The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-04
European Jealousy of the United
States.
BY Frank Tilford.


The United States is. to-day the best
hated nation in the world, not by the
people of other countries, but by the gov
erning and manufacturing classes in
them. This antipathy is entirely natural.
for it is founded on what is perhaps the
strongest of all human motives-self-in-
terest. The splendid success of the repub-
lican system as exemplfied in our mag
nificent national progress, is a menace to
every throne in existence. During the
century that has closed the divine right
mob have persistently kept the specter of
the success of the French Revolution on
parade as an awful warning of what the
world should become under popular gov
eminent. No friend of liberty will at
tempt to defend the horrible crimes then
perpetrated in the name of the people.
Thomas Jefferson who saw that revolution
in its incipiency and who was practically
one of the actors in it, wrote of Robe
sphere in 1895, what tremendous obsta-
Gle to the future attempts at liberty will
be the atrocities of Robespierre." This
opinion he never changed for his last
words on the subject are found in a let
ter to Madame de Stael in 1913. Robe
SPHERE" he then said, met the fate,
and his memory the eXecration he so
justly merited." Six years before his
death in 1926, the author of the great Dec
laration put the bitterly condemned JAG
obins in their true historical position in
these words: THE society of Jacobius
was instituted on principles and views as
virtuous as ever kndled the hearts of pa
triots 1t was the pure patriotism of
their purposes which extended their as
ISOLATION to the limits of the nation, and
rendered their power within it boundless:
and it was this power which degenerated
their principles and practices to such
enormities as never before could have
been imagined" That terrible drama can
no longer be used by the European adj
vocates of monarchy to make the people
acquiesce in imperial government, for
they clearly see that under the well or
dered rule of the people by the people for
the people the United States has advanc-
ed to the leadership of the nations of the
world, and is inevitably destined to be-
come the most stupendous power ever
known. Monarchy may exist for many
years but its eradication is inevitable. Its
supporters feel that 1t is doomed, feel 1t
more deeply than they are willing to. ad-
nit and they realize whence the blow has
come Therefore their hatred.
The disfavor in which we are held by
the manufacturing classes arises, of
course. from the fact that we have not
only refused 10 throw open TO them byth
adoption of free trade the richest mar
ket to be found, but Also that we nave
made our appearance in the markets OF
the world as their successful competi-
tors In nearly every branch of industry.
This competition is certain TO become
keener and keener, and there rs no re-
source against it. Legislation is power
less to defeat it., for the concentration
which is taking place along nearly the
whole line of manufacturing industry,
calls into existence aggregations of cap
itaI so colossal that the men controlling
them are practically invincible In the
fields they occupy. The genius of our
inventors and the skill of our mechanics
combined with the enterprise OF those tnat
employ and direct them make a CONT
bination well nigh irresistible. Until
within a very recent period the manufac-
turers Of Europe did not give up the idea
that we should decide to abandon the
protective principle. That hope no long
or exists The section of the country
which during the past forty years has
furnished the ma orty of the free-trade
votes I'm Congress is becoming more and
more identified with the New England
,olicv. Tariff reduction Is not improba-
be. but It will bring no relief to the man
uractures Of Europe, for IL we have not
already reached we are nearing the point
when competition will be out OF the ques-
tion.
Friendships between nations is beau
+iful sentiment but II exists only In the
bvpocritical professions Of rulers and IN
history which some one has character
lied as "a lie agreed upon"