The age-herald., 1898-08-06
WHERE THE FLAG
 HAS FLOWN

| fFank Lee m the ilIileS-Aisiftlu. 1 Those who urge the taking of everything | we can get whether we want it or not,
 say: ''Wherever the fiag of the United 1 States has been planted by American fight | CTS there shall it remain" This argument | is Of course purely sentimental. No nation
 has lived up to or could live up to such | doctrine. It is most common during war l for a nation to occupy territory which | it does not retain dominion. The Amtri- | can flag has flown over conquered territory | in many sections of the globe from which | we have afterward withdrawn yoluntarily l Our first foreign conquest was of city in | Africa during the trouble with the Bar l bary pirates. The story of that war has | been told often of late, but no mention has l been made of the land expedition and most | people have forgotten all about it. Will l ham Eaton, who had been consul to G'unis, | returned to the United States 1t the out l break of hostilities and proposed to Jcffer- | son that in order to punish the reigning | pasha of Tripoli the United States should
 restore to the throne the elder t/other, | Hamet. who had been dispossessed Jef- | ferson told him that he could carry out the | plan if he chose but gave him neither | money, guns nor men, and his only au- l thority was the limited one of navy agent
 of the United States for the Barbary
 powers.
 Eaton. undaunted, visited Alexandria in | November, 1S0f, and, going to Cairo, col | lected troops, camels and stores and set out | across the Libyan Desert for Derne, the | second city in Tripoli. He had 500 zen in | his expedition, and besides a spriatlinG of | American marines there were Christians from nearly every European nation. to- | gether with Arabs and Turks. As Mac
 master says: Such another motley horde
 never went forth to war
 | The journey took forty-five days, during | which Eaton had much trouble with the | discordant elements of which his band was | composed His camel drivers revolted the | Arabs threatened desertion and there | constant quarreling between the men of | his command, who frequently came to | blows. At last they reached Bomba, where | they received provisions from the United States ships Hornet and Argus, and then, 1 the men being in a more conteated frame l of mind, Eaton pushed to Derne ard stormed it. After short attack, in which l the Americans performed several feats of valor the city surrendered, and 1'n~ the first time in histors the American flag 1oatod over city of the old world. The regning pasha madethree attempts to re- conquer the city, but failed. Tobias Lear, the American consul-general, was author ized by the state department to negotiate a peace, and the conclusion of the war with Tripoli on June was followed by the evacuation of the city.
 Somewhat similar were circumstances that brought about landing of United States sailors in Porto Rico in 1923. Span ish pirates made the island their hiding place, from which they made expeditions that inflicted serious injury to Anne can commerce. Cmmodore Porter requested the authorities of the island to discontinue harboring the pirates, and they promised to do so. But later in that year Ameri- can merchant of St Thomas vas robbed by pirates, who made the port of FoXado
 their retreat Hearing of il, Lieutenant Platt went there in the Beagle and de-
 manded the return of the property. He and the officer who accompanied him were Sr- rested and imprisoned. Porter was incensed when this came to his ears, and iinmedi- ately sailed to FoXado, landing a party of
 marines and sailors They stormed the town, captured and held it until the pirates
 and authorities made redress.
 In February, 1882, the American flag flew
 over conquered territory in Asia-the Ma layan archipelago. The incident was brought about by the capture of the Ameri- can ship Friendship, of Salem, Mass. The Malays, not content with seizing the ship, had barbarously treated the sailors. When Comm odore Downes heard of this he organ ized an expedition from the men on his ships, and resolved to make the Malay pirates respect our flag, as the Barbary mira had bppn made tO dO twentV-SeVen years before. Taking some of the best men from his flagship the Potomac, and the other ships of his fleet, he made land attack on the offenders, defeating the Ma lays and destroying their forts. When the Malay chief had apologized and promised to behave themselves in future Downes evacuated the territory.
 A case in point in the present connection is the war with Mexico. As result of that struggle and by subsequent treaties the United tSates greatly increased its ter
 ritory But if the principle that wherever the flag has been placed there it shall re- main had been followed the United States would have retained most of the land north of the City of Mexico. Generals Scott and Taylor captured the most important towns in the country, including Vera Cruz, Mont erey and Chapultepec, as well as the capi-' tai. The troops were withdrawn, of course, after the conclusion of the treaty of peace.
 
 Previously, during the war 1872, the Amer jeans captured several Canadian towns, but
 they were surrendered after the close of hostilities.
 There is nothing remarkable about this capture of foreign towns and their sur
 render when the reason for their capture no longer exists It is thing that hap pens during every war
 SENATOR CHANDELIERS VIEWS