Under Other Flags 
 
 Travels, 
 
 Lectures, 
 
 Speeches. 
 
 WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN 
 
 1904 
 
 The WooDRUFF-CoLiiiNS Printing Co. 
 
 ijNcoiiN, Nebraska.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 On the High Seas 9 
 
 EuroTJean Letters 11 
 
 Tariff Debate in England 13 
 
 Ireland and Her Leaders 22 
 
 Growth of Municipal Ownership 29 
 
 Frane© and Her People 88 
 
 The Re)»ublic ©f Switzerland. 51 
 
 Three Little Kiugdoma : . . . 58 
 
 Denmark 58 
 
 Belgium 61 
 
 The Netherlands 64 
 
 Germany and Socialism 67 
 
 Russia and Her Czar 77 
 
 Rome — the Catholic Capital 83 
 
 Toistoy, the Apostle of Love. 98 
 
 Notes on Europe 1C9 
 
 Thanksgiving Address, London, England ...... 125 
 
 The Pearl of the Antilles 187 
 
 Birth of the Cuban Republic 156 
 
 Patriotism, Havana, Cuba 171 
 
 Mexico, First Visit 179 
 
 Mexico, Second Visit 194 
 
 Value of an Ideal 213 
 
 A Conquering Nation 245 
 
 The Attractions of Farming 277 
 
 Peace, Holland Society Dinner 291 
 
 Imperialism, Acceptance Speech 1900 305
 
 "I Have Kept the Faith," St. Louis Speech 341 
 
 Naboth's Vineyard, Denver, Colo 357 
 
 British Rule in India . . .363 
 
 Philo Sherman Bennett, at His Grave 379 
 
 Wonders of the West 883 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Frontispiece. 
 
 PopQ, Tolstoy and Nicholas.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The articles, lectures and speeches contained in 
 this volume are published in this form for two 
 reasons First, because I desire to preserve them 
 tor reference; and second, because the inquiries re- 
 ceived in regard to them indicate that others may 
 desire them in book form. The lectures are pub- 
 lished for the first time. The articles on my trav- 
 els, except Notes on Europe, have been published 
 before, and due acknowledgement is made.
 
 On the High Sea 
 
 Introductory to the European Letters Written by 
 Mr. Bryan
 
 On The High Sea. 
 
 On Board "The Majestic," Tuesday Evening, Nov. 
 17. — "Rocked in the cradle of the deep" — I recalled 
 these words when the royal mail ship, "The Majestic," 
 dropped her pilot at Sandy Hook and turned her prow 
 toward Liverpool, but I could not either the first night 
 or the second truthfully repeat the next line — "1 lay me 
 down in peace to sleep." But the ocean was so smooth 
 and the weather so favorable that the evidences of sea- 
 sickness soon disappeared and the trip has been a most 
 enjoyable one. The steamer flies the English flag and 
 belongs to the White Star line, .^he is 585 feet long, 
 58 1-2 feet beam and has a capacity cf 1,433 souls (in- 
 cluding crew of 316). The passenger rates run from 
 $30 steerage to $350 for best rooms in first cabin. There 
 are only 498 passengers aboard this trip, divided as fol- 
 lows : 62 first class, 75 second diss, 361 third class. 
 The boat also carries a large amount of freight. 
 
 We left New York at noon Wednesday, Novem- 
 ber 11, and will reach Queenstown -^oon after midnight 
 tonight (Tuesday, 17th). The west-bound trip is ap- 
 parently made in about ten hours less time because 
 five hours are added to the time in traveling toward 
 the United States, while five hours are subtracted from 
 the time going east. 
 
 Captain Edward J. Smith, commander of the 
 ship, showed a party of us through the vessel and we
 
 8 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 could not but praise the cleanliness and convenience 
 of all apartments and appreciate the efforts put forth 
 for the security of those on board. We were awed by 
 the massiveness of the propelling machinery, and then 
 we went into the furnace rooms and caught a glimpse 
 of the stokers who, down in the dockhold beneath the 
 water's level, shovel in the nearly four hundred tons 
 of coal required for a day's run. These men work 
 four hours out of each twelve and receive about six 
 dollars per week and board — the rates established by 
 the English labor organization. One of the employes 
 in the cabin said that the stokers on passenger steam- 
 ers like "The Majestic" had much more pleasaiyt work 
 than men similarly employed on gun boats, but it is 
 hard to imagine any labor less inviting than that of 
 the begrimed and perspiring men who kept the fires 
 aglow while the passengers above compared exper- 
 iences and discussed questions individual, national 
 and international. 
 
