The record-union., 1899-08-06


which have the foresight and the good
!, fortunes to spread over the globe.
! He then considers how it may be
with us by pointing out that Great Br,-
tain with what she possesses and has
under mortgage in Africa and Asia Will
have an empire Of 100000 square
miles, or a third of the land of the
earth. Russia has territory sufficient
/, and in view to warrant the figure Is,
100000 square miles. The two there
| fore will take in nearly two-thirds of all
the land of the earth. What is left
for the United States as a world Power
He comforts US with the thought that
with Hawaii and Porto Rico we have
3,613,127 square miles. If we hold the
Philippines our total will be 3, 727, 453
square miles. If 4 Cuba gravitates
| toward us with our lesser West Indian
possessions exclusive of Porto Rico we
will have about 100000 square miles
of territory.
The barely hints at the possible union
of Canada and Mexico with the United
| States, but that is too remote and inn
probable a thing to be treated with the
gravity with which the essayist ham
/ dies his subject. But even with these
countries added to ours we would still
be third in territorial extent. Practi-
cally, however, for the advancement of
the race and the uplifting of civiliza-
ton as represented by American ideals,
we think Canada can be counted as a
force cooperating with us nearly as
closely as if united to us-if not now,
such will eventually be the case.
Mr. Moffett considers the reunion of
| the English speaking race possible
alternative which, if it ever comes to
pass, will make us sharers in a domin-
ion of 100000 square miles COM
handing all seas and embracing half
| the population of the world.
| The essayist adds:
In default of these reSources-if we
| neither acquire Canada and Mexico nor
unite with our English speaking kins-
| men-our position under the coming
! definite world settlement will be SIM
pie. We shall hold a respectable, and
even secure, but modest position as the
! third of the three great Powers. Our
territory will be between fourth and
| third of that of Russia, and some
what less than fourth of that of the
British empire. All we can pick up
In the way of stray islands here and
| there will be SO utterly insignificant, in
the presence of the carving of CONT
nents that is going on before our eyes,
| that to dignity it with the name of i'm
perialism is trifiing with words. If
we have acquired few hundred square
miles in the Ladrones, a few thousand
in Hawaii, or even a hundred thousand
or SO in the Philippines, we are far from
becoming imperial, as that term will
be understood in the world settlement.
We are merely reducing in a micro
scopic degree the inevitable preponder-
ance against us that will exist when the
world is permanently partitioned.
The thought of the paper is, and it
interests Us by its ingenuity. that when
we discuss national expansion we must
do so always in the light of a momen-
tuous fact, the greatest, most profound
| ly significant that has ever confronted
the human race-namely, that the
movements now in progress are about
to settle definitely, for the first time in
history, the International relations OF
| the whole earth.
1 That is, a few Powers are to be chiefly
dominant over the fifty million square
miles of land of the globe. The Brit
ish Empire now covers 100000, Rus
STA controls 1864, 100, China will be di-
vided very soon between England Rus
STA, France and Germany Half Of the
remainder Is held by the United States
| France, Brazil and Turkey-which he
thinks will surely be absorbed and dis
appear as Power-and the Argentine
| Republic.
| At present fve4eighths of all. the land
of the globe belongs to Great Britain
France, Russia and Brazil. Brazilian
! bulk will be preserved by the United
| States; the French colonial possessions
will be held by consent of England, the
! OCiIiiudHL Sed IOWeT, anu UnuS the vast
| bulk of the earth's surface will be
controlled by Great Britain, Russia and
| the United States. OF course, as he
says, when this comes to pass there
will be complete transformation of the
principles of prudent national policy
But that we need not now consider.
The idea of Mr.. Moffett concerning
China does not hinge with that of Mr.
Barrett, whose papers on the Orient
where he has so long resided, and OF
| which he has made such close study
have created SO much interest. For
Mr.. Barrett insists that China must
not be dismembered and portioned out
| and he urges that our duty is and
must be to prevent that possibility,
though he does not suggest that we
| should engage in war to have Chin
csc integrity assured. He does, how
ever, insist that in our absorption con
corning the Philippines there is dan
ger of overlooking our great interests
in China.
These are too important, too rapidly
growing to be neglected or suffer from
oversight. Our commercial possibili-
ties in China, he insists, will soon over,
shadow and outstrip our advantages in
| noSSeSsiner the PHILIPPINES under the