The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1898-06-21
Territorial Extension.

Elk Senator John ]. ingalls, has
contributed something to the lit
erature world on the subject of
territorial extension now receiv-
ing so much attention in this
country. He takes the ground
that the time has come for us to
expand. The following are some
extracts from his article on the
subject
when the Mayfower dropped
anchor in Plymouth harbor 278
years ago there was not so many
English speaking people in the
world as there are inhabitants
now in the State of New York.
"When Shakespeare wrote
Hamlet twenty years earlier
there were not more than 5000,
900 people on earth to whom the
language of the soliloquy was
not a foreign tongue. In less
than three centuries this pre-
cinct and suburb of mankind has
extended its portals till those
who speak the language of Shak-
espeare control the destines of
10000, 900, and the political
ideas of more than a fourth part
of the land surface of the planet.
We are impelled by an irresisti.
BILE impulse to rule, to govern, to
conquer, to communicate the
principles and practices of self
government, to organize society,
to make history, to regenerate
mankind. The territorial extern
sion of the United States from
the colonial period has been
hindered and INSTRUCTED by
Spain. Beyond the Mississippi
was the dominion of Spain to the
Pacific. She is our ancient, in
veterate and implacable enemy.
She refused free navigation of
the Mississippi, protested against
the sale of Louisiana by Napol-
con, retained Mobile, ceded Flor
ida under duress, interfered with
the annexation of Texas, and has
made her Cuban relations per-
petual cause of irritation and
menace. President statesmen
have long felt that war with
Spain was inevitable, and now
that it has come the people will
insist upon a full and final set
Element. 1t has a long account
of intolerable wrongs, and there
must not only be satisfaction for
the past, and idemnity for the
present, but immunity for the
future.
ITO suppose that we shall re-
linquish the Philippines and
Cuba and Porto Rico is to forget
the ruling passion of the Anglo
Saxon race. In the last century
we have by purchase and by war
added to our territory nearly g.
6OO,O 900 square miles, an area
more than three times greater
than our original boundaries.
"Since the Mexican conquest
and the Gadsden purchase and
the Alaska concession, we have
ceased to acquire, not because
the appetite was lost, but because
we had enough. But now we
have built up the empire of the
west, and the public domain is
exhausted. Not an acre upon
which wheat or corn can be rails
ed without irrigation remains for
presumption or homestead set
Element. Our population is be-
coming congested in great cities.
and the crisis predicted by Mac
aulay seems to be approaching.
when it might be necessary to |
sacrifice liberty to preserve civil.
cation.
"These fertile islands. now al. |
most In state of nature. with |
their enormous capacity for pro
ductlon undeveloped, will offer
an open domain over which sur
plus population can diffuse itself.
give new fields for enterprise:
stimulate commerce; furnish on,
portunities for capital; provide
markets from which we are now
excluded; put an end to our in.
sularity and provincialism and
place us on an equal footing in
the fraternity of nations"