The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-04
OF AMERICAN IN
FLUENCE.

When the present war sfover, and
the people calmly reflect upon its re-
suits and all that it means to them. it
Cuba and the expulsion of Spain from
the new world will be found to be mat
tiers of very secondary Importance.
This statement at this time may seem
strange and unwarranted: an exami-
nation of it, coupled with a little re-
Election, viii show that it is neither
strange nor unwarranted. The politi-
cal destiny of Cuba. and the part it is
to play in shaping the history of the
world are enthusiastically small when
compared with the destiny of the Unit
ed States. and what will be their in
iiLence upon the course of history. Cuba
may become something greater and
better than Hayti and San Domingo,
but nothing more. The result of the
war viii leave Cuba detached from
Spain, a thing that would happen in
time in any event, but which will now
be fastened
And why is all this very apt to be
matter of very secondary Importance,
compared with other results of the
war? The liberation of Cuba is a pri-
mary cause of the war, and the gov
eminent of the United States has an
ncunced that it will not annex Cuba:
it has undertaken no war of conquest,
and will not turn the present one into
such. Why, then, should the accom-
piishment of the purpose for which the
war was inaugurated be among its
minor results? Surely that is a natural
and proper question. Because the pres
ent war will probably result in the in
ternational advancement and develop
ment of the United States.
The close of the civil war in 1865
marked the close of a distinct period in
American history. period that was as
clearly defined and distinct as was the
colonial period; and as the revolution
airy war was the close of that period,
so the civil war was of the period that
theory of a federation and extreme
state rights, and the beginning of the
period OF the theory of nation AID
restricted state rights. AS it was the
beginning of the establishment of the
theory of national supremacy in all
things, likewise it was the beginning
of the development and exploitation of
the resources of the country It was
after the close of the civil war that the
nation awakened to the realization of
its vast and virgin resources lying west
of the Missouri. Beginning to realize
this, railroad was built across the
vast plains and great mountain ranges,
until. at last. the Atlantic and Pacific
coasts were united. That was in 1869.
Then there was such a pushing west
ward of population, and such a develop
ment of resources as the world had
never witnessed. This continued for 20
years. In that time the frontier was
abolished, and great and wealthy states
erected out of great stretches of coun-
try that but few years before were
given up wholly to the roaming buffalo
and the nomadic Indian. During the
period since the civil war the people
have been spreading to the boundaries
developing its resources: the day of
adventure in our land has departed, and
that of development has come; hence
forth growth will be steady, more rapid
in some places than others. In the
period since the civil war the American
people have realized that they are a
nation, and they have felt the pride
and strength of great nation; it has
been a period Of expansion in every
way.
AS the close of the civil war was the
opening of the door to the fullest ma
tional development, and it enlarged the
ideas of the people, so it is not improb
able that the close of the present war
with Spain will open the door to
larger and more potential influence in
affairs. That the period
of our international isolation is draw
ing to a close, no one who has paid any
attention to the trend of events can
have failed to observe. Already Europe
recognizes the United States as an i'm
portant factor in the settlement of the
oriental question: this recognition has
come, as a result Of Commo-
dore Dewey's brilliant victory. 1t is
now proposed to send some thousands
OF American soldiers to the Philippine
Islands, that Commodore Dewey's eff
forts may be seconded, and the fruits
of his victory reaped. American troops
in the Philippine Islands means, in all
human probability, that the American
flag will forever float over some of
them. Unless all signs fail, it is in the
orient that will be enacted, for many
years to come, the great international
drama; and gu: position on the Pacific,
and our operations in the Philippines
make it almost inevitable that this gov
eminent will be a prominent actor in
that drama.
If the grand result of our war with
Spain is not to project American infiu-
ence into international affairs, it will
be one of the most remarkable things
n all history. No nation voluntarily
5urrenders influence, and the United
States will gain immense influence in
his war.