Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1898-10-22
SECRETARY HAY ON ALLIANCE.

| OcNSIdl newspapers dLlIlDule TO COLONEL
John Hay the statement that an alliance
between this country and Great Britain is
desirable. 1t would seem almost incred-
ible that Colonel Hay, upon the threshold
of the State Department, should make
such an ill-advised statement. Neverthe-
less, dispatches from different sources in
New York agree in quoting his utter
ances in favor of an Anglo-American
combination
Colonel Hay must realize that as Sec
rotary of State he can have but one legit-
innate rule of action, namely, to admins
ter our foreign affairs for the profit, power
and glory of the United States of North
America. Any purpose conflicting with
this rule can be due only to an entire
misconception of duty on his part.
The glamor thrown around the scheme
for binding our fortunes to the failing
cause of England in Europe ought to be
the last subject to occupy Colonel Hays
attention at the present moment.
He should understand that the dream
of an Anglo-American alliance is cher
ished only by few Anglomaniacs on our
Atlantic seaboard, group of sentimental
mugwumps, and few score of pulpit
diplomatists, and that it has no hold
whatever on the masses of the American
people.
This country has become suddenly
great and powerful by its own efforts. 1t
has brought within its grasp vast posi-
bilities of ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and riches
without the help of any foreign hand. 1t
has reached a plane of unexpected inhu-
ence and strength among the nations of
the earth, and the purpose of its people
is to stand there, of their own volition
and of their own inherent power. without
allowing any other nation to appropriate
to itself the benefits which Americans
fought for and which Americans have
won.
The American people have heard
enough from denationalized dialogues
of the Phelps, Abbott and Schurz class,
who long asserted that America could
become great only through the assistance
of England. They have proved with
their blood and with their money that
they are a great nation, capable of re-
naming great by, of and within them
selves. How preposterous, then, for any
man to come before them with PROPOSE
ton to seek foreign aid that they do not
need in return for American interference
in affairs that in nowise concerns this re-
public.
Col. Hay should turn to the London
Truth of September if he wishes to see
an English refutation of his own utter
ances. Here is frank explanation of
British reasons for trying to implicate
this republic in British difficulties and
sacrifice its interests to British ends:
eve find ourselves cold .shouldered by
the great continental powers of Europe,
and we are terribly affrighted lest our
commercial supremacy in the Far East
should suffer, for they are all competing
with us here, and Russia has secured her.
self land route to China We, there
fore, have been for the last two or three
months suggesting to the Americans that,
as they are our kith and kin, they ont to
join with us in some sort of an alliance.
A country is actuated by its own interests
alone, and a more thoroughly practical
nation than the Americans does not exist
on the globe. Even supposing that they
were to retain the Philippines, they would
do their best to remain friends with all
other nations and the particular ally of
none, for the plain and simple reason
that this is to their interest"
We feel sure that the great mass of
Americans will sympathize with us in the
statement that these words of an English
man would have come with much better
grace from our new Secretary of State
than the unwise and undiplomatic state
ment with which he has saluted the
American people, whose national interest
he has been chosen to safeguard, ex-
and sel6shly, against all COM
ers.-Chicago Inter-Ocean.