in which America found herself. In the year first named America was able to meet in war any combination of European nations that might hazard themselves in the field against her. The unfortunate spectacle of a great nation like America, on the eve of war, rushing around as we certainly did in March, 1898, buying up odds and ends of war vessels and fairly begging to buy smokeless powder at any price, willnever again be repeated in this great country. The lesson of 1898 was yet fresh in the minds of all in 1999. Americans of the twentieth century were too shrewd to get caught napping again in that manner.In 1999 the United States of the Americas embraced eighty-five states. CanadaThe New American Navy.had been divided into two American States, namely, East and West Canada. The original territory of the United States in that year consisted of sixty-two sovereign states; Texas alone had been divided into three separate states. To these were added the six states of Central America, namely, the newly created American States of Mexico, Nicaragua, Salvador,CostaRica, Guatemala and Honduras. Next came the newly admitted American States of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Chile,Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Patagonia, making a grand total of eighty-five states, which formed in 1999 the United States of the Americas.By enactment of Congress provision had been made that every State in the Union must build, equip and maintain at its own cost at least one battleship of the most modern type and unrivalled power; one armored cruiser of the highest speed, (35 knots per hour,) and three submarine destroyers of the most approved pattern and of the most enterprising character.As a result of this wise policy the navy of the Americas in 1999 consisted of eighty-five (85) first grade battleships; one hundred and seventy (170) of the swiftest and most powerful cruisers; two hundred andFive hundred and Ten Warships.fifty-five (255) submarine destroyers, popularly called in that year, “uplifters.” Such was the numerical strength of the American Navy during the closing period of the twentieth century, on a peace footing. In the remote possibility of a war, provision had been made to mobilize the American fleet upon a far more formidable standard of efficiency. The total number of our war craft of all classes aggregated in that year, five hundred and ten (510) vessels.When one reflects that the coast-line of the great Republic, along the Atlantic and Pacific shores of the Americas, embraces fully 34,000 miles, every mile of which was entitled to our national defence, it will be recognized that the American Navy in 1999 was barely in keeping with the vast proportions of the Republic it had been created to defend. Indeed, it was regarded as being a modest establishment of its kind, judged by the standards of that period.The question very properly offers itself, “If the United States of the Americas in 1999 represented such a powerful nation, wealthy and prosperous, potent in enterprise and industry, what use had it for anavy of five hundred and ten warships?” This question is easily answered by quoting an old and sterling axiom: “In time of peace we must prepare for war.”The folly of March 1898, when America, on the eve of war with Spain, rushed inNot to be Caught Again.breathless haste into every European navy-yard to purchase any thing that could float a gun, and offered haystacks of gold for smokeless powder, was not to be repeated in 1999. It was recognized in that year that the best guarantee for peace was to maintain an efficient army and powerful navy, to exact a proper respect for a flag that protected 531,000,000 American citizens.The big American Republic in 1999 did not propose to place itself, with its vast population and interminable coast-line, in the humiliating condition of China, a people who, though mighty in population, remain helpless as infants in matters of national defence. America did not intend to suffer the fate of China. Although her territory was vast and her population reckoned by the half-billion, America did not propose to permit European cormorants to pounce upon her coasts, and, as in the case of China, steal a whole country under the guise of civilizing it. In 1999 the Americas maintained a formidable army and navy in order to impress the fact upon theworld that we were not like lambs, wholly without means of self-defense.The perilous American policy, inaugurated after the Civil War, of existing without any army or navy worthy of the name, was exposed through our war with Spain. Americans cheerfully acknowledged the fact that England’s friendliness tended to bring that war to an early close. Even Spain in 1898 professed to hold our army in exalted contempt, regarding Americans as a nation wholly unfit for war, at best, a nation of wheat raisers and pork-packers. Many Spaniards honestly imagined that Admiral Cervera could sail his squadron into New York harbor, land his marines at Coney Island and after bombarding the clams and battling with lager kegs, march his men over the Brooklyn Bridge and capture City Hall.In 1999 Americans did not propose to again get caught napping, as in the “good oldEternal Vigilance in 1999.days” of 1898. They remained armed and ready for war on drop of the hat. No nation in the former year would venture unaided to combat the great American Republic. America in the twentieth century became invincible.
Having thus briefly reviewed the condition of Europe in 1999; the changes that had been effected in the map of that continent; the cordial relations existing between the American Eagle and the British Lion in that year; the acknowledged supremacy of America and England over the entire world; the obliteration of Spain in 1930; the fall of France in 1935; the banishment of moslem rule from Europe and the grandeur of British rule in Africa and India, let us again return to God’s own country,The United States of the Americas, which chosen land, in 1999, became the wealthiest, most prosperous and powerful of all nations upon this inhabitable globe. Having traveled abroad in the preceding chapter to secure a glimpse of the world’s condition in that year, we gladly set foot again in the new world to examine more closely and accurately into the status of the great American Colossus.
