The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-01-09
Masters Of Our Fate.

The report 0ocrlbfng to Germany de-
sire to defy the Monroe doctrine a. soon
as her navy has been built up to the
rank OF . first-ciass power, In order that
she may carry her projects Of world
empire into South America Il. on the
face Of II, the mere Invention Of an i'm.
aginative writer. II Germany enter.
tains such an idea, she - not present.
ing the ssaret to anybody at this time.
Nations DO not let 1t be known ten or
twenty years In advance that they con-
template acts Of hostility toward q
friendly power. The motive for the In
vention Ii plain enough. in the desire
OF the English public at the present time
not only to maintain the most friendly
relations with us, but also to make us
feel that our future interests require
their cooperation and support.
As far ar the Monroe doctrine IL con.
cerned, two facts are clearly evident
to every American. One is that the
Monroe doctrine u distasteful to every
European power. and that any one OF
them would set It aside II the oppor.
tunity ever presented itself. The other
is that the Monroe doctrine IL q lusty
infant, born on American soil. nour.
ished by American patriotism, and de-
pendent for its future wholly on Amer.
ican support and the power Of Ameri-
can arms. It win have all the force Of
international law just as long as we are
strong. nation ana possess . navy suf-
ficient to awe envious rivals. 1t will
fall whenever this country loses pres
tise; ana not one government In Europe
would be absent from the pleasant
party gathered to divide the spoil Of the
dead.
It n rather amusing, on the whole. TO
have any Englishman suggesting that
we may need to look to Great Britain
as buttress OF the Monroe doctrine.
1t was announced an check to projects
OF a European alliance against this
country. and It was assailed when Max
imilian was sent TO Mexico But aside
from those incidents, the principal care
Of the United States with regard to the
Monroe doctrine has been to warn Eng
land herself of the premises. We have
seldom been nearer to actual conflict
with any foreign power of late years
than when we applied the Monroe doc
trine to the case of Venezuela and in
sisted that 1t be recognized by Great
Britain. II we were selecting a guar
dian for the principle that secures this
continent from European encroach-
ment, we should have quite as much
hesitation about naming the lion as the
bear or any other predatory animal of
the continent.
We and we alone are the upholders
Of the Monroe doctrine. Contrary to
former expectation, we are probably ap-
preaching time when II will be of
vastly greater Importance than 1t has
been in all our history. The force and
the ambition Of the world are centering
In a few hands Concentration in the
Industrial world Ia not as marked as the
absorption by the few great nations Of
the lesser. All dominion will presently
reside In not to exceed four or Ave pow
ers. The virile races. broadly speaking,
are the Anglo-Saxon. the Teuton and
the Slav. They win make history for
the future.
The immediate future will be no less
an age of conquest and expansion than
the past, but the competitors will be
few and gigantic. Before them weak
and decaying powers will go to the wall,
Old governments will be swallowed.
Countries now imperfectly civiiised or
only sparsely occupied will be made col
onies or dependencies of the central en-
pires. That process is going on before
our eyes with extraordinary rapidity In