The sun., 1900-10-31
.nILITARIsM" AND "IMPERIALIsh" "
OLD CRIES.
The Gloomy forebodinEs Of mr. channinE
Because OF the Anne xatisn OF Texas.

| To THE Enron or 1lIE SUN-Sir' Mr' Bryan
! began one OF the divisions OF his Madison
| Square Garden speech in this way
MY ftipnds let me invite your attention Ia
new qu, stion that the people have never consld-
/ cred IN any previous campagh SHAH we nave
: a large army in the United StatesF
! To say this Is "a new question that the poo-
/ ple have n yer cons idered in any previous cam
! paign" T. TO show an ignorance that IL surpris-
! Ing and unworthy OF a Pres dental candidate
! The very zane question was fully discussed
! in tho davs when the Democratic party had the
/ confidence OF the people. and when that party
| was called by it's opponents the party oil I'M
| perialism, "militarism lust Of conquest.
| Disregard Of the constitution. &c
( In fact. there is not single argument on the
! subject which Mr. Bryan calls a new one
| tina x not TO be found in the writings and
! speeches Of the prominent men OF the parry
, that the Democrats dofea cd half a century ago
| There il not n single argument In the sp"ec OF
I Carl Schurz against so-called imperialism mat
cannot be found in the famou, letter Of william
| Ellary Claiming TO Henry Clay on the annexa-
tion Of Texas,
Fer example. Or Claiming says on the
menace Of militarism
In attaching Texas to ourselves We provoke hos
titles and al the time expose new points OF AZ
tack 10 our foes Vulnerable at so many points, We
shall need a vast military force. Great armies viii
require great revenues and raise up great cheftaina
What limits can be sci TO the treasures which must
be lavished on such distant borders'
Those words are more than fifty years
old but they have now a very familiar sound.
However, they did not mislead the plain peo-
pie" then, and they will not to-day.
DR. ChanninG's letter contains one argument
against militarsm and imperialism which does
not seem 10 have been uacd by Mr.. Bryan, Mr..
Schura or any OF the Bryanite spelbnders |
commend Il to them they are In great need
OF new material Here it is;
Can England view our encroachments without
slarm' know It is thought that, staggering as she
DOES under the debt. she will be slow ~ en-
gage In war But other nations OF Europe have
islands In the same ncg bofhood to induce them 10
make common cause with her. Other nations look
with jealousy on our growing power ], Of course,
have no communication with foreign Cabinets but
cannot doubt that Great Britain has demonstrated
against the annexation oi Texas to this country. An
English Minister would be- unworthy of his once who
should see another State greedly swallowing up
territories In the neighborhpod Of British colonies
and strive By all Just means to avert the danger
How would tho argument that we must be
careful not to provoke Jealous England TO hos
tity do for another paramount" Why not
point out the danger Of war with England If we
thus "greeduy swallow up territories In the
neighborhood of British colonies" When
Mir Bryan comes back 20 New York he must
maintain again golden silence on the
silver question. He will need something new,
for his old 'paramounts" are worn thread
bare. Issggest that he use the above argument
and also add these words Of DR. Claiming:
mo pains should be spared 10 prevent and
allay the jealousies which the great superiori' 8
of this country il suited 10 awaken" Perhaps
he could thus IN the national heart" to make
him President and TO disband the army en-
tirey 1t may be that there is time yet for the
talking candidate to sweep the country on the
entirely new issue OF the danger of a war with
Jealous England IL we continue TO grow pros"
porous powerful anu politically great
lie is 80 much in the habit Of repeating his
speeches with scarcely verbal change that II
might be refreshing to his hoarers II he would
occasionally quote the language OF another.
SO let me humbly suggest that when he comes
to the calamity" part Of his address he use
these words. of the "an,i-imperialist" OF half
century ago:
Let other calamiues fall upon US Let us be
STEPPED In poverty let pestienee stalk through our
land: let famine thin our population; let the world
Join hands against our free institutions and deluge
our shore, with blood All this can be endured. a
lew years Oi lnuuNuy huu peace VIII Iccrut our
wasted numbers and spread fruluulness des-
olated nelds.
He can then go on to show how much better
It would be to have poverty" "pestilenoe."
famine. ""shores deluged with blood " than to
have sordid prosperity with the jealousy Of
Great Britain.
IL may be interesting to the real Democrats Of
the country to recall the fact that on the ques-
ton Of militarism and Imperialism their party
stood through the years OF its greatest success
exactly where the Republicans stand to-day:
that all the old arguments that their defeated
and dscredited opponents once used are being
used now by the Bryanites and that there is
an old motto which runs History repeats
itself" The verdict Of half a century ago
is about TO be rendered again. The superflci-
ally educated Bryan will be given leave to
withdraw and take time to study the political
history OF his own country. II might be well.
too. for the anti-imperialists to reflect that II
man like vii lam Ellery Claiming. whose
name Is includ ID in the thirty selected for the
Hall Of Fame was wrong, wholly wrong, in his
position, as time has shown, and as he himself
afterward admitted. WAliam Jennings Bryan,
who can claim no such greatness. may also be
wholly wrong in his views and opinions, which
are not new" and which time has long ago
proved TO be absurd
In justice to Or. Charming, It should be stated
that before he died he frankly admit ted his
mistake. Indeed before he closed the memoir
able letter from which have quoted he seemed
10 anticipate the possibility that he and his
fellow "anti-mperialists' might be wrong, for
he wrote
know that the prophets OF ruin 10 our Institutions
are 70 be found most frequently IN the party out OF
power, and that many dark augur.S be set down
to the account Of disappointment and irritation.
words that we may well consider In the present
campaign for they are az true now as they
were when they were written.
DR. Claiming lived 20 see the ,groundl~ssness
Of his fears and the faseness OF his prophecies
The cries Of "militarsm. imperialism" and
''an empire instead OF a republic" were laughed
at and forgotten. and in his preface to his pub
ltshed writings Dr. Claiming frankly said.
Some of the following tracts SAVIOR OF the pe-
riod In which they were written and give opin-
ions which time has diSproved." That is the
honest confession Of true greatness. MIR. Bryan
will live tin private poSition) TO see his fears
and prophecies OF 1900 "dsproved by time. as
he has already lived 20 see tho ahsurditv Of his
fao nj IA pror pf In kt.