Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-04-20
A LETTER TO TIE PRESIDENT

Dear Sir. approach you not with tbs
conventional, IL affected, humility
which is expected of those who are
privileged to address tho crowned biz
wigs OF Europe, but with all the
natural frankness, cordiality and case
that ] can command, for | know that,
like the great majority OF public men
In America, you arc no pompous, in
flated humbug. but straightforward,
honest, aud sincere man, ono who,
whatever else may be said of him, has
drawn from the free air in which he
has lived L contempt for outworn
formulas, and q simplicity Of thought
ami manner strangely at variance with
tho solemn posturings Of ancient courts.
You, sir, occupy the highest and tho
noblest position that is open to any
man. by tho votes OF your country.
men, freely givon, you have been
raised to the head of the government
of IS, 000, 600 of free people. You have
not gained brief spell of uneasy
power by blood iied and massacre or.
rnnized for your own advancement,
nor are you President because your
ancestors were rich or great, or emf
nent for successful knavery. BY your
own native grit you have made your
way, until at last the mass Of your
fnllow -citizens gave you their con.
| f.denco and elected you their executive
chief.
But great as your responsibilities
would necessarily be in any case, they
| have been made greater by the cir.
cumstances of the time. Those who in
England have loved and admired the
American people land | may be per-
mittcd to declare myself one of them,
who have gloried in the record Of
their early struggle for freedom, though
it was wrung from the obstinacy and
misfortune OF England herself, who
followed with sympathetic enthusiasm
the course of their fight against slavery
and for the Union, and have looked
to them to carry nigh through the
centuries the banner of good govern.
ment and of civil and religious liberty,
those who, even before tho present
links of affection and esteem were
forged to bind tho two English speak
! ing nations together, have held by
America and all that the name i'm.
piled, rejoice, no doubt, in this mutual
good will. but are forced To pause
! before they commit themselves 10 a
complete sympathy with all that is
! springing from Americas recent vic.
tories. No intelligent man will, |
think, deny that the time had come
to put al end to Spanish misgovern.
ment in Cuba. On that point We il
l and while the fight lasted. and othe
! nations looked on with cold indiiIer
Q ence or undisguised enmity. we
any rate were with our kinsfolk hear
and soul. But now we hesitate. W
remember the declarations solemnlA
made when the war began, we still
, hope it may be possible to fulfill them,
D but We have In admit, with an OK
perience of similar declarations made
q by ourselves and others that the Lor-
k tents give but small warrant for our
|, hope.
n And hero may acknowledge that it
II would be mere impertinence for me
$ or for any other man to intrude Eng
|, lish opinion into n question that ey
J. clusively concerns the American people.
But | note that there are many sober,
earnest anil public spirited men in
America who look with disfavor upon
NJ this new tangled policy of imperial
expansion for the United States. They
"a do not seem to hear as others do thu
Is voice of manifest destiny calling
u upon America to govern the Philip
m pine Islands. and to subiugate thelI
Ia native inhabitants; they cannot per
s. suade themselves that it is necessarily
good to be what is called ''world
at power, and thus to plunge head frs
O. into the hot bed of interuationa
l. iealousies; they refuse to believe tina
nations stability and power mus
depend on the number of armed mel
that she can array, or that it is tn
| es. - ..,Fn 10.
a. itself chiefly about its own affairs
II. America, they say, is great becaus
10 her government is based on liberty
re and because lust for glory and groe'
IN for tho land of others have move
4. been hers. There is cant of patriot
et ism as offensive as any other cant
he and its high priests so about tn
%, world staggering and raving ant
s. threatening to cram civilization int
@, backward populations at the point o
,w tho bayonet. They call upon the worl
he to admire their humanity, and thoi
MS disinterosted love of progress, Will
he their pockets bulge with concession
r. and the prospectuses of syndicate
formed to secure q high profit for q
who have skilfully mixed pelf wit
patriotic sentiments. From these sell
he seeking but ingenious hyEocrites, tn
ne old world has suffered. Why shoul
rs, America encourage them to prey upo
ire her vitals!
SO For the solution of these problem
an you must be in largo measure II
S. sponsible, and your position is on
of of no common dilllcblty. You has
ed yet to show that you are strong mar
os- strong, that is, in the sense of IN
10y pressing your own deeplyfet conVl'
i'll lions on your fellow -countrymen, an
ug strong. too, in the ability to set you
self TO stem the current of po.,uli
opinion when you believe it is runDit
in wrong direction. Men who ha'
Ign this sort of strength arc not less ian
or, naturally to error than others, but e
at perience shows that on the who
lge they actually err more rarely and wi
ed. a less disastrous result than those vi
al. are content 10 60 through life II
he jelly fish, swayed hither and thith
his by waves and tides. With regard
lad you, it must be said that on tn
of point We have Us yet no guidance. !
1t does not of course follow that
man is strong because he is homes
skilful, or attractive in manner,
es- even because he has been able
tho frame Il tariff carefully calculated
ide support tho industries Of his own cou
it'll try, while depressing those Of riv
do, nations. But whether you are stro
BIO or not land ono who realizes Amerlca
huge power for good may be permit
to hope that you arel, on the declsle
.. that you are about to take depe
the your oountry's future, her place in !