OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2358, 4 May 1899, Page 44

OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

(Fhom Oxjb Own Cobbespondent.| CHICAGO, Illinois, U.S.A., March 5. -Ihe fifty-fifth Congress of the United closed yesterday, amid scenes that •■celebrated in picturesque manner the historic importance of the great session. This is the only Congress in the history of the 'American nation that ever saw the close of a war begun by its own act, or that appropriateC the vast sum of more than 1,500,000,000d0l for governmental purposes. /The last sitting of the % Senate lacked only a few minutes of being 26 hours, and the House made a record of continuous deliberation little short of this phenomenal exhibition of physical endurance. The closing scenes in the House will never be forgotten by those who witnessed them. 'After Mr Bailey, the leader of the Demofcratic side, had made a graceful speech, thanking Speaker Reed for the impartiality and fairness of his rulings, and after Mr Reed's eloquent reply had been listened to with applause, one of the members Started the. national hymn "America." In a moment the halls of the historic hall echoed with the mighty anthem: My country 'tis of thee, Sweet land of Liberty — Of thee I sing!

Scarcely had the strains of this inspiring chorus died away, when General Henderson started " Auld lang syne," beating tune with his cane. Then John Murray ■Mitchell waved an American flag. The sight of the emblem instantly inspired the thousands of spectators with a wave of patriotic enthusiasm, and, after a storm of cheers had subsided, the vast audience once more broke into song, and rendered " The Red, White, and Blue."' It is doubtful if this lyrical tribute to the national banner has been sung before with such, marvellous effect since the disbanding of the army at the close of the civil war. No sooner had the .participants in this scene caught their breaths than Congressman Hull waved above his head a red, white, and blue streamer. This at once turned the thought of the great assemblage to the navy aud its splendid achievements. From the gallery came the shout : " Three cheers for Dewey ! '' Never did naval hero receive a greater demonstration than came from the lips of the members of the American Congress and the occupants of the gallery. The army was given a similar recognition, and General "Joe" Wheeler, the venerable Southerner who left his seat in Congress to fight on Cuban soil, was heartily cheered. The last act of the House ,was the singing of the,Doxology. [ This Congress has had three sessions, and ■"began its official life on March 4, 1896. kThe first session passed the famous Ding'ley protective tariff measure. Had it not been for the war with Spain this enactment would have provided revenues more than sufficient for the expenses of the Government. In its second session this Congress, without a -dissenting vote, placed at the. disposal o£ President M'Kinley 50,000,000d01, to be used wholly at Ills discretion in strengthening the defences of the "nation. The significance of this remarkable demonstration of patriotism' is only to be appreciated when it is understood that the Chief Executive was not required to make an accounting of the manner in which this .vast defence fund was expended. This second session also saw the actual inauguration of the war, and enacted many measures necessary for its successful prosecution.

The important enactments of the last session, charged with ths grave duty of providing for the responsibilities brought upon the United * States by its splendid victories, are suggested by the following list of the most important acts passed : — Treaty of Peace with Spain, Naval Personnel Bill, Provisional Army Bill, Bill to •Make George DeArey an Admiral, Bill for the Taking of the Twelfth Census, Bill to Improve the Condition of Seamen in the ■Merchant Marine. Appropriations ' for : 'Investigation of the isthmian canal routes, l,000,000dol ; public buildings, 4.000,000'dol; Buffalq^Exposition, 500.000dol ; Paris •Exposition, 1,210. OOOdol ; Government Printing Office BuiJding, 2,000,000dol ; French spoliation claims. 3.100,000d0l ; Department of Justice building, 1,000.000-

dol ; army transportation deficiency. 8500clol ; mail transportation, l,oooioooclol : dry clocks, 1,000, OOOdol ; warships and armour, 10,000,000dol ; pavmeut to Spain, 20, 000. 000d0l ; new coast defence batteries, •l,500,000dol ; War department deficiencies pn account of war, 47 .000, 000d01.

On the other side of the slate must be en- ( !tered a list of very important measures .which came before the Congress but failed of final passag*. Those of greatest interest 'are : — Various monetary reform bills — rei.ported from committees to House of Representatives ; to prohibit unauthorised dealing an railway tickets — passed House ; to establish code of laws for Alaska — passed 'House ; to establish territorial Government in Hawaii — reported to both Houses ; ship subsidy bill — reported to both Houses ; 'Hawaiian cable provision stricken from sundry civil bill in conference. j With the outgoing Congress 15 senators land more than 85 representatives are retired to public life, their places being taken by " new timber." Herein is the explanation of the lack of legislation on the financial system of the country, which both .parties are agreed is in need of reform. The number of new senators already elected insures President M'Kinley of a Senate majority heartily in accord with his " sound money" policy in the next Congress, while .the Senate that has just dissolved was hostile to that principle. Therefore he ,was well content to wait for the assembling of a Congress both branches ot which will be in accord with his views so far as fair working majorities in favour of the gold standard ara concerned.