 An ocean voyage furnishes an excellent opportun- 
 ity for extending one's acquaintance. At the table Mr. 
 Charles Michaelson, of the New York Journal, was 
 my neighbor on the left and next to him sat Mr. E. D.j 
 Vaille, formerly American consul at Zanzibar, now on 
 his way back to that country to purchase ivory for a 
 New York firm. To my right sat Mr. Barrett, a Lon- 
 don music writer of distinction. He was returning^ 
 from his first visit to the states. Mr. Balcombe of 
 London and Mr. Warren of Louisville, Ky., both ex-' 
 tensive travelers, occupied seats at the further end of! 
 the table. My son's seat was not often occupied, ow-
 
 ON THE HIGH SEA 9 
 
 ing to a disinclination on his part to risk the effect of 
 the boat's motion on his appetite. At an adjoining 
 table sat three of the most interesting men whom I 
 have thus far met on the trip — Mr. Edgar Wallace of 
 the London Mail, Mr. A. W. Black, until recently 
 mayor of Nottingham, and Mr. A. J. Shepheard, a 
 member of the county council of London. Among 
 the passengers are the Earl of Denbigh and wife, Hon. 
 J. A. Pease, a liberal member of parliament, Mr. S. 
 B. Boulton and family of London, Father O'Grady of 
 the Argentine Republic, Mr. Wetmore, a Chicago 
 grain merchant, and son, and a number of others, 
 each possessed of information in his particular line of 
 work. 
 
 Mr. Michaelson and Mr. Wallace are companions 
 in journalism. Mr. Barrett entertained us with music, 
 while Mr. Black and Mr. Shepheard have given me 
 many valuable suggestions in the line of municipal 
 ownership — suggestions gathered from their connec- 
 tion with the governments of their respective cities. 
 Lord Denbigh is colonel of the Honorable Artillery 
 regiment which was recently so handsomely enter- 
 tained by Boston and other eastern cities. His ban- 
 quet speech at the Massachusetts capital showed him 
 to be a happy after-dinner orator, his reference to 
 the tea incident being especially felicitious. He said 
 that the English and the Americans once had a little 
 difference about tea in Boston harbor. The former, 
 he declared, wanted the tea "in fresh water, hot," 
 while the latter seemed to prefer it "in salt water, 
 cold." He added that the English had learned dur- 
 ing that experience "how not to govern colonies." The
 
 10 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 eari, being a conservative member of the house of 
 lords, has enlightened me in regard to campaign is- 
 sues and election methods and has also given me 
 letters to a number of officials whom I desire to meet. 
 Through Mr, Pease and Mr. Black I have arranged 
 to hear Mr. Asquith, one of the free trade leaders in 
 the parliamentary contest now in progress. He 
 speaks near London next Thursday night. I hope to 
 hear Mr. Chamberlain while in England. 
 
 Mr. Boulton has for several years been connected 
 with the arbitration of differences between labor and 
 capital, and conversed most instructively on that sub- 
 ject, as well as regarding the workingmen's clubs and 
 other means employed for bettering the condition of 
 the wage-earners. 
 
 Father O' Grady enlightened me on many matters 
 connected with his religious work in South America, 
 while Mr. Wetmore supplied statistics on grain trans- 
 portation. All in all, the week on the boat has 
 proved most beneficial and but for the necessity of an 
 early return to the United States I would regret the 
 separation that must take place at Liverpool tomor- 
 row afternoon. 
 
 I shall mail this at Queenstown. 
 
 While darkness conceals the land, we can see the 
 light houses on the Irish coast and feel that the ocean 
 voyage is nearly ended. In the morning we will pass 
 up St. George's channel with the land of Brian Boru 
 on one side and Wales on the other. From now un- 
 til the hour comes to re-embark I shall see and hear 
 and learn, and from time to time give the readers of 
 The Commoner the results of my observations.
 
 European Letters 
 
 The following European Letters were written for and copyrighted 
 
 by the Hearst newspapers, and are reproduced by 
 
 courtesy of William Randolph Hearst.
 
 European Letters 
 
 The Tariff Debate In England. 
 
