The Henson Journals

[92]

Thursday, June 24th, 1909.

Seattle – A fine day, but with no clear views of the mountains. In the morning we went to the Exhibition, & looked at the Californian exhibits, & the Federal Govt's display. The first is mainly a collection of fruits, woods and minerals: the last is partly historical, &

largely naval and military.

It is not without significance that such obvious popularity should attach to displays of battleships and big guns in this country. Partly it is the colossal conceit of childhood, & its lust of novelty which mark them Americans. Every petty scuffle in which a few Indians were despatched is magnified into a battle, & recorded as an event of national importance. The "war" in the Philippines is spoken about with the solemnity with which a really great conflict might inspire a citizen: & the harmless conquest of the Spanish fleet might be a modern edition of the Spanish Armada! All this is curiously absurd. But there are exceptions to this grotesque vanity. Major Benson spoke very frankly about the Spanish war: & many times over in the Eastern States I was assured that educated Americans knew that the war was iniquitously forced on Spain by the American Government.

In the afternoon we motored to the Golf Course: [93] The road lay mainly through woods which had been ravaged by fires. Here and there stood up the great stumps of trees cut down in the first cutting. Their size makes them particularly prominent.

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