The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-14
ARTICLE v. THE PURCHASE OF FLORIDA.

THE PURCHASE OF FLORIDA.
 The early history of Florida we'll iI- Illustrates the causes of Spain's failure to retain her colonial possessions. There it seemed if she had a perman- ent foohold. insured by discovery, and a possession extending over two cen- turies and a half. but she paid no at- tention to the development of agricul- ture; she gave no thought to building up the permanent prosperity of the colony. She was intent only upon the acquisition of immediate wealth. Her eyes were fixed only upon the present. It was suggestive that the discovery of Florida was due to the quest of fabu- lous treasures of hoarded gold and a wish to find the mythical fountain of youth. In the same spirit the colony was administered.
 After the seven years war 1t was carelessly given away, and she obtain ed possession of it again after the Revolutionary war only because Eng ing. When a little later Florida be- came an object of desire to the United States. Spain's hold upon the colony was too feeble to cause any obstacle to its acquisition by this country. Her subjects had no love for her such as the French in Louisiana had for their mother country. Her government was too weak to perform it's obligations to the neighboring states. The colony was too little developed after three centur- ies Of inaction to make 1t a property valuable enough for struggle to re- tain 1t. In fact. Spain's policy, or lack of policy, had borne its inevitable fruits.
 Three factors combined to cause. the annexation of Florida, viz, its position. its disorderly condition. and Andrew Jackson.
 The situation of Florida made 1t mighty desirable to she people of the United States. It was the corner lot and a most valuable one. Natural bar riers form the best political boundar- les. Italy is well fenced by her Alps, Spain by the sea and the Pyrenees But there Is no natural line of demark- ation between Florida and the Union. The desire for additional land, the ne- cessity of trade and National ambition were sufficient to cause the disorderly frontier territory. Moreover. since Spain held Cuba, her possession of Florida gave her an easy mastery over the narrow stretch of water between Florida and Cuba. and consequently the control of trade in the Gulf of Mexico. This was a source of possible annoyance to the power which in 1863 acquired the Mississippi and which WAS discharging an enormous and er-growing volume of trade down the broad channel of that stream.
 It must be borne in mind, too. that at the period in question Florida extend- ed beyond its present limits. To the West it reached practically to New Or leans, The present States of Alabama and Mississippi were as yet unorganiz- ed. but they were settled, and their natural avenues of trade were the river courses to the gulf. The harbor of Mo bile was especially coveted. The American people and government had claimed, as we have seen in a previous paper, that their purchase of Louisiana included West Florida as far eastward as the present boundary of the State of Florida. Spain stoutly resisted this contention. and there was much fric- tion between the two countries. It is easy to see that Spain's possession of the whole gulf coast eastward from New Orleans was bound to become in- tolerable to the United States. When we look at the way in which she held it and the use she made of 1t, we see that a clash was inevitable within a very few years.
 The situation would have been suffi- ciently trying for the United States if Spain had simply maintained title to Florida and kept the land vacant lots. Or if she had been wise and just and capable as a colonizing boyer and had built up a thrifty. prosperous com munity, peaceably disposed toward us,