Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-01-31
THIRST FOR EMPIRE.

THIRST FOR EMPIRE.
UNLESS met by superior power,
there is no halt to the imperial tread,
once It starts upon it's conquering and
its despoiling march. Until It meets
with disaster it can only be stayed by
the common people, and then only when
such command is given before, in the
decay Of free institution, they lose their
power to command. The thirst for en-
pire is like the desire for human blood,
which Is stirred to an unquenchable and
maddening thirst in the veins of every
man who tastes it. The cry will be
more! more! 1t was n long step into
the middle of the sea to take Hawaii. 1t
was a much longer step across the
midst of all the oceans to take the
Philippines. From these across to the
continent Of Asia is q much shorter
step. Everywhere the bounties which
providence has bestowed on foreign ma
tons invite the greed for wealth and
the lust for dominion To the hunger
for the spoils of foreign lands there Is
no safety: to their acquisition there Is
no limit save the limit Of our power.
Q
EXPENSIVE UNDERTAKING
TO permanently retain the islands
will annually cost the United States
more than 100000, 000 The large in
crease in the standing army will alone
annually cost that. and that will by no
means be all of the expense. On the
contrary. 1t will probably be as much
more. But taking it at S100, 0OO, 900, the
cost annually to the people of Georgia
l-he more than-S2 nnl 600
But 1t is said that all Of these evils
VIII be compensated for in the fact that
the possession of the Philippines will
orient. If there ever was n PROVOST
ton absolutely without argument to
sustain 1t 1t is this one. If there could
nave ever been any argument upon
which 1t could rest it has been entire
~ removed by the agreement which
mas been made by all of the European
government that for Us the open door
shall remain In China, and that we
shall have equal privileges with all
other nations of our commerce there
What more than this could we get IL
we owned every Pacific island and bar
Dor on the Asiatic coast? With this
agreement how much less OF the China
trade would we get If we did not own n
single island on the Asiatic coast? Is
there any room for argument on this
proposition?
And even If we did not have th,s
open door in China the possession of Tho
philippines peoples. by an alien race
would not secure it for us. So long as
we remained at peace the possession of
the Philippines would not open the door
of China for us.
DELUSION AND SNARE.
"The pretence that the Philippines
are necessary to our trade in tho
Orient, is a delusion and a snare set
to catch the feet of the hasty and the
unwary And those who set the snare.
like all others who set snares, are seek.
ing their own selfish advantages"
A WONDERFUL DISCOVERY.
In conclusion Mr. Bacon, COM
menting upon the claim of the expan-
sionists that the United States had
now become world power, said
"What wonderful discovery, Mr..
President, that the United States have
become world power. Why, sir, when
in the result of the Revolutionary War
they made good the great Declaration
OF July f. 1776, they instantly became
the greatest of world powers; because,
in SPITE OF the fewness of their num-
hers and the smallness of their resour-
ces. they had not only announced, but
maintained and secured n great prin-
ciple thereafter to stand as the men
ace Of every tyrant, the hope and In
SEPARATION of every PEOPLE. however UNI
BILE who longed for liberty.
And this discovery that we have
just become a world pbwer Is due to q
mere skirmish In which we overcome
the weak and decayed power Of Spain,