THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



VOL. XIII. 



CHICAGO, FEBRUARY, 1899. 



NO 



THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN SMERIGl 



There are so many things to 

 Annexation? ^ e cons idertd,, so many issues 

 to be met. in forming an opin- 

 ion as to the best policy to pursue in rela- 

 tfon to the newly acquired territory of the 

 United States, that the more careless are 

 inclined to echo the sentiment of the little 

 verse: 



O Dewey at Manila, 



That fateful first of May. 

 When you sank the Spanish squadron 



f n almost bloodless fray, 

 And gave your name to deathless fame; 



O glorious Dewey, say. 

 Why didn't you weigh anchor 

 And softly sail awav? 



And by so doing leave no vexing questions 

 to perplex us. 



But Dewey did not "sail away" and so 

 we have issues to face which it is cowardly 

 to evade. Far be it from us to give the 

 impression that we regret such being the 

 case! We rejoice in Dewey 's victory. 

 Through it the United States has not only 

 obtained valuable possessions ani gained 

 a much-needed station in the Orient but 

 has also forced European nations to recog- 

 nize her power by land and sea. 



Let us not be confused by the cries of 

 "Contrary to the Monroe doctrine! Con- 

 trary to the principles of Geo. Washing- 

 ton! Contrary to the Constitution!" which 

 are constantly heard, but. laying aside 

 sentimentalism. let us consider the. ques- 

 tion practically: The Monroe doctrine was 

 intended to prevent the encroachment of 

 foreign powers in the western continent: 

 t is a fence built to keep out intruders, not 



a prison wall to shut in the dwellers. The 

 doctrine of "non-intervention'' as promul- 

 gated by Geo. Washington is as wise a 

 measure today as it was years ago: we 

 should neither become entangled in the 

 quarrels of foreign nations nor form al- 

 liances with foreign powers. But the right 

 to acquire territory and to defend it. the 

 right to protect Americans, no matter in 

 what portion of the globe they may be. is 

 not denied us by the non-intervention 

 theory. 



Do we believe in annexing the Philip- 

 pines? If by "annexation" is meant con- 

 ferring upon the Filipinos privileges such 

 as the people of the United States possess, 

 most emphatically no! Let a government 

 best suited to their needs be given the 

 Filipinos; and as soon as they are capable 

 of it give them self-government, as it is 

 proposed to do with Cuba: and Dewey is 

 credited with saying that the Filipinos are 

 more capable of governing themselves 

 than are the Cubans. Theorists get all 

 worked up over the thought that if such 

 a government is exercised over these is- 

 lands it will be unjust, that it will be "tax- 

 ation without representation:" it will 

 savor of monarchy: and lastly it will be 

 contrary to the Constitution. It is not 

 contrary to the Constitution, or if it is. 

 then the Constitution has been violated 

 these many years. Should we give to half- 

 civilized races, living on the other side 

 of the globe, privileges which are denied 

 to thousands of intelligent Americans? 

 Would it be any more unconstitutional for 