 An American feels at home in England just now 
 for he constantly reads in the newspapers and hears 
 on the streets the tariff arguments so familiar in the 
 United States. I can almost imagine myself in the 
 midst of a presidential campaign, with import duties 
 as the only issue. I have been especially fortunate 
 in arriving here at the very height of the discussion 
 and I have been privileged to hear the best speakers 
 on both sides, Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, lately sec- 
 retary for the colonies, left the cabinet some three 
 months ago in order to present to the country the 
 tariff policy which he believed to be necessary. Not 
 desiring to make the government responsible for the 
 proposition put forth by him he turned his official 
 duties over to another and has been conducting one 
 of the most remarkable campaigns that England has 
 seen in recent years. 
 
 He enters the fight with a number of things to his 
 credit. He is a great orator, he is pleasing in man- 
 ner, experienced in debate, skillful in the arraignment 
 of his adversaries, and possesses the faculty of so 
 
 13
 
 U UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 holding the attention of his hearers as to make them 
 eager to catch the next sentence. He is not an im- 
 passioned speaker, he has no grand climaxes that 
 overwhelm an audience, but he does have what his 
 friends call a "restrained eloquence" that leaves the 
 impression that he never quite reaches the limit oi 
 his powers. He is a man who would rank high in any 
 land and as an antagonist he would not fear to meet 
 the best on any platform. 
 
 He is about five feet nine or ten inches in height 
 and weighs about 175 pounds. He wears no beard 
 and is impressive in appearance. The cartoonists take 
 liberties with him as with other public men in draw- 
 ings of him, and I may say in passing that there are 
 some newspaper cartoonists over here who do ex- 
 cellent work. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain is urging a departure from the 
 free trade policy which England has followed for fifty 
 years, and he defends his position on three grounds : 
 
 First — That it is needed for the protection of Eng- 
 lish manufacturers and English laborers. 
 
 Second — ^That it is necessary for the defense and 
 strengthening of the empire. 
 
 Third — That a tariff can be used when necessary as 
 a retaliatory weapon to make a breach in the tariff 
 walls that other nations have erected. 
 
 In presenting the first proposition he employes 
 the usual protectionist arguments. He appeals to 
 particular industries and promises better wages to 
 labor and more constant employment. He complains 
 that foreign products are being "dumped" in Eng-
 
 TARIFF DEBATE IN ENGLAND 15 
 
 land. The foreigner is accused of selling his surplus 
 wares here without profit or below cost while he sells 
 for enough at home to enable him to carry on his 
 business. 
 
 I heard Mr. Chamberlain's speech at Cardiff, the 
 chief city of Wales. It was an audience largely made 
 up of wage-earners, and his appeals were adroit and 
 elicited an enthusiastic response. He dwelt at length 
 on the tin industry ; figured the growth of the industry 
 from 1882 to 1892 and showed that during the next 
 decade the tin industry had suffered by the establish- 
 ment of tin plate mills in the United States. 
 
 He assumed that if the English government had 
 been authorized to make reciprocal treaties it might 
 have persuaded the United States to forego the pro- 
 tection of tin plate in exchange for trade advantages in 
 some other direction. He estimated the loss that had 
 come to Welsh workmen because of the lessened de- 
 mand for their tin plate and he contended that it was 
 necessary to give preferential treatment to the col- 
 onies in order to increase or even to hold their at- 
 tachment to the empire. 
 
 In discussing retaliation he seemed to assume what 
 the protectionists of the United States have often de- 
 clared, namely, that the foreigner pays the tax; and 
 his argument was that England ought to tax the goods 
 coming in from other countries if other countries 
 taxed goods imported from England. He has coined 
 phrases that are going the rounds of the press, the 
 most popular of which is embodied in the question, 
 "If another nation strikes you with a tariff tax, are
 
 16 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 you ^ittg: to take it lying down?" This phrase 
 aroused a spirit of pugnacity at Cardiff and was en- 
 thusiastically applauded. 
 
 In presenting the claims of the empire, Mr. 
 Chamberlain occupies much the same position as the 
 American protectionist who contends that a tariff wall 
 makes our own country independent of other nations. 
 Tn presenting this arginnent the late colonial secre- 
 tary has the advantage of the great popularity which 
 he won during the South African war, the spirit of 
 empire being just now quite strong in England. 
 
