The San Francisco call., 1898-10-19
IN FAVOR OF
 ANNEXATION.

To the Editor of The Call-Labor ana capital have now common oo!ect to strive for They should shake hanos' Lol get for a time supposed enlnlues' dU work to compass the annexation or Cupa' Porto Rico and the Philippines. Inrousn, out the land the unemployed stalh anu connlain that there is no work by Whlch tbev may put bread into their mouths while the hand of want knocks at the door of many an American home. Irue' ttrnes are better than they have been Tor many wears. and the future Is pleasing 10 contemplate. But even with plehleous crops, mills and factories running anu good markets at home and abroad there are numbers of good men who can ges no work and capital that is not being used to develop enterprises in this lana. A
 Where would the American people pc io- dav among the nations had her popula, ton @ been Confined to the thirteen original States of the Union? It mas peen & Liie constant opening up of new terrltory, BY ing men opportunities and deVeloplhs new resources that has made this, m HGny a ways. the greatest nation on earth. 1ne yolith of to-day claim that they nave Ilol great as had their fathers and grandIat1- ers: that lands are now taken up, nelos for enterprise once new now ocCupiesG s 9 DS the pioneers who cut thelr way u ,Iaine iesin and fortune through the hills ana plaIss and valleys of the great West ana NoIIn west. Alaska has recently furnlsheo field for the hardy ana sn1d aiLpi'fpu, rom the frozen north is making money "easier. All Old World nations have had 10 open up new fields for their citizens he" ii1''i kets for their manufactures. ...r
 It is true that America IS m tor, pst[rv nosi+ion to-day than ever III her history as far as markets for ,tpe ner proauysd e creditor instead of O debtor nation, put tnets @ ,t many centuries ahead of this country, IL Is to be hoped and ben19s9s the lmoS oppor nrice within the reach of the American of tomorrow as well as Ieslsia'e Aoi '0 American of to-day.
 What has Spain done to develop any or her possessions? Every recent writer mas nas told how her oppression mas srngf 5xnaIth to lie dormant, awaiting the magic touch or enterprise. Rich in everything that makes aks have been weaned through the oppression of the mother country are ht 4elos d95 American capital, and labor: It would nd was calling to America to till these gar den spots of the earth. Aside from their strategic importance the three island col worth is hard to estimate at this time.
 England has by her colonial system opened new fields for her men and her now in controversy before the Peace Commissioners at Paris are oapaple or self-government the future will prove.
 
 how many thousands of Americans must be taken from this land to run the gov ernnental machinery? Citizens and scl- Ciers will be given employment Compe- tence and not political ''pull'' should gov ern the selection of those chosen to look out for American interests, if the colonies are run as such, and in this we cannot do better than to carefully study English methods Certainly Yankee ingenuity will improve them in time. but systems that have proved their worth should not be thrust aside. Even the work of ex- amining candidates for colonial offices and the more rigid the examination the better-would furnish employment for many at home
 Who to-day regrets the Louisiana pur- chase?
 Has not Alaska, after looking for years like a useless piece of furniture, proved a carpet of gold?
 An American wants not elbow room alone, but he wants to be able to reach out about him at arms length and grab anything good in sight. He wants op- portunity; Give the boys of to-day. and those of tomorrow fresh fields for inge- nuity and enterprise. JOHN CRAIG.
 San Francisco, October Is, 1898.