The San Francisco call., 1898-12-17
THE DANGERS OF EXPANSION.

| HE ueFOteeS Of the doctrine Ot territorial l pansion now that the excitement of is passed, have been met by the cold reason of a class of men headed by Senator Hoar, who believe that Tn the doctrine o territorial expansion so freely advocated, turks danger to these United States of America, in that principle upon which this Gov ernment IS founded, no power granted to Congress nor any line existing in the constitution, can be found to authorize the maintenance of condition which the eXpansonist claims will soon exist in the Philippine Islands.
 The cardinal principles of human liberty enunciated 1T the Declaration of Independence should be care fully read by that class of citizens who believe have right to maintain by the strong arm and the bayonet colonial authority over foreign races of human beings without their consent and against their protest. The right of representation in the Legisla- ture which frames the laws recognized of the grounds for the of this country from England, and spoken of "a right inestimable to them (meaning the United States) and formidable to tyrants only" Another ground was that the King of England had kept among us standing armies, without the consent of Legislatures, and again, Tor imposing taxes without the of the gov erned"
 It was in the relation to her colonies as that which the expansionsts claim the United States shall occupy toward the Philippines that the War of Inde pendence originated and ended in the final separation of this country from Great Britain
 But, say the eXpansionsts, we do not propose to treat the, Philippine Islands as a colony; we do not propose to give them a colonial government, and it IS denounced a false issue of imperialism and 1t is contended that the application of our navigation laws to Porto Rico, and the treatment of Hawaii means that the government shall be territorial and that these countries may grow from territories to full statehood under the laws and constitution of the United States.
 Passing the question of the questionable policy and danger of State existing in the Oriental tropics, Io,5oo miles away from the Capitol at Washington, confronted by the reiterated statement of the administration that the open door policy" shall pre- vail the Philippines, and that all nations shall be entitled to the benefit of the business of the islands How that policy be maintained in the face of the constitutional requirement that all duties imposts and cxcises shall be uniform throughout the United States? Ii territorial government is proposed, if statehood IS the end to be attained why is the open door policy mentioned?
 The truth Is that in this question of our newly ac- quired territory is involved one of the gravest and deepest questions that has agated this country since the days of reconstruction, question which must be solved calmly and deliberately, not only for the pub lie good, but with regard to that great hypothesis which philosophical writer has stated that all na- tions have their birth, life and death and that in the adopting into the body polite of elements so dis cordant and degenerate may be planting the seed of our future destruction as a nation