Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-12-08
Prophets OF Evil.

Those who OppoSeu Tic -iSpuiSieioA VI
the Philippines are undaunted by de-
feat Accomplished facts cannot chill
their rage. Since the cession of the
islands they have become more violent
than ever. Not to denounce it is
treason. and the downfall of the ma
ton. they assert, will date from the
signing Of the treaty of Paris. They
must have recently read Gibbons DE
cline and Fail of the Roman Empire, -
but they are woefully misapplying the
information 1t will be come consola-
ton to the millions of Americans who
that these lugubrious prophecies are
not new. Whenever new territory has
been acquired by the United States a
small but vociserotis. minority has
protested and proph esied just as the
anti-annexationistss are doing today.
This was true when the Louisiana pur-
chase was made, when Florida was
bought. when Texa.j was admitted,
when Oregon was acc uired, when Cali
fornia was annexed, and when Alaska
was secured. On all these occasions in
the past there was the same opposition
and the same evil prophecies that have
accompanied the acqui sition of our new
possessions in the Atlantic and the
Pacific.
On one occasion the act was depicted
as more Immediately ia tai than today
The country was described as going
straight to the "demniH on bow-wows, I"
and statesmen whose ma mes still linger
in the national mind talked seriously of
making overtures to Cir eat Britain for
a resumption of the old relations. They
were perfectly sincere. but they We're
mistaken. In spite of their gloomy
forebodings, the ship of state sailed
gayly on, and the new territories are
at this moment contributing their full
quota to the strength and greatness of
the United States. SO it will be with
the forebodings of these fin de steele
prophets. They are maxim the same
mistake which they have m ade dozen
times before, of imagining that theiy
judgment is infallible. The masses of
the people are behind this action of the
administration, and the masses are
oftener right than small minority, no
matter how respectable the latter may
be. 1t is the hand of Destiny pointing
the way to our great republic.
There is nothing in the political con-
dition of this country to indicate decay
and to infer that the acquisition of a
group of islands in the Pacific will sow
mares. No country on earth possesses
the political vitality of the United
States. The people are always on the
alert. They watch their public SER
wants increasingly, and they make their
watchfulness felt in every political
conflict. They have not troubled them
selves about the constitutional difficult
ties in the way of acquiring the Philip
pines, for the simple reason that the
Constitution has nothing to do with the
matter. So far as the Constitution is
concerned, the government is at liberty
to purchase an entire continent AS
the case stands at pre- sent. the Philip
pines are, like any other property of
the United States, at the absolute dis
posal of the government. They are
neither states nor territories in the
constitutional sense. and may not be-
come so for many years. Congress
will, in all likelihood. see the wisdom
of keeping them as they are. because in
this way only can the islands proposed
relations with other countries be sus-
tanned.