Iron County register., 1899-05-11
AGAINST EXPANSION.
Economic Reasons for Discontinue
ance of War.
Prof. j. Laurence Laughlin Talks
Upon the Philippine Situation
mt Chicago Anti-Expan-
sion Meeting.

| SCChC Vi d
against the existing state of affairs in
the Philippine islands and the policy OF
the administration relating thereto
Many prominent speakers were pres
ent, among them being Prof. J. Lau-
renee Laughlin, professor of political
| economy, who said:
'I have great respect for those who diff
! fer from us and who believe that war
| and expansion are just and wise. But
as they have right to their opinions, so
We have to ours, and let US calmly give
the grounds for our beliefs, knowing that
the fairness and intelligence of the Amer
lean people will decide correctly be-
| tween U.S.
I'VE are not now concerned with the
right or wrong of the original war with
| Spain. That is past and gone. We are
| not here to discuss things which cannot
be changed. There is here no need of
words about how we came by the Philip
| pines. We are there to-day as a fact. 1t
| is also a fact that we are in Cuba-but,
thank God, are not distributing liberty
| to CubanS with rapid-firing guns. Why
| are we doing it in the Philippines? Some
| one has blundered there, hence the useless
| explation by thousands of innocent lives
and the consequent sorrow and laneliness
| In thousands of homes.
Have We gone to war only after ex-
| hausting all the arts of diplomacy and
conciliation? No, we have gone to war
first, despising the arts of craftsmanship.
That is why we demand that war should
cease until every device of peaceful nego-
tiation shall be tried and tried in vain.
We went there with uplifted club, saying
We bought you, you belong to us. Sur
render outright or we will Subjugate you
And then because they did just what our
forefathers did at Lexington and Concord
we sent more troops and killed more ma
tives to satisfy our prestige before the
world. How like a coward and a bully
before IL helpless child! Have we forgotten
the attempt of Napoleon 1. to conquer
Toussaint LOverture with veteran bat
talons which melted away before the
fevers of Hayti? Will not the day come
when Aguinaldo may claim a niche in his
tory alongside L'Overture as the defender
of his country?
Trade Reasons Answered.
''They tell us we must stay in the Phil
ippines in order to obtain markets for our
goods and to give us base for our trade
with China and the east. Nay, one expan-
sive nature says: We must expand our
trade even if it costs LOCO, 10000, 100, 900
lives! There you have merciless CONNER
cialism run riot. Is it really true that
America has become soulless statistical
machine to make profit by trade? dave
we no bowels of compassion? Have
nothing left of right, of justice, of honor?
Are we ready to sell good Anglo-SaXon
lives in an indefensible war of conquest
for mess of pottage? Cursed be the
day when that can be said of US! Now,
even if we could gain trade and profit by
such diShonor, there are not words enough
in our vocabulary to express the abhor-
renee we should feel at such immortality.
1t is time to hear the voices of men of
character ring clear and loud in protest
against such a despicable policy.
But if it should prove that in return for
q policy of conquest instead of humanity,
of murderous depopulation instead of
peaceful negotiation, there would be no
profits OF trade to speak of, no expansion
of trade that we might not have other
xr-f-a Oh o-S
of money and life, then the men who have
brought us into this pass ought to be shriv-
eled by public indignation and disappear
from public life.
Increase Begins at Home.
eff we wish to increase our trade with
the Philippines or any other nation we
must look within, not without. Our ab1ll-
ty to sell in competition with others de-
pends upon the richness of our natural
resources, the skill and efficiency of our
laborers, the organization of our indus
tries, the invention and use of machinery.
low cost of transportation by sea and
land a knowledge of foreign markets and
adapta ability to the customs and prejudices
of our buyers Why have the United States
recently taken the lead of the world in
the iron and steel trade? Because of the
abundance and cheapness of our ores, the
wonderful machinery by which it is loaded
into and out of ships, the great capacity
of new transports on our lakes, supplies
of good coal, the new methods of coking
by which the smoke is consumed, produce
ton in large quantities, skillful labor, sci
enti1ic management and low cost of trans
portation. The reason why the bridge over
the Atbara in Egypt for Gen. Kitchener
was awarded to an American firm was
because the above advantages allowed
to build it cheaper and more quickly than
the best firms of Great Britain 1t makes
no difference to our trade who owns the
Nile if we can build the best bridge at the
lowest cost.
why has commerce between our Pa
cific ports and the east greatly expanded
of late? For the reasons already specified.
And because the cotton factories of the
new south are sending their goods direct
ly to the orient across our western states.
Our trade with the Philippine islands de-
pendS far more upon those smoking CHM
neys in the south than upon the rapid-fre
guns of the army. Give US this wonderful
ly low cost of production in the south
where all the materials of the cotton and
iron industries are assembled together by
nature-and our goods can no more be kept
out of foreign markets than water can be
prevented from flowing downhill. Already,
without colonies, our export trade in man
ufactures has increased during 1SS9-1S9S
from $685. COO goo to 1920, 600 900, and our agri-
cultural exports from 1882 100000 to $685.
100000. What greater development could
we ask? In the same years our exports
to China have Quadrupled. If trade is
growing like this, why should we resort
to conquest. when it is likely that conquest
means no gains of trade. but only loss of
life and increased taxation?
Flag Follows Trade.
They tell US. indeed. that trade follows
the flag. 1t would be equally sensible to
say that game follows the hunter or that
the horse follows the cart. You may wave
the flag until its honored stripes have been
worn into tatters or you may cover the
waters of Luzon with new navy, but
you will not increase our trade one whit
unless you have the economic advantages
above enumerated, and if we have them
We will inevitably have the trade with or
without the army and navy. When our
ability to compete in foreign markets is
proved then there our trade will go, and
later our protecting flag will follow.
If, then, there is so little real gain to
be made out of the Philippine trade to
whom would the expansion of our terri
tory be profitable? 1t is quite clear that
the great body of our laboring men could
not continue to live in that climate and
that there is no future there for them.
They can have no lust of conquest, be-
cause from them ars recruited the brave
rank and file who are always paying the
cost of war with precious lives. Moreover,
on them falls a heavy part OF the eNpendl-
ture for war and expansion. The hundreds
of millions OF dollars which the Philippine
islands are costing us must be paid for
by taxes on our shoes, our clothing, our
hats and on our tools of industry. If, then,
the Iahoring class and the taxpayer must
pay for this war, who gains? L answer:
Only he few favored ones who may obtain
public office or concessions for banks, spe-
cial franchises to build and operate street
railways and other similar commercial
privileges That is, the workingmen and
the taxpayer are to be impudently asked
to offer their lives and property that syndi-
Gates may have few more chances to fill
their purses. How long will We go on pa
tiently submitting to this exploitation of
the country for the good of those who are