Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-11-25

jects for the expenditure Of public
money in converting the United States
into military power. So it seems a
fair guess that the Fifty-sixth Congress
will devote more attention to imperial
list appropriation bills than to anything
else, and that the Republican majority
will be satisfied with passing these
measures, adopting seme SORT OF a cur
rency bin, providing government for
Hawaii. and going home, leaving the
alf-wise Mckinley to deal with the de-
Tendencies as he thinks best. In any
event, the majority will bear watch
ing.
"A RAMPANT IMPERIALIST
is Capt. John Lowe Of the United States
who has just made report on the
Holland submarine torpedo boat that is
valuable indication of the warlike
state OF the imperialistic mind. The
valiant captain draws startling pic
ture of an attack upon the United
States Coasts by some foreign naval
power, in whieh the American feet is
destroyed by. force of superior num-
bers and Long Island captured and con-
Verted into foreign possession. To
avert this calamity, which the CAPTAIN
thinks is no impossible enc, he de-
elares that I'VE need right off and right
now fifty submarine torpedo vessels in
Long island Sound to preserve the
peace and to give potency TO our diplo-
macy" 1t would be Interesting to
know frcm what quarter our peace is
Tow threatened, wherein Our diplomacy
is impotent. and what power this ma
val officer imagines to be able at the
present moment TO send an overwhslm-
ing feet across the water. England
might have done it, but she is now our
friend, though hardly more SO than
several other continental powers. What
does this naval officer mean by recon-
mending a formidable and unnecessary
addition to our defensive ornaments?
His meaning is simply that we should
adopt the European doctrine of pre-
serving the peace by maintaining enor-
nous military establishments instead OF
sticking to the true American doctrine
of attending to our own business and
trusting to the justice of our foreign
policy, the natural strength, not to say
impregnability of our position, and the
vast extent Of our resources, to main
tain peace. Capt. loves theory of de-
tense is European in every sense. 1t
surrenders every tradition of Ameri-
can policy, just as the imperiaiists gen
orally are throwing to the winds ev-
cry political doctrine that has differ
entiated US from the old-world peoples.
The root of difference between Ameri-
can policy and European has always
been that we believed ourselves to be
essentially nation
DEDICATED TO PEACE,
while the peoples of the old world were
as necessarily given over to war. This
difference the imperialists would ex-
tinguish. We are continually being
told that this or that European nation
is doing SO and so in a military way,
and that we ought to be following suit.
There are not wanting even imperialis-
tic admirers of the c0nscript system of
Germany, and there are people who
think military training better than
manual training.
Ideas rule the world, and there is
probably nothing more likely to be pro-
ductive of war in the future than the
incubation of the idea that there is
coming a great conflict of nations which
is to determine the supremacy OF Slav
or Saxon. For long time the war
riors of this country taught us that
England was our great enemy; for a
brief period Germany was given that
place; now Russia is to be our future
foe. Why should such ideas be given
any countenance by intelligent people
outside the army and navy? Washing
ton long ago warned against the dan
ger of cultivating national hatreds.
How much better than imperialistic
twaddle of to-day the advice Of Wash
ington as to the foreign policy OF this
country: "Observe good faith and JUS
tice toward all nations; cultivate peace
and harmony with all; religion and
morality enjoin this conduct; and can
it be that coed policy does not equally
enjoin it,"
SPEAKING OF RUSSIA
a reDort has been received by the
State Department from Minister Con-
ger at PeEin relating TO Russian plans
for the improvement of Talien-Wan,
which is to be a free port to all the
world. A great city has been project
ed at Talien- Wan with docks, rail-
ways, sanitary improvements and ev-
cry modern facility for the transaction
Of commerce. This does not look much
as il Russia were a worse civilizer than
England in north China. nor does it
afford any reason for our keeping
big feet in Chinese waters in order TO
give our traders a chance to sell calico
to the Orientals.