 So much for the leader of the tariff reform move- 
 ment, for strange as it may seem the English crusade 
 for the adoption of a tariff is being conducted through 
 the Tariff Reform League, which, with Mr. Chamber- 
 lain's endorsement, is asking for a campaign fund of 
 $500,000. 
 
 On the other side are, first, the conservatism that 
 supports the settled policy of half a century; second, 
 the political and economic arguments which weigh 
 against a protective tariff, and, third, the ability and 
 personal influence of the men who are arrayed against 
 Mr. Chamberlain. I have attended a number of meet- 
 ings of the opposition. The first was at St. Neots, 
 Huntingtonshire, where I heard Mr. H. H. Asquith, 
 one of the liberal leaders in parliament. He is of 
 about the same height as Mr. Chamberlain, but 
 heavier, his face and shoulders being considerably 
 broader. Mr. Asquith differs very materially from 
 Mr. Qiamberlain in his style of oratory, but is a mas- 
 ter in nis line. His is more the argument of the law- 
 yer. He is more logical and a closer reasoner. He
 
 TARIFF DEBATE IN ENGLAND IT 
 
 is regarded as one of the ablest public men in Eng- 
 land, and after listening to him for an hour I could 
 easily believe his reputation to be well-earned. 
 
 While he discussed with thoroughness all phases 
 of the fiscal question, I was most impressed with his 
 reply to what may be called the imperial part of Mr, 
 Chamberlain's argument. He insisted that prefer- 
 ential duties would weaken instead of strengthen the 
 bonds that unite England to her colonies because par- 
 tiality could not be shown to one industry without 
 discrimination against the other industries, and he 
 warned the advocates of protection not to divide the 
 people of the colonies and the people of the home 
 country into warring factions and suggested that 
 when these factions were arrayed against each other 
 in a contest for legislative advantage, the harmony of 
 the nation would be disturbed and ill-will between the 
 various sections, elements and industries engendered. 
 
 At a house dinner of the National Liberal club in 
 London 1 heard another member of parliament, Mr. 
 R. S. Robson, a liberal, who took retaliation for his 
 subject. Mr. Robson presented a clear, comprehen- 
 sive and concise analysis of the policy of retaliation; 
 the strongest points made by him being, first, that re- 
 taliation meant commercial war, and, second, that it 
 contemplated a permanent policy of protection. He 
 pointed out that no country had ever aimed a retalia- 
 tory tariff at England; that tariffs in other countries 
 were laid for domestic purposes and not out of an- 
 tagonism to another country. He contended that oth- 
 er countries instead of modifying their tariffs because
 
 18 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 of attempted retaliation on the part of England would 
 be more likely excited to an unfriendliness which they 
 had not before shown, and that if England were the 
 aggressor, in such a tariff war she must necessarily 
 be a large loser. He said that it was impossible to 
 conceive of concessions being secured by a threat to 
 raise a tariff wall in England. It would be necessary, 
 he contended, if a retaliatory policy was undertaken to 
 first impose a high tariff all around and then offer to 
 reduce it in special cases. This would be a radical 
 departure from the policy of free trade and would 
 bring with it all the evils that had led to the abandon- 
 ment of a protective policy under the leadership of 
 Cob den. 
 
 Besides the liberal opposition, Mr. Chamberlain 
 has to meet the antagonism of a number of influential 
 leaders who would indorse Mr. Balfour if he only pro- 
 posed retaliation in a particular case where an open 
 and grievous blow had been struck at England, but 
 who are not willing to join Mr. Chamberlain in ad- 
 vocating a return to a protective policy. 
 
 I attended a great meeting held under the au- 
 spices of the Free Food League and heard speeches 
 delivered by the Duke of Devonshire and Lord Gosh- 
 en. I was told that the duke was the only English 
 statesman who ever took a nap during the progress of 
 his own speech. Thus fore-warned, I was prepared 
 for a season of rest, but the duke surprised his 
 friends (and they are many) on this occasion and his 
 speech has been the talk of the country since it was 
 delivered. It was a powerful arraignment of the pro-
 
 TARIFF DEBATE IN ENGLAND !« 
 
 posed tax on food, and taking into consideration the 
 high standing and great prestige of the duke, will ex- 
 ert a widespread influence on the decision of the 
 controversy. The duke is a tall, strongly built man, 
 with a long head and full sandy beard sprinkled Wfth 
 gray. He speaks with deliberation and emphasis, but 
 lacks the graces of the other orators whom I had an 
 oportunity to hear. If, however, ease and grace were 
 wanting, the tremendous effectiveness of the pile 
 driver and the battering ram make up for them. 
 
