CONGRESS. (ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY.) 



199 



of unlimited authority by Congress. That is a 

 poison which has sapped the life of all republics, 

 and it will sap the life of our republic. If you 

 destroy the germ of our institution you destroy 

 the government built on the germ. 



" They tell us that the accident of war has 

 made it our duty to embrace this dangerous op- 

 portunity and to take within our folds these 

 people not fit to be incorporated in our midst. 

 What duty? Do we owe any other duty to man- 

 kind than to alleviate his condition of hardship, 

 to inspire him with a love of free institutions, 

 and by our example to teach him to follow those 

 institutions? When we get into war, and happen 

 as a result of war to acquire a foothold in the 

 enemy's territory, must we take it, whether or 

 not it will be an element of danger and destruc- 

 tion in our midst? Is that the principle which 

 is advocated to-day? It appears to me so, sir. 



" Do we want this territory as a means of 

 power? It is a source of weakness. Do we want 

 it as an avenue of trade? Sir, the idea is ab- 

 surd. We are -capturing the markets of civilized 

 man. Five sixths of the enormous exports of 

 the United States go to Great Britain. The sta- 

 tistics show that not one tenth of the exports 

 of the United States go to Asia, Africa, and 

 South America combined. Nine tenths of our 

 exports go to our neighbors in western Europe, 

 and, sir, it is manifest that if we want markets 

 for our surplus manufactures, our surplus ce- 

 reals, all that we can not consume, we must 

 send them to people who will consume them. 



" What do the dwellers near the equator con- 

 sume? A half-civilized man wants but little. 

 Such people always export more than they im- 

 port. Their wants are very few. It requires 

 but little to clothe them. They feed at home, 

 and the balance of trade is always in their fa- 

 vor. If anybody will take the list of our exports 

 and imports, he will find that there is not a single 

 one of these tropical countries which does not 

 import more into the United States than it im- 

 ports from the United States; and if you look to 

 see where the bulk of our trade is, you will find 

 that it is with people of our kind enlightened 

 people, consuming people, intelligent people, peo- 

 ple who have wants to be supplied and who have 

 something to exchange as against the products we 

 exchange with them. 



" Sir, those distant possessions would cost more 

 in ten years for garrisons than they would yield 

 profit to the United States in a century. They 

 would be the graveyard of our youth; and what 

 an avenue they would open for the exploiter, the 

 promoter, and the soldiers of fortune! What 

 an opening for piling up taxes to keep up garri- 

 sons, standing armies, and war vessels! " 



Mr. Bacon, of Georgia, on Jan. 11, 1899, intro- 

 duced in the Senate the following joint resolu- 

 tion: 



"Resolved by the Senate and House of Repre- 

 sentatives of the United States of America in 

 Conf/ress assembled, First. That the Government 

 and people of the United States have not waged 

 the recent war with Spain for conquest and for 

 the acquisition of foreign territory, but solely 

 for the purposes set forth in the resolution of 

 Congress making the declaration of said war, 

 the acquisition of such small tracts of land or 

 harbors as may be necessary for governmental 

 purposes being not deemed inconsistent with the 

 same. 



" Second. That in demanding and in receiving 

 the cession of the Philippine Islands it is not the 

 purpose of the Government of the United States 

 to secure and maintain dominion over the same 



as a part of the territory of the United States, 

 or to incorporate the inhabitants thereof as citi- 

 zens of the United States, or to hold said in- 

 habitants as vassals or subjects of this Govern- 

 ment. 



" Third. That whereas at the time of the decla- 

 ration of war by the United States against Spain, 

 and prior thereto, the inhabitants of the Philip- 

 pine Islands were actively engaged in a war with 

 Spain to achieve their independence, and where- 

 as said purpose and the military operations there- 

 under have not been abandoned, but are still 

 being actively prosecuted thereunder, therefore, 

 in recognition of and in obedience to the vital 

 principle announced in the great declaration that 

 governments derive ' their just powers from the 

 consent of the governed,' the Government of the 

 United States recognizes that the people of the 

 Philippine Islands of a right ought to be free and 

 independent; that, with this view and to give 

 effect to the same, the Government of the United 

 States has required the Government of Spain to 

 relinquish its authority and government in the 

 Philippine Islands, and to withdraw its land and 

 naval forces from the Philippine Islands and from 

 the waters thereof. 



"Fourth. That the United States hereby dis- 

 claim any disposition or intention to exercise 

 sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said 

 islands, and assert their determination, when a 

 stable and independent government shall have 

 been duly erected therein entitled to recognition 

 as such, to transfer to said government, upon 

 terms which shall be reasonable and just, all 

 rights secured under the cession by Spain, and to 

 thereupon leave the government and control of 

 the islands to their people." 



Mr. White, of California, in discussing this 

 resolution opposed the acquisition of tropical ter- 

 ritory mainly on the ground of policy. He said: 



" Whatever may be asserted in enthusiastic 

 moments, I do not hesitate to say that it is not 

 the mission or place of the American people to 

 assume responsibility for such a population or to 

 educate, otherwise than by example, and certainly 

 not under the influence of the sword, the protest- 

 ing occupants of tropical climes. I deny our 

 duty to civilize such an aggregation. Clearly 

 these alien races who, as far as history has fur- 

 nished evidence, have not been found adapted for 

 the highest civilization, ought not to be intro- 

 duced here, as they are not competent to partici- 

 pate intelligently and profitably in the affairs of 

 this Government. They should be allowed to 

 pursue their own course, that we may not suffer 

 by their contamination or be diverted from those 

 pursuits which are more profitable to us and to 

 mankind, not only in a financial sense, but mor- 

 ally as well. 



" Mr. President, upon another occasion I had 

 an opportunity to examine, and I attempted to 

 explain, why it was and is that a remote nation 

 or people of habits varying from ours in almost 

 every direction can not be a valuable acquisition, 

 and can not constitute a desirable addition to 

 the American republic. 



" We know that it is difficult to harmonize all 

 of our interests at home. We know that from 

 the Atlantic to the Pacific there are divergent and 

 inconsistent demands requiring determination at 

 the hands of Congress, and that it is nothing but 

 the intelligent and universally prevailing patriot- 

 ism of this land which enables us to come to- 

 gether and act as one for the common good. 

 This indicates our capacity for self-rule, but sug- 

 gests dangers arising from a want of homogene- 

 ity. These perils we should not increase. 



