Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-09-20

wall and the Philippines, and have some
interest in Cuba; and l venture to say
that the increased and increasing bust
ness in those distant islands has already
more than absorbed the work Of all the
drummers in the country who have lost
their positions through industrial COM
binations. If that is true, and | believe
it is, consider what a chance there is for
ten per cent Of our commercial travellers,
or for fifty per cent Of them, in time in
foreign lands or at home here, helping
their new employers, or their old ones,
to meet all the numberless new and in
creasing demands Of our prosperous and
proud American men, women, sweet
hearts, wives, cousins, aunts and chill
dren, and all the countless millions, who.
as we can be certain, are going to want
our American products more and more
because the counted millions that we
know ofchave begun to take them now
almost faster than we can supply them.
That is expansion.
You cannot stop II in a million years!
1t has been going on since the world
began. and it will continue to go on,
faster than ever, l guess, to the end of
time. 1t happens when a people fairly
bursts its manufacturing and commercial
bounds. There must be an outlet for the
products of our farms and factories, for
the capital and talents of our business
men and hustlers.
Sometimes this expansion of new
strength, which amounts to an explosion
of new strength, must be preceded by a
battleship, even by part of standing
army, or a permanent garrison. as in
Porto Rico or the Philippines. At other
times the battleship and the standing
army, or part OF it, just enough to hold
our own and make no doubt of il, must
follow.
The missionaries (who typify in a way
the advance of civilization into heather
lands, as We call them are best Of all the
daring forerunners of the commerce and
the progress that have to get there too
The human race. especially the Anglo
Saxons. are always wanting more and
better things; they are climbing, climbing
climbing. always upon higher plane OF
/ living. These things they work for. and
| fight for. and die for. So long as that
restless, world-conquering sentiment ex'
lists, there will be expansion. So long
too. the races of the earth which have
| found themselves, and are still finding
| themselves. unequal to the trading. and
| selling, and fighting, and civilizing capac
ity Of the Anglo-Saxons. must step aside
they must learn to fight and TO trade ant
to trade and to fight, much better; that i.
all.
| try to say these things thoughtfully
| as a drummer. notorious as he is for talk
| ing, may sometimes do. This expansion
that speak OF is what we optimist,
mean by destiny; we are not afraid Of it
we welcome it. We have done in the las
three years hundred years OF work
which. however, we couldn't have done
IL we hadn't been prepared, il we hadn'
been that kind Of people.
There is not a true American man II
these United States that is not better off
in his patriotism or his pecuniary pros
poets, for the tasks of war and of states
| manship that have been undertaken an,
discharged in the last three years. Yol
are better of. whoever you are; and an
better off Even il had not been nee
essary to my employer in the field an,
had not been kept on the payroll, the
there woald have been ten times III
freedom of opportunity. which is all an
good man can want. There is freedom o
opportunity for everybody; but opportu
nifty won't come looking for us. We mus
90 running for II, watching every oper
ing. looking for improvement, looking 10
the way which our employer must find
we do not make his capital and his ci
forts pay him little better. In tina
way our efforts, which are our capita
will pay US better and better.
A DRUMMER.