Washington sentinel., 1900-09-22
We have
IQbat Patriot svmpathized,
ian, 0enarNa says J L
CoaId;po the

Spalding, thu
Catholic Bishop OF Peoria, with al
oppressed peoples-with Ireland
Greece, Armenia, Cuba. To eman
cipate the slave We gladly sacrifice
the lives Of hundreds of thousand:
OF our soldiers. And now thC
American soldier, who shoulc
never shoulder a gun except in
righteous cause, is sent ten thou
sand miles across the ocean to
shoot men whose real crime is that
they wi III to be free, wish to govern
themselves. To say that they are
unfit for freedom is to put forth the
plea OF the tyrant in all ages and
everywhere. The enemies of lib
erty have never lacked for pretexts
to justify their wrongs; but, in
truth, at the root OF all wars OF con-
quest there lies lust for blood or
for gold.
II the inhabitants of the Philip.
pines came gladly to throw them
selves into our arms, we should re-
juse to do more than counsel,
guide, and protect them until they
form themsel yes into a stable and
independent government. What,
then, is to be thought OF those who
seem resolved either to rule or ex-
terminate them, believing probably
thaC the only good Filipino is a
dead FIlipino9
The argument that our policy
has from the beginning been one
Of expansion has no application in
the present crisis. BY the treaty
Of I78S the Mississippi river was
recognized as the western boun-
Diary OF the United States; but
when in 1909 the Spanish civil
officers, whom France, having re-
covered Louisiana, left in COM
mand, issued a proclamation clos
ing the mississippi to American
commerce, it at once became man
ifest that we could not leave the
mouth of the great river which
flowed for more than a thousand
miles through our territory, in the
possession oi a foreign power.
Thomas Jefferson, therefore, acted
in the spirit OF a patriot and a
statesman, when, taking advantage
OF the embarrasssments OF Bona
parte, he purchased the whole e.
gion lying west Of the Mississippi
and not already occupied by Spain.
Here was natural development,
the gaining possession OF vast
tracts Of unsettled lands which, il
not peopled by American citizens,
would become the home Of a pow
erful rival State, and this would in
volVe wars, standing armies and
the jeopardy ot free institutions.
Similar reasons justified the pUr-
chase OF Florida in 1879. When,
in rS45. we" annexed the republic
OF Texas, we did what the Texans
themselves wished US to do. Dis
putes concerning the western boun-
dary Of Texas led. to the war with
Mexico, which, at the close Of the
war sold to the United States New
Mexico and Upper California, in
GLIDING Nevada and Utah, most Of
Arizona, and parts of Colorado.
These countries were scarcely in
habited, Upper California contain
ing not more than fifteen thousand
people. In this whole course OF
expansion we followed the line OF
natural development. We entered
upon the possession OF waste re-
gions which were geographically
part Of our country. and which we
were certain to fill with popula-
tions similar to those occupying
the States already founded. To
carry out this work there could be
no need Of standing army or
powerful navy; none OF making
war to conquer and hold in subjec-
ton races which, being altogether
unlike ourselves, claimed the right,
in the establishment OF a govern
ment, to be guided by their own
ideas and traditions. In purchas-
ing these territories, it may be said
that we bought land ana not human
beings-land that was part OF our
inheritance. But now, following
the lead of our great capitalists
and trustlords,we buy at one stroke
ten million human beings; beings
who live in another hemisphere,
who differ from us in every way,
who dwell in a climate which is
fatal to the white man, who can be
Of no advantage whatever to US,
but who, if we persist in holding
them, will involve US in the most
serious difficulties and dangers.
A war OF conquest is in contra
diction with our fundamental prin
ciples OF government; it is op-
posed to all our traditions. The