The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1900-02-17
PARTING OF THE WAYS.
A Republic, Or A World Power
With A Colonial Policy

The debate on the bill for the Puerto
Rican tariff, which began in the House on
Thursday and which viii continue one
week, promises to be the most brilliant of
the session The action of the House on
this bill will determine It's attitude toward
all other matters Of this character, and on
the passage of this bill by Congress and
the approval of the President, the admin
istration and the Republican party will
stand committed to the doctrine of colo
NAL expansion Under this doctrine not
only can the United States hold subject
the people of Puerto Rico and the Philip
pines, but the United States viii be at lib
erty to acquire territory in all parts of the
world, not to be colonized by Americans
and built up, after the manner of the or
iginal 13 colonies, Canada or Australia,
but to be held in vassalage like India,
Egypt or Burmah.
Republican leaders in Congress do not
conceal their expectation that the natural
trend Of events points toward the partici
patton Of the United States in the division
of China and It's requirement of slice of
territory in Asia to be held in the same
manner as the Philippine islands. The
party is gradually gaining courage, and
even now the holder leaders say they see
no reason why the United States should
not have its sphere of influence as well
as other nations. Moral and political sup
port from the workingmen is expected by
the Democrats in their contest with the
Republicans over this policy.
Military competition from the East
is not feared, but industrial and com
mercial competition is dreaded by those
Democratic leaders in Congress who have
studied the growth and development of in
dustrial enterprise. They realize that
once the highly organized and extensively
living Wcsterner comes into competition
with the cheap labor of the East, the for
mer must be distanced. 1t would require
comparatively little cloth to furnish the
Filipinos with all the clothes they would
wear in a year, but if 5000, 600 Of them
can be placed at work in cotton and sugar
fields and in factories, the products of their
labor must come into direct competition
with those Of the American workingman,
either in the American market or in the
Oriental trade
4 lesson should be learned iron, the
South While the negro was employed
solely as a lalorer on the plantation, or as
a servant, the mills of New England -four
ished But with the Inauguration of
new industrial policy for the South, the
introduction Of mills and machinery, blast
furnaces and fouudries new era dawned
for The South aud for negro labor. But
for every min erected in The South a mill
IN New England must close, or else the
white laborer 10 the New England mill
must be prepared TO compete with the
black labor in the Southern mill But as
the black labor is cheaper ,hau the white,
the brown and yellow is much cheaper
than the black. Such students as Repre-
sentative Williams, of Mississippi regard
cd as one Of she best posted men in the
House, do not hesitate to declare their be
lief that she United States has not found
1000 000 consumers in the Philippines,
but 9, GOO, goo producers.