Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-21
A BANNER EPOCH.
By FREDERIC J. HASKlN.

l[E==
1t is thirteen years ago today since the
Congress of the United States, amid
scenes of dramatic patriotism. wiped out
party lines for the time being. and with
one vote and one voice formally declared
war against Spain. The wonderful po-
litical and economic changes that have
taken place since then marks that action
as the beginning of a new epoch and
no comparison in American history is so
frequently made as that between the pc
riod before and the period since the
Spanish-American war.
TIE expansion that has taken place
since the United States embarked upon
its career as a world power is so great
as to astonish the behOlder when II is
catalogued. The new battieships New
York and Texas could probably defeat
the entire victorious fleet of the Santiago
fight as badly as Cervera was defeated,
and they can hurl more metal at a sin
gle broadside than Dewey's entire fleet
did at Manila bay. Either one of them
could sink a ship like the famous Oregon
before the latter's guns could drop
shell close enough to do damage. The
old Texas. beside the new one. would
a
yet this is but typical of the wonderful
growth Of every thing American.
The United States not only rivals Great
Britain now in being nation upon whose
in our continental domain vast expansion
has taken place. The growth in our pop
ulation since the beginning of the Span
fsh-American war is greater than the
entire population of Spain today. We
have added enough people to our CONT
mental Territory SllhSftfnto the DODlI-
lation Of Brazil: enough to replace every
man. woman and child in the entire ter
ritory from the Rio Grande to the Pan
anna. canal.
The expansion of population has brought
with It expansion everywhere else. and
Expansion Everywhere now need
Since War With Spain. 100000
600 in circulation as compared with less
than s., 600. OOO. 900 at the beginning of the
Spanish-American war. The entire con-
tinent Of South America does not have
as much money in circulation as is repre-
scented by the gain the United States has
made in this single thirteen-year period.
AS evidenced by bank clearings. the bust
in that time. Taking these two state
ments together. it is easy to see that the
average dollar has figured in many more
trades in 1910 than it did in 1898. The
bank clearings are more than fifty times
as great as the amount Of money in cir
culation, so that, emitting the vast
banks every piece of money passed
through fifty hands during the year. At
this ratio the travels Of the smaller de-
nominations must average 200 transac-
tons year.
The wealth of the country has kept pace
with the population and growth of bust
ness during the period under review. If
all the laws of per capita increase that
have obtained in the past hold good TO-
day. the national wealth is probably $780,.
OOO. 1000, 900. The increase since 1898 would
thus be about So. 600. 900. 600. That is four
times as much as the total wealth of
Spain at the time of our dispute with her.
The usufruct of our national wealth activ-
tiles for thirteen years is as great as the
entire national wealth Of Germany ten
years ago, and almost as great as that of
France. Only England and France in
1898 could show greater aggregate wealth
in the thirteen years. Our gain repre-
sents more than the entire wealth of the
remainder Of the western world at the be-
ginning of the Spanish-American war.
been equally wonderful The imports Of
the United States are now two and half
times as great as in 1898. The increase
alone exceeds the total imports of China,
and Is greater than the imports of all the
rest of North America from Hudson bay
to Panama isthmus, with all Of South
America thrown in. The expansion of
our export trade has amounted to more
than half billion dollars, and exceeds
the entire export trade of Spain and Italy
together. 1t almost equals the entire
foreign sales of the vast Russian empire.
Il i
That there has been an increased use
of the mails since the declaration of
war against
Increase In Mall Spain is DEM
Eight Billion Pieces. the fact that
Uncle Sam h3ndles 1900. OO0, 600 pieces
a year today. as compared with 5000 O0O.-
600 pieces then. This expansion alone
represents a greater mail business than
that Of the German empire today.
greater volume than that Of Great
Britain and all her colonies together. 1t
is nearly one-fifth as great as the en-
tire mail business of all the other coun-
tries of the civilized world together.
II anybody thinks there was much
glory in defeating a country like Spain
he will have his mind disabused when
he is told that the mere additions which