The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-07-17
HOW WE ARE HATED.


why 1T is that this country has acquired the
vindictive dislike of all the Spanish speaking
peoples of the world except the Spanish them
selves In Spain and among the pure bred
Spaniards, wherever found the feeling toward
us ranges from tolerant to cordial In the
Philippines, in Mexico Cuba. nearly all the
countries of South and Central America, we are
detested among the masses OF the people Yet
the records seem to show that never have
done them anywise than good or undertaken
to plumber or Cypress them. Even where Amer
lean capitalists and adventures have stood
in" with local governments rather audaciously
the country has been developed and opened up
and conditions have been improved
1t IS explained sometimes that the American
going into countries and among peoples he re-
CARDS as inferior to his own makes no such
concealment of his opinions and feelings as
poiteness and prudence requires, but, to the
contrary. rather proclaims his contempt for his
surroundings, He assumes the position OF In
structor, Here In the South we have some
taste Of this when fellow citizens from the West
and North have come among and begun i'm
mediately TO compare conditions with those
at their homes and to try to teach us to do
as they have been accustomed to doing. Doubt
less Southerners going to other parts OF the
country give themselves airs and boast Of the
superiority of people, and climate and things IN
this section. All of us are disposed to brag
more or less The late John s, Wise, once, in
"a published article, said there was In New York
no person more offensive than the professional
Southerner" who because of his birthplace as
sumed to have more courage, better manners and
higher patriotism than anybody else. This kind
of assumption is irritating, no matter by whom
1t Is made or who the victim OF It.
However Americans may differ among them
selves on the respective merits of their various
States and methods, all unite on point the
moment they the border Of foreign
land. The United States. for every one OF them
becomes instantly Gods country" and its peo-
Pile Gods people" They do it even In Great
Britain and the English do not relish 1t espe-
cially. although they blessed with common
sense and sufficient self-conceit of their own to
enable them to laugh at it-and at us 1t Is
hardly palatable, though to Cuban Mexi-
can, for instance to hear American residents and
visitors talking freely with enquiries as to
when did you leave Gods country" When
will we get back to Gods country" 1t is dis
tinct and constant offense to the native who
probably respects his own birthplace as sin.
cerely as do our own. We might be patriots
and loyal Americans and be less arrogant and
obstrusive with it.
Yet perhaps the most general and potent
cause of our unpopularity is the traditional and
natural unpopularity of the reformer and social
revolutionist everywhere-es especially when he is
not tactful in his reforming and revolutionizing
We have been compelled to introduce reforms
wherever we have gone. 1t has been necessary
for lis to teach the value of time and promptness
to people unaceustomed TO hurry For the pro-
motion Of sanitation, business and efficiency we
have been compelled to require changes OF old
habits and established customs. Even when we
have demonstrated the value Of our innovations
and new laws and regulations our very success
has been resented because 1t carried with It
condemnation of the loved and cherished old
ways and illustration of superiority, in
respects. at least This hate. as Kipling
told us in famous several years ago, is
part of the white mans burden More or
less of it is unavoidable; but there is a ques,
ton whether We could not have contrived to
have II less instead of more II our manners
and tact had been better and had been not
quite so vanglorious and self assertive as usu.
ally are,
The best for dislike of us would be
for people of some other race to take our place
for time at least In the Philippines, for in
stance. the native newspapers begin already to
consider the results of Japanese occupation
They have before them the instance of Korea
They begin to realize that the Japanese would
give them kind of rule very different from
that OF the Americans We have regard for
individual. personal and property rights re-
quired under our laws, which does not trouble
impede yellow friends while they are
busy taking possession of a country and
bringing its people into subsection. Therefore,
Filipinos who, in their dislike for us were
expressing gleeful hope for our overthrow have
taken second thought and are conceding that