There is no concealing the fact that much popular disappointment is felt over the Failure of the Nicaragua Canal Bill to pass in the form presented by the committee. .The people believe that this great shortcut waterway is a national necessity, and Bhould be built without more delay. * However, the matter is in excellent condition, and the results will probably justify the

caution that dictated the provisional enactment- that - passed. The present status of the aff air is this : President M'Kinley has 1,000,000d0l with which to prosecute a most rigid and thorough investigation of the situation. He is to report his findings and recommendations to the next Congress. As the concession of the Maritime Canal Company which was to have furnished the basis of operations as contemplated in the original- ■ provisions expires next October, it is assured that the canal will be purely a Government affair, operated and controlled by the United States and not by any corporation. It is not believed that there will be any difficulty in securing such modifications of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty as will be necessary to the accomplishment of this end. Of course treaties with the countries territorially interested will have to be secured, but this is not thought to offer any particular obstacles. While there is nothing in the enactment regarding treaties, this is accounted for by the fact that Congress could not give the President larger powers in this premises than he now has under the Constitution. There is no doubt that the country will, upon mature consideration, come to appreciate the wise conservatism that has dictated the | provisions of Congress relative to this matter of international importance. Another popular disappointment is the failure of this Congress to make a subsidy for the establishment of a cable between the j Pacific coast and Hawaii. It was .generally j felt that America's new possessions in the j far East and the troublesome nature of j this latest responsibility necessitated any- j thing that would make towards tie estab- ! lishment of closer or quicker comnrumca- \ tion with Hawaii and the Philippines. No act of the dissolved Congress in its last days has so profoundly stirred the heart of the American people as the bills which revived the naval rank of full admiral and promoted George Dewey, the hero of Manila, to that position of' great honour. The United States has conferred this honour on but two other men. The firstwas David Glasgow Farragut, under -whom Dewey served in the Civil War. At the battle of Mobile Bay he ordered his men to lash him to the rigging of his flagship, The Hartford. In this position he went into action and passed through a terrible fire. For this splendid display of courage he was at once made a vice admiral, and later the rank of admiral was created for him. It was in this engagement that he made use of the forcible and historic expression, "Damn the torpedoes!" — a sentiment which seems to have inspired Admiral Dewey in his entrance to the Bay of Manila. In official correspondence Farragut made commendatory mention" of the courageous conduct of young Dewey. David Dixon Porter was the second admiral of the United States navy. His laurels were won in the capture of New Orleans and at the taking of Fort Fisher, the latter fight being of 20 days' duration. Until Dcwey's elevation no one has held this rank since the death" of Porter. A cablegram from Manila reports that the scene enacted when the Olympia raised the flag of an admiral and received the salute of the assembled fleets was most impressive. Dewey's reply to the j notification of his elevation ia» as follows : "Manila. March 4. — Secretary Long, — Please accept for yourself, the President, and Congress and my countrymen, my heartfelt thanks for the great honour which has been conferred upon me. — Dewey." Second in .popular interest only to the act crowning the heroism of Dewey with "*he exalted honours of a full admiral's rank, is the clause in the Naval Personnel Bill which settles the bitter controversy which has raged between the friends of Sampson and Schley ever since the destruction of Cervera's fleet. The intense interest which the general public has taken in this affair is a demonstration that the traditional love of fair play with which the American people are credited is not an empty tradition, but a powerful and domi- i nant characteristic. There is universal rejoicing over the fact that the Naval Personnel Bill, in advancing these commodores to the rank of rear-admiral, placed Schley two numbers above Sampson, despite the recommendation of the committee to the reverse of this order. Slowly but surely the public has been forced to the conviction that Sampson was guilty of petty and contemptible meanness in his personal and official treatment of Schley — a conviction resting on these facts : When Cervera attempted to make his escape from the harbour of Santiago, Sampson was absent up the coast and Schley was in active com- | mand of the American fleet. The New j York, bearing hJampson. did not arrive on I the scene of the conflict until Schley had destroyed all of the enemy's vessels. In the preliminary reports _of" the engagement Sampson did not mention the name of I Commodore Schley, under whose active I command the great victory had been won. When approached on this subject, Schley discreetly held his peace, a*-d only remarked: "There is glory enough for all." This aroused the indignation of a large portion of the nation, but the more conservative element waited for the formal report of Sampson, believing that this would do at least tardy justice to the man who had sunk the Spanish ships. But it did not contain a single word of recognition for the real hero of the great battle. Then, in a later communication to the Secretary j of the Navy, Sampson charged Schley with " reprehensible conduct " in not arriving with his fleet at Santiago at the day desired by the commander of the fleet. . Schley kept silence until this report reached the hands of the Senate Committee. Then he obtained permission from the Naval department to make his official statement. This proved that the delay spoken of was the result of direct orders issued by Sampson, mention of which the latter had deliberately withheld from his official report. He was able to prove his statements by *the written orders, and his vindication was complete. The result is applauded by the American people at large. The bitterness of the contention, however, has had one unfortunate result. It has prevented the promotion of both Schley, and Sampson to the rank of vice-admiral. Now they are rear-admirals, and Watson outranks them both.

