The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-02

The practical sen@e of the American has
been quick to turn ideas into dollars"
The second great factor In the indua-
trial growth OF tho country has been its nm.
| paralleled command of natural resources
! Prof. Emery reminds us that the area oF
tho United States at the close Of the civil
war was the same as Its present area, cx-
elusive OF Alaska and the island posses.
, s!ons, namely, 3,O2S,6OO square miles
| Within the area this situated In to be found
| greater variety OF climate, soil and min
erai resources than In any equal area Of
the world. "The arid plains which lie wes
OF The one h,lndredth meridian are sepa-
belts NJ arabic land, broken only by the
Allegheny Mountains, producing @ vast va
| riety OF products, ana roughly GA,in.
guiahed by their chief crops, the spring
wheat belt in the North, the central bel, Of
winter wheat and Indian corn and the
Southern cotton bolt. West Of this fer,"
territory lie the plains which, though called
the Great Desert, are the seat Of vast Cattle
and sheep ranches; and beyond the great
basin formed by the Rockies and the Sierras
liz the Pacific States with their lumber
and wheat end fruits. The mountain
States are rich in valuable ores-gold, silver
and copper while coal and iron. minerals
even more important for industry, are
widely distributed within the great belts Or
arabic territory already described, through
ont the Allegheny region. and even fur
Their East The supply Of anthracite coal
comes exclusively from a small area In
mort heastern Pennsylvania; and most of the
bitumnons coal still comes from the great
Allegheny deposit which stretches from
western Pennsylvania to Alabama; but there
arr. coal beds of vast extent in Illinois and
Indiana, In the prairie States beyond the
Mississippi, and in the Pacific States of the
Northwest Iron ore is also widely dis-
the Allegheny region and on the southern
shore Of Lake Superior The full extent
of the mineral resources OF the country In
even yet not known To the men who be-
gan TO develop them at the beginning OF
The new era they may well have seemed
inexhaustible, IA ever new discoveries were
made, not only of new deposits OF known
materials, but of such unexpected re-
sources AZ the supplies of natural oil and
gas.
We should not omit TO notice that, in
an antepenultimate chapter on "The United
States as World Power" Prof. John 3.
Moore of Columbia University review,
the diplomatic history Of the country from
1885 TO 1902. II IL not easy to discover
from this chapter whether the author takes
the imperialist or the anti-imperiaiist
view of our acquisition of the Philippines.
His account Of the negotiations whereof
that acquisition was the outcome IN
entirely colorless, and. perhaps, on that
account IL all the better adapted to incor-
poration In a work which. az we have said,
IL likely to be accepted in Great Britain
az an authoritative history. He points
out, what is often overlooked namely,
that the conditions under which the United
States might deem il duty to intervene
In Cube we're first set forth. not by Pres-
dent Mckinley, but by President Cleve-
land In the lstter's annual me sage OF
Dec. Z, 1898, he declared that at could not
be reasonably assumed that the United
States. although anxious to accord all due
respect TO the sovereignty of Spain, would
indefinitely maintain an expectant atti-
u,de; and no added that, when SPANS
inability TO suppress the instruction had
become manifest, and the struggle had
degenerated into hopeless strife, involving
useless sacrifice Of life, ard the destruction
OF the very subject matter Of the conflicr,
q situation would be- presented in which
the obligation 10 recognize the sovereignty
of Spain would be superseded by higher
obligations"
After tho close Of Mr. Cleveland's second
term, the situation in Cuba continued to
grow worse, and the distress produced
by Gen. Weyler's Concentration meas
ures excited widespread and intense
Indignation in the United States. Never
theess, President Mckinley, in his annual
message Of Dec. q, 1897. expressed the opin-
ION that the time had not come for the
recognition either of helligereaoy. or Of
Independence, or for Intervention The
truth il tina, Wall Street did not desire
WEI with Spain, and no contemporary
observer believes that war would have
occurred hut for the destruction OF the
American battleship Maine in the harbor
of Havana The effect produced by that
incident on American public opinion forced
the hand Of the Mckinley Administration,
and, in spite of the persistent opposition
offered by Speaker Reed, both houses OF
Congress on April 1919, 1898, passed joint
resolution declaring that the people OF Cuba
'are and OF right ought to be free and indie
pendent: demanding that Spain should
at once relinquish her authority and govern
n,ent In that island; directing and empower
ms" the President to use the army and navy
to enforca the demand; and disclaiming
for the United States any intention 10
acxercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or con-
troll" over tho island, Except for the paci-
hcation thereof The approval OF this
resolution by President Mckinley on April
40 was regarded by the Madrid Government
as a declaration of war. and diplomatic
relations between the two countries CEASED
II may he remembered that the protocol
signed at Washington on Aug Il: 1898. by
the Secretary of State, empowered for the
purpose blythe President, and by the French
Ambassador, NJ. Cambon. acting und are
special full power transmitted to him from
the Queen Regent of Spain, embodied.
without qualification or reserve, the terms
offered nv the President on July 80. One
OF the articles contained an acknowledge
meDt hat the United States were entitled
10 occupy and hold the city. bay and harbor
Of Manila pending the conclusion of treaty
OF peace which should "dstermire tho con-
troll, disposition and government Of the
Phiiippines Dr. Moore thinks that 1t may
be confidentially affirmed that, before tho
des, ruction Of the Spanish feet at Manila,
the acquisition OF the Philippines by the
United States had not been suggested,
even az possible continge ncy, and that,
although Dswsy's victory attracted uni
versal attention 10 the islands, Il wac not FOL
lowed by any general and definite eXhibi-
ton OF desire for their annexation. The