The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-11-01

AS we nOld them NOW, any act VI III
| reference ON their part would be In oil
rect violation Of the rules OF lnterna-
tional law, for we now justly say to
them, These islands have been coded
! to us by Spain, who has had undispu-
ted authority over them for over three
centuries, and that long before the
treaty was ratified our title to these
| islands was determined, not by the
voice of diplomacy not by cold logic
or grace of speech, not by the council
! Of the wise, but by the mighty fleet,
! the struggling battalions and the rude
eloquence of war Our democratic
friends discuss this matter as though
our possession of these islands were
not an existing fact but dependent
upon some future act. As matter of
fact the Philippines have been formal
ly annexed to the United States, and
by the assistance of Mr.. Bryan and
the democratic party are United States
| territory. Nothing but statehood can
knit more firmly the tie that binds
them to us. The ratification of the
| treaty by the senate, which was with
out doubt effectively strengthened by
the earnest and persistent effort of Mr..
| Bryan, will go down in history and be
| spoken Of in connection with the Louis
lana purchase, the purchase Of Alaska
and other territory. If we can give
them up now we can give them up fif-
| ty years from now just as we'll; and in
view of this, Is it not we'll to wait and
learn more about these people; find out
whether or not they can stand alone,
and not rush blindly off, assume that
they are capable Of self-government,
and leave them to themselves and to
an unknown fate. 1t has been urged
that our former acquisition of terrific
ry has formed no precedent FOR our
present course, and that we formerly
purchased territory with view Of its
one day entering statehood, Did that
alter or change the principles Of JUS
tice? AS matter of fact we have
bought and annexed territory without
the consent of the governed, and
whether or not their grandchildren or
great grandchildren might one day
become citizens of the United States
was of little consequence to them;
they were annexed without their con-
sent. The laws Of right and wrong
cannot be suspended any more than
the laws of nature. The United States
has purchased all kinds of territory
from Alaska on the north to the coral
islands of Key West upon the south.
Expansion has been the Fundamental
law of the nations progress. Not only
have we annexed territory on the
north. esat and south. and held it
without the consent Of the governed,
but long ago we swept aside the forest,
transformed the wilderness into the
city and reared this nation in the face
of every opposition that savage races
could hurl in the pathway of our pro-
gress. Cast bcak upon the crowded
shores of the old world, that restless,
ever widening tide of humanity which
centuries ago pushed from it's bounda-
rles like the waves of resistless sea;
back with the millions of North and
South America, Australia, Africa and
India, because they came without the
consent of the inhabitants, back to
mingle their destiny with the fate of
their brethren; and this proud empire
of the west, her shout of triumph with
their groans of despair. How long be-
fore that shout of triumph shall sink
to a moan? How long before that
throbbing pulse of care and strife
shall swell even unto bursting, and
how long would 1t take the anti-impe-
rialsts to become an expansionist and
not to mind the savage when he stood
upon the shores of his native land and
said, "I know that I am not civilized
but I don't want to be. / know there
is millions of wealth locked up in the
T 4 4 = .
have it. I know there are fertile fields
in my hunting ground, but I don't
want them cultivated There are a
number of war-like tribes in this coun-
try, and we prefer to fight and die
rather than to live and learn" l |
should like, under such circumstances, |
to hear the answer of Mr.. Schurz or
Mr. Bryan, to the convincing logic of |
the savage. Let our friends distort |
and pervert history as they will, but |
the worlds history tells us that expan-
sion is a fundamental law of progress.
Well may we stand upon our western |
shore and watch the sun as it sets in |
the west and while we watch that dy- |
ing light as evening gathers, well we |
may think that far beyond nations are /
perishing, and that the black night of |
war and conflict 10 fast gathering. |
Well may we be epprehensive of the
fate of these people as we lose sight of |
them in the incircling gloom. Left to |
! see before them future
dark with uncertainty and fraught
with danger. Left to themselves | see
a nation composed of eighty tribes diff
fering among themselves in language,
custom and law, varying in degrees of
struggling among them
selves for supremacy, internal conflict
rendering them an easy prey to the ra-
)acious greed of nations struggling
themselves for supremacy in the far
east. Protected under the broad folds
IF the banner of this republic, l see a
future stretching out before them
bright with glorious prospects; I see
ligh and gratifying hopes before them
and their children. 1 see education
Infused throughout the different
RIDES, a development Of their indus
ries, uniting them in tie of common
interest and uplifting them into the
world Of civilization.
PALMER ARVINE.
INCIDENTAL.