The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-04-30
Continued from page Two.

aeouisition could in no sense be treated
"a rounding out any existing claims
When we acquired II we MADE eVlueh.
once for all that consciously anu Oh Ses
n,,roose we had embarked on career OF
s~nansion. that we had taken our place
sn,onr those daring and hardy nations
mo r,slx much with the hope ana desire
~ winning high position among the sIeal
nowers OF the earth. As - olteh "
case I'm nature the law or deNeloptlou'
OF a living organism showed itsen IN ~
actual workings TO be wiser than lie WIS
dom OF the wisesL
PEOPLE GREAT WORK.
.,, -, exnansion was by far the
greatest work or our PeopIe ~ saon-
s,sers that intervened between the auop-
80 ~ the Constitution and the outpreaA
of the Civil War. There were @ -.
Questions OF real moment ant importance
and there were many which az thc tin'
seemed sucn TO those engaged III aH
xerlng them; but the greatest ie"e VI
our forefathers OF those generauois W.
,he deed Of the men who. with pack TRAN
or wagon train, on horseback on ioo''
or NV boat the waters. pushed the IRON
Tier ever Westward across the continent.
Never before the world seen the klhu
of national expansion when save our
people all that part OF the American con
tinent lying west OF the thirteen or'sr
nal States lhe greatest landmark IN
which was the louisiana Purchase. Our
ari,unph I'm this process OF expansion Was
indissolubly bound up with the success
OF our peculiar kind OF federal govern
mant. and this success has been SO COM
plete that because of It's very complete
ness we now sometimes fan 70 appreciate
not only the all-imp9rtRnce but the ire
mendous difficulty of the problem with
which our Nation was originally tacea
When our forefathers joined TO call IN
10 heing this Nation, they undertook n
tssk for which there was but little en-
couragSng precedent The development
of civilization from the earliest period
seemed 10 show the truth of two prop
ostions: In the first place. IL had always
proved exceedingly difficult 10 secure
both freedom and strength I'm any gov
ernment; and in the second place IL had
always proved well-nigh impossible for
a nation 10 expand without either break
ing up OF becoming a centralized tyran-
ny.
With the success OF our effort TO com
bine a strong and efficient national
union able 20 put down disorder at home
and TO maintain our honor and interest
abroad, / have not now 10 deal THIS
success was signal and all-important, but
IL was by no means unprecedented In the
WAS unprecedented. The history OF
Rome and Greece illustrates very well
the two types OF expansion which had
taken place In ancient time and which
had been universally accepted as the
only possible types up 10 the period when
as a nation we ourselves began to take
possession Of this continent.
The Greclan states performed remark
able feats OF colonization, but each col
rs ed m
independent OF the mother state. and In
after years was almost as apt TO prove
tts enemy as its friend.
NO NATIONAL UNITY.
Local self-government local indepen-
dence, was secured, but only by the aDso-
lutte sacrifice OF anything resembling ma
tionai unity In consequence, the Greek
world for all Its wonderful brlliancy
and the extraordinary artistic. literary,
and philosophical development which
has made all mankind it's debtors for the
ages, was yet wholly unable to with
stand formidable foreign foe. save
spasmodicaly. AS soon as powerful. per-
manent empire arouse on its outskirts the
Greek states In the neighborhood Of such
empires fell under their sway. National
power and greatness were completely
sacrificed to- local liberty.
red. The imperial city rose TO absolute
dominion over all the peoples OF Italy
and then expanded her rules over the
entire civilized world by process which
kept the nation strong ami united. but
gave no room whatever for local liberty
and self-government. All other cities
and countries were subject to Rome. In
consequence this great and masterful
race of warriors, rulers, road-bullders
nd aAn mi nj ctr raj fpr al I.f
ible impress upon all the after life OF our
race. and yet let an over-cen traliza tion
eat out the vitals OF their empire until
Il became an empty shell: so that when
the barbarans came they destroyed only
what had already become worthless 10
the world.
The underlying viciousness OF each type
OF expansion was plain enough and the
remedy now seems simple enough But
when the fathers OF the republic first
formulated the constitution under which
we live this remedy was untried and no
one could foretel how IL would work
They themselves began the experiment
almost Immediately by adding new states
20 the original thirteen.
VIEWED WITH ALARM.
Excellent people in the East viewed
this initial expansion OF the country with
kiNaA HsAdAAi. a. hNAliik lAlt tb-
lonial period many good people in the
mother-country thought IT, highly i'm
portant that settlers should bc kept out
OF the Ohio Valley In the interest OF the
fur companies. so after we had become
nation many good people on the Allan
tic coast felt grave apprehension lest
they might somehow be hurt by the
westward growth OF the nation.
These good people shook their heads
over the formation OF states ln the fer
Tile Ohio Valley which now forms part of
the heart al our nation. and they de-
clared that the destruction or the repub-
lic had been accomplished when through
Louisiana purchase We acquired nearly
half Of what Is now that same rcpub-
Hes present territory. Nor was their
feeling unnatural only tho adyentu.
rous and the far-sceing can. be expected
heartily 20 welcome the process OF OK
pansion, for the nation that expands
Is q nation which is entering upon a great
career, and wll greatness there must
OF necessity come perls which daunt all
save the most stout-hearted.