The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1904-09-29
MPKRIAIIsM.
-
JesspA Pulitzer Points Ont q Danger
Tat MESSAGES the Republic.

What Is imperialism! It is not mere
external show. thrones, or crowns. or
seeptres- II Is the spirit Of coercion.
Of conquest. Of arbitrary power. Of
torce. Of var. Of national aggrandize-
meat. Of military self-seeking. Of lingo
exploitation abroad among weaker
peoples. ruled with no regard for equal
FighI In colonies and remUte dependen-
xies-
TO see imperialism full blown one
must 20 to England. At home English
institutions are free. The Cabinet IL
4 committee OF Parliament The King
has not q thousandth part Of your
power and patronage He could not
Jump a doctor, even a very skilful and
agreeable one-not even Treves. who
saved his life--into a major-general.
hip. or even lieutenancy. He cannot
appoint q fourth-class postmaster. He
aas none Of the enormous powers over
corporations which enable you. first. 10
cake an inquisition into the secrets OF
every combination OF capital; second.
20 smash one such combination as an
example, and. third. to send that grand
snquisitor Cortelyou. who was your
Jwn private secretary and later Caoi-
act member for commerce and corpo-
ations. armed with all his deadly Sc
erets. to pass the contribution box
among the others.
The members OF your Cabinet are
your clerks. not your masters. You
yourself are the actual head Of the
Government. the actual commander-in-
chief of the army and navy, the Trainer
OF policies, the dispenser Of patronage
Ind the arbiter of peace or war. You
appoint or control. directly or Indirect
~. zoo. 600 office-holders. most OF whom
hold their places at your pleasure. You
name the judges who interpret the
very laws you treat with contempt or
Aagrantly violate. You dictate to Con-
Rress what measures 1t shall pass and
what 1t shall kill. You would be q
very great potentate, even II you OBJ
served the constitutional limitations OF
your office. Probably you exercise
more actual. personal power than any
monarch on the globe.
The King Of England. by compari'
son. is merely fashion-plate.
But the United Kingdom. with 49,
OO0, 1000 inhabitants, rules over 100000
900 people in non-self-governing crown
colonies and dependencies. The well
fare Of one-quarter Of the population
of the globe is absolutely at the mercy
of the governing classes Of Great Brit
ain. Three hundred million people In
India. under the compulsion Of quar-
ter of a million soldiers. live and work
to furnish official berths to English
younger sons and profit for English
capitalists.
But England has no written Consti-
tuition. But England has no Declare
ton Of Independence. But England is
not based upon the idea Of liberty and
equality. On the contrary. in England
everybody IL a subject Of the King
even dukes. In America we have no
subjects-we have no room for either
subjects, serfs or slaves. We are free
men. Every citizen is a sovereign
or was. In theory at least. England Is
based upon the idea Of privilege, Of
birth, Of rank-yes, Of lawmakers not
elected by the people, not selected for
merit or fitness, but lawmakers by the
mere accident of birth-all ideas odious
to Americans, all representing privi-
legged classes, all Numerically opposed
to true Americanism. all antagonistic
to our own system.
lBesides, only one hour separates
England from the Continent Of Europe,
whose 100000. 900 people have always
hated her. and would have destroyed
her but for her protecting moat Of salt
water patrolled by a great navy. She
depends for life upon food brought
across the ocean, and sea power is the
condition of existence Of her widely
scattered empire.
With our own vast continent to Be
developed: with political and business
corruption gnawing at our national
life: With the gravest social and po-
litical internal problems pressing for
solution: With the foundations Of the
Constitution undermined by lawlesa
unions on one side and lawless trusts
ON the other: With law and order and
prosperity threatened by labor wars;
With the yeast Of socialism and an
archy fermsnting in the public mind;
With nins million negroes to be edu-
Gated and fitted into some sort Of toll
srable living relations with their-whita
neiEhbors. yoa propose to divert the
a - - = =