If there are any who believe that the great and infallible constitution of theIt Could Govern the World.United States of America is not broad and strong enough to include in its scope and government every country in our Western Hemisphere from Alaska to Patagonia; if there are any Americans who believe that Central and South American Republics can never be governed under our American Republic, employing the same language and the same coinage, all sheltered under the noble flag of Bunker Hill, to such unbelievers in the future expansion of America we appeal in vain through these pages. They fail to understand that America has a great duty to perform and is destined to become the light of the world.
To any fair minded and candid student of history the conclusion must come with force that America withIt is the Hand of Destiny.her forty-five states in 1899 was a mere local affair compared with the certainty of all the other republics joining under one government with ours in 1999.
America in 1899 was yet in the cradle of her infancy, occupying a modest and narrow strip of territory extending from Maine to Florida; fringed by Canada on the north and laved by the waters of the Mexican gulf on the south.
Her position on this continent was that of a Gulliver by whose side the other southern republics looked likeLilliputians. Providing that the giant is gifted not only with strength and a stout heart, but governed, also, by good principles, why should theLilliputianRepublics of Central and South America fear? Would it not be better for them to make common cause with their great American neighbor and live under one flag?
In 1899 the tendency of the period was to consolidate; the “trust epidemic” thenUncle Sam’s Big Trust.raged at its height; the aim of that period, at least in commercial affairs, was to gather together the small concerns and unite them into a whole.The United States of the Americasin 1999 was largely built on the trust principle. Uncle Sam was running the biggest concern in the government line and the little South American Republics had simply been gathered in by the big fellow. They all were merged into one great American nation, governed by the same constitution, and all lifted up their gaze with patriotic pride to the Stars and Stripes.
At this juncture it might be interesting to learn by what means and in what manner was this vast American Republic protected by sea and land in 1999. Conscious of her vast resources and enormous strength, America from the close of the Civil War in1865 to the year 1885 remained practically unarmed, keeping on hand a mere corporal’s guard in the shape of an army. Her navy up to 1882 consisted of an aggregation of warships of more or less antiquity, mere washtubs with smooth bore guns, whose ordnance, discharged against a modern battleship, would have about the same effect as throwing boiled peas at a brick wall.
Twenty years after the close of the Civil War, in 1885, America had commenced toUncle Sam Wakes Up.rub her eyes and to awaken from her perilous Rip Van Winkle siesta of two decades and to realize, at last, that a strong navy had become a national necessity. Over-confidence is a dangerous foe to national safety. America, a land filled with liberty-loving patriots and master mechanics, set to work none too soon to provide herself with a navy; fighting machines that in point of speed and prowess would compare favorably with the output of the best foreign shipyards. It became obvious to the veriest child that if our national dignity at home or abroad were to be maintained, and, if we did not proposed to be bluffed by small concerns like Chile and Spain, the best thing to do about a navy would be to build it at once, forthwith, “and on the word go.”
Congress took spirited action in the matter,making liberal appropriations for the construction of a first grade fleet of modern warships, armed and equipped with best and most penetrating rifles. This patriotic and sensible policy had been inaugurated none too soon.
The month of January, 1898, found America in possession of a small, but highlySmall but Powerful.efficient navy and on the brink of war. What we had in the line of war vessels was of the best, but America could proudly boast of something immeasurably better than a few fine ships and heavy guns. We possessed what no Congress or Parliament could make to order or purchase by appropriation, and that was a keen, patriotic sentiment throughout both the American army and navy.
“The man behind the gun,” anxious to lay down his life by the side of the powerfulThe True American Hero.breech-loading destroyer he loved so well to train and groom; “the man behind the gun,” who loved and cared for his mighty weapon as a father would his child; watching it by night and day, praying for the hour when he might belch from its throat missiles of destruction into the enemy’s ranks,—“the man behind the gun,” God bless him, is America’s own true born. In the hour of peril, at Manila, Santiago and at PuertoRico, these heroes, man and gun, did their duty right nobly and well. In 1999 the world still rang with the valor of their deeds.
But America in 1898 found herself still unprepared. The war issue was lodged with a power of the third magnitude. Left alone with the Dons the tale would soon be told. Only one year before our war with the yellow and red flag, an American gentleman summed up the situation in a very concise manner: “When we get at the Spaniards, they’ll hold together just long enough to get kicked to pieces.”
But Spain had other partners, two powerful nations, who, for selfish reasons, would have been only too glad to give Uncle Sam a punch in the ribs. Germany, having been fortified by a bribe from Spain for her co-operation against America, having been promised by Spain as a reward for assistance the entire group of the Philippines, was only too eager to close the bargain. The Teutons were spoiling for a fight with Uncle Sam, ostensibly in behalf of Spain, but more especially for a grab at the Philippines. France, on the other hand, distinctly recollected that she owned and held the bulk of Spanish securities and if the Dons in their brush with America took “a header,” these Spanish securities would not be worth a last year’s bird nest. And now comes an important question: Was America prepared in 1899to clash in naval combat with the combined forces of Spain, France and Germany? Josh Billings would have made short shift of his reply by saying: “Well, hardly.”
