Conservative * 9
increasing self conceit of the victorious
nation , and , worst of all , no moral
triumph to sustain public opinion after
the first excitement should bo past. The
exploit of Hobsou , for instance , which
was trumpeted over land and sea ,
turned out to be useless , and even a
hindrance rather than a help.
Let us hasten to plead the national
childishness as explanation and excuse
for the disgusting osculatory exhibitions
which followed the return of the hero
in his glorious progress through the
length and breadth of a grateful country 1
The conduct of Admiral Dewey at
Manila was wise and generous and
noblo. He accomplished what was re
quired of him ; he maintained his own
dignity without insulting that of other
persons ; he sympathized with the aspir
ations of the Filipinos for an independent
government , and if ho could have had
the direction of affairs , we should have
been spared the embarrassing complica
tions , the unpardonable injustices , the
wanton cruelties of this unnecessary
and inexcusable war. Under all circum
stances he has remained the same
modest , firm , invulnerable to flattery ,
impervious to corruption , incapable of
sacrificing principle to self-interest or
political ambition ; a true , would that
we could say a typical , American.
The childishness of Americans in
general is shown above all in their in
ability to perceive the real tendency and
the inevitable consequences of what they
aye-now doing and allowing to be done.
'Expansion , " to them moans "licking"
the "rebels ; " waving "Old Glory" over
far-off dependencies ; above all , making
"lots of money" out of the tropical
islands. Not only is the question of
right or wrong entirely ignored by the
"imperialists ; " they do not even recog
nize the alternative implied and forced
upon them in the very name of their
party. "Imperialism" covers the whole
matter. An empire cannot continue to
be a republic ; imperial government
demands an imperial head ; the head of
an imperial government is an emperor ;
an emperor cannot stand alone ; there
must bo regular gradations of rank ,
reaching down to the mass of the people ,
"the lower classes. " Are we ready and
willing to take upon ourselves this old-
fashioned , cumbersome , unjust and
illiberal method of holding society
together , a method which was devised
in times of ignorance and is being
gradually outgrown as knowledge be
comes more widely spread ?
We had a fair chance to establish true
liberty and allow the full development
of the individual , which is the end and
aim of existence in every form of natural
life , and although we have neglected
and abused our privileges thus far , there
is a possibility of national salvation , so
long as we hold fast to the foundation
principles of the constitution ; but if we
" " and " "
"expand" become a "world-power"
wo disobey and disown that sacred
charter of freedom , and all the old forms
of slavery will gradually take possession
of our inheritance.
Again , what could be more childish
than the recent progress of the presi
dent , those extended journeys to flatter
the people and secure their votes for the
coming election ? Only one thing and
that is the gullibility of the people in
welcoming such a demonstration. It
was humiliating to every honest lover
of his country to road of the crowds at
every station ; women climbing fences
and clamoring for places where a glimpse
of the august party could be seen ;
crowds at the hotels filing through to
the reception room , every woman's
hand-shake with the president supposed
to count for the votes of all the male
members of her family ; crowds at the
banquets , applauding the platitudes
about "the Home and the Flag ; " bands
of music ; torch-light processions ; fire
works ; all for the sake of ministering to
the vanity of one man , who is determined
to stay another four years in the White
House , and believes ( with good reason )
that a few gracious words , a few friendly
smiles will make the people forget the
long series of miserable blunders and
wilful errors which have plunged the
country into well-nigh irremediable
disaster , both moral and material. Yes ,
disaster. The moral iniquity of the
subjugation , or attempted subjugation
of the Filipinos cannot be covered by
any show of mercy and justice in a
government forced upon them , and the
material advantages offered by "our
new possessions" can never balance the
enormous expense of keeping and guard
ing those remote provinces. Our people ,
just now , are dazzled by the false
prophecies of deceitful demagogues and
drunk with the supposed "prosperity"
which is said to be already overflowing
the country. But that boasted "wave"
is not caused by the acquisition of new
territory , nor by the workings of our
political management at home. It is
partly the result of a bountiful harvest ,
contrasted with the failure of Old
World crops , and partly the momentary
success of great monopolies , the trusts ,
which the present administration is
encouraging to increase and multiply
without lot or hindrance , and which
will eventually bring about either a
ruinous financial crisis , or a bloody
revolution.
Nor have we yet begun to feel the
pressure of the enormous burden of debt
which is hanging over us in the form of
taxes , made necessary by the reckless
conduct of the government. That bur
den will be heavy enough if we stop
now ; it will be unbearable if wo keep
on. Fortunately , there is still time to
face about , drop these ill-gotten goods
and return to our proper task of reform
ing and developing our integral pos
sessions. We have one year left in
which to undo the present fatal policy
and save the republic.
The same childishness which is so
prominent in the ruling party is con
spicuous also in the opposition. What
are the democrats doing to save the
country in the approaching crisis ? They
are advocating the same false and per
nicious theories respecting finance
which the good sense and honesty of the
people repudiated at the last election ;
they are rallying round the same candi
date whoso whole course since his defeat
proves him to be a selfish and conceited
demagogue , and who , even were he
otherwise irreproachable , is too young
for such an office. His comparative
youth may be an excuse for his childish
obstinacy and ignorance in matters of
finance ; but this is no excuse for the
blindness of his followers , who cannot ,
or will not , see that to bring him for
ward again is not only to court certain
defeat , but also to insure victory to the
man and the party whoso nial adminis
tration has made of our recent history a
bloody and shameful record which must
grow worse the longer it is allowed to
be continued.
Nothing can more fully justify the
charge of childishness against the
American people than the unquestioning
confidence placed by the majority in the
wisdom and honesty of the president at
this momentous crisis. "Papa knows
best" may be a good doctrine for small
boys ; but voters are not boys , and the
president is not their papa.
The citizens of the United States
know very little about the real history
of the wars in which they are called
upon to risk their own lives and the
lives of their sons , to say nothing of
their property and their peace. What
they do know , or might know , is that
the president is in the hands of a clique
of "bosses" and demagogues , and that
the welfare of the nation as a whole is
sacrificed to the pecuniary and political
interests of a few mercenary and
ambitious favorites.
It is childish in the president to pursue
such a course of autocratic authority
and persistent secrecy. The day of
reckoning will come , and all those
looked-up documents and suppressed
telegrams and private official orders
will be brought to light , and be recorded
in history as one of the most daring
attempts ever made against the rights
and privileges of a free nation.
"Woe to the people whose King is a
child1' saith the prophet. He might
have added : "Woe to the land whose
people remain children and are willing to
be governed by a child ! "
ELIZABETH E. EVANS.
"The man who , without any degree
of wealth , has an employment is as
much at his ease as he who without
labor has an income of an hundred
crowns a year. "
