The Forrest City times., 1898-08-26

aoout 10 DC opened up for the trade ot the world, and the great powers
 of Europe are engaged in mighty struggle for tho control of that trade, with all It's boundIess, in- computablc results for the pro- gross, wealth and prosperity of civilization. Now, look at the po- silion in which the incomparable courage and genius of Dewey and
 his gallant fleet and the god of battles has placed us! Trace the straight road to the Orient by way of the West from San Francisco and the western port of the inter- oceanic canal that is to be by way of Honolulu, 2000 miles out, the Ladrones, 5000 miles further on, Manila, HOO miles beyond tho lat ter, with their harbors of refuge, with all necessary means and up- pliances for refurnishlng, rcfitting and supplying the carriers Of oar commerce., and from Manila, what an easy stage to all the eastern
 coast of Asia and its innumerablc islands, with all their uncountabie
 hordes of consumers for our pro-
 ducts and manufactures! I say to you that l verily believe the first quarter of the new century will sec the waters of the Pacific churned into foam by the rushing prows of q vaster comm arce than
 that which has for hundreds of years been vexing the waves of the Atlantic, and, to adopt the words of a recent writer, the
 Pacific, instead of the Atlantic, is to become 'tEe washtub of the
 worlds commerce. What an im-
 -etus the opening of this grand
 trade will give to every American
 industry, whose enormous products have now outgrown the power of consumption of our home mark cts.
 The intense nervous energies of the American people require room and scope in which to exert them- selves, or they will become fevor-
 ish and congested. We have ex- banded. and its good for us that we have. What We have won is ours-as fully and fairly as all we
 have ever acquired by peaceablo
 contract and purchase. We have been expanding from the days of Thomas Jefferson, and we have flourished and grown greater and stronger with every advance Tn our limits. It is the American
 habit to expand; it is her business and her duty 10 expand and carry abroad in the outer world, in true missionary spirit the knowledge of American republlcanism and the idea of government by the people. And 1 say to you that Uncle Sam is not afraid. These old Confederate veterans around me, who swore thirty-odd years ago to support the flag now float. Ing over Cuba, Porto Rico and Manila, are not afraid, and they are true to their oaths of amnesty, and they stand ready today to de- fend that flag with the same sub- lime courage and devotion with which they once rallied around the Stars and Bars. They tell me that there are no entanglcments that Uncle Sam can not kick off at pleasure; that the whole world can not letter hlm with any sort of entanglement to bind or to worry him against his will. An cient adages addressed to him In his swaddling clothes bear no relevancy aud are in no way ap- plicabIe to Uncle Sam full grown and Tn his toga viriIis. Then, If Uncle Sam is not betrayed by his agents, he will hold fast 10 what is now his; he will develop his new islands; he will give his industrious and energetic sons the full beneht of the road now open to the great.
 est and grandest expansion of American ideas of free govern mcnt and of their trade, and 10 a fair reward and compensation for their industries. And who are to be most blessed Tn th,s new growth of our countryy Why, in my judgment, it is the Southern agri- 1 culturst. You have now out stripped the needs of your present customers who buy your cotton until you can hardly grow this greatest of the worlds great staples with any hope of profit. You want more people to buy and consume your cotton and its pro- ducts; you want to reach the count