The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-27
], ], VALENTINE
SPEAKS AGAINST
ANNEXATION
Says We Do Not Need
the Philippines.
EXPANSION Is CRITICIZED
LORD THRESHOLDS ADVICE NOT
TRUSTWORTHY.
Speaker Declares That yellow Jour
nalisrn" Is One Of the Evils
Fostered by the Late
War.
EXPANSION is CRITICIZED
LORD THRESHOLDS ADVICE NOT
TRUSTWORTHY.

BERKELEY, Feb 2e.-Imperial De-
mocracy is an ill-adyised policy, conceived
in ignorance, fraught with hidden
dangers, backed by sophistical argu-
ments and prompted by questionable mo-
tives-such Is the view of ]. J. Valentine,
president of the Wels-Fargo Express
Company. 1t was the substance of a
very forcible lecture delivered before a
large audience in the First Congregational
church on Dana street tonight.
Mr.. Valentine entitled his address I'm
perial Democracy-The Annexation of the
Philippines" and though asking his
listeners for their indulgence for express
ing opinions somewhat at variance with
the trend of popular political ideas, held
their attention closely for over an hour.
He quoted largely from carefully COM
piled statistics and views of eminent au-
thorities, weaving them into the argument
which formed his discourse.
THAT colonization has heretofore been
unsuccessful the speaker began, is
seen from the fact that three-fourths of
the people engaged in colonial service are
worn out In five years. The disastrous eff
feet OF tropical climates weakens and de-
bilitates the white race, rendering it quite
unit for active service. Frances colonies
are failure. SPANS possessions have
completely ruined the mother country:
sickness, squalor. misery and debt is ali
they have to show for the greed of con-
quest.
a wears
to rise from the level of beasts to men; it
took just fifteen minutes for men to fall to
the level of beasts when the lust of war
swept over the nation last summer. That
war developed from four sources-yellow
journalism and hysteria, vengeance and
ferocity, militarism and despotism, igno-
rance, ambition and greed. The contempt
ibility of its origin has recently been
brought to light by state documents which
show that few days before the declara
ton of hostilities Spain had ceded prac-
tically all that we have since gained by
bloodshed, and that had we been forbear-
ing, the force of words would have done
what swords were called upon to do. for
the flag Of Spain would have come down
without SO much as the report of a sin
gle gun. Nevertheless we have the hertz
age of our strife, and now we propose to
carry the work of infamy one step fur
Their by inaugurating policy of despotic
colonization, the annexation of the Philip
Notwithstanding Lord Beresford to the
contrary, the islands can never be sub
ject of interest to our people. They be-
long to Asia and can never be made an
integral part of the United States. Lord
/ Beresford is an English royalist, and car
rying his principles out we should under
mine our Government merely to attract
the attention OF European monarchs and
join In the groveling, grabbing contest
which they are carrying on. We might
adopt imperialism. but would that be IN
accordance with representative govern
ment?
dwell at some length upon the unconsu-
tutional consequences which, he declareo,
would follow such a course as Philippine
annexation. He stated also that the
country was as yet quite unfit and still
more unprepared to attempt SUCH an
undertaking. Turning to commercial adj
vantages, he continued:
at is q mistaken notion that CONNER
cial growth follows territorial expansion:
that the acquisition of land in the Orient
is going to swell the volume OF our trade
there England. France and Germany In
their colonial history have demonstrated
this Their export trade is rapidly fal-
ing off; ours is as rapidly increasing. Why
don't their colonies prevent this? Be
cause such a notion is contrary TO all the
laws Of trade That trade follows the
flag is an absurd notion. born of popular
jingoism. Our commercial position Is as
sured without grabbing the land of alien
peoples.
BESIDES if we need territory in the
Orient, why not conquer Korea and so
establish a base of trade which shall be
somewhere near the center of distribu-
ton along the Asiatic coast? What
earthly use can the Philippines be to US,
situated as they are, miles and miles
away from the southernmost center of
European trade in Asia. No distribution,
vet we expect commercial advantages of
a permanent kind from Manila
"In conclusion, the course which we are
facing is quite devoid of anything like ma
nishing thousands of soldiers, when we
know that all this vast expenditure of
money must be paid in the end by taxing
the people? With the experience of other
colonizing countries before us. with the
despicable origin of our expansion policy,
with imperialism and all its consequences
facing us. with no commercial benefits
likely to follow, taken together with our
racial unfitness for the work, where is
either the advantage or the glory that