Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1901-10-23

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world and preach the gospel to every
creature has no gatling gun attach
ment."
Senator Beveridge, Of Indiana,
speaks with more frankness when he
says the possession Of the Philippines
will pay and talks Of the fertility Of
the soil and their great mineral
wealth. Oh, my countrymen. what II
miserable, what an ignoble plea it Is
in defense Of our conquest Of these
islands, that 1t will pay. Mr.. Bryan's
question should bring the blush OF
shame to the cheek of every man who
makes that plea, when he asks, "Who
shall put price on the lives of Ameri-
can boys slain there"
Ex-President Benjamin Harrison1
shortly before he died, in his last pub
lie utterance, speaking of the Philip
pine question in the spirit of old time
Republicanism, rebuked the spirit Of
soulless commerciallsm which controls
the party today in these words:
zone who has retired from the SER
vice but not from the love Of his
country, must be pardoned If he finds
himself unable to rejoice in the ac-
QUESTION Of land and forests and
mines and commerce at the cost of
the abandonment of the old American
idea that government. of absolute
power is an intolerable thing. And he
closes with prayer which should find
response in every true American
heart
"God forbid that the day should
ever come when In the American mind
the thought Of man as a consumer
shall submerge the old American
thought Of man as a creature of God,
endowed with unalienable rights"
| But there is no truth in the state
ment that it will pay, even for the
money it costs, aside from the lives
of our brave soldiers. Thus far, the
war has cost us in round numbers
$500, ,000,O 600 $300,0OO,O0O TO be raised
by taxation in addition to all other
taxes paid by American citizens.
be required-who can tell for how long |.
And as has been sad-"if we finally
pacify the islands and get all their
trade, what will be the profit and who
will get it?' 1t will not be our me-
chanics, clerks, laborers certainly not
our farmers. They will not get n
cent of it, but they must pay the bills.
/ Imperialism is an expensive thing. 1t
has already increased the cost of liv-
ing. Clothing, provisions and all the
necessaries of life are higher, and the
larger standing army which imperial
ism entails, will increase the cost still
more. The profits will go to the capi.
talists, the trusts who exploit a sub
ject people while the wage-earner Will
be taxed to defray the cost of exploit
tation and afford the trusts new mar
ket. And 1t is not necessary; we could
trade with the Filipinos far better as
friends than as hostile subjects.
1t Is an obsolete idea, fellow citi-
zens, that trade follows the flag. 1t
is the quality of goods and the price
which determines trade in these days.
One who has been engaged in foreign
trade quite largely for Il quarter of ii
century may presume to know some
! thing about the matter. To my per-
sonal knowledge there is not country
on the face of the globe big enough
to be represented on an ordinary map,
to which the manufacturers of my city
did not so before the war with Spain,
as well as now, and my own company
shipped goods by the carload to the
Philippines twenty years ago.
No, fellow citizens, it is not TO our
victory over Spain, nor is it to the Re
publican tariff that we owe our in
creasing foreign trade. The Dingley
tariff has, to the personal knowledge
of many Ohio manufacturers, restrict
ed our trade with Brazil, Argentine
Russia, and other countries, whose
tariffs have been so raised in retalia,
ton on articles manufactured in this
State as to lessen an export trade long
established, and to keep from the pock-
cts Of Ohio mechanics many dollar
they would otherwise have had. No
what has made our foreign trade
grow, and what will make 1t continue
to grow, Is not colonies nor the tariff,
but partly the courage and enterprise
of American manufacturers, and main
ly the superior skin, intelligence and
character of American workingmen.
Nor will the acquisition of the Phil
ippines add to our military strengths
on the contrary 1t will greatly detract
from 1t. Suppose we subdue the Fill
ipinos, crush all apparent resistance
All history shows that people undel
such circumstances will seize the first
opportunity to revolt. Suppose, now
that later, We should become involved
in war with some European pwer (nc
inconceivable thing with Imperialism
at the helm) how easy 1t would be fol
our enemies to send arms and ammu
milton to the islands, with their thou
sands of miles of unprotected sea.
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