The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1908-07-25
sP|'LI[NDOR Of [IhPjR
GLORY OF: EXPANSION
Have Proved nlusionary Fakes to
the Domestic Prosperity
! Of Germany. r.
Colonies and Huge Military and
~ Naval establishments Are
Huge appointments:

huge U1sappolntments.
g. The London Spectator has recently
been discussing "the growth in the
sense of disappointment among the
that we Americans can consider with
profit. The Spectator says that:
Results Disappointing. =
For a while the people were proud
Of the new position of their great
country in external affairs, and Of, the
reputation attained by their emperor
among sovereigns and statesmen"
They seem to have expected that the
splendor Of empire, the glory of colo
NAL expansion, and the :magnificence
of army and navy would result in
more domestic prosperity; but colo
mics and a huge military and naval
establishment must be paid for, and
the Germans who are dependent son
salaries find themselves distinctly
poorer men," The deficit in the i'm
perial exchequer is alarming; only last
Thursday a dispatch from Berlin an
nounced that the government must
borrow $25O,000,o0o in the next five
years. The taxes levied in order to-
bear this crushing burden mean higher
rent and raise in the cost of food
and clothing. Thus those persons who
depend upon the universities, the state
services and the army, and even those
persons who are employed by indus
trial enterprises, doubt angrily whe-
Their affairs in general are well man
aged" In other words, the policy
no 6yy1y nd f~,,, vat %r%1
has produced its inevitable conse-
|, quences. -
Lessons for Americans.
The experience of Germany is not
without interest to- us. For a decade
now the brass band has been playing
at Washington, and people are begin
!! ming to grow little tired of the noise
1t was just ten years ago a few days
ago that Dewey sailed into Manila
Bay; and our old men began to dream
dreams and our young men to see
visions of Oriental conquest. Politi-
clans who find it easier to talk than
to think have been saying a great deal
about duty, destiny, the stars and
stripes, the guns of God, the floating
fortresses Of freedom, our colonial en-
p1re, the world power. These are SON.
orous words, just the thing for per-
grafton in congress and on the stump.
They will always evoke wild applause
among those people who worship gilt
buttons and regard a military parade
as the finest spectacle on EARTH. And
what is much more to- the point, this
spread-eagle and lingo oratory helps
to get generous appropriations for
n nj Nv
| genuine patriotism is good as far as
| 1t goes; but encouragement of military
display is far better, for that means
| money for army contractors and build.
| ers of battleships. Every well-in-
formed man is aware that this hurrah-
ing over the navy is largely Fictitious,
worked up in congress and In the press
by lobby Of manufacturers. All this
fine writing and speaking about the
Hand of God and the Heart of the
| Republic is a calculated assault on the
| treasury. In 1897 the combined ex-
| penditures of the War and Navy de-
partments were sS5,7S7,1O1: in 1907
the total was $222,614,309 That in
crease of $136,S27,208 has gone into
somebody's pockets, and that some
body is naturally enthusiastic for the
old flag and an appropriation.
| Effect Upon Prosperity.
| But what do the rank and file Of
our citizens, who foot these bills, get
In return? The workman pays higher
prices for his wooden coat, for his hat,
for his tools, for his tea and coffee,
for his children's toys-for a thousand
and one things that are now reckoned
! $ho
clerk, the small shopkeeper, the teach
er and the clergyman, the average
doctor and lawyer, all of them living
on narrow incomes, pay their share,
and the rich man pays his: But where
Is their profit in the transaction? If
we were devoting a surplus of $780,
100000 a year to education, in order
to increase the efficiency and intelli-
gence of our citizens; if we were put
ting this sum into the Improvement of
the health of the community, by cam
paigns against tuberculosis. typhoid;
d1phtheria and other diseases-if we
were embarking on such beneficent
undertakings, the result would be
palpable, though not so snowy as brass
bands, gilt buttons and glittering war
ships. But as it u.s., each of us, from
wage learner to millionaire. has less
to spend on himself and his family
Evidently, then, we are investing our
money intellectual and moral satisfac-
. lions But we ask again: What are
!. they? Who can lay his finger on them
and say, This Is worth $135, 1000, 900 %
4 Argument for Big Navy. =:.<i
Indeed. the only serious argument
for q big navy advanced by the chief
| advocate Of that policy. President