 He denounced the proposition to put a tax upon the 
 people's food as a blow to the welfare and greatness 
 of the nation. He scouted the idea that the tax 
 would not ultimately extend to all food or that it 
 would not raise the price of food and showed that the 
 increase in the cost of food and clothing would take 
 from the laboring man any advantage which Mr. 
 Chamberlain promised to bring by his protective pol- 
 icy. 
 
 At the Free Food meeting the duke was followed 
 by Lord Goshen, a conspicuous leader of the unionist 
 party. Though now about seventy years old, he 
 possesses great vitality and entered into the discus- 
 sion with an earnestness that bespeaks the extraor- 
 dinary power of the man. In appearance he reminded 
 me of Gladstone and of Paul Kruger. I should say 
 that his face had some of the characteristics of both — 
 rugged in its outlines and giving an impression of 
 courage and strength combined with great intellect. 
 He replied to Mr. Chamberlain's challenge, "Will you 
 take It lying down?" with the question, "Will you
 
 20 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 hide behind a wall?" He denied that it was necessary 
 for the Briton to build a barricade and conceal him- 
 self behind it. 
 
 In reply to the argument that the Englishman 
 needed protection from the foreigner, he gave statis- 
 tics to show that Germany, one of the protected coun- 
 tries to which Mr. Chamberlain constantly refers, had 
 an increasing number of the unemployed. His ref- 
 erence to the increased consumption of horse meat in 
 Germany and the decrease in the consumption of oth- 
 er kinds of meat met with a response that seems like- 
 ly to make "No horse meat" a slogan in the cam- 
 paign. 
 
 The last meeting which 1 attended ^vas that at 
 which Lord Rosebery made hTs reply to Mr. Chamber- 
 lain. Lord Rosebery meets Mr. Chamberlain on an 
 equal footing. He is about the same height, but a tri- 
 fle stouter. He is an orator of great distinction, grace* 
 ful, polished, of wide learning and great experience, 
 and he possesses a wit that enables him to keep his 
 audience in constant good humor. He has been prime 
 minister and enjoys great popularity. His reception 
 at the Surrey theatre, South London, was as cordial 
 as Mr. Chamberlain's reception at Cardiff. With all 
 the arts of the orator he repelled the attacks of Mr. 
 Chamberlain and arraigned the policy of the conser- 
 vatives. He denied that there was any excuse, to use 
 his words, for the "lamentations of the modern Jere- 
 miah," His lordship declared that the country had 
 made great progress under the policy of free com- 
 merce with the world and that England had the
 
 TARIFF DEBATE IN ENGLAND 21 
 
 tvorld for her granary and depicted the possible con- 
 sequences if she attempted to wage war against those 
 who furnished her bread and meat. 
 
 He declared that the colonies could not supply the 
 food that the people of England needed, but called 
 Mr. Chamberlain's attention to the fact that Canada 
 was "dumping" more iron into England than any of 
 the protected countries complained of. He arraigned 
 the conservative government's large and increasing 
 expenditures and suggested that the government 
 might better lessen the taxes upon the people than 
 impose new taxes upon their food and clothing. 
 
 He closed with an appeal for more technical in- 
 struction; for a better understanding of the needs of 
 their customers, and for a more earnest effort for the 
 physical, intellectual and moral advancement of the 
 people. 
 
 I will not attempt to predict the outcome of this 
 fiscal controversy. I have missed my guess on a 
 similar controversy in the United States and I shall 
 not venture a prophecy in a foreign land. Mr. Cham- 
 berlain's opponents believe that a return to protection 
 would be taken as renunciation of England's ambi- 
 tion to be "mistress of the seas," and that it would 
 presage commercial isolation. It is a battle of giants 
 over a great question and all the world interested in 
 the result.
 
 Ireland and Her Leaders. 
 
 November 29 was spent in Dublin, the 30th at 
 Belfast and enroute to that city from Dublin. Dublin 
 is a very substantial looking city and much more an- 
 cient in appearance than Belfast, the latter reminding 
 one more of an enterprising American city. We did 
 not have a chance to visit any of the industries of Dub- 
 lin, and only a linen factory and a shipyard in Bel- 
 fast, but as the linen factory, the York Street Linen 
 Mills, was one of the largest in Ireland, and the ship- 
 yard, Harland & Wolff's, the largest in tTie world, they 
 gave some idea of the industrial possibilities of the 
 island. 
 