The well nigh fatal illness of Rudyard Kipling, who was stricken with pneumonia immediately on his arrival in America, has

brought to the surface, as nothing else could, the intense hold which the author of the "Recessional" and "The White Man's Burden " has on the hearts of the people of the United States. There is no person ■within the limits -of this country, with the exception of President M'Kinley, whose sickness could have inspired the amount and intensity of popular anxiety that has been provoked by the affliction of the young English author, whose life was despaired of for several days. Reports from his sick room were the first and most eagerly read items of news published in the papers, and the telephones of the newspaper offices were constantly in use by those whose anxiety was too great to permit them to wait for the publication of telegraphic reports from Kipling's bedside. It is not too much to say that the entire nation is devoutly thankful that the sufferer is now pronounced out of .danger. The following tribute from one of America's most celebrated writers of short stories indicates the popular feeling towards Biidyard Kipling : — " Washington, February 26. — Editor Times-Herald: Rudyard Kipling's death would be the greatest* blow that letters among the English-speaking peoples could sustain. He is not only easily the first man writing English at this time, but is the man who gives most promise for the future. Should he die England and America would lose the one who gives the greatest hope for our time, the -one who gives promise of being the equal of the greatest writers of any time. "It is not for him that we need mourn. His fame is secure already, and his passing away at this time would be almost an apotheosis — a man hardly in his thirties crowned with the adoration of two nations. The history of letters has hardly any parallel. Lord Byron's case seems to me nearest it. But Kipling has the personal devotion, as well as the admiration for his genius. Almost any half-dozen of his stories would be enough to give fame to a writer — to make him a star, but he is a heaven full of stars. • They almost dimmed each other by their multitude. The author of 'Without Benefit of Clergy.' 'The Man Who Would Be King.' and of 'The Jungle Books' has fixed himself in literature, and his place is among the highe&t. "It is for~ ourselves we should moiirn. For should he live .none can tell what he may accomplish. He may by the time he is 40 change as readily as Scott did from poetry and Thackeray from sketches, and like them give us in a great series of novels a world as new and as great as they gave us. There seems no limit to his powers. As he may be the greatest novelist of the coming century, so he may be the greatest poet. He is one of the writers' who make us proud that we are of the same blood. He has ' wrought in a sad sincerity.' he has written the epic of manhood, he has welded the bonds of the Eng-lish-speaking, liberty-loving peoples, and two nations are hanging over his bed praying for his recovery. — Thomas Nelson Page."

Mr Wallace Rice, who is recognised as an able critic in the realm of poetic literature, gives the following discriminating appreciaton of Kipling as a poet : " No one in these modern times has, succeeded in taking upon himself the functions of the ancient minnesinger or troubadour with a tithe of the success which has attended the efforts of Rudyard Kipling, now so fortunately spared to sing more to us.

" As a writer of verse Mr Kipling's popularity is phenomenal. In an era when the popular taste for poetry has fallen so low that nothing is less certain of sxiccess than a book ofverse, his books of verse sell into the thousands. And there is a reason for it quite outside of the facts already set forth — that they always tell stories, preach sermons, or give rational instruction as well as amusement. In the beginning he sung songs with a plain personal application. Increasing years gave him a wider flight, and he took classes for his audience. Finally, the British Empire became his theme, and he sung it as it was never sung before. His last efforts are of this sort. ' The Vampire ' was a plain sermon. Since then he has taken for his texts matters political. ' The Recessional ' was addressed to the British people as a whole ; so was ' The Bear that Looks Like a Man.' The latest of his songs completes his congregation ; in the ' White Man's Burden ' he made the English-speaking world his parish by taking up the hitherto neglected American. xVnd surely never was there such a preacher, nor one who has won for himself by an understanding of the popular tastes so magnificent a cure of souls. May he long be spared to tell us of our faults ! — with the ..needed praise now and then for our virtues, lest we grow weary of well doing."

Forrest Crissey.