The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-11


Upon the purchase of the province of
Louisiana In 1903, a speaker on the floor
OF the United States senate sail that this
unbounded world. that is, the province of
Louisiana, could not be incorporated into
the Union without altering the constitu-
tion;. that citizens two or three thou
sand miles from the capital would scarce
ly feel the rays of the general govern
ment: that they would gradually be
alienated and view US as strangers. Was
imperialism reSorted to to meet the
pressing and perpleXing exigencies of the
case?
when Josiah Quincy, in 1911, upon the
admission of the state of Louisiana, in
the house of representatives. predicted
the consequent deathbloW to the conSCi
tuition. when. as he said. Senators and
representatives from the Red river and
Missouri would pour in upon the floors
OF congress and attempt to manage the
concerns of a seaboard fifteen hundred
miles away from their residence, when
this prediction of Josiah Quincy was lis
regarded, was an empire then set UP?
w hen. in 1874, upon a proposition to
establish d military post in Oregon. il
was urged that Oregon if acquired would
be but colony. and colonial policy was
contrary to our constitutions; and when
in 1913 the Oregon question again came
up and the Rocky mountains lent forcs
TO the natural boundary argument and
arithmetical calculations as to the cost
of protection. soldiers and guns, and the
rights of inferior tribes were discussed.
did this continued policy of expansion.
bulk involve Imperialism?
Did 1t take place when the issue arose
in a new form, emphasizing the right of
local Self-goverrment? Certain states put
this right of local self-government and
the right of secession before the larger
principle Of the greatest good to the
grea test number They Were denied 1t by
Abraham Lincoln He forced the rule Of
d nation upon reluctant individuals and
local government. He was called
tErant, but was it the act Of tyrant?
Was he an emperor"
Nor need the extension of our rule to
remote regions be for their subjugation
that is, putting them under the yoke of
excessive taxation and permanent disen-
reimbursement.
This has been The dread of some who
have sought to influence those distant
people who have fallen to our care of
late. This is the only idea of colony
which IS likely to possess the mind of
the ignorant. 1t was in this particular
that Gespotfc designs were resisted by us
a the outbreak Of the revolutionary war
What we preltminarily protested against
and what we at first fought against, was
hot being a colony or under foreign rule,
but being tributary and under unreal
SOnable oppression.
We'll do We know that the people of
distant lands are not for us to use solely
for our profit, but for us to protect TO
train and to elevate. It is by 10 means
position to this. Gen. Ludlow's report
from Havana of last month shows that
distrust on the part of the natives OF
cuba mas been either overstated or is
disappearing. Reports from the Philip
pines still conflict, yet even at the worst,
should present INSTRUMENTATION be found
to extend beyond self-appointed Office
holders and leaders who have their price,
the position in which our government has
been put, not altogether by choice, but
by necessity, is one entitled to the conf
dence of American people. We can re-
Spect the authorities and await results
Among those who speak against eX-
pansion as involving imperialism one
class tell us of the degraded peoples we
promise TO annex and the contagion OF
contact, of our ineapacity to elevate and
fit them for freedom. They speak Slight
ingly of a benevolent assimilation policy
We have certainly at hand those who by
guage and in knowledge, are adequate to
refuse these aspersiens, the French Gre
ole of the Mississippi, the Mexican upon
our border. the Hibernians, Teutons and
Poles of our cities. In their tutelage We
have been altogether unsuccessful. SONG
of those who have fearlessly stood by the
Indians as their advocates will today ad-
nit mitigating circumsl ances in their
present condition in spite of the misfor-
tunes and wrongs under which they have
suffered. They have been protected from
torturing, and killing and eating each
other Their children have the privileges
OF government schools. Some more for
tunate and thrifty have the right of
franchise i'll local government. Some have
tan religion. Among those who have
stood as the advocates of the black man
there are those who DO not deny that
there is a process of elevation fairly I'M
our government. and that he has more
privileges accorded to him than would be
possible under most governments
Then there is the other class who dwell
upon the bad influences we are likely to
exert upon an already educated and en-
Hghtened people, more especially those
who are said to be in the Philippines, and
who are alleged to be capable of work
ing out their own salvation. As to this
latter class We allege that if our govern
ment, national, state and municipal is as
hopeiessly bad and rotten as it is repre-
scented to be there should not only be no
expansion, but 70 republic. If with our
bosses and ward politics to follow our
soldiers, there are to be no compromising
well, then let US cali back Otis. Our gov
eminent is not perfect. Our schools and
charities and morals have their faults,
but they are the best the world knows"
AN EXPANsIONIsT ANYWAY.
Col. Bradley NJ. Thompson said the IN
ference might be that following Rev.
Clark he should speak in the affirma i've
of the question. He, however was an
he was an imperialist. Expansion did
not involve imperialism. The gen raj
government had now all the power con-
ferred on it and no change in the form
of government was needed. Imperial
ism was nothing more than a hallucina-
ton. 1t was essential to a nation to
have the power to declare war and make
peace. and a nation which did mt have
this power was not a nation. Each of
the colonies had the power when Eng
land recognized them The United
States still had the right. and also that
to acquire territory and govern 1t after
acquiring it. There need not be any
change in the constitution. Every law
for the territory which was now the
state of Minnesota was made without
the consent of the people of the terri
tory. Nor did the people of the then
territory have anything to say about
the judges and minor officers appointed
to govern the territory. The form OF
government had existed fer years in
Alaska. The powers that gave could
take away, as was instarcsd in Utah
The territorial government was taken
away in Utah for several years ard it
should have been extended l9nger. FIX
pansion has not made Imperialism nece>-
sary. The situation of the territory did
not make it necessary to change the
constitution. The distinguished speaker
from New York stated that thu Philip
pines We're too distant. 1t was pcss bic
that the speaker did not object to ex-
pansion near BY, but he objected to ter
ritorial courtship and expansion at
distance Distance was measured BY
time, not by the yard stick. 1t used
to be that in Michigan distance was
measured by OK carts. Then twenty
miles was a days travel. Today LOCO
miles was a days.trave. Tcday Manila
was nearer New York than was San
Francisco or New Orleans when ac-
CURED by the United States. 1t took 1T
that time to garrison New Orleans and