 The lord mayor of Belfast, Sir Daniel Dixon, 
 gave us a history of the municipal undertakings and 
 extended to us every possible courtesy. To one ac- 
 customed to the farms of the Mississippi and the Mis- 
 souri valleys, the little farms of Ireland seemed con- 
 tracted indeed, but what they lack in size, they make 
 up in thoroughness of cultivation. Not a foot seemed to 
 be wasted. At Birmingham I saw some Kerry cows, 
 which I can best describe as pony cattle, that they 
 told me were being bred in Ireland in preference to the 
 larger breeds ; they are certainly more in keeping with 
 the size of the farms. The farm houses are not large, 
 but from the railroad train they looked neat and well 
 kept. 
 
 22
 
 IRELAND AND HER LEADERS 23 
 
 My visit to Ireland was too brief to enable me to 
 look into the condition of the tenants in the various 
 parts of the island, but by the courtesy of the lord 
 mayor of Dublin, Mr, Timothy Harrington, and Mr. 
 John Dillon, both members of parliament, I met a 
 number of the prominent representatives of Ireland in 
 national politics. A luncheon at the Mansion House 
 was attended by some 75 of the Irish leaders, includ- 
 ing Archbishop Walsh, John Redmond, John Dillon, 
 Michael Davitt, William Field, Patrick O'Brien, sev- 
 eral members of the city council, ex-Mayor Valentine 
 Dillon, High Sheriff Thomas Powers, and Drs. Mc- 
 Ardle and Cox, and other persons distinguished in 
 various walks of life. 
 
 The dinner at Mr. Dillon's gave me a chance to 
 meet Mr. Bailey of the new land commission and Mr. 
 Finucane, lately connected with the Indian depart- 
 ment, and to become better acquainted with the more 
 prominent of the Irish leaders whose names have be- 
 come familiar to American readers, and whom I met 
 at luncheon. 
 
 Archbishop Walsh is one of the best known and 
 most beloved of the Irish clergy, and he endeared 
 himself to the friends of bimetallism throughout the 
 world by the pamphlet which he wrote some years 
 ago setting forth the effect of the gold standard upon 
 the Irish tenant farmer. It was a genuine pleasure 
 to make his personal acquaintance. It may be added, 
 in passing, that the tenants of Ireland will be more 
 than ever interested in the stable dollar when they 
 have secured title to their lands and assumed the pay-
 
 14 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 merits which extend over more than sixty years. Any 
 increase in the value of the dollar would increase the 
 burden of these payments by lessening the price 
 which they would obtain for the products of the soil. 
 
 Mr. John Redmond is the leader of the Irish par- 
 ty in parliament, and having visited the United 
 States, is personally known to many of our people. He 
 has the appearance of a well-to-do lawyer, is quick to 
 catch a point, ready of speech and immensely popular 
 with his people. He has the reputation of being one 
 of the most forcible of the Irish orators, and I regret 
 that I had no opportunity of hearing him speak. 
 
 Mr. Dillon is a tall man, probably six feet one, 
 with a scholarly face and wears a beard. His long 
 experience in parliament, his thorough knowledge of 
 the issues of the last quarter of a century, and his 
 fidelity to the interests of the people of his land have 
 given him a deservedly high place among the great 
 Irishmen of the present generation. 
 
 Mr. Michael Davitt has also had a conspicuous 
 career, but is not now in parliament, having resigned 
 as a protest against the Boer war. He is the oldest 
 of the group and shows in his countenance the fight- 
 ing qualities that have made his name known through- 
 out the world. He is not a diplomat — he has not 
 learned the language of the court. He is not a com- 
 promiser, but a combatant, and his blows have been 
 telling ones. 
 
 The lord mayor of Dublin, Mr. Timothy Har- 
 rington, has been honored with a third election as 
 lord mayor, a position first held by 'Daniel O'Connell,
 
 IRELAND AND HER LEADERS 26 
 
 but he is always at Westminster whenever there is an 
 important vote in parliament. He is a typical Irish- 
 man, good-natured, full of humor, well informed and 
 a natural politician. 
 
