The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1904-09-23
IMPERIALISM.
Joseph Pulitzer Points Out n Dangei
That Menaces the Republic.

What is imperialism? 1t Is not mere
external show. thrones. or crowns, or
sceptres. 1t Is the spirit OF coercion.
OF conquest, Of arbitrary power. of
force, OF war, Of national aggrandize-
ment, OF military self-seeking. of lingo
exploitation abroad among weaker
/ peoples, ruled with no regard for equal
| right, in colonies and remote dependen-
| cles.
| To see Imperialism full blown one
must go to England At homo English
institutions are free. The Cabinet is
committee Of Parliament. The King
| has not a thousandth part OF your
power and patronage. He could not
| lump a doctor, even very sklltul and
agreeable one-not even Treves, who !
saved his life-into a major-general'
| shin. or even lieutenancy. He cannot
appoint a fourth-class postmaster. He /
has none of the enormous powers over
| corporations which enable you. first, TO
make an inqulsition into the secrets oil
every combination OF capital; second,
to smash one such combination as an
example. and. third. to send that grand
inquisitor Cortelyou, who was your
own private secretary and later Cabi-
net member for commerce and corpo-
rations. armed with all his deadly Sc
crets. to pass the contribution box
among the others.
Tho members OF your Cabinet Gr0
your clerks, not your masters. You
yourself are the actual head OF tho
Government, the actual COMMANDMENT
chief Of the army and navy, the Trainer
of policies, the dispenser OF patronage
and the arbiter OF peace or war. You
, appoint or control, directly or Indirect
ly. 200 900 Office holders, most OF whom
hold their places at your pleasure, You
name the judges who interpret tie
very laws you treat with contempt or
1agrantly violate. You dictate to Con
gress what measures 1t shall pass and
what 1t shall kill You would be a
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 a farhion-plate
But the United k!nElom with 49,
Il an non
p 900 people In nor-.el'-CoycrninG crown
! colonies and dependencies. The vel
fare of quarter Of the population
; OF the globe is absolutely at the mercy
p of the governing classes Of Great Brit
t ain. Three hundred million people in
India. under the compulsion Of a quar-
ter OF a million soldiers. live and work
to furnish official berths to English
Il younger sons and profit for English
I capitalists
! But England has no written Constl-
! tuition But England has no Declare
ton Of Independence But England is
not based upon the idea Of liberty and
4 equality. On the contrary, in England
. everybody is a subject of the King
. even dukes In America we have no
subjects-wc have no room for either
> subjects, scrfs or slaves We are free
men. Every citizen is a sovereign
. or was. In theory at least England Is
n based upon the idea Of privilege, OF
#, birth. OF rank yes, OF lawmakers not
r, elected by the people not selected for
II merit or fitness. but lawmakers by the
II mere accident Of birth-all ideas odious
4 to Americans. all representing privi-
legged classes, all Numerically opposed
y, to true Americanism. all antagonistic
to our own system.
Besides, only one hour separates
l. England from the Continent OF Europe,
Il whose iOOOOO.OOO people have always
hated her and would have destroyed
her but for her protecting moat OF salt
water patroled by a great navy. She
r depends for life upon food brought
r. across the ocean. and sea power is the
O condition OF existence OF her widely
4 scattered empire.
:, With our own vast continent to he
/ developed with political and business
corruption gnawing at our national
life; with the gravest social and po-
y litlcal internal problems pressing for
= solution: with the foundations of the
Constitution undermined by lawless
unions ON one side and lawless trusts
! on the other; with law and order and
prosperity threatened by labor wars;
wi h the yeast Of socialism and an
archy fermenting In the public nina;
with nine million negroes TO be edu"
Gated and fitted into some sort Of toll
cradle living relations with their white
neighbors, you propose to divert the
nations thought and energy from tho
duties that crowd upon 1t at home TO
career of rowdy adventure abroad.