The San Francisco call., 1899-08-17
ENTERPRISING CAPITAL.

N line with the very intelligent and interesting IN
tervlews OF the returned volunteers as to the phy-
siography of the Philippines are the descriptions
that come to us of physical conditions IN the West
Indies OF course there is nothing new IN all this.
1t was exploited by Won Humboldt by Darwin,
Draper and score OF naturalists long ago 1t was
learned in the hard school of experience by the
Scotch Darien Company and the Acadian refugees to
French Guiana. The wealth OF the world has always
been in the temperate It's poverty has enjoyed
nakedness luxury in the tropics.
Money may prosper in the torrd zone, because
men do not. The wages of labor there are fixed by
the cost OF living, and that is fixed by the spon-
taneous fruits OF nature and climate that makes
clothing superfluity.
Enterprsing capital has been quick to this and
English syndcates have promptly taken advantage OF
the necessity OF Cuban planters by buying all the
good tobacco lands in the island Their investments
therein now amount to $Io,ooo,ooo and their agent
has recently said You Americans will hereafter buy
your tobacco OF Engshmen"
Professor Knapp OF the Agricultural Department
at Washington, who made voyage OF investigation
to the Philippines and reported that they offered un-
limited opportunities to the American home seeker,
conradicted that rosecolored estimate by reporting
that English syndicates on the ground getting
title to all available hemp, sugar and tobacco lands.
This is quite without precedent Our people have
been Busy with the war; which is to put the West
Indies and the Philippines in possession, while
the financial enterprise of Englishmen has been
taking in everything that would make that possession
of value to us. The English avoided investments
under the flag of Spain and one motive OF the Brit
ish Government in holding Continental Europe at
bay while we dispossessed Spain the desire that
we should bag the game that her capitalists might
eat it.
As our conquests have been put on the material
level entirely it is something of disappointment to
find that the profits expected by own people are
already permanently secured by the English. Those
who own the soil OF a tropical country are the
masters OF the profits OF its trade The sole of
producing wealth in the tropics is the handling OF
the soil, Manufacturing is not torrid zone posi-
bility beyond the simplest forms. The soil is about
the only source OF wealth
The people OF the United States seem to be placed
in the rather peculiar condition of spending life and
money to make secure the ownership of tropical soil
by foreigners and to increase and safeguard the
profits to aliens who will work it by cheap labor in
competition with our better paid white labor at
home!
The profits of Englishmen in the English crown
colonies have been decreasing for years There they
must administer government and pay its costs 1t
has become necessary therefore, that they shall lay
their eggs in a nest built by others, and they have
played the cuckoo trick the United States.
Not long ago the people of this country resented
the ownership of realty in the United States by Eng
Hshmen, and this resentment went far that Cali
fornia adopted amendment to her constitution to
prevent such ownership in this State.
Surely it is a marvellous change for the same peo-
pie to be paying the cost of an expensive war and
sending their to perish in its battles to open
property to the prompt ownership OF English capital
and stand guard over while it yields the high profit
OF low-priced labor to its alien owners!