Pile on the brown man's burden, If you should earn the rancor Pile on the brown man's burden, Their squeamish course have run, CHAPTER XXXI. OUR FUTURE POLICY. BY THE HON. J. G. CARLISLE. [From Harper's Magazine. Copyright 1898 by Harper & Bros.] Whether we shall enter upon a career of conquest and annexation in the islands of the seas adjacent to our shores and in distant parts of the world, or adhere to the peaceful continental policy which has heretofore characterized our national course, is by far the most important question yet presented for the consideration of our people in connection with the existing war with Spain. To even the most careless observer of current events it must be evident that the avowed purpose for which the war was commenced has passed almost entirely out of the public mind, and that, if not wholly abandoned before hostilities cease, it will be accomplished merely as one of the incidents. attending the success of our arms, while other results having a permanent and controlling influence upon our future national life and character may make this struggle with a feeble monarchy in Europe the commencement of a new era in the history of the great American republic. Spain may not be able to maintain her existing dynasty, or even her present form of government, and yet it may be that she has provoked a conflict which will mark the beginning of a radical change in the domestic and foreign policy of the United States, and possibly the beginning of a revolution in the opinions and aspirations of our people which may ultimately prove fatal to the simple republican institutions under which we now live. The only causes for the intervention which resulted in the present war, as stated by Congress in a resolution approved by the President, were that "the abhorrent conditions which have existed for more than three years in the island of Cuba, so near our own borders, have shocked the moral sense of the people. of the United States, have been a disgrace to Christian civilization, culminating, as they have, in the destruc tion of a United States battleship, with 266 of its offi cers and crew, while on a friendly visit in the harbor of Havana, and cannot longer be endured." For these reasons only it was declared that the people of the island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent; that it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the government of the United States does demand, that the government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from that island and its waters; and that the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the several states, to such extent as may be necessary to carry the resolution into effect. Even if the resolution had stopped here, it would have been perfectly plain that there was no purpose of conquest or annexation, because the right of the people of Cuba to be free and independent, which includes a right to establish and maintain a separate government of their own, was distinctly declared; but, in order to give the world positive assurance of our unselfish purposes, the resolution concluded with the unequivocal statement that "the United States. hereby disclaims any disposition to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said island, except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the island to its people." This demand, with the disclaimer incorporated in it, was at once officially transmitted to our minister at Madrid for delivery to the Spanish government, with the announcement that a response must be made within forty-eight hours. That government having prevented the delivery of the demand by the summary dismissal of our minister, Congress promptly declared that war existed between the two countries from the date of that act, and we are now engaged in the prosecution of hostilities for the reasons and purposes set forth in the resolution. Unless bad faith is to be imputed to our government, the conclusion is inevitable that if this demand had been complied with, the whole purpose of our intervention would have been accomplished, and no further proceedings of an unfriendly character would have been taken. If we were actuated by any other motives or entertained any other purposes, then was the time to declare them, in order that our own people and the world at large might fully understand the grounds upon which it was proposed to justify our action. Honesty is the best policy for nations as well as for individuals, and having thus explicitly declared the purpose for which the war was to be prosecuted, we cannot, without serious injury to our national character and standing, enter upon a crusade for the spoliation of the enemy's territory. Such a course would not only forfeit the respect and confidence of other nations, and deprive us in large part of the sympathy which our declared position has secured for us, but might provoke such unfriendly proceedings upon the part of other governments as to embarrass our operations and greatly prolong the strug gle. But our national honor is pledged, and ought to be sacredly preserved, no matter what view other nations may take of the subject. Even if the permanent acquisition of the colonial possessions of Spain were desirable under any circumstances, we could not afford to seize and hold them as the result of a war professedly prosecuted solely in the interest of humanity and the right of the people to govern themselves as independent communities. It is urged by some, however, that we should appropriate the territory of the enemy as an indemnity for the expenditures incurred in the prosecution of the war, but it is obvious that such a course would be wholly inconsistent with the motives avowed by Congress as a justification for the intervention. It would place us in the humiliating attitude of demanding compensation for our humanity and love of liberty. It was perfectly evident from the terms of the resolution that war was expected to follow a refusal by Spain to comply with our demand for the liberation of the suffering people of Cuba, and it was of course well known that war could not be prosecuted without an enormous expenditure of money and a great sacrifice of life and property; and yet a solemn pledge was made that we would not attempt to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over the very territory which furnished the whole cause for intervention. It would be a mere quibble to say that the pledge applied by its terms to Cuba only, and that we are therefore free to seize and appropriate Spanish territory in every other part of the globe. The declarations of the government must be taken as a whole; they announced the motives for the intervention and the object intended to be secured; and the pledge was incorporated only to give additional and positive assurance to the world |