might do the same; for we arm only for defense, and not for conquest' . . .How different is the Illinois ship canal from any of the Atlantic forts! They are works which must be garrisoned and kept in order at heavy annual expense. The former, with one or two outworks, will protect 2000 miles of coast line in war; and in peace be a source of untold blessing to the East and West, to the North and South, and of solid and substantial benefit and advantage to a vast commerce.
"It will more than maintain itself—the money expended on it in peace or in war will not be idle for a moment, and the work will pay back its first cost every year in princely and magnificent sums. . . . Let this work be completed, and it will prove a dragon's tooth, planted in the West, to bring forth for the defence of the country a harvest of steam clad warriors, ever brave, always ready. . . . The question of this ship canal is second only to that of the free navigation of the Mississippi River and the purchase of Louisiana.
"Various elements are at work in our political system to try the strength of the Constitution. Whenever, if ever, a political storm shall burst upon us, this canal will prove a noble anchor to windward. . . . Such agents are at work, as tend to foster sectional jealousies. . . . Intolerance and fanaticism are the bane of free institutions—they may be destined some day to try the strength of the Union. Give us, therefore, for antidote, this canal."
His first five "scraps" from "The Lucky Bag" which were written on naval reform and other subjects of national interest, attracted so much attention, and were so generally approved by the Navy, that (although the author was, as yet, entirely incognito, and great curiosity was expressed as to who he could be) the officers, defraying the expense by subscription, had large numbers of these papers published and circulated.
