The Washington herald., 1908-06-28
By JOHN $. HARDWOOD.

American proconsuls now rule an area
of the earth's surface about as large as
France. Belgium. and Holland taken to-
gether. and inhabited by nearly fourteen
and half million souls. a population
greater than that OF England and Wales
together as late as 1881.
only a few years ago If a good fairy
had knocked at the doors of certain
American lawyers and announced to them.
Get ready You will shortly be a great
proconsul in a foreign land; your power
viii be nearly autOcratic: YOU will con-
troll countries great in extent and popu-
lous." the lawyers would have got out a
commission Of lunacy on her at once.
These lawyers needed not OF proconsuls.
They looked forward hopefully to an in
crease In business and quiet old age
with a country house in their native VIII
lage.
Then there were some officers Of the
army and navy. most of them young and
unknown outside Of the service. who. If
the good fairy had appeared with her
message IN their quarters, would have
called the corporal Of the guard TO put
her out. They looked forward only 10 a
slow promotion. final retirement, and
death. There were 20 be no more wars
fought by this country for hundred
years. Proconsuls. indeed. What was
proconsul. anyway. and what did YOU do
with it2 The only sensible thing was 10
study your profession against the time Of
examination for promotion aud keep tabs
Of. Irp nf -
so as 10 know about when a promotion
and an increase of pay came due. Life
was ordered IN advance interminably in
the service and I'm the lawyers Offices, aud
Il was ordered humdrum by fate.
PrOcOnSuIs Come Next.
Then. one day. contrary TO the statute
in the case made and provided. contrary
70 the experts" there came a war-and
then American proconsuls sitting I'm the
seats OF the mighty; ruling over great and
small islands far and near, living In an
cient palaces; governing strange peoples
OF whom, a short time before, they had
scarcely heard the names; handling the
most intricate problems Of administrative
government. receiving salutes OF cannon
they appeared in state And doing il all
So well. so naturally-as ~ they We're born
10 IL and had been at il all their lives-as
10 command the admiration of the world.
Few Roman proconsuls-fOr the world
was not SO populous In the days Of Cae-
sars-gOverned 50 many millions as are
under some Of the procOusuls sent out
from these Western regions where the inn
perial eagles never few. And these Amer
lean lawyers sailors. and soldiers Civ,
good government 10 peoples who never
had good government before. In ten years
they have done more for the countries
they governed in the way OF advancement
IN modern civilization than the countries
had had given them in a hundred years
before. The adaptability of the American
10 new conditions his custom or turning
his face Ito the instant need Of things
was never so strikingly illustrated as II
this sudden evolution of soldiers. sailors
lawyers. and laymen into a class Of sue
cessful governors of great provinces and
strange peoples with ways of life anC
methods Of thought entirely foreign q
those Of the men sent TO rule them.
Here are some OF our present proconsul'
and the lands they rule.
Quietly Prncticing Law.
When the Spanish war broke out jaime,
+. Smith was quietly practicing law il
his native state OF California. He wa,
not by any means an old man nor yet ;
very young man. He was just arrived al
the age when his habits OF life might b,
supposed TO be formed and his walk 81
life marked out for him. He had a gOot
law practice. which he was increasing
and was a man well thought of-a risini
lawyer Some day people said he nigh
achieve a judicial position of prominence
for ne was we'll liked, worked hard, anC
knew his business.
Out across the long. rolling waves o
the Pacific. Mr.. Smith knew. in a vagu,
way. was a group Of islands called IN,
Philippines and a city called Manila Blu
What was Hecuba 20 him or he 90 Hecu
be-" IL Mr.. Smith wanted relaxation