"Cbc Conservative ,
enco to a complete change of adminis
tration. President MoKinley is now
surrounded by cabinet officers of
capacity and experience ; and he has put
good men at the head of affairs in Cuba ,
Porto Rico and the Philippines ; while
in case of a change in the presidency
nobody can tell to what sort of persons
the great offices of the government
would be intrusted. "
A DEFINITION OF
EDITOR CONSERVATIVE :
Let us first consider what it is not.
Imperialism is not necessarily the main
taining of an emperor or of imperial
forms. Those who suggest this are trying -
ing to throw political dust into the eyes
of the people.
Nor does imperialism necessarily in
volve an abridgment of the citizen's
rights. The Englishman possesses as
much freedom as the American , and ,
with the sole limitation in the choice of
his ruler , enjoys an equal share of con
stitutional rights. But his queen is an
empress , his country arbitrarily rules
subject-races without their consent , and
he is consequently living under the
reign of imperialism.
The century dictionary gives as one
definition of imperialism : "The prin
ciple or spirit of empire. " In other
words , uny government conducted ac
cording to the principles or spirit of an
empire is a government of imperialism.
Let me illustrate : President McKinley's
message to congress ( Deo. 6 , 1807 , ) con
tained the oft-quoted paragraph :
"I speak not of forcible annexation ,
for that cannot be thought of. That , by
our code of morals , would be criminal
aggression. "
What did that mean ? It clearly
meant that forcible annexation might be
right according to the moral code of
monarchies or empires , but that it is a
crime according to the code of morals
which should govern a republic. In
other words , forcible annexation is not
republicanism ; it is imperialism.
Still another illustration : Hon. Theo
dore Roosevelt , in his "Life of Benton , "
( page 266) ) says :
"No one would wish to see any other
settled communities now added to our
domain by force ; we want no unwilling
citizens to enter our union ; the time to
have taken the lands was before settlers
came into them. European nations war
for the possession of thickly-settled
districts , which , if conquered , will for
centuries remain alien and hostile to the
conquerors. We , wiser in our genera
tion , have seized the waste solitudes
that lay near us , the limitless forests and
never-ending plains , and the valleys of
the great , lonely rivers , and have thrust
our own sons into them to take possess
ion ; and a score of years after each con
quest we see the conquered land teeming
with a people that is one with ourselves. "
What does Mr , Roosevelt mean ?
Evidently , that the peopling of unoc
cupied or sparsely-settled territory is
American expansion ; but that the ar
bitrary seizure of thickly-populated
lands against the consent of the con
quered race is European imperialism.
An early American poet , in an ode to
Columbia , brings out the same contrast :
"To conquest and slaughter let Europe
aspire ;
'Whelm nations in blood and wrap cities
in fire ;
Thy heroes the rights of mankind shall
defend ,
And triumph pursue thee , and glory
attend. "
The arbitrary imposition of external
laws on a people sufficiently numerous
to constitute a nation is imperialism.
The assumption by any nation of the
right of adjudging the measure of self-
government sufficient for any other
nation is imperialism. The clause in
the republican platform referring to the
Filipinos : "The largest measure of
self-government consistent with their
welfare and our duties shall be secured
to them by the law" breathes the very
essence of imperialism.
The government of men without their
rightful participation in the governing
legislative body , the enforcement of
taxation without representation the co
ercive imposition on a governed race of
less favorable laws than those enjoyed
by the governing race , this , or what
we are now doing to the people of Porto
Rico , is imperialism.
The claim that one people can sell
another people without their consent ,
the arbitrary seizure of thickly-popula
ted lands for professed selfish or un
selfish purposes , the attempt to enforce
unfounded sovereignty by military
power , the murdering of thousands of
human beings because they are inspired
with the republican virtue of desiring
their independence , all this , or what
we are now doing in the Philippines , is
imperialism.
The spirit of true republicanism
should engender a deep realization of
the destined equality of all men in their
rights and privileges , a passion of free
dom for ourselves and for the whole
human race as well , a conviction that
men and nations of men belong to them
selves and are entitled to their own nn-
trammeled pursuit of happiness , and
an eagerness to start other races on their
national course with the rich blessings
of full emancipation and independence.
The theory that one man , because he
is whiter or stronger , has title to greater
rights than another the willingness , for
glory or for profit , to hold another race
in subjugation , the readiness by force
to exploit foreign lands and foreign
peoples , the relegation of sovereignty
and of government to the arbitrament
of might instead of the forum of right ,
this is imperialism.Louis
Louis R. EHRIOH.
Colorado Springs , Colo. , Oct. 11 , 1900.
Some one has
MFK OF BRYAN.
said that the story
of a man's life can be better told and
more faithfully portrayed by his own
letters than by the words of a friendly
biographer. The letters depict the man
as he is and not as the world conceives
him to be. There is a marked difference
between what men are and what people
think they are. A truer character
sketch of the real Bryan cannot be
found than that contained in his personal
correspondence. To give the people of
the country a better and more correct
insight into who Bryan is and what he
is , THE CONSERVATIVE publishes a few
of the letters written by Mr. Oroker's
protege , those which relate to his politi
cal life.
Mr. Bryan is now bitterly and ap
parently uncompromisingly denouncing
trusts and by trusts he means all large
aggregations of capital in corporate
form. In 1889 he sought a position in
which he would have bad a part in the
control of the largest corporations in the
state of Nebraska. He aspired to be a
member of the railway commission , a
state board , created by act of the legis
lature of the state of Nebraska , to regu
late and control the railways of the
state. This was the first public position
sought by Mr. Bryan. It marked his
entrance into political life , as a candi
date for office.
It is quite interesting to know the
controlling motive , the original am
bition of Mr. Bryan
Why ?
in desiring to serve
the people of his state in a' public
capacity. Why did he wish to become
a member of the railway commission ?
No doubt , those who have been deluded
into believing what Mr. Bryan is saying
now , would reply that he wanted the
office that he might better promote the
interests of the "downtrodden masses"
and protect the "farmers" of the state
from the "greed" and "extortion" of
the "railway octopus. " But Mr. Bryan
gives quite a different answer. In a let
ter under date of January 11 , 1889 , he
thus stated his reason :
"I assure you that it is the money
that is in the office and not the honor
that attracts me. Yours very truly ,
"W. J. BRYAN. "
So it was only a pecuniary reason , a
mere financial consideration , a cold
blooded dollars and
Principle.
cents proposition ,
that impelled the peerless , the "un
selfish" Bryan to become an aspirant for
the public service. This was eleven
years ago. In the meantime has his
sordid nature changed ? Has he been an
advocate of principle or a mere child of
expediency ? The following letter indi
cates his position on the question of
prohibition , and shows whether his
stand upon this question was determined
by principle or expediency :
"LINCOLN , Neb. , Oct. 11 , 1890. Dear
Sir and Friend : Your favor just re
ss.