Anti-imperialism, people think, is something petrified, a religion, a thing that results in martyrdom, for which to 'discuss' means only to prophesy and denounce. If, so far, some of us have struck a slightly monotonous attitude, we have our good excuse. They ache too persistently to allow us easily to forget. Forget we must, however, we must attend to the practical possibilities of today. Immediate scuttling is certainly not among them, and anyone who should now urge it would, speaking practically, be a fool.
Nations are masses with too enormous a momentum to reverse their motion with a jerk.
They must be brought round in a curve. It seems even doubtful whether it would be for the Islands' interest to have our government immediately withdraw. What they need now is quiet for a few years, time to repair war's ravages, and to acquire some habits of administration which might outlast our stay. The Democrats have already espoused our principles, and many of us think, therefore, that the one thing left for us is to espouse the Democratic cause. The better self of the Republicans, their subliminal consciousness, so to speak, is already on our side.