CHAPTER X NO SOLDIERS AMONG ANTI-IM PERIALISTS а WHEN I first began to collect the material for this work, now over two years ago, I was puzzled to find an explanation of how it was that these Anti-Imperialists could not see what was perfectly evident to our soldiers, that, by encouraging the enemy, the Anti-Imperialists were striking our soldiers "a blow from behind," and it is only recently that I have found a reason that is satisfactory to my mind. Just as I was about giving up discovering a reasonable solution of the problem, the idea struck me all of a sudden that only those who had never been American soldiers would stab them in the back and, apparently, not know that any blow had been struck. It must be ignorance of the soldier's life. A hasty glance through a list of the officers of the Anti-Imperialists showed me that the New England Anti-Imperialist League had a president, a treasurer, secretary and an executive committee of four; in all, seven active officers. Among these there was not a single old soldier and I believe every one of the seven was an able-bodied man at the time of the Rebellion. Then I counted up and I found that they had 32 vice-presidents, and in that list of 32 there were, as near as I could ascertain (and I looked them up as far as I have been able in the limited time at my disposition) just two old soldiers, neither one of whom had carried a musket, -both had been commissioned officers, so that of the 39 officers of the league, there were two soldiers. It began to look as if I had the right explanation at last! Then I went farther. I visited the library of the most prominent newspaper in Boston,-one that gave the Anti-Imperialists more space than any other, and I hunted up the accounts of the nine public meetings the Anti-Imperialists had had,— eight in Boston and one in Cambridge. In these accounts of these meetings, I found the mention of just 203 names of men who sat on the platform, presided, made speeches, wrote letters, offered resolutions, were officers of the organization or were noticed in the audience. Among these 203 there I are duplications but, as that will not affect the general results, I have not sifted them out one by one. I know a number of these 203 men personally and a great many more by sight and reputation. Many of them stand very high in my own professionthat of the law. They are all, I should say, without exception, men of money and high standing. have spent considerable time in reading up the history of many of these men whom I didn't know, and after examining them all with considerable care, I can find just three out of the whole 203 that are the names of men who were in the Rebellion; -and two of these three were the two vice-presidents I have mentioned before; and all of the three were commissioned officers:-and I believe every one of the whole 203 was an able-bodied man in 1861. I cannot find a man in the 203 who carried a musket; and he is the man who knows what war is, the private and the non-com. He bears the brunt of it, and I'll say now that I don't believe they can show us the name of such a man now in his right mind who is on their membership rolls or a contributor to their funds! It would be unnatural. It seems as if the stay-at-homes when danger comes were the men out of whom we make Anti-Imperialists. They are the first in peace and the last in war. And here is a curious fact: the principal representative of the Filipinos in this country was, during the past year, in Boston, for many weeks. For much of the time, he was, I am informed, the guest of a representative of one of our oldest families. If Aguinaldo comes to the United States he will, it is already asserted in Boston newspapers, be received in the home of this Bostonian as the George Washington of the Filipinos. My information is, and I would expect to find it true, that this Boston gentleman's father was a Copperhead in the Rebellion and his grandfather a Tory in the Revolution. The consistency of the family record is now upheld by the present Anti-Imperialist. I would not be surprised if this will be found to be true of the many of the Bostonians who are members of the Anti-Imperialist League, if the records be searched. I think I know offhand of several cases in which this would be true. CHAPTER XI ABRAHAM LINCOLN ON ANTI IMPERIALISM WAR draws lines. The moment the first hostile shot is fired at an American soldier, every American who is not for the soldier is against him. The statute of limitations applies at that instant and no true American will, from that time until our soldiers are out of danger, do anything knowingly that will increase the danger to them. To do that is a crime, as it leads to their death. I am taking high ground on this matter,-yes, very decided ground. But I am supported by very eminent authority; by the man who knew more about the effects of Copperheadism and Anti-Imperialism than, probably, any other of his time. Abraham Lincoln knew what the "blow from behind" meant, and I consider that he and one of his foremost generals spoke the deciding, the last word on this question. As I consider the history and career of Copper |