The Portland daily press., 1898-10-06
AGAINST IMPERIALISM.
Congressman Mccall Gives His Views on
the Subject.


Frankness requires that on an oeeasloh
like this 1 should indicate, in a general
way, how shall regard the grave, anu'
in some respects, the novel, conditions
that result from the victory which SO
speedily came to us through the heroic
bravery of our soldiers and the marvel
lous achievement of our navy. The WIS
dom of increasing our navy. cannot be
doubted. and, it seems to me. that It's
efficiency would then be almost multiplied
by two by the construction of canal
across Central America. Adequate pro-
vision should also be made for protecting
our seaboard, and for such increase in
our army, especially in artillery, as may
be necessary to man our forts and for de-
fensiye purposes. Beyond this, DO not
favor any extensive or permanent enlarge
ment of our army or the imposition upon
our people, now happily exempt of the
military burdens under which the nations
of Europe are groaning. Our American
youth were born to nobler destiny than
to hunt savages off the coast of Asia OF
to perish by thousands in tropical wars.
purely naval and commercial base. which
does not essentially involve empire, ana
which present methods of transportation
upon the sea make desirable and, indeed,
necessary, for a trading nation like our
selves, presents one problem. Inc az
quirement of such station IS, l peileve,
a duty. The policy of distant colonial
expansion involving the annexation "
5000, 900 or 100000 savage subjects in
POLYNESIA, presents vastly different
problem, 1t seems to me the benefits OF
such colonial policy would Re most un.
certain, the responsibility sure.
With magnificent vagueness It's adVo-
Gates tell us that we should annex those
islands because we are great nation ana
because we must take up the responslbll1-
ties of victory. The fact that we are great
thanks to the American policy which we
are asked to throw over the housetop5,
would naturally suggest unless 1t IS our
duty to become weak, that we shouId not
dissipate our strength and surrender our
compact and invulnerable position by ex-
tending our empire into the ether henls.
phere: and as TO the responsibilities OF
victory, they furnish the strongest reason
against the proposed policy.
We may have forgotten, but history VIII
not TAIL, the solemn words with which
President Mckinley called upon the pow
ers to witness the unselfish manner in
which ths United States should pacify
Cuba We were about to invade the ter
ritory of another nation whose sovereignty
we had recognized during our entire exls=
tence, and in order to avoid the suspicion
that we were embarking upon war OF
conquest both Congress and the President
made it clear that we had taken up arms
to secure the independence OF Cuba from
Spain and from all the rest of mankind.
The world had full notice, including,
/ suppose, the Philippine Insurgents,
that the war was undertaken for definite
purpose, and that we were moved by
none of those sordid and vulgar motives,
such as sometimes animate nations. The
responsibilities of victory do not require
that we should break faith with ourselves,
or that we should appear to make human.
ity the stalking horse for ambition. Let
us adhere to the spirit of the purpose for
which we entered upon the war, and not
be deluded by fanciful and paltering con-
siderations into putting a stain upon our
national honor and sacrificing upon the
altar of false philanthropy those price
less things which have made us peerless
among nations. The manifest destiny OF
this nation has not been accomplished.
Our duties are on this continent, under
our very eyes, and while they may, there
fore, be moe commonplace and less gilt
teripg and attractive than the task OF 60
ing to the other end of the globe "hatch-
ance will contribute infinitely more to our
own advantage and to the benefit OF
mankind.
The retention of the Philippines will
be attended with heavy cost in time of
peace, if, indsed, there could ever be
peace with their Inhabitants, and with
great difficulty and danger in time OF
war. do not believe we should seriously
consider the practical abandonment OF
the Monroe doctrine in order to acquire
Polynesia. That policy, like any other
great national policy, has its essential
basis in its justice, and what justice or
consisten cy could there be in our saying
to the ov ercrowded nations of the other
continent, "You shall not lay hands upon
this hemisphere, while we, sparsely
populated as we are, propose at one step
to annex thousand islands in the other
hemisphere.
The Monroe doc triDe would thereafter
be deprived of any appearance OF Justice,
and would stand upon force alone. 1t is
not CLEAR that the people Of Poly have
any reason to desire us there, in view OF
our treatment of the red man. Having
almost exterminated the sayages from one
continent, we are asked in the interest of
humanity to adopt policy which very
likely may lead US to assume the role OF
executioner in another.
1t may be admitted that England, which
has once given up a colony in those Is
lands, desires US to take them. Her ad
vice is, doubtless, disinterested, and, of
course. we love England; but would it
not be just a bit sudden and emotional in
lis to navigate our ship by tie lights
which she may run up? For my part, /
prefer that we should take our course by
George Warrington and by those other
fixed and serene stars that shine SO re-
spIendenlty in our American sky.
We have a mission to perform upon
this continent grander than was ever ao-
corded to a nation. Do not mistake the
whirlwind which we may now ride to
our destruction for the rsettled current of
popular sopinion which will ultimately
blow You cannot gauge public opinion
by the first rumblings. Give the masses
time to think, and they will think and
decide wisely. You will not have long
to wait.
The heartstrings of the A merican people
have been wrung at the sufferings of our
fever blasted heroes in Cuba, and they
will not long stand complacently by while
the sons of American mothers are exposed
upon that distant theatre of the earth
quake and the typhoon, and the bodies OF
thousands of them are fatteniHg that rich