The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-06
AN ARoUND-THE- WORLD DESTINY
A Startling French View of Stewards
Prophecy and American Expansion
From the Figaro

FIophecy ana American Expansion
From the Figaro
Europe has just seen the United States
advance toward the south to the Antilles
and toward the West across the Pacific
ocean, and she says to herself: What
possesses them? What is the meaning Of
this new fancy to seek trouble with us
and to make conquests at our expense?
We never imagined that they would be
capable of such a thing"
As a matter of fact, Europe has no right
to be amazed. II is not a new idea that
has set the United States in motion. on
the contrary. it Is very old idea, since
it dates back half a century. The events
which we have just witnessed form part
of the programme conceived by an Amerl-
can statesman placed In the highest rank
among his compatriots, and whose pro-
phetic views they now love to recall The
thought of this policy of expansion has
been silently Matched In the national con-
science since his death, according to the
counsel which he himself theoretically
gave, and that was to precipitate moth
ing. But there was little difficulty in the
United States in recognizing II when Il
appeared through the war with Spain.
The name of the statesman in question
was Seward Secretary of State during
the administration of Abraham Lincoln
Convinced that his country had a great
mission to perform in the world and clear
ly discerning that mission, he lost no OPP
portunity to define 1t and TO explain il In
public. 1t was not that ne was afraid
that America would deceive herself and
make too sudden a bound toward her
destiny but he had a notion that the re-
no al htr i,a
he did not sanction. An enemy of war,
Seward knew very well that his gigantic
dream could not be realized without q
combat. He deplored that and added mag
nificently, in a letter published in 1916, I'M
der the title I'VE Should Carry out our
Destiny" ITO carry out that destiny the
United States should prepare themselves
for their mission by getting rid of the In
trusions of the Old World which still
continued, with ideas of another age, up
on portions of the American soil" THE
monarchies of Europe" said Seward in
the same letter, can have neither peace
nor truce as long as there remains TO
them one colony upon this continent"
He called that buying out the foreigners.
France did not trouble him; she was a
quantite negligeable, having already sold
out. Neither did Spain embarrass MIN.
The events that have just happened APP
peared to him al that time already ac-
comphshed. In 1916 he counted, without
any ceremony. the rulers Of Cuba and
Porto Rico among the foreigners who
should sell out their possessions to the
United States He was also sure that
Russia would leave without Offering any
difficulty and in this he was certainly
not deceived. 1t was he himself during
his term of office who purchased Russian
America, or Alaska, from the Gar for the
sum of S7,2O0O00. He also negotiated for
~ go p
and the project fell through by the fault
Of the Senate of Washington, which voted
against 1t, simply because the President
at that time was for It,
England remained and presented, as he
was well aware, the hardest nut to crack.
Nevertheless, he was persuaded that she,
too one day or another, would come TO
terms, and that all that was necessary was
patience He advised his compa triots to
practice that virtue and to hasten nothing,
to take time TO digest one territory before
swallowing another. There was no need of
hurry when / look upon the territory of
Hudson Bay and Canada" said he in 1866,
"and see there population industrious,
enterprising, and ambitious engaged in
digging canals, building bridges railroads,
and telegraph lines and organizing and
preser ving great English provinces north
OF the great lakes and of the st. Lawrence
and around Hudson Bay. / say: That is
fine. You are forming excellent states, des-
tined to be admitted later on into the
American union"
In politics he favored a system which he
compared to the ripe pear that detaches IL
self and falls into your hand. Mexico and
the little republics of Central America
could not fail, according to him, TO come
one after the other and solicit the honor
and the favor of forming portion of the
United States. one thing seemed to him
sun more certain, and that was that the
United States could not help annexing by
force the people who would be too slow
10 come to them Willingly. That was clear
for him. who passed his time in sounding
public opinion and guessing at its future
orientation II abhor war;" he wrote. II
would not give one single human life for
any portion OF the continent which re-
mains TO be annexed; but 7 cannot get rid
OF The conviction that popular passion for
territorial ACKNOWLEDGMENT is irresistible.
Prudence justice and even timidity may
restrain il for time, but ITS force WIFI
be augmented by compression"
Eialf a century passed before the explo-
sion occurred. We have Just Witnessed