The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-07-24
The Sweep Of Empire
BY ARTHUR w. CALHOUN.

TN our first lesson we found out some
l. thing of how the American empire
came to be. "What?" says Henry
Dubb, American empire! Don't you
know that the United States is re-
public?" To be sure we do; but what
has that to do with the question? A
republic can be the ruler of an en-
pire Just as easily as a monarchy can.
In fact, of the four great empires in
the world today two are ruled by re-
publics and two by monarchies. The
French republic has vast area OF
subject territory that it rules despot-
ically; so has the American republic.
The French and American empires
are Just as fine examples of imperial
ism as are the British and Japanese
empires.
But why empire? What of the
rights of small nations?" What OF
making the world safe for democ-
racy?" Well, because we human be-
ings have material bodies with mate
rial needs, every human problem goes
back in last analysis to the fact that
we live in a world of limited size and
limited resources. There doesn't seem
to be enough stuff to go round, and
instead of doing teamwork on the job
of mastering the resources OF the
world for human good every nation,
that can, spends as much as possible
of it's energy trying to get something
away from somebody else or to keep
some other power from getting some
thing away from 1t.
There was no American empire to
speak of till the end of the nineteenth
century. Up till then economic en-
terprise found plenty TO do to gut the
resources of our continental area; but
as soon as everything in sight had
been grabbed, then it was proper to
force a war on Spain in order to steal
whatever she had left that was worth
while. OF course, Mckinley had to
do a lot of praying before he decided
that it was right to steal the Philip
pines. but the answer came right foS
the business interests that wanted
fling in the tropics. From then Amer
lean expansion has gone on till now
the United States bosses practically
all of North and South America, much
of the Pacific ocean, and, since the
world war, a good part of Europe.
DUT tho Uncle Sam is the biggest
- toad in the puddle, his claims to
rule the world are not undisputed.
There is the British empire, scattered
over all the seas. John Bull says the
sun never sets on his flag. AS one of
his subjects said, it wouldn't be safe
to leave it in the dark! 1t may be
true that wherever the British flag flies
two blades of grass grew where one
grew before but the Indians and
Egyptians, and Irish, and the rest
don't want to eat grass. So the Brit
ish empire has troubles of its own,
aside from the fact that it has to
watch for fear Uncle Sam will take
over the outlying areas. You remem-
Der the United States feet recently
visited Australia. What for? As a
gentle hint to the Australians that II
might be better to put their trust in
the Stars and Stripes than in the
Union Jack. AS for Canada, everyone
knows that 1t is part of the Ameri-
can economic system already.
So we're going TO read book by
n Britisher-The Plebs Outline OF
Economic Geography" which was
written by J. r. Horrabin, and pub
lished for use of the National Council
cf ahor Collepas the revolutionary