Spain’s two unhappy partners, in their dilemma then turned their eyes and stepsCalled at the Captain’s Office.toward a little island that lies slightly north of their territory. France and Germany heard the growl of the British Lion and before they joined Spain in a war against America, John Bull must be consulted. As a result of their interview this ill-mated pair became well convinced that England would put up with none of their nonsense and would not remain neutral should they join Spain in hostilities against America. France and Germany became converted to other views and very wisely decided to remain at home, meek as lambs, while Uncle Sam was carving up Spain to suit the queen’s taste.
In 1999 our American patriots did not propose to get caught in the trap of January, 1898, in which America found herself. In the year first named America was able to meet in war any combination of European nations that might hazard themselves in the field against her. The unfortunate spectacle of a great nation like America, on the eve of war, rushing around as we certainly did in March, 1898, buying up odds and ends of war vessels and fairly begging to buy smokeless powder at any price, willnever again be repeated in this great country. The lesson of 1898 was yet fresh in the minds of all in 1999. Americans of the twentieth century were too shrewd to get caught napping again in that manner.
In 1999 the United States of the Americas embraced eighty-five states. CanadaThe New American Navy.had been divided into two American States, namely, East and West Canada. The original territory of the United States in that year consisted of sixty-two sovereign states; Texas alone had been divided into three separate states. To these were added the six states of Central America, namely, the newly created American States of Mexico, Nicaragua, Salvador,CostaRica, Guatemala and Honduras. Next came the newly admitted American States of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Chile,Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Patagonia, making a grand total of eighty-five states, which formed in 1999 the United States of the Americas.
By enactment of Congress provision had been made that every State in the Union must build, equip and maintain at its own cost at least one battleship of the most modern type and unrivalled power; one armored cruiser of the highest speed, (35 knots per hour,) and three submarine destroyers of the most approved pattern and of the most enterprising character.
As a result of this wise policy the navy of the Americas in 1999 consisted of eighty-five (85) first grade battleships; one hundred and seventy (170) of the swiftest and most powerful cruisers; two hundred andFive hundred and Ten Warships.fifty-five (255) submarine destroyers, popularly called in that year, “uplifters.” Such was the numerical strength of the American Navy during the closing period of the twentieth century, on a peace footing. In the remote possibility of a war, provision had been made to mobilize the American fleet upon a far more formidable standard of efficiency. The total number of our war craft of all classes aggregated in that year, five hundred and ten (510) vessels.
When one reflects that the coast-line of the great Republic, along the Atlantic and Pacific shores of the Americas, embraces fully 34,000 miles, every mile of which was entitled to our national defence, it will be recognized that the American Navy in 1999 was barely in keeping with the vast proportions of the Republic it had been created to defend. Indeed, it was regarded as being a modest establishment of its kind, judged by the standards of that period.
The question very properly offers itself, “If the United States of the Americas in 1999 represented such a powerful nation, wealthy and prosperous, potent in enterprise and industry, what use had it for anavy of five hundred and ten warships?” This question is easily answered by quoting an old and sterling axiom: “In time of peace we must prepare for war.”
The folly of March 1898, when America, on the eve of war with Spain, rushed inNot to be Caught Again.breathless haste into every European navy-yard to purchase any thing that could float a gun, and offered haystacks of gold for smokeless powder, was not to be repeated in 1999. It was recognized in that year that the best guarantee for peace was to maintain an efficient army and powerful navy, to exact a proper respect for a flag that protected 531,000,000 American citizens.
The big American Republic in 1999 did not propose to place itself, with its vast population and interminable coast-line, in the humiliating condition of China, a people who, though mighty in population, remain helpless as infants in matters of national defence. America did not intend to suffer the fate of China. Although her territory was vast and her population reckoned by the half-billion, America did not propose to permit European cormorants to pounce upon her coasts, and, as in the case of China, steal a whole country under the guise of civilizing it. In 1999 the Americas maintained a formidable army and navy in order to impress the fact upon theworld that we were not like lambs, wholly without means of self-defense.
The perilous American policy, inaugurated after the Civil War, of existing without any army or navy worthy of the name, was exposed through our war with Spain. Americans cheerfully acknowledged the fact that England’s friendliness tended to bring that war to an early close. Even Spain in 1898 professed to hold our army in exalted contempt, regarding Americans as a nation wholly unfit for war, at best, a nation of wheat raisers and pork-packers. Many Spaniards honestly imagined that Admiral Cervera could sail his squadron into New York harbor, land his marines at Coney Island and after bombarding the clams and battling with lager kegs, march his men over the Brooklyn Bridge and capture City Hall.
In 1999 Americans did not propose to again get caught napping, as in the “good oldEternal Vigilance in 1999.days” of 1898. They remained armed and ready for war on drop of the hat. No nation in the former year would venture unaided to combat the great American Republic. America in the twentieth century became invincible.