The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1885-02-26
zhe 6eremble for tho World
From the Pail Mali Gszette::

Tho Scramble for the World
From the Pail Mali Gssette:
What scramble it is, and how bot
it is getting! England and Russia be.
gan the game, France struck in. and
now Germany is in full cry. The con-
tagion of annexation is spreading every
where: Europe is psrtitionins the
world: Every power is gasping with
both Rsnds sitter. fresh territory. The
area unappropriated ii diminishing
daily, and if the pace is not slac1ened
there will soon not be single black or
brown man in the whole wide world
who will not be the subject of one or
the other Of the European powers. All
colored ften seem to be regarded
as fair game. Tbs white ma1l
is dividing up the planet. It Is
. strange and startling process,
but it has become so familiar
Is to cease to attract notice. All round
fhe continents of the dark skins,
Europeans are hosting flags, and pro-
claiming annexations with the feverieh
haste of gold miners who have sudden
ly struck vein of the precious metal,
and who established "claims" by the
simple process of sticking in posts
bearing their names. It is q whole
sale seqiestration Of the world, based
upon the principle that no one has q
right to any rule or s6tereienty IN
either hemisphere but men of European
birth or origin. The chosen people
did not appropriate the promised land
with more perfect assurance of a right
to dispossess the Canaanites than that
shown by white men id the plumber
raid round the world.
Attention is chiefly directed just now
to the action of Germany. But that &C
ton has been much less sy stematic than
might have been expected from so SCI
entific people. Instead of dispatch
ing DR.. Nachtigal to pick up few sea-
boats here and there along the African
coast, our German kinsfolk should have
set to work in more deliberate and COM
prehensive fashion. But perhaps the
trip of the Moewe is but an experiment
tai cruise, preparing the way for the
real enterprise. If 80, we may expect
that before long a gunboat will leave
Hamburg, followed by a Aoatilla Of
steamers laden with cargoes OF flag
poles and bunting. The commander,
advised by couple of learned pro-
fessors, will take with him a chart of
the world, drawn up by the in
telligence department at Berlin, show
ing with the utmost exactitude the
limits of the as yet unappropriated
territories of the world. He will
then proceed to plant q German flag
staff and hoist German flag at inter-
walls of, say, two miles all round the
dark continent, wherever land is to be
found not yet annexed by any European
power. When that gunboat returns to
Hamburg there will be no more unap-
propriated land to quarrel about ; it will
all have been annexed. Nowhere along
the African littoral will the eve of ad-
venturors De Brazza or filibustering
Italian find nook or corner not over
Swallowed by the German flag. Their
Hamburg poles will girdle the CONT
nent as England's drum-beat is said to
encircle the world. Nothing short Of
such business-like program would be
worthy of the systematic and scientific
spirit of the German people, and it
would, if intelligently directed, avoid
the blunders that have recently been
made on the coast of Africa, where,
both near Quittah and near Angra
Pequena, the Germans have annexed
by proclamation territory that was al
ready under the British flag. They
will probably not hoist the German
standard over Cape Town; but short
of that these too Jealous captains hard
~ seem likely to stop.
The action of the German gunboats
is, however, forcing to the front the
question as to what constitutes q valid
act of annexation. International law
refuses to recognize paper blockade.
What has it to say about a paper annex
alton? If the lands of the dark races
are to be publicly scrambled for, what
are to be the laws of the game? Is the
first man who erects flag staff and
hoists his flag to acquire undisputed
right of sovereignty over all the terri
tory within sight of his bunting? Or
is the hoisting of flag, unaccompsnied
by the exercise of the right or the dis
charge of any of the duties of sover-
eighty. 70 be regarded as a meaningless
formality? If the former is the true
doctrine, then the Germans have made
mistake at Bagei1a and south of An
gra Pequena. If the latter, then
are they not wasting their time
by proceedings which are intrinsically
ludicrous? The question is one of keen
interest to us, not only on account of
recent events on the west coast of Africa,
but our position in Polynesia. We
have just sanctioned paper annexa-
ton of New Guinea by our colonists.
What is it worth? Nay, are there not
great stretches of Australian coast on
which no Englishmen has ever set foot
and where the English flag is never
seen? Suppose DR.. Nachtigal were to
carry his flag there also. What then
If the scramble is to 60 on, these mat
tiers will need very careful looking in
to. Otherwise, in pure ignorance Of
the laws of the game, the powers are
not unlikely to fall to blows among
themselves. Has not the time come
when an international conference of the
whites should be held to formulate the
true doctorine governing the scram-
BILE for the colored mans world?