The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1900-08-14
THE FLAG FOLLOWS TRADE.
Greed that Calls Ifseif "BH.iness Eater
prise" Mainly Re-psn-ibir for Wars.

From the Philadslphis North American
Trade follows the flag" is an aphorisn
of commerce, but Il does not III all phases
Of mercantile enterprise. and is reversal
Of the sequence In at least one branch Of
commercial activity. Trade In arms and
munitions OF war with uncivilized peoples
precedes the fag. The flag when 1t FOL
lows such trade. is carried by soldiers
whose presence and services are made
necessary by The mischieTous greed Of the
trader. The American flag il flying on the
road TO Pekin. ard being bathed in the
blood Of Americas best manhood. because
commerce Is not restrained by moral law
or right reason. and soTd.d self-in;erest Is
accepted as sufficient justification Of con-
duct that would be deemed Infamous u
inspired by unself1sh motives
The anti-foreign crusade in China was
made possible ard was directly eucoIr-
aged by the Importation into the country
by foreign traders of vast stores Of mod
ern arms and ammunition. Il is the ;es-
timony OF officers of the Seymour expedl-
ton that the arsenal captured by the al
lies contained more war material than
exists in the whole United States. nearly
all of ii from American, British. and Ger
man factories. The Chinese have been &C
cUnulating this material for several years
for the purpose Of making war upon for
eigGers, and the traders who supplied II
knew perfectly well that ii would be used
eventually against their own nations. Had
any American, German. or Eng.is
assisted in arming the Chinese because he
sympathized with them In their determi-
nation TO clear the country OF the foreign
intruders who were trying to destroy their
..1gr III.
into contempt, and prepare the way for
the partition of the empire, he would be
looked upon as a traitoTous scoundrel.
and any sacrifice Of personal interest be
might have made would be deemed a
crime. But If he made a profit and was
inspired solely by love of gain, he IS alb
solved OF his crime, and the purity Of his
patriotism is uHquestioned. He has mere.
ly sold not given. ala and comfort to the
potential enemies Of his country. and the
money that he diyerts from the pocket
Of the enemy TO his own being a factor in
the balance of trade" which is a sacred
thing. outwe.Ghs, even in the scales OF the
law OF nations. the blood and the lives of
the soldiers who are sent to carry the flag
in wars of conquest or protection pro-
NOTED and melted by his mercenary en-
terprise.
Two Dutch men-of-war have been sent
10 Jambi-WheTeVer Jambi may have the
misfortune 10 be-to assist in putting
down an outbreak OF natives who nave
been supplied by the freebOoters OF COM
merce with Lee-Metford and Winchester
rifles In sufficient quantity to encourage
them TO begin numbering white men. The
dispatch conveying this bit of news naive
ly says:
War in Jambi will be hailed with delight by
many traders in the Straits. who have lately done
little in arms dealing. owing 10 the Increasing din
euties In the Acheen eontraband arms trafle.
Hell upon earth, the killing and MAIN
ing of men, the most awful agonies Of hu-
manity. the reGding and mangling of hu-
man flesh, and the mental suffering and
despair Of women and children. are
hailed with delight" by the eminently
respecta bic men of trade. whose fetch is
business and whose god is money. No
infamy conceivable TO the mind of man
is incapable of justification on the plea
that il is business"
Most of the spilling of blood that Is
going on in the world to-day, from the
Ashanti, the Congo, and the Transvaal,
to Luzon, China, and Jambi. is the direct
result of the greed that calls itself 'busi-
ness enterprise" The flags that float
over armies of invasion, over fields piled
with horrors that once were men, nave
followed trade.