Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-27

tlon IN the future. 1t Is there that the in
stitutions of this world will be fashioned
and Its deStinies decided. . The DOS
| session of Alaska is the key Of this ocean
1t brings this continent within sew
enty or eighty miles Of the Asiatic coast on
| the north. By the possession OF
Alaska on the north. with the Aleutian
Islands in the center, and with amicable
| lations of commerce and trade with the gov
eminent of the Sandwich Islands, We have
| in our grasp the control of the Pacific
ocean, and may make this great theater of
action for the future whatever we may
choose it shall be. But 1t is indispensable
that We shall possess these islands, this in
termediate communication between the two
continents, this drawbrdge between Amer
| lea ard Asia, these stepping stones across
the Pacihc ocean. If we give them to an
other government. If we subject the Pacific
ocean to the control of Europe and Euro
pean civilization, the power of the future is
theirs. not ours. and its progress is after
their spirit and ideas, and not ours
Mr.. Banks quotes from speech of Henry
winter Davis made in 1852, which points
out the disadvantages to us of the possess
sion OF Alaska by Russia. not only threat
ening our Pacific coast from the military
point OF view, but menacing our trade with
China.
TO Protect Our Chinese Trade.
From her Asiatic possessions, from the
kurile and the Aleutian Islands, she over
looks the natural and necessary course of
'tt <hS4eitit lidut-flOW, by the OCCUPATION
of California, grown to stupendous magni-
tude and soon destined to equal that of the
Atlantic states. Her naval stations can
command effectually the whole Intercourse
OF California and Oregon. with the chief
seats OF Chinese commerce, and render our
communications insecure at any moment
How that control (of Russia over
China) would bear our commerce with
that empire in the events which have been
| indicated it takes no prophet to foreteu
w z should be excluded from viz
or subjected to burdens which would strip
or the profits, impede the activity and
many destroy our Chinese trade, or we
should be forced to maintain our position
against Russian armies on the spot across
the track OF Russian navies and at an ex-
pense and sacrifice which the most lucra-
tive returns would scarcely compensate"
To gain control of the Pacific the scene
of the future triumphs of civilization, To
Americamze this great ocean! To secure
stepping stones" across it to Asia, To
protect our As!atic trade! To prevent the
closing against us Of the markets of China,
These are reasons assigned for the annex
ation OF non-contiguous Alaska. They may
be repeated without the change of word
among the purposes of the acquisition of
the Philippines
Clearly Senator Hoar's list of national
purposes 1ustifying expansion is incom-
plete. Is 1t true that no intent to promote
the national welfare can be discovered to
place the acquisition Of the Philippines upon
IN. .He same roofing as other annexations?
Must this expansion be distinguished from
all others as caused solely by our lust of
land and the unholy desire to enslave noIit
ically our fellow-man?
Promotion of Trade Justifes AcuuisI-
ton of Territory.
1t may be conceded that the United
States would not acquire the Philippines
amy more than 1t annexed Alaska) merely
for the purpose of governing them as col
onies and their population as subjects; that
S,rch {cft
tutional nor sensible. But it does not fol-
low that annexation of the Philippines
(any more than was that of Alaska) is for
this indefensible purpose. merely because
it is not clear that the acquisition will in
the near future ever furnish the maize
rial fer new states.
Promotion of the trade of the republic
by opening to 1t and keeping open for Its
benefit the markets of Asia and of the trop-
ical world is to be added to Senator Hoar's
list of national purposes which justify ter
ritorial exDansion. We shall need some
such ground of justification in respect to
tn" land to be acquired and the national
responsibilities to be incurred in conn.c-
tio with the building and control of the
Nicaragua canal.
The acquisition neither Of this limited
area adjacent to the proposed canal nor of
the vast stretches of Alaska or the Philip
pines is to be justified on the ground that
they are the footing of forts and
arsenals, or the site of the seat of govern
nient, or the raw material of new states
The same factor in the advancement of the
national welfare which Alaska supplied
and which justified it's annexation will vim
dictate also against the charge of unCon-
stitutionality the acquisition both OF a
canal strip of Central America and of the
Philippines.
National Welfare to BE Advanced.
The United States will develop these trop-
lea! islands in such fashion as to give it
self the full benefit of close and profitable
trade relations with a considerable area in
a productive portion Of the tropics to in
crease it's trade with all those parts Of
Asia to which the door may continue to be
open, and to strengthen the outposts and
strategetic points. commercial or naval.
which are to make the republic the first
power in the Pacific.
The habitable lands of the temperate
zones are almost all occupied or pre-
empted They no longer furnish an outlet
for surplus energy. The nations of CONT
mental Europe, believing that there must
be national growth to preserve undimin-
ished national power, and shut out to a
large extent from the temperate zones. are
occupying the tropics, and dividing the tor
rid zone into possessions and protectorates
and spheres of Influence, from which it is
threatened to t6ut on American trade.
The exchanges OF 'Products and goods be-
tween the temberatei and torrid zones Is one
of the most notable factors in modern COM
merce Benjamin Kidd, in his Control Of
the Tropics" shows that over one third of
the entire imports 'of the United states in
1895 came from the tropics, calling by that
name the area between 80 degrees north
and 80 degrees south latitude. These tropi-
cal imports aggregated $3.50, 90, 800, our ex-
ports to tropics s969oo,OOO.
VIII Enlarge Pacific Trade.
The Pacific trade. including the COM
merce with the tropics conducted over It's
surface and that with China north and
south, is to be the great commercial prize
of the FUTURE With our long line of Pa
cifc seacoast furnishing many good harbors,
with the Hawaiian Islands. Guam and the
Philippines in our possession, with the
Isthmian canal completed, with our mer-
chant marine built up and with our con-
sular service reorganized and improved,
we shall enter confidently upon the COM
petition for this vast trade. Our Pacific
Commerce is increasing by leaps and
bounds and II not checked will amount
in the near future to hundreds of millions.
Even now all sections of the republic par
tictpate in 1t, the machinery and kerosene
of the east, the cotton Of the south and
the flour Of the west being the most i'm
portant items. With the completion of
the Isthmian canal the south and east will
share with the Pacific coast direct and