Senator Cullom Says Uncle Sam Leads the Nations
(Copyright, by Prank G. Carpenter.)
m HICAOO, Sept. 8 (Special Cor.
I I respondence of The Uee) It was
I J In a biff hotel on the shores of
Ml
I --ike Michigan that I chattel
last nlKht with Se nator Shelby M.
Cullom about Uncle Sum as an in
ternational quantity. Senator Cullom
lias had much to do with the growth
of this country. Horn In a g cabin In
Kentucky, he came In a canvus-eovered
wagon to Illinois when Us prairies were
little more than a wilderness. He too!c
purt In the campaign which made Abra
ham I J ri coin president, and had been
elected to congress when Uncoln was as
sassinated. Slnco W& lie has been In public
life, and much of tho time In the house of
representatives and the United States sen.
ate, where lie lias been prominent In Inter,
national affairs. He Is today the chairman
of the foreign relations committee of the
senate, and as such Is the head of the
congressional branch of our treaty-making
power.
"Undo Sam Is bigger as an International
quXility than lie has ever been," said Sen
ator Cullom. "Ho has grown to bo a giant
within the past few years. The world pow
ers now realize that ho is their equal, and
It may bo said that he Is at the head of
the procession."
"When did this corao about, senator?" I
asked.
"Our big growth began during our war
With Spain," said Senator Cullom. "Before
that the grent Kuropean nations rather
looked down upon us iu a secondary force
in the world of olltlc8. They considered,
us a nation of smart traders fresh, green,
and exceedingly boastful. They talked of
us as worshippers of the dollar, nnd up
peared to think we would not light, and
could not If wo would. They disparaged our
navy und laughed at our little army as
compared with their gigantic military ma.
chines. The war showed them that our
guriucrs knew how to shoot, that we un
derstood how to handle our ships, nnd fhat
our army was not restricted by the num
bers In the ranks. They learned that every
American citizen makes good soldier tim
ber, and that the American national Hplrit
Is not afTected by the American pocket
book. Our easy success In that war
astounded them, and they began to re-
Spect Uncle Sam. They Increased that re
sect when, with John Hay as secretary
of slato, we put ourselves at the front In
Bottling the Chinese trouble which followed,
and they now regard us as one of the big
gest factors In every world problem. Our
opinion Is asked before any settled policy
Is promulgated 1 njlght even say before It
Is formed."
"Did the United States really do much as
to the Chinese settlement, senator?"
"It did everything," was the reply. "Had
It not been for our government China would
now be divided up among the great nations
of Kurope. Such a division wus contem
plated and Germany, Kngland nnd Russia
had euch taken a foothold, when Stcretary
Hay said that the International policy
should bo the 'open door;' that Ih, that
China should bo Independent nnd free to
the trade of nil nations. After that the
other powers fell Into line nnd advocated
the same policy. The comparatively easy
terms of peace which China secured were
largely due to the United States, and today
the fact that that country is not the light
ing ground of the war between Japan and
Russia is due to the masterly state papers
of John Hay. Wo have also opened up
China to trade as never before, liy our
new treaty the local taxes on goods from
Station to station throughout the empire
have been abolished, new treaty ports have
been thrown oten and on the whole China
has been made a free trading Held for the
world."
"You seem to give Secretary Hay oil the
credit for that work, senator."
"I do," replied Senator Cullom. "'Others
have helped carry out his Ideas, but his Is
the master mind as far as our diplomatic
relations and successes are concerned. I
consider Mr. Hay a very great man. Ho Is
the greatest secretary of state this country
has ever had. Ho has statesmanlike abil
ity of the highest order allied to sterling
courage and the genius of common sense.
He Is experienced In defiling with foreign
ers and with nations. He Is a man of let
ters nnd speaks the foreign languages
fluently. He Is cool, conservative and at
the same time bold and quick to act. No,
T nn' think we have ever had so great
secretary of state. The whole world
acknowledges his ability."
"How long have you known Secretary
Hay?"
"All his life," was the reply. "He comes
from my state, having been born at War
Saw, in the western part, on the Mississippi
river. His uncle, Milton Hay, was my law
partner, and I knew his father very well,
lie was a doctor and a man of ability. I
remember he once Introduced me when I
rpoko in Warsaw. " His Introduction was
longer than my speech, but It was good,
nevertheless.
"My first close association with John
Hay was when he entered my office In
Bprlngrteld to study law. He had been to
chool at the Academy in Bprlngrteld and
T . '
SENATOn STTELBY
had then gone east to Brown university,
where he graduated. Our firm was that
of llay & Cullom, and John came Into the
ofllce largely on account of my partner,
his undo Milton Hay. This was Just before
the war when John was 18 or 19 years old."
