The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1900-10-19
A CEnTUUYS GROWTH
OF The COUNTRY.
History of National Expansion
from JeffersOn's Time.
The Life Of the Nation, Like That OF IN
Individual, Depends Upon Its Ability
to Develop and Grow.

An intelligent youth. fifteen years old
who reads the daily papers, said to hi
father, who is a student of politics:
Gather what Is the meaning of i'm
perialism' as used in the Democrat
platforms and by Democratic speakers
particularly Mr.. Bryan; and what d
you mean by expansion
The father answered: my boy, impe
rialism,' correctly defined, means per
tanning to an empire The use Of 1t, al
they intend it to apply by the party vol
speak of, is pure demagogy-a clap
trap effort to catch votes in the coming
election. These men have erected an all
castle and are pelting 1t with words. But
few of the men Of brains who use this
term, as applied to the conditions in this
country, believe 1t to be true or correct.
They have a mistaken idea that they
can scare the American people by pro-
claiming against bugaboo of their own
creation. In this they are mistaken. The
| American voter is quick TO detect hum
bug and is not easily scared even at the
threat of real evils. 1t is possible that
I some of those men really believe what
they say on this subject. II they do,
| they are in the unfortunate position of
| those of whom it is said, they believe
lie to be damned for these men will
| be politically damned at the election in
| November Outside Of these parties
there are some declaring against 'impe-
rialism' who are misled by diseased i'm
aginations and who, while being honest,
are simply foolish"
well, father, what do you mean by
'exDansion?"
81 use the word in It's ordinary sense,
my boy, which is the enlargement of sur
face"
Eyes, [ understand that. but this Is a
political term as used now. Does 1t mean
the enlargement of the surface Of the
country"
Certainly, and but for expansion this
country would have been very small in
deed"
when did it begin to expand? Who
was the first expansionistT
Look at the map of the United States
and you will see that the colonies of
Great Britain which revoted in 1776
were Massachusetts, which included
Maine; New Hampshire, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, New York, which with
New Hampshire included Vermont; New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary
land, Virginia, which included Kentucky,
North Carolina, which claimed Tennes-
see; South Carolina and Georgia. All
these colonies, with the outlying terri
tories claimed by them, had only 4S2,361
square miles, with a population Of about
100000. Just before the Revolution
George Washington, then colonel of
Virginia militia, was the first expansion
ist. He aided in driving the French out
of Fort Duquesne, where Pittsburg now
stands; helped in annexing to Virginia
all the territory which now comprises
the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan and Wisconsin. There were
no white inhabitants save few French
on the lakes and in Illinois. These |
States cover 283,361 square miles, about |
three-ffths of the area OF the colonies. |
At the taking of the census of 1890, ten |
years ago, they had a population of 49,
461 ,s46 and wealth valued at $15041,- |
635, 500, Washington's expansion proved |!
to be very valuable one"
"Who was the next expansionist, and !
what did he do?'
Thomas Jefferson was the next. In
April, 1903, he purchased the territory
Of Louisiana from France. Look at that
large map. All the States and territories
which YOU see west of the Mississippi /
:; - - = which pyfpndS |
river to that Irregular INV ,
from the Gulf of Mexico to the Cana
liam border, near the Pacific ocean, were
Included in this purchase. At the time
the purchase was made it was declared
valueless, and jefferson was denounced
as bitterly by the opposition at that time
as Mckinley is now-in fact, more Bit
terly. In 1910, the first census after - 10
purchase, the entire civilized manhattan
was 77,4ol. The area of this purchase
Was n.1,S73 square miles, more than
double that of the original colonies, and
comprised what is now the States of
Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa,
Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Ne
braska, Kansas, part Of Colorado, nearly
all of Wyoming, nearly all of Montana,
the Indian Territory and the Territory of
Oklahoma. In 1890 the population of |
these States was 12.053,S9S and their
wealth was 81 ,595, 1852, $40, eleven bill
ion five hundred and ninety-five million
three hundred and fifty two thousand
five hundred and forty dollars. These |
States in 1898 furnished over one-half |
the wheat and nearly one-half the corn |
crop of the country, and this year will |
do still better. They have nearly one |
third of the total railway mileage and |
are great producers of cattle, sheep, !
hogs and horses. And yet their prodne-
tive capacity is in its infancy. When
irrigation is established, as 1t soon will
be, the products of these States will be
doubled or tripled. And there is one adj
vantage Of this purchase that can never
be estimated in money, which is the con-
troll OF the Mississippi river. Jefferson's
purchase has turned out to be good one,
notwithstanding the bitter opposition to
its contamination"
ITO he continued1