New Ulm review., 1908-06-03
The Cost of Empire.

Spain lost her colonies, slowly at
first by incompetent rule and suddenly
at the last because of the sudden ap-
partition of the United States in the
Spanish melon patch. Having lost it's
empire, Spain, curiousiy enough,
promptly began to prosper.
This country got the colonies that
Spain lnst-or some of them-and this
country, too, prospered; but not be-
cause of these dubious acquisitions.
Indeed, they have been source of
tremendous expense and, in the opini-
on of many, Of considerable demorali-
zation. We paid Spain $4,000, 900
for the Philippines, after gaining them
in fair fight Then we spent 5000, 900, :
900 or SO in suppressing the Philip
pine aspirations for the freedom we
ourselves love so we'll. Now, being a
world power by virtue of these far
away possessions, we are spending
$4,000, 900 year on our navy alone,
and our congress, at this session, ap-
propriated more than a billion dollars
which the people must pay in direct or
indirect taxes. Not all of this ex-
pense came from the acquisition of the
Philippines, of course, but a good
deal of it was the natural outgrowth
Of the sudden accession to the condi-
tion Of world power that we bought
with the Philippines.
Spain was made poor by her en-
pire. Her people, burdened with tax
alton to support the empire, and
drained Of their young men to fight
the empires battles, lost courage and
hope, and sank to a very low state.
AS soon as fortune removed the en-
pire, Spain and her people became
prosperous again, and they have been
fourishing ever since.
Surely there is something to think
about here. Spain was poverty
stricken and hopeless SO long as it
was an empire, and prospered again
when the costs and drains of empire
we're eliminated. The United States
has gained her empire, assumed the
costs and drains going with it, and
her people are paying the taxes-pay-
ing more, because we do things on a
grander scale than Spain could hope
to do them.
1t does not follow that we are going
to change places with Spain. We are
Of different stock than the Spanish,
and our people are not going to lose
hope and energy, no matter how much
empire costs us. Some Of US, proba-
bly,, even enjoy the glory Of being
part of an empire, aud are willing to
let the costs go hang.
But if Spain wilted under the bur-
dens of empire, and revived when they
were removed; if the United States
finds itself paying enormous taxes to
support an empire that brings little
profit and much hazard; if these things
are true-and there can be no doubt
that they are true-doesn't our ten
dency toward empire suggest a fruit
full subject for sober thought on the
part Of far-seeing citizens?
Surely the average citizen cares
little for empire. Our continental en-
pire is great enough for him without
going into distant seas and acquiring
territory that brings with it problems
strange and new and menacing. With
out these distant possessions there
would be no need for large navies and
billion-dollar congresses and the taxes
they involve. Without making any
comparison between the Spanish peo-
pie and the American people, isn't the
experience of the former little signi-
fcant and suggestive, in the light of
our new grandeur of empire and glory
of high taxation?-Duluth Herald.