"What kind of a law student was he,
senator?" I asked.
"He was very bright," snld Senator Cul
lom. "He had not been In the office six
weeks before we could tell him" what we
wanted In the way of papers, and he would
go off and draw them up. He could draw
up a bill In chancery, and, In fact, almost
any kind of a paper. We had other stu
dents who could never learn."
"It must have leen then that Hay became
acquainted with Uncoln?" paid I.
"Yes, although I suppose Uncoln must
have known Hay's father and may have
known him as a hoy. Lincoln was a great
friend of Milton Hay, and he was fre
quently in our office. When Lincoln was
elected president he made John Hay one
of his secretaries, and he then began that
diplomatic training which Is so valuable to
him today."
"Did you have anything to do with the
appointment of Colonel Hay as minister to
Kngland?"
"I have always had a high opinion of
Hay's diplomatic ability," replied Senator
Cullom, "nnd when McKInley was elected
I wrote a letter, without solicitation on the
part of IlMy or any one else, advising the
president to give Hay the mission to Kng
land. He got the appointment, but 1 can
not say that my letter was the cause of
that. When John Sherman had left the
State department and Secretary Day was
nbout to be elevated to the supreme court
I again wrote McKinley, ndvlslng him to
call John Hay home anil make him secre
tary of slate. In my litter 1 put forth his
peculiar fitness for the position, Haying that
he could handle the foreign powers better
than any other man living, nnd could fill
the pi ice as well ns cue man In the country.
McKInley was then considering both Hay
and Whltelaw Held. There were many In
fluences at work, but Hay was chosen,
nnd I don't think that McKInley regretted
it."
Tho conversation hero took a foreign
turn and I nsked the senator whether he
was satisfied as to what had been done ns
to Cuba. Ho replied:
"I think that Island Is being greatly bene
fited by Its association with us nnd that the
United States should be co:igrntul ited
on Its connection with It. We have
through our treaties secured Its Independ
ence and at the same time made it prac
tically a dependency of tho United States.
By those treaties Cuba cannot enter Into
any questionable or entangling alliances
with foreign powers; It ennnot go Into debt
beyond Its ability, to easily pay, and Its
situation Is such thnt sooner or later It
must become even more closely associated
with the United States than It Is now. It
mny be that It will one day ask to le an
nexed to the union."
"How does Cuba get along governing It
self?" "Very well, so far," replied Senator Cul
lom. "Estrada Talma, the president, Is
an able man and he can control the peo-
V 1
i iff
.if,''-
M. CUI.OR
pie. He Is a strong friend of tho United
. States, having lived for some time In this
country. I can't say what will be tho
status of the Island when he passes away."
"How Is the country prospering?"
"It Is growing very rapidly, as far ns
new industries and the development of Its
resources are concerned. Many Americans
are Investing In Cuban lands and in other
properties of all sorts. Sir William Van
Home, the head of the Canadian Pacific
railroad, who got his railroad educu'.ion In
tle United States, Is now building a rail
road from one end of the Island to the
other. This will open up much country
which has heretofore been Inaccessible."
"What is the condition of Pbrto Rico?"
"I think It steadily grows better," re
plied Senator Cullom. "Porto Rico is a
valuable island, although by no means so
rich as Cuba. Cuba is one of the most
fertile spots on the globe. The Porto
Rlcans nre easily governed. We have es
tablished schools everywhere there, and 1
believe that tho Island will eventually be
one of our most desirable possessions."
"How about 'Santo Domingo, senator?
Will we not have to take that island to
keep the people In order?"
"I hope not." replied the senator. "At
least not until they have had enough wars
to wipe out the turbulent elements among
tho Islanders. I think we have our hands
full as it Is."
"Are you satisfied with tho conditions of
the Philippines?"
"Yes; the Philippines are doing very well
now and they will become nu?h More
valuable as time goes on. Tho people ate
fast recovering from the war, and we may
expect a continued peace."
"Do you think Canada will ever be a part
of the United States, Senator Cullom?" I
asked.
"I used to hope so, and that the time
would come soon. It may still come, but it
seems to me that it is farther nway now
than It was twenty years ago. The British
provinces north of us have become united
since then, and a greater love for the
mother country and tht, King has sprung
up."
"How about the great northwest, where
so many Americans are emigrating? Will
those American settlers not create a pro
annexation sentiment?"
"It may be so, nnd I should like it so. I
should like to se the United States extend
northward In one great block to the Arctic
ocean."
"Yes, and southward to the Panama
canal?" paid I.
