The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-02
THE TRUE IMPERIALISM
THE PEOPLE or THE PRESENT ARE
THE GOVERNMENT OF TODAY.
It Is Too Late to Talk Against Ex-
mansion. and the COIIapsionists Are
Not and VIII Not Be Popular.


tons and wrote some Singuldrly wise CIll~
cism upon our social, political and domestic
institutions. Not a few of her remarks
which at the time she uttered them were
received as but the spiteful structures of
deaf and unhappy woman, now stand af-
firmed by time, as prophecies fulfilled in
due season. In speaking of the vital prin-
ciple upon which our government is sphered
she said
"A democratic government must always
be left free to be operated upon by the VIII
OF the majority OF the time being
And. in discussing the reason why our
government had not chosen to reserve large
areas of the public domain to itself, in or
der to rent the lanas and thus secure rev.
enue, she said:
The weightiest reason of all is that in
the United States. the people of to-day are
fifty years hence viii be the government OF
fifty years hence, and il would not suit the
people of .o-day to sequestrate their prop
erty for the benef of their successors, any
better than it would suit the people of fifty
years hence to be iegislated for by those OK
to-day"
Edgar A Poe, in one of his snarling para
graphs, divided people into men, women
and Harriet Martineaus," but the fine in
sight of a truly great mind does not depend
upon the classification of sex or the dicta
of splenetic criticism for its certain recog-
nllion: and there never has been a time
when Americans could draw greater COM
fort than they now can from the golden
maxim, THE people of to-day are the gov
eminent of to-day"
The distinguished gentlemen whose politi-
cal doctrine invariably takes the form Of
protesting against progress, the states
men who are always "anti" something
other, and who just at present are anti-ex-
pansionists may be all Jumped together,
and. with due respect for their sincerity,
labeled as the statesmen who contend
that the people of a hundred years ago
should be the government of to-day" These
are the would-be leaders who, with their
faces turned to the rear, gaze fxedly and
yearningly upon the far past quite OBJ
livious of the present day and the fast APP
preaching morrow. These are the gentle
men who would scruple to build an electric
railroad or a telephone without first con-
sulting Benjamin Franklin-these the up-to-
date guides of American progress whom we
find trying to hammer out battle ship armor
plate with George Washingtons Ratchet in
the year 1899!
Precedents are good things when they Of
fer an adequate measure of facts or a COM
petent criterion of judgment Washington,
Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton-those were
men of mighty stature, giants in their day,
and noble models of what a statesman
SIfOuIu De. NO American VINO IS true 10 MS
country is untrue to the spirit of reverent
appreciation with which even the names of
those fathers are spoken and written. But
the people of to-day are the government OF
to-day The stalwart pioneers of the civili-
cation that we now have upon us
'Builded better than they knew,
The conscious stones to beauty grew"
They were God-sent men for their day
and it's needs; we are God-sent men for our
day and it's needs. They laid the solid con-
crete foundation of free government; each
generation must broaden that foundation
and add its chamber to the superstructure.
Washington presided over small area of
country and a meager and unenlightened
Nation, compared with our present mag
nifcent domain and our eighty millions OF
educated, up-to-date, world-leading people.
What his people then needed Washington
gave them. But what need now
must take for ourselves. This is right Each
age has it's exclusive rights, duties serv-
ices. We cannot cast our responsibilities
back upon Washington, Madison and JEFF
ferson, or upon Adams. Jay and Hamilton.
Those of us who would do this are misera-
bic towards, no matter how sincere may be
the impulse that makes our knees tremble.
IMPERIALISM.
A word about imperialism" Certain
tinid souls are objecting to the word but
their very objections carry the unmistakable
quality of timorousness. An imperial ma
ton, in the broad current. sense, is dom
inant nation; imperial civilization is a
controlling civilization. When we say
imperialism we mean just the opposite OF
''provincialism." We mean that our coun-
try has inevitably and irreversbly out
grown its garments of immaturity and Phil
istinism and stands ready to cothe itself
with cosmopolitan virility. Used in this lib
eral sense, the only sense natural to a large
and independent mind. imperialism" is a
word of wholesome and encouraging inhu-
enee, not a word to be quibbled over by
pale-blooded grammarians and academicaI
logologists
But, suppose that to satisfy the squeam-
ishness of the anti people we take "ex-
pansion" as the word What is there in
it to be afraid Of? Our whole history has
been expansion history. Territory after
territory has been annexed. Florida, Lou
isiana, Texas, California the great West,
Alaska, Hawaii speak for themselves. But
Tor expansion, and forcible expansion at
that, our territory and our population, our
national extent and power would to-day be
Insignificant as compared with what they
really are.
1t is too late to talk against expansion.
1t is not a possible issue We have already
expanded The simple question is Shall
we collapse? We have set the sign of our
civilization like glorious star over the
Phlilppines, Porto Rico and Cuba Shall
we haul 1t down? The people of to-day are
the government Of to-day. Cleveland hauled
our nag down in Hawaii but the people
hauled 1t UP again. 1t is up to stay The
people are not in an uncertain mood about
collapsing. The collapsionsts are not
popular I have Travelled well over thirteen
Oh our States since the declaration of war
with Spain, and have made public and pri-
Vate addresses in favor Of expansion. and
nave mingled with the intelligent people Of
CITY, town and country There is really
put one popular sentiment, and President
N1fhiniey touched it with admirable direct
ness and skill when. in speaking of our flag
On the new territories, he said who will
haul it DOWN."
But the colapsionists mote the fitness OF
the name that 1 would fix upon them)-the
coiapsionists (Mr. Bryan collapsed as seen
as ne got out Of the armyl-the collapsion-
.s'S' say are very much in favor of the
mt