The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-01-24
The Explanation of Brains.

Since the victories OF Dewey al Manila
and Schley at Santiago a new America
has arisen-a new imperial America. This
proposition may be disagreeable to certain
natives or naturalized persons within our
country. persons who wish that we could
return TO the status quo ante bellum, by
which they would probably mean the con-
ditions antecedent to the Mexican war At
latest But the forward step has been
made. and that it is an accomplished fact
irrevocable and eternal no man can sanely
deny
The United States of today includes not
only The old continental belt in North
American continent and Alaska, hut the
Hawaiian Islands. part of the Samoan
group, the Island of Guam. and the SPLEEN
did Philippine archipelago in the Pacific.
in addition to Porto Rico. In a few years
an American interoceanic canal will con-
meet by continuous line of water travel
all these possessions and our long At
lantie and western coast lines. Only the
other day this country was looked upon by
Europe as an overgrown bucolc Re-
public whose claims 10 international re-
spect in the division of the worlds COM
mercial opportunities were to be treated
with amused contempt But now the view
is changed. We are able TO demand our
rights in Asia and to exact from the great
military and commercial powers guaran-
tees that they snail be held sacred.
Yet listening to the arguments and
plants of our anti-expansionists. one
might imagine that all these achieve
ments and all of this vast change were
matters which had not yet gone beyond
the stage of academic discussion as fu-
ture possibilities greatly TO be deplored
and avoided. These degenerate suryivals
of a chrysalis period in national devel-
opment have failed 10 realize the march
OF progress toward destiny. because their
brain growth had been arrested before 1t
had fairly begun. They are like fossils Of
extinct species in a sea teening with a
new and higher life than that OF which
they were capable attaining or conceiving
So our anti-expansionists go on bleat-
ing at fate and expecting that the clock
OF history at their call will turn around
and start the other way until its hand
shall point TO the hour OF the thirteen
original colonies again. They cannot help
It They are microcephalous. They sing
the same song their pigheaded fathers
sang in opposition to the Louisiana pur-
chase. When Jefferson proposed that
great expansion. the argument was hurled
at him that the acquisition would bring
an enormous area of cheap agricultural
land into the Union, and so depress the
value of New England farms. The anti
expsnsionists of our generation antagonize
the addition Of territory capable of pro-
dueing anything TO compete with Ne
brasks beet sugar. Connecticut Valley to-
bacco. or New England rum: but they
base their objections on the holy founda-
ton Of philanthropy.
The American Filipinos who want US 10
turn our Philippine population over to
slavery under a treacherous and blood
thirsty small tribe OF riotous Tagals declare
that the islanders are unfit to be citizens
and that n republic cannot have subjects.
They calmly ignore what the Supreme
Court has called domestic dependent ma
tons like the Indian tribes. who have al
ways been treated as subjects and not clti-
zens; and they shut their antI-imperial
eyes TO the notorious truth that in its re-
lations to these tribes and to its Terri
tories not States, the Government of the