Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1898-10-05

HISTORICAL FACTS FOR THE
YOUNG MEN OF INDIANA.
An Open Letter From Maurice
Thompson on the Ultimate Dis
position ofthe Once Span
ish Colonies.

The following is an abstract OF an
open letter OF Maurice Thompson 70
young Americans recently published
II displays in high degree the spirit OF
Americanism that is arising out Of the
war with Spain:
To the young Ilen of Indians have
something to say. and l should be glad If
every young mar in America could hear
me. " ho are the young men? As /
would define youth they are the men who
have young minds, young hearts, young
feelings. no matter what their age in
years A man of 50 is young if he still is
open TO conviction, to new ideas. to wfole-
some change OF view, to the broadening
influence of progress Any man is old.
though not yet II. who content to I've
upon the past and Is unwilling to accept
new conditions and new ideas. With this
understanding OF what | mean when say
that yoIng men must control the future
of America, 1 respectfully ask young fnen
of Indiana between the ages of Is and 50
to give me a hearing. purpose TO dssai
IN facts
Search Light Of HistoFy.
And first, few historical facts about
conquest. You have seen in certain news.
PtpSfS tDt >ts&tSiiitEt OF tOFiu Vi VIC -
called friends of Cuba" to the effect thas
ii is mot American to make conquest Of
territory or TO be guilty of land grabbing. s
But boldly say that the history of our
country is a history of land grabbing
from its beginning TO his hour. Am /
right? Let us see. How did We get
Massachusetts? How did we get Virginias
Go TO your histories and read how we took
them by bloody conquest from the In
dams who held them by irnmenorial right
of possession. To come home, how did we
get Indiana? Go read the history OF the
Miami people. the biography of Tecumseh.
We took Indiana by conquest from a
noblcr race than the large majority of Gu
bans. How did we acquire our great
southwestern territory including Texas
New Mexico and California;? A right
bloody little war was the main influence.
We whipped Mexico and took territory
from her
We hear the phrase consent of the gov
erned" banded about by the opponents
of progress. who tell Us that il Is an in
sd 81 American history and character to
propose a government for Cuba without
first gaining the consent of the Cubans.
Again. the very foundations of American
history are against the oracles. The In
dams never consented 10 the erection of
the American government, yet it was
erected The Spaniard- and Frenchmen
OF Louisiana, the coloatstr and creoies
from the Old world who actually owned
Louisiana We're never asked to consent To
the annexation of that territory. They
were. in fact, bitterly opposed to it; but
we TOOK them by purchase and governed
them. willing or unwilling. 1t was the
same with Florida Neither the Spanish
and Frerch inhabitants nor the original
of EFnfila hA ~an,ipnia.
gave their consent to our occupation, but
we took TIE territory and governed it web
And here again the intelligent young man
will take he cue Of history and go on dis
covering that it has not been chan acter
istically American to apply the rule of the
consent of the governed in all cases.
But there is a tremendous instance md
example in our recent history which set
Ties forever what we nation think OF
the consent of the COVE ned as a uni.
versal maxim Every state of this Union
south of the Ohio river broke away from
our government Cuba has done from
Spain and formed the confederate states.
The people of those states refused to give
their consent to be governed from Wash.
ington But the United States govern
ment by a terrible war settled it that the
people OF those states had to he governed
from Washington whether they consent
ed or not. Florida and Louisiana and
Texas came into the Union in the first
plac, without the Legal consent of theiI
inhabitants; they went out with their
consent and were thrashed back into the
Union without their consent. This is his
tory and hiStor, is more convincing than
editorials. Who of us doubts that time
has proven the wisdom of forcing u con
seLt Of the governed" where it was for
their good?
What Was the Promise?
You have heard and seen it reiterated
IN season md out of season. our solemn
promise" that we would not annex Cuba
What solemn promises To whom was 1t
made. and here. and how? The so called
promise was a par of the congressional
resolution passed just before war was de
clared 1t reads thus:
THAT tho United States hereby dis
claims any intention To exercise sover-
eighty. jurisdiction or control over said
Island CUBA, except for the pacitlcation
thereof, and asserts its determination,
when that is accomplished. TO leave the
government and control of the island to
its pc pie.
Taken by itself, without historical ex-
p'anation this resolution Is clear state
ment of "ur governments attitude toward
Cuba But again history Is more potent
than editorials The joint resolution, OF
which the above is the final paragraph
was passed on april 10 and WAS sent to
Minister Woodford at Madrid on the goth
But Woodford was peremptorily dis
missed before he could hand Sherman's
dispatch to the Spanish government.
This was accepted as a declar:it ton OF war
ON SPANS part, and Ii changed the whole
situation. We We're now compelled 20
turn from contemplating peaceful set
e.