The San Francisco call., 1899-04-14
THE PARADOX OF IMPERIALISM.

THE American Law Review for March-April
contains two arguments-one for and the other
against the constitutional right of the United
States to acquire and hold foreign colonies. An
article Expansion and the Constitution, power
fully written, enforces the views OF the question that
have been frequently urged by The Call, and turns
upon proposition generally accepted until the false
hoods and the sophistres of imperialism were inn
pressed into the service OF expatriaed Americans,
which it expresses in these cogeRt terms:
Our instituted Government represents the soyer-
eighty OF nation only in regard to our foreign
relations. 1t is that it exercise the power
of other sovereign nations unless expressly prohibited
by constitution; but the is true, that it
rightully exercise only such authority is
pressly delegated by our constitution.
But an article on "Our Right to Acquire and Hold
Foreign Territories is perhaps the painful illus
tration yet published of the inherent wckedness OF
imperialism. 1t aagrantly reverses doctrine, rarely
questioned in national history, by the assertion
that to external and international relations "the
Federal Government possesses every sovereign power
not expressly prohibited by the constitution. Upon
this radically untrue assumption it bases series of
propositions each accompanied by citations OF ad-
Indicated and each Of which is made to assume
meaning designed by the court from which it
emanated and thus misappled and msused to fortify
conclusion that two short years ago, would have
been denounced reasonable. The writer of the
article supplies our Government with double face,
one beamng this continent with the beauty OF
freedom and equality and the other turned in the
direction of the Orient with the hard and brutal ex
preston of saturated despotism He claims that the
United States can acquire territory in any manner
or in any place, that in such territories the Federal
constitution has application, that they be held
treated used and governed exactly as we please that
the power OF Congress them is more absolute
than any other national property, that within
them the people have inalienabe rights that there
is implication that they shall be guaranteed a re-
publican form of government that taxation and
representation shall be correlative that their nhab
itants not citizens and that there is no require
ment that they shall be converted into States
We have one example at least of the manu-
factured premises, the monstrous perversions the
fasihcatons and the shameless abuse of learning and
OF the reasoning faculty, of which the extreme i'm
peralists capable Every case quoted in the article
in question strengthens the argument that furnishes
the antdote to this aopathic dose of legal prussic
acid. The ngenuities of diabolism are almost un-
limited, but they are easily exposed The Call has
published many extracts from the writings OF states
men and jurists and many historical facts to prove
that the entire structure of imperialism in the United
States is the baseless fabric of vision" Among
the reserved precedents in history there is one
however, to which it is here appropriate to allude
The ordinance OF July I3, 1877, for the government
OF the territory of the United States northwest OF the
river Ohio is still exant in the Revised Statutes of
the United States. In its preliminary declaration
unalterable unless by common consent" its chief
object assigned to provide also for the estab-
lishment OF States and permanent government there
in and for their admission share in the Federal
councils equal footing with the original States
at early period as may be consistent with the
general interest Article declares that the said ter
rtory and the States which may be formed therein
shall forever remain part of the confederacy of the
United States and the ultimate purpose OF the COM
pact expressed in Article 6: There shall be formed
in the said territory not less than three nor more than
FIVE States" The five States including Ohio In
diana and Illinois, formed in compliance with
this blended legislation and contract which has been
substantially followed in the treaties and literally in
the Congressional action through which. by contigu-
territorial accretons the Union has been extend
ed to the Pacific.
Our political machinery will not propel republic
on this continent and empire in Asia and Uncle
Sam while he rejoices in his American children and
in their expanding capacity for self-government will
not borrow the iuggernaut car of Great Britain to
crush liberty and independence among the Fipinos.
@wzzzu--a~-zz4m
For the first time since the birth of the American
republic English and American guns have been fred
at a common foe The sailors OF Uncle Sam and
John Bull have fought side by side a savage enemy
In that conflict have died 1t may be that death
may bring to the two great Notwithstanding nations