Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1918-12-15
CHAPTER ".

1IlAl l En- / y
SO far it has been shown that his
torcally our ideal as a nation has
been to be guided by the same prin-
ciples of morality which individual
men accept. 1t has been suggested
that nations as a rule hold themselves
to no such ideals, and examples were
given from ancient times. But per-
haps the modern nations are better.
Let us see.
Fifty years ago Africa was the Dark
Continent. There was only a small
fringe of colonies around the edge.
At present practically all of this vast
territory belongs" to one or the
other of the European nations. In
some way this situation is an improve
ment. But nobody pretends that the
native peoples were consulted about
the matter very much The advant-
ages they have derived were individ-
ual. The purpose of this colonization
and occupation was primarily the ag-
grandisement and enrichment of the
people of Europe. If there is any
doubt about this matter it is only
necessary to recall the cases in which
the natives felt that their interests
were at variance with the interests
of the invaders.
The natives were ruthlessly cruelty
repressed, few years ago the atroc-
tiles in the Belgian Congo were out
raging the humanity of the world.
Accustomed as the world was to the
exploitation of inferior" peoples, it
was felt that King Leopold had gone
too far. But Belgium has now re-
deemed herself, and by her action in
Europe has given the world notable
example of national courage and fl
deity to principle.
But, to return to Africa. The ma
ton which has the largest interests
there is England. BY capturing the
| German colonies and completing her
protectorate in Egypt she has formed
a continuous chain from the top OF
Africa to the bottom. The Cape TO
Cairo railroad can pass entirely
| through British territory. A study or
F, the history of Egypt in the past thirty
years would convince anyone of the
+! inevitable urge toward complete po-
| litical domination, which any power
| full nation feels when her economic
| interests are at stake. Over and over
again England has said that she
sought no protectorate over Egypt.
But almost in spite of herself the pro-
|
it is not wholly in harmony with the
principles of private morality. She
| has taken Egypt without consulting
Egypt. This criticism Of our allies is
not yery pleasant. Tt is like CRITICS.
| ing ourselves. But let us go on with
II. honestly and perhaps later it viii
appear that our own record as ma
| { on is not altogether fine. We can
| console ourselves If we find that Ger
manys record is fundamentally
worse.
Well then. Most of us can remem-
\ her the Boer war. The sympathy OF
| America was with the Beers. Even
in England throughout the war there
were men who bitterly denounced the
government There is no more ter
ribe Indictment in the language than
the biting words of Herbert Spencer
after it was over And all the world
knows Herbert spencer as one of the
foremost thinkers of his time.
Let MS turn to France. The major
ity of the territory in northern Africa
belongs to her. Her latest acquisi-
/ ton was Morocco. To be sure under
4 the Algeciras treaty she had agreed to
| respect the political integrity of Mo-
4 rocco. This did not prevent her from
going ahead when it was to her eco
J nomic advantage to do so. OF the ma
tions of Europe only Germany pro-
tested 1t is generally supposed that
! England, who was also signatory of
the treaty, had a secret agreement
with France to say nothing, provided
Trance would wink at her operations
In Egypt. At any rate, Germany alone