 At a dinner given a few days later at the Nation- 
 al Liberal club in London by Mr. T. P. O'Connor, I 
 met several other Irish members, among them Mr. 
 William Redmond, brother of the leader of the Irish 
 party, and himself a man of great ability and long 
 parliamentary experience, and James Devlin, one of 
 the most brilliant of the orators of the younger gener- 
 ation. The oldest person at the O'Connor dinner was 
 Mr. O'Brien, the last Irishman who enjoyed the dis- 
 tinction of being sentenced to be hung, drawn and 
 quartered. The host, Mr. O'Connor, while he rep- 
 resents a Liverpool constituency and is not, therefore, 
 technically speaking, a member of the Irish party, is 
 one of the most prominent and influential of the Irish- 
 men in the house of commons. He has lectured in the 
 Uni'Led States as well as in Europe, and is now editor 
 of tvv^o weekly papers of large circulation. He showed 
 his friendliness toward America and his appreciation 
 of our country's resources by taking unto himself an 
 American wife — a beautiful Texan. 
 
 At Glasgow I met another member of parlia- 
 ment, Mr. William McKillup, who, though a citizen 
 of Glasgow represents an Irish district and takes an 
 active interest in everything that afifects the Emerald 
 isle. 
 
 Mr. Harrington and Mr. Redmond took me to 
 the Dublin cemetery and we visited the graves of
 
 26 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 O'Connell and Parnell. The tomb of Ireland's great 
 agitator is under a massive pile of granite, made to 
 represent an old Irish tower. No monument has 
 yet been erected to Parnell. The memory of the two 
 dead statesmen and the presence of the living leaders 
 recalled the struggle to which so many of Ireland's 
 sons have devoted their lives, and it was a matter of 
 extreme gratification to find that substantial progress 
 is being made. 
 
 It is true that home rule has not yet been secured, 
 but the contest for home rule has focused attention 
 upon the industrial and political condition of Erin, and 
 a number of remedial measures have been adopted. 
 First, the tenant was given title to his improvements 
 and then the amount of the rent was judicially deter- 
 mined. More recently the authorities have been build- 
 in cottages for the rural laborers. Over 15,000 of these 
 cottages have been already erected and arrangements 
 are being made for some 19,000 more. These are much 
 more comfortable than the former dwellings, and 
 much safer from a sanitary point of view. The recent 
 land purchase act, which went into effect on Novem- 
 ber 1, seems likely to exert a very great influence upon 
 the condition of the people. According to its terms the 
 government is to buy the land of the landlord and sell 
 it to the tenants. As the government can borrow 
 money at a lower rate than the ordinary borrower, it 
 is able to give the tenant much better terms than he 
 gets from his present landlord, and at the same time 
 purchase the land of the landlord at a price that is 
 equitable. The landlords are showing a disposition to
 
 IRELAND AND HER LEADERS 27 
 
 comply with the spirit of the law, although some of 
 them are attempting to get a larger price for their 
 land than it was worth prior to the passage of the 
 law. The purpose of the law is to remove from poli- 
 tics the landlord question, which has been a delicate 
 one to deal with. Most of the larger estates were given 
 to the ancestors of the present holders and many of 
 the owners live in England and collect their rents 
 through a local agent. The new law makes the gov- 
 ernment the landlord and the tenant, by paying a cer- 
 tain annual sum for 63 years, becomes the owner of 
 the fee. He has the privilege of paying all or any 
 part, at any time, and can dispose of his interest. The 
 settlement which is now being effected, not only re- 
 moves the friction which has existed between the ten- 
 ant and the landlord, but puts the tenant in a position 
 where he can appeal to the government with reas- 
 onable certainty of redress in case unforeseen circum- 
 stances make his lot harder than at present anticipat- 
 ed. The assurance that he will become the owner of 
 the fee will give to the Irish farmer an ambition that 
 has heretofore been wanting, for he will be able to save 
 without fear of an increase in the rent. Not only is 
 the land question in process of settlement, but there 
 have been at the same time other improvements which 
 make for the permanent progress of the people. There 
 is a constant increase in educational facilities, and a 
 large number of co-operative banks have been estab- 
 lished. Agricultural societies have been formed for 
 the improvement of crops and stock, and the trend is 
 dictinctly upward. The Irish leaders have not ob-
 
 28 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Itained all that they labored for — there is much to be 
 jsecured before their work is complete, but when the 
 Ihistory of Ireland is written, the leaders now living 
 will be able to regard with justifiable pride the results 
 of their devotion and sacrifice and their names will be 
 added to the long list of Irish patriots and statesmen. 
 
