The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-02-14

United States Be Now but for Its
| Prompt Acceptance of the DeaI
Made With Napoleon, who Fore
| saw the Greatness of the Conn
| try Coded to- the United States.
| A good-sized audience gathered in
the house of representatives at the
capitol last evening to listen to an
address by N. P. Langford upon the
Louisiana Purchase
| A meeting of the executive council
of the Historical society took place
earlier in the evening. Matters of a
routine nature were disposed of. w.
j. Munro, of Norris, was elected to
| membership in the society
The Semi-centennial anniversary of
| the society will be celebrated with an
propriate exercises next November.
The committee having the programme
In charge reported progress. The fiji
| tieth anniversary of the state. as a
territory, will be doubtless observed at
the same time, although the dates Of
both anniversaries are not coincident.
Mr.. LangfOrd reviewed the history
OF the Louisiana purchase as follows:
On the LIST of October, 1900. a treaty be-
tween France and Spain was concluded at St.
| the following words
His Catholic majesty promises and en-
| cages to retrocede to the French republic, six
months after the full and entire execution of
the above conditions and stipulations re,a-
| tive to his royal highness the Duke of Parma
the colony or province of Louisiana. with the
same extent that 1t now has in the hands
| OF Spain, and that 1t had when France pos
sessed 1T, and such as 1t ought to be after
the tns treaties subsequently gu entered into be-
france being at war with England when
this treaty was concluded, it was carefully
concealed. lest England. then mistress OF the
| seas, should take the country from her
1t IS not surprising that the public men
| of that day should have feared the consa-
que 11 OF charging , our republican domain.
troubles which they had just escaped by the
purchase of New Orleans and the mouth of
the Mississippi 1t unsettled the ideas they
| had formed Of a constitutional government
| Ihey could not see. as We can in this day
of railroads and telegraph. how such an i'm
mense territory was to be subordinated TO III.
| control of a single general government. The
| speech Of James White Is a fair reflex of
| the views entertained by the leading public
| men OF that day. Speaking of the treaty, he
says:
| We have already territory enough. and when
! contemplate the evils that may arise
| from this intended incorporation of Louisiana
into the Union, l would rather see it given
to France. to Spain, or to any other nation
| of the earth, upon the mere conditions that
| no citizen of the United States would ever
| ritcry sold for hundred millions of dol
lars, and we retain the sovereignty. I"
| And l do say that, under existing circum-
| stances. even supposing that this extent of
! territory was a desirable acquisition, fifteen
millions of dollars was a most enormous
| sum to give"
This enormous sum" was less than three
cents an acre for this immense domain, which
! had. in 1880, as shown by the United States
census, population of over 100000 of
people, and. to say nothing of its yield Of
gold silver copper. coal and lumber, whose
agricultural products alone in 1885, amounted
to $345, 000, 000 .tE-
which Mr.. White feared would follow the
crossing Of the Mississippi river, for the
purpose of settlement, found expression in
a resolution presented in congress, declar-
ing that any American citizen who should
cross the Mississippi river for the purpose
| Of settlement, should, by that act, forfeit all
claim to the protection of his government.
The questions which are now engrossing
the attention of the country concerning the
acquisition of new territory are not new ques
tons. The history of one hundred years
ago is today repeating itself in every essen
/ tial feature. The q arg uments of today are
those of a century ago. e-9-5s3e la- -
The fears entertained by our early states
men are all forgotten. have recalled
them. not to illustrate any deficiency in the
but to show how remarkable has been the
progress of improvement, discovery and in
vention. by which we have been enabled to
incorporate not only the great Louisiana
I
into the government of the great republic,
without endangering its safety and without
any amendment to the constitutio.
The doleful predictions of a century ago,
like those are today hearing were born
of fear and timidity which are inimical
to great progress; and they represent men
tai attitude which is not fitted to grapple
with new problems.
Standing in the valley of the Mississippi
and casting our eyes over the Louisiana
purchase to this we point with pride as the
latest and noblest illustration of our re-
publican system of government, But beyond
this West which We SO much admire and
eulogiZe. there has come to us in the islands
Of the Pacific. another West. where the real
work Of development is just commencing;
land whose rugged features civilization with
all its attendant blessings will soften. and
where man, educated, intellectual man, will
plant upon foundations as firm our noun
tains all the institutions of a free, enlight-
ened and happy people; a land where all the
advantages and resources of our West Of
yesterday will be increased and varied by
educational. industrial and social develop
ment to extent that has known no parallel,
and that will fill the full measure of Berke-
ley's prophecy: -
Westward the course of empire takes its
way .
The first four acts already past
A fifth shall close the drama with the day.
Times noblest offspring is the last"