The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-01-25

fifty fifth degrees OF north or south Ia,
titude.
; Mr.. President. wc ere told BY the
PRESIDENT OF the United States and by
the orators who favor Imperialism that
this viii be paying venture-that
trade follows the flag. We'll, the NOR
ahty OF that argument can be fairly H.
iustrated, think, in this way If a
5 boy OF numerous family should cross q
} wide desert and find at tho foot OF q
mountain an old man with 4 family OF
children, possessed OF vast wealth in
gold, jewels, horses, and cattle, q d
should return to his brothers and say,
Ihere are nine OF us, aud l believe,
II we go together, we can overturn the
Old man, who Ia not TT to bring up those
children anyway, and rob him O. hs
wealth, and think 1t will be profit.
able venture" and they should sturt
to me they would stand upon exactly
the same plane as the man who stands
upon this floor and advocates taking ali
the Philippine Islands because 1t would
pay.
But, MIR. President, trade does not
follow the flag. If 1t be true that trade
follows the flag, then Englaud's trade
with her colonies ought TO hA q good
example and an argument In its favor.
Tpat ought to settle tho question
Trade follows the best markets, and
England's experience is a refuta lion
OF the doctrine that trade follows the
flag.
So far as tho English tropical colo.
nies are concerned, England only sold
to them II cents worth Of goods last
year for each iphabitant In those col
onies, and most OF that was to supply
her own army and her owr ofiio ehold-
ers, who wanted Eoglish goods. Her
trade would have been infiutcsti NAL, ,
almost absolutely nothing, with her
tropical colonies, except for her army
In India of 70 600 Englishmen and her
equally great army Of otiiceholders
there. So. such an argumenS is all
nonsense. Trade does not follow the
flag.
The United States can only secure
tropical countries as colonies. Az
Schurman, our commissioner TO the
Philippines, said, the Sultan Of Su.u
and his people would fight, and there
fore it was not we'll to bother with
them. So the people VINO inhabit the
temperate zone will fight, and our only
place to get q people who are easy to
control, a people who will not fl Z ht too
bard, people who are not armed with
modern implements OF war, q people
who can be run over with battalions OF
our troops, is In the tropics.
How, then. in the light of England's
experience, in the light of the fact
that England has practically no trade
with the Inhabitants Of her tropical
colonies, except the trade that comes
from supplying her olliceholders and
hor army, can we expect to have much
trade with the people Of the Philip
pines HOW are we going to get rich
| kpp n n a NJ a ~ in 1T
pines, so as to make people whose
wages are not over cents u day trade
with US?
Mr.. President, In the Philippines
we do not even supply our own army.
If trade follows the flag, /. seems to me
that the trade with our own army
ought to follow the flag. So prone Is
trade to seek the best markets tba at our
army is supplied with potatoes and
beef and butter and pork from the En-.
glish colonies; practically none of II
comes from the United States.
Our soldiers are clothed by the E,-
glish contractors at Hong Kong. Only
shocs.and few canned goods 20 from
the United States, and the reason they
go 10 because we export shoes and that
people everywhere can buy shoes
cheaper in this country than anyw here
else, thus proving conclusively that
trado does no. follow the fag, but goes
to the best markets. The coal tha,
propels our ships across the Pacific i:
Eaglish coal. We do not even patron
lze our own coal mines on the western
coast. Every vessel coming this WA,
or going that way In passing Nagasaki
takes on u load OF English cUai. Oui
ernment, and, therefore, every trans
, port carries goods from tho United
States free OF cost to the producers
1t seems to me exceedingly strange
: why, If trade will follow the flag, /,
does not get under the flag and jus,
float over and supply our own army In
the tropics.
What is there in the future to war.
rant us to believe that trade will here-
after foley the flag in the Philippines?
| should like to have somebody tell mo
We made treaty with Spain by which
We agreed that the Philippines should
have the "open door," so that all this
world could trade there through all
time to come. Therefore we brOke @
down the bHrrlers Of protec:ioa. aban
doned tho policy upon which the Ro.
publican party has ridden into power
for years. We declared that we would
have the "open door," thereby destroy
Ing absolutely all hope Of any trade In
che future with the people Of the Pnil-
ippincs, for, under The decisions OF our
J Supreme Court, re can not impose IL
tariff upon their products unless We
amend the constitution.
80 their products will come to us
free Of duty. The tobacco made into
into cigars by the nimble fingers of
: those capable Malays will clooe the to
oaoco and cigar factories OF this coun
try and drive our labor into other chan.
nels OF employment There is no rea
son why they can not supply unlimit
ndly the cigars for American consurn o.
tion. Labor there is cheap, labor is ab.
undant, and New highlands money
the vast fortunes OF tho mon who have
accumulated by Cbo control OF monopo.
lies IN our country-will 60 there to
exploit this labor, 20 there to make
cotton goods out OF Chinese cotton to
be sold In the American market.
MIR. President. saw a cotton mill 10
China having $4,000 spindles, modern
mill With hipl,