Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1898-06-30
Cleveland
On the Dangers of Imper-
ialiSm.

|
Princeton, n. j., June 2l.-GrOve
Cleveland delivered the annual foun
ders' day address of the commence
ment exercises of the Lawrencevill
school here today. His address wa
entitled "Good Citizenship" and IL
the course of his remarks he said:
The American people are tempted
every day and every hour to abandon
their accustomed way and enter upOI
a course of new and strange adven
ture. Never before i'm our history
have We been beset with temptation
so dangerous as those which nov
whisper I'm our ears alluring words
of conquest and expansion and poin
out to us fields bright with the glory
of war. once saw very usefu
book entitled Don't" 1t contained
statement of numerous things
| which should not be done. 1 am in.
clined to adopt the plan of this book
to the extent of cautiOning you
against the imperfect ideas of civic
duties and warn you against certain
, dangers which threaten the sound
ness of true American citizenship
and which, especially at this partic.
ular time, seem to lie in wait for us
on every side.
You will probably be led by your
reflections and studies to the conclu-
sion that our government was formed
for the express purpose of creating In
a new world new nation, the fOun-
dation of which should be mans
self-gOvernment, whose safety and
prosperity should be secure in it's alb
sOlute freedom from old world COM
plicatiOns and i'm its renunciations of
all schemes of foreign conquest, and
whose mission should be the subjec-
tion, civilization and Industrial Occu-
patton of the vast domain i'm which
1t has taken root. If you believe
those things, do not permit any ac-
cusatiOn of ultra and progressive
conservatism to trouble you. III then
the suggestion is made that the time
has come for our nation to abandon
it's old landmarks and to follow the
lights of mOnarchical hazards and
that we should attempt to employ
the simple machinery of our popular
and domestic government to serve
the schemes Of imperialism, your
challenge of the proposition is entire
ly in order. If you are satisfied that
foreign conquest and unnatural ex-
tension and annexation are danger
Gus perversions of our national mis-
slons, and II it shall seem to you in
the light of reason and history that
such perversions bring in their train
a peoples decentralization and a de-
cay of popular contentment more
surely destructive to the republic
than armies with banners, you will
not necessarily be wrong.
with our first century's tremen-
dous growth and advancement before
your eyes as proof OF the strength and
efhciency OF consistent Americanism
YOU Will lind in the beginning of our
second century proof of the abun-
dance OF our present domain in mil
lions OF acres OF government territory
still unoccupied. In view or these
things and considering our achieve
ments In the past and our promise
Tor the future, recalling what we have
done and what we have been and
what yet remains for us to do under
the guidance of the rules and motives
which have thus far governed our
national life, you surely are entitled
to de;nSnd the best OF reasons for a
,iitrifse in our policy and conduct,
ana to expect Il conclusive eXplana-
ton OF the conditions which make
our acquisition of new and distant
terIl'ory either JustllIaple, Pruueht
satisfied x,;;h .he exc,,ss tLat sunh oo O
ouisition is necessarv hv wnv of var
ILL., q nrenar.t;on nr n,ao,,,,;S, Tn;,
Won that we have found 6erstofore a
constant sonrce of conoratuI.t;on in
the fact that The oconton9rIa = t;nn of ,,-nr M
and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS is NOT q nd shonId
NOT he 10 n;i,ar 20 onr nrd;mar,, un
tionaI life that N has ajso hao, nnr
hoaSt ,hat n iarno n."ai, ,;';. oI
and wari;fs nracanI
tions are not omono tha naoap 30 a.
neon,e whose victor;ea orc those ~
poora ond ,hoso ;,s,r,,'u oSS go y,
peace peace anu whose immunity from
dom from tho foreian ra,at;nnsh;ns
that give birth to war and tbonnh n
has go oh',Io.S., a. % %.S snoS
tha. mas ceeh ,S aDunuantly demonstGa.ed
;n@ nnoI;tio - gu . sp,su .t,
massr ,nS IiSs en- ;,s % oh our county % men MN
nraHa ",,a..;, - ..J y. nuou' ~ 70 e."
N Of 81 80
nnsca MS 40 Tu, hm es.n.e dn1i;. VI tue vaiue oi
pvIi pparI;i roea.iaS umeS uPon , waI anu
;,nnrnw. oPa,atrUns PauI;, Is oalouia.eu .. "
nha.o quaii'y vi our ha'iohai
0'"' "o'ei'
CAUTION AGAINST DANGERS.
These considerations naturally lead
Inc to counsel you against the danger
of allowing the bright dress and CAV
which war puts on to divert
your attention from the ugly features
that belong to it as seen In the light
of true American citizenship. The
danger of such a diversion NAV arise
from restless enthusiasm. which is
by no means unattractive, or from
our admiration for deeds of yalor,
which ID q national characteristic. or
from the fascination of dangerous
adventure, never found without brav-
cry, or from the love OF the glory of
successful battle, which Is almost an |
impulse of humanity, or from a ten
dency to cOmbativeness, which, II |
not altogether lovely and amiable, is !
regarded by genuine Americans with |
benevolent toleration. 1t is difficult |
to deal with the question of war at
this time and avoid misconception |
and misrepresentation. But We are