The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-10-24
PEACE THROUGH CIVILIZATION.

Governor Roosevelt, besides being a stu
dent Of history, is an original thinker, and
when he speaks he generally says some
thing for other people to think about. In
his speech at Cincinnati Saturday night
he advanced an idea which. if not entirely
original, is at least a new presentation Of
an old subject. Discussing the situation in
the Philippines he said: Remember that
expansion is not only the handmade OF
greatness. but, above all, 1t is the hand
maid Of peace" Applying this idea he
argued that every advancement of ~civiliza-
ton and every substitution of superior for
inferior government, of stable government
for revolutionary or semi-savage govern
ment tends to the preservation of the
peace Of the world. He maintained that
the day when universal peace is possible
can only come when the nations of the
world have grown civilized. "The whole
history of our century" he said. shows
a diminishing tendency to war between
civilized powers. and shows also that the
existence of a savage or barbarous state
inevitably means war sooner or later.
Every expansion Of a civilized power is a
conquest for peace" Bringing the argu-
ment home directly to an Ohio audience
he said:
If we had refused to expand over the
West do you think that the West would be
peaceful now? If, instead of your fore
fathers settling here in Ohio, you had left
Ohio to the Indians do you think the coun-
try would have had peace? Indeed, il
would not. Just so long as there was an
independent Indian power on your borders
you were exposed to the certainty Of con-
stantly recurrent war.
On the same principle he argued that
the establishment of free government in the
Philippines and the extension of the area
of civilization would, by SO much, add to
the influences making for universal peace.
This is a broad and philosophical view
of the subject. Anti-expansionists may
laugh at the idea OF laying the ounda-
tons of peace by war. and Mr.. Bryan may
talk fippantly about the folly of trying to
shoot civilization into the F~ilipinos, but the
fact remains that peace is an outgrowth
of civilization and that some OF the great
est advances of civilization nave been made
through war. From a near view war is
he'll and an unmixed evil, but thus far In
i II n4SlOly VI lAC hQi4ian IdCC IL 1IdS
seemed to be- the necessary Feature Of the
evolution which is finally to bring about
universal peace. Doubt not through the
ages one increasing purpose runs says
Tennyson. AS far as human vision can
| perceive that increasing purpose or divine
plan is to bring about a survival of the
fttest by the successive humiliation OF
absorption Of inferior races by superior
ones. Of savagery by civilization and OF
lower civilizations by higher. One does
not see the progress of this movement much
in a generation, any more than one notes
the steady recession of Niagara Falls OIL
the gradual subsistence of a continent. But
Ii goes on all the same.
Does it follow. then. that a civilized PEG,
pie may at their option or pleasure make
war on uncivilized peoples and either an
initiate. absorb or subjugate them? BY nc
means; but ii does follow that when a civ
iized nation is, by the force of circum-
stances or overruling Providence, compelled
to choose between advancing along line:
that lead through war towards civilization
and peace or falling back before an in
ferior people and a lower civilization, i
should not hesitate to ADVANCE 1t is liter
ally true, as Governor Roosevelt said. tina
Expansion means not only the extension o
American influence and power; it means tn
extension of liberty and order and th'
bringing nearer by gigantic strides Of thu
day when peace shall come to the whol'
earth"
One OF the speakers at the Chicago anti
expansion conference OF last week said:
Fellow-citizens-I warn you against tn
constant talk about good government. Tn
great principle for which this countr
stands il not good government, but self
government. The American idea is not tina
self-government is necessarily the bes
government; the true American idea Is tina
wherever IL Is at all possible self-govern
ment Is a better thing than the best gov
ernment
This Is plausible but fallacious. In ef
feet 1t argues that the worst possible form
of self-government Is better than the bes
government possible under q superio