The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-07-23
TERRITORIAL EXPANSION.
Justice Brewer States Some of the objec
tions to 1t,

Justice David j. Brewer OF the United
States Supreme Court has given out the
following statement of reasons against
the annexation of the Philippines, Porto
Rico, and Cuba, and against territorial
expansion or an Anglo-American alliance:
| think we may have to take possession
of Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines
as a war measure, and for the nurpose of
getting indemnity. l should look upon
all save Cuba simply in the same light as
If held mortgage upon mans farm.
l would foreclose that mortgage, not be-
cause wanted to take the farm, but for
the reason | wanted the farm to sell in
order to raise the money. do not see
how Spain will ever be able to pay us an
indemnity, and so l would take her real
estate. | think it is consistent with our
policy, and it is certainly necessary that
we should keep Cuba for awhile, and have
an army there to maintain good order.
There are more than million and quar-
ter OF people on the island ,and it will tai Q
some time to get a stable government,
and until they do think, as a matter of
huma nifty, that we should keep a force of
troops there to preserve order. When we
have demanded possession of those ISLANDS
as security for the payment of indemnity,
and have kept Cuba for the sake of order,
l think we should then let them go.
do not believe in colonial expansion
at all. think Hawaii stands in different
circumstances. My objection to colonial
expansion is two fold. You take the
Philippines, with from 5000, 200 to 10, O00,-
600 of people, Cuba with more than /, 25O,
600, and Porto Rico, do not remember
the number; but there is but one way to
manage those people, and that is by force,
just as England manages Egypt, South
Africa, and India to great extent.
Their government over these colonies is
arbitrary, despotic, you may call it, but
they appe ciate the necessity of good gov
eminent and govern wisely, but for all
that it is not government of the people.
1 do not see how we could initiate that
kind of colonial government without
changing our theories of government. OF
course we could govern them; that would
not be physical impossibility, but in
order to do SO we must change our theo-
ries of government.
In the territory we have hitherto taken
into our government we have introduced
a territorial system of government, q ter
ritorial legislature, or a government of
the people. DO not think that that can
be done with those people, and l think it
will be introducing q new system of gov
eminent into this country. Again. I
think it would compel ali unnecessary i'll
crease in our army. do not know but
that some increase Is needed. We would
be bound to have large increase in our
country considering itself militia ry
Power. I think If we had large army
and large navy we would be getti n g
into trouble with other nations. 1t ia
human nature for an army officer and
navy officer to want promotion, and If
it does not come rapidly enough he wants
war to bring it about.
In SO far as the Philippines are con-
cerned especially. it seems to me that it
would be black eye to the Monroe Doc
trine. When we said that the European
nations must not take possession oil any
territory in this continent it was a sort
of implied declaration that we would not
take any possessions in their continent.
If we would reach out into Asiatic ooun-
tries and take the islands there it would
look as though we could not say anything
If European nations. reach over here and
take possession of territory.
There is another thing In this connec-
ton want to talk about. I have seen
in good many religious papers, and
heard in few sermons, that because we
have the best civilization in the world it
was our destiny and our Christian duty
to reach out and make other nations ac-
cept our civilization. 1t seems to me that
the best way we could make our civiliza-
ton of value to others is by example and
not by force. We could make 1t valuable
to the world a great deal better by exam
PIE than by appropriating territory.
Ii 1t had been proposed In Congress- the
LIST OF January to appropriate the Philip
pine Islands, Porto Rico, and Cuba, l be-
lieve it would have been voted down four
to one. Yet the war has developed such
conditions that great many men in Con-
gress as well as out of it are beginning
to think that colonial expansion is before
US. There is very different sentiment
in Congress than there was at that time"
"What is your idea about the proposed
Anglo Saxon alliance as mentioned by
Cham berlain In his speech some time ago
and talked of in this country?" was asked.
II do not believe in formal alliance.
I think George Washington's advice is as
sound today as it was when 1t was given,
to avoid all alliances. At the same time
l believe in an arbitrating tribunal to set
tie all disputes between the two nations.
and also believe in the closest kind Of in
tercourse between them. l think a formal