"I don't know nbout that," replied the
chairmin of the foreign relations commit
tee, "although our destiny now seems to
point that way. Americans by hundreds
nre Investing In Mexico. They own mines,
railroads and lands. They have property In
Central America, and now we have ac
quired that ten-mile strip acrops the Isth
mus of Panama and are to build a grent
canal through It costing hundreds of mil
lions of dollars. All that indicates the
Americanization of this continent, and I
don't know that I like It. I don't want to
see our country grow so big that It will
be unwieldy, nor to overload it with races
different from ours. As to the Canadians,
we could easily assimilate them, for they
are Anglo-Saxons, as we are, but the race
to the south are Latins, and the Latin
races do not mix with ours so well. Indeed
I doubt If it would be wise to acquire those
countries with the idea of their eventually
becoming states of this union."
"What do you think of the Panama
canal, senator?"
"There is only one way to look at it, and
that is as one of the most Important un
dertakings of the century. It is now a
fixed fact, and within eight years It may
be completed. We shall have about 20,000
men at work there within a few weeks."
"Do you apprehend more trouble as to
the Monroe doctrine?"
"I do not. The Germans and the Kng
llsh both acknowledge It, and it will be
come more firmly established as time goes
on."
"What do you think of the Perdlearls In
cident, senator? I mean the American
Citizen that the Moroccan brigands recently
captured and held until he was ransomed."
"I don't like it and I do not approve of
our method of yielding to such matters.
The great powers ought not to be at the
mercy of the forty thieves who act as
brigand chiefs in the Mohammedan regions
of Africa and Asia. If their governments
cannot restrain them, if they cannot pro
tect their own citizens nnd their foreign
residents, they ought to be wiped out. Such
things are an outrage In these days of the
twentieth century civilization. It may be
that our action as to Miss Stone gave us
the reputation of being easy to work, and
that the stealing of Perdlearls was a repe
tition of It. I don't know. I nm sure, how
ever, that such actions should be prevented
nnd that their perpetrators should be made
examples for the world to see."
"I should like to nee Morocco cleaned
lip." continued Senator Cullom. "That
wholo North African country was for years
a den of pirates which preyed upon the
commerce of Europe. We had a war with
them ns far back ns 1S01 because we would
not pay the tribute they wanted, and In
1S15 Commodore Decatur brought the Dey
of Algiers to his knees by threatening to
blow his city to ruins If he made any fur
ther demands on American vessels. Indeed,
tho United States was the first to bring
the roblwrs in North Africa to time."
I hero referred to Senator Cullom's early
law practice when John Hay was one of
his students, and nsked him If he had
ever regretted leaving the law for poll
tics. Ho replied:
"I can't say that I have. My political
career has brought me into the swim of
public afTalrs nnd I have been a pirt,
greater or less, of our history for the past
forty years. I have liked the life nnd its
( struggles the nblllty. to do things and to
ie a part of things. I have been nble to
icoomplish something for my friends, and
a little, I hope, for my country. And still
I have had to pay well for this, in that I
nm a poor man today! Had I stuck to tho
law I should probably be rich. The year
before I came to congress Milton Hay nnd
I each mado $20,000 out of our practice;
and the money enme so easily that I never
thought it would not always be so. When
I gave up the law, however, I dropped
my practice, and I have been engaged in
politics from thnt time until now."
"How did you come to enter politics,
Senator Cullom?"
"It was largely through Abraham Un
coln. He was my Ideal hero and the friend
of my boyhood. When he was elected as
president I had a desire to go Into con
gress, and the night before he left Spring
field to bo inaugurated, I told him: "Mr.
President, I want to come to Washington
before you leave." Lincoln's eyes laughed
ns I used the words 'Mr. President I was
then tho young spenker of the Illinois leg
islature, and he replied, emphasizing the
formal mode of address: 'Mr. Speaker, I
hoje you will.'
"It was then that I began to scheme to
go to Washington, and soon after that I
was elected to congress. Uncoln, how
ever, warned me not to make polities my
life work, telling me that It would not pay.
I disregarded his warning, and I soon got
in so dtep thnt I could not get out."
FRANK a. CARPENTER.
Up Against It
Six weeks had elapsed since the American
heiress Invested In a title,
"Urd Algernon," she said as they sat at
the breukfast table, "you're a brick."
"Haw!" exclaimed his lordship. "Is that
one of your beastly American jokes?"
"Not on your I O U's." replied Mrs. Lord
Algernon; "you are not only a brlik, but
a gold one at that." Chicago News.
Away from the Past
"In my plans for your new home," says
the architect, "I have provided for a largo,
ornate frhjso in tho wall."
"Don't want it," asserts Mr. Conjeeled.
"What?"
"Not a bit of it. Can't take any chances
on having someone being reminded that I
used to drive an Ice wagon." Judge
