The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1898-08-18
BRYAN
EMPHATICALLY AGAINST IMPERIALISM.

EMPHATICALLY AGAINST IMPERIALISM.
Mr.. Bryan, in his last public address
delivered in Omaha, June IA, at the
celebration of Nebraska Day at the
Trans Mississippi Exposition, annouc-
ed himself emphatically against I'm
perialism. He spoke as follows:
"War is harsh; it is attended by hard
ship and suffering; it means vast ex-
penditure of men and money. We may
pray for the coming of the time, prom
ised in holy writ, when the spears shall
be beaten into pruning hooks and the
swords into plowshares. but universal
\ peace cannot come until justice is en-
throned throughout the world. Jeho-
yah deals with nations as he deals with
men, and for both DEGREES that the wa
ges of sin is death. Until the right has
triumphed in every land and love
reigns in every heart, government must
as last resort. appeal to force. As
long as the oppressor is deaf to the
voice of reason, so long must the citi-
zen accustom his shoulder to the mus
ket and his hand to the saber.
"Our nation exhausted diplomacy in
its efforts to secure a peaceable solution
of the Cuban question, and only took
up arms when it was compelled to
choose between war and servile acqui-
escence in cruelties which would have
been a disgrace to barbarism.
History will vindicate the position
taken by the United States in the war
with Spain. In saying this l assume
that the principles which were invoked
in the Inauguration of the war will be
observed in its prosecution and conclu-
sion.
eff contest undertaken for the sake
of humanity degenerates into war of
conquest, we shall find it difficult to
meet the charge of having added hy-
pocracy to greed. Is our national char
acter so weak that we cannot Withstand
the temptation to appropriate the first
piece of land that comes within our
reach?
"To infiict upon the enemy all posi-
BILE harm is legitimate warfare, but shall
we contemplate scheme for the colo
nization of the Orient merely because
our fleet won remarkable victory in
the harbor of Manila?
"Our guns destroyed Spanish feet,
but can they destroy that self-evident
truth, that governments derive their
Just powers, not from superior force,
from the consent of the governed?
Shall we abandon a just resistance to
European encroachment upon the West
ern Hemisphere, in order to mingle in
the controversies of Europe and Asia
Nebraska, standing midway be-
tween the oceans, will contribute her
full share toward the protection of our
} seacoast; her sons will support the flag
at home and abroad, wherever the hon
or aud the interests of the nation may
require. Nebraska will hold up the
hands of the Government while the
} battle RACES, and when the war clouds
roll away her voice will be heard plead
ing for the maintenance of those ideas
which inspired the founders of our
Government and gave the nation its
proud eminence among the nations Of
the earth.
: "If others turn to thoughts Of aggran
dizment and yield allegiance to those
} who clothe .land-covetousness in the
attractive garb of national destiny tht
people of Nebraska will, if I mistake
not their sentiments, plant themselve
upon the disclaimer entered by Con-
gress, and expect that good faith will
characterize the making Of peace as i
/: did the beginning of war,
TO judge how wide the limits stay
Betwixt splendid and happy land"
eff some dream of the splendors o
aid in heterogeneous empire encirclinG
the globe, we shall be content to aid in
bringing enduring happiness to a home
geneous people, consecrated to the
purpose of maintaining a government
of the people, by the people and fol
the people"