 In Dublin I paid my respects to Lord Dudley, 
 lieutenant governor of Ireland, whose residence, the 
 Viceregal Lodge, is in Phoenix Park, and found him 
 so genial and affable a host that I am led to hope that 
 in his administration of the executive branch of the 
 government he will make the same attempt at just 
 treatment that parliament has made in the enactment 
 of the recent land measure. 
 
 There is a general desire among the leaders of 
 thought in Ireland to check the emigration from that 
 country. They feel that Ireland under fair conditions 
 can support a much larger population than she now 
 has. Ireland, they say, has been drained of many of 
 its most enterprising and vigorous sons and daugh- 
 ters. It is hardly probable that the steps already taken 
 will entirely check the movement toward the United 
 States, but there is no doubt that the inhabitants of 
 Ireland and their friends across the water contemplate 
 the future with brighter hopes and anticipations than 
 they have for a century.
 
 Growth of Municipal Ownership. 
 
 Carved in the mantle of the library which ad- 
 joins the reception room of the lord provost of Glas- 
 gow is the motto, "Truth will prevail," and the tri- 
 umph of truth is illustrated in the development oi 
 municipal ownership in the British Isles. 
 
 Probably no city in the world has extended the 
 sphere of municipal activity further than the metro- 
 polis of Scotland — Glasgow. By the courtesy of the 
 present lord provost. Sir James Ure Primrose, I 
 learned something of the manner in which the city of 
 Glasgow is administering the work that in most of 
 our American cities have been left to private corpora- 
 tons. It goes without saying that Glasgow owns and 
 operates its water system, for that is usually the first 
 public work that a city enters upon. In this case, 
 however, the water instead of being furnished to the 
 citizens at so much per thousand gallons or at fixed 
 hydrant rates, is paid for by a tax upon the value of 
 the property. The city's water supply is brought from 
 Lake Katrine, forty miles away, and the ci«ty has re- 
 cently laid a second pipe line to the lake. 
 
 Glasgow also owns the gas plant and furnishes 
 gas to consumers at about 50 cents per thousand cubic 
 feet. More recently the city has entered upon the 
 work of supplying electricity both to the city and to 
 private houses. The tramways, too, are owned and 
 
 29
 
 -30 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 operated by the municipality. The service is excel- 
 lent and the fare depends upon the distance traveled, 
 2d (4 cents) being the rate for a long ride and Id (2 
 cents) for shorter distances. At certain hours in 
 the day there are work trams that carry the laboring 
 -man from one end of the city to the other for ^d or 
 1 cent. The lord provost informed me that it was 
 the settled policy of the city to use all the income 
 from public service corporations in improving the ser- 
 vice and lessening the charge. In some places the 
 surplus, as will be shown hereafter, is turned into the 
 city fund and to that extent lessens the taxes (or rates 
 as city taxes are called in Great Britain). The muni- 
 cipal authorities in Glasgow have from the begin^iing 
 opposed this form of indirect taxation and insisted 
 that the service should be rendered to the public at 
 absolute cost, leaving the people to support the city 
 government by direct taxation. 
 
 Not only does Glasgow furnish water, gas, electric- 
 ity and street car service to its people at cost, but it 
 has undertaken other work still further in advance of 
 American cities. It has built a number of model tene- 
 ment houses for the poor and rents them at something 
 less than the rate private individuals charge for similar 
 quarters. These buildings have had for their primary 
 object the improvement of the sanitary condition of 
 the city. Slums in which disease was rife have been 
 bought, cleansed and built up with the result that the 
 death rate has been reduced in those localities. These 
 tenement houses are rented by the week or month and 
 the charge for those that I visited was about $36 per
 
 MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP 31 
 
 year, this covering taxes and water. The rooms are 
 commodious and well lighted and each suite contains 
 a cooking range fitted into the chimney place. 
 
 The city has also established a number of lodg- 
 ing houses for single men and here lodgings can be 
 obtained ranging from 3 l-2d (7 cents) to 4 l-2d (9 
 cents) per night. The lodger has the privilege and 
 most of them take advantage of it, of cooking his 
 meals in a large kitchen connected with the building, 
 and also has the use of the dining room and reading 
 room. One lodging house is set apart for widowers 
 with children and is, I am informed, the only one of 