New Britain herald., 1924-01-23

this which led him to say, With me q
 predominant motive has been tQ en-
 deavor to give tome to our country
 to settle and mature its yet recent in
 stitutions and to progress to that de-
 gree of strength which is necessary
 to give it command of it's own for tune The policy was 10 gain time
 for the development of strength. 1so-
 Iation was not to be d permanent pol icy but policy in effect during what
 Washington called our period of con { Nalescence.'
 United States Bankrupt Nation.
 "The fourth factor which shaped
 his policy was that the United States vas a debtor nation. When Washing ton became president the United States was in default, virtually bank rupt Despite the genius of Alexander Hamilton, recovery was slow. Wash
 ington realized thst war would pro- duce commercial crisis and he be- lieved a severe financial setback : would upset the constitution. The pressure was for war We did most Of our trading. Such a Var would upset the new financial structure at once.
 The fifth factor which shaped his : policy was the need Of space. As a young man Washington had seen the great west and had gained vision of the possibilities Of American expan- sion. He had the idea firmly in his mind that the Mississippi valley must be added to the United States. He had watched from his youth up the efforts Of France, Spain and England to get possession of that mighty voted to battling with intrigue de- voted to to battling with intrigue de- signed to keep it from coming into the hands of the United States. The idea that dominated his policy in this connection was that time and peace would solve the problem of space. American settlers were pouring over the passes of the Alleghenies and in a few years if he could hold things steady, they would be over the mountains in such numbers that they could defy the intrigues of either France or Spain. America, he said in his farewell address, was still small and weak. He wanted peace until it should become great in size and strength.
 ''The sixth factor which influenced his policy was that Europe repre- sented the center of international af- fairs. China and Japan, and Asia in general, were sealed up. Africa was still a dark continent. South Ameri- ca was unborn as body polite. i a colonial condition. Outside of Europe there were no directing forces in international life. There was not the material upon which America could found rival system. The al- formative was to join Europe or go it alone Tradition was all upon the side Of joining Europe.
 The seventh factor was the geo. graphical position of the United states. This invited us to go it alone. It took over three months for a let ter to 30 from George Washington in New York to Gouverneur Morris in Paris. That factor of distance be- came one Of the corner stones of his policy. Tho doctrine Of diplomatic isolation rested upon two facts
 
 national point Of view: we stood apart by ourselves from a geographical poi notf view.
 The speaker emphasized that Washington did not intend tho fare well address to be a permanent guide. He said himself that it was intended as a campaign document with refer ence 10 the next election. l'unda- mentally it was an explanation for the past and advice for the immediate future rather than for the far future. Washington did not attempt to lay down policy to guide the United States when the conditions changed.
 New Forces tn Play Today
 \ contrast was then drawn between the situation today and that which had existed when the farewell ad- dress was issued. The united States is now a nation in the fullest sense Of the word, and the question whether we shall remain one people has been settled for nearly sixty years. The new government of Washington's day has become one of the two govern ments in the whole world that have not been altered by a revolution since that time. The institutions which Washington described 8s "yet recent" have fully matured. The indepen- dence Of the United States has been fully vindicated. From being q debtor nation the United states has become the greatest creditor in all world history In ten years VI have passed from the position Of the largest borrower to the largest lender. T his brings whole new set or forces into play. As long as the nation is debtor ii is to it's financial interest, l as Washington pointed out. to have it's creditors fight among themselves. If drives down the value Of their money and it is easier for the debtor to pay its bills. That is what hap pencd for the United states between 1914 and is17. But when a nation is creditor nation it has direct financial interest in keeping the peace among it's debtors. The United states has mortgage of fifteen bil- i lions on Europe. md no fire insur- ! snee. IL bchooves US to see that Europe does not play with matches ! # we have any desire or hope of coi- 1 lecting the hftecn billions. Whereas : in NashinEton's tino good business i. said to iet Europe fight. today good i business says help Europe keep the ptace.
 In Washingtoa's day the United States needed spacr. It was "srps1I and weak" Today it has a conti- i EentsI empire. Y is the largest compact nation in thr world. and it {, fe FEFfsf7F ffarrv4#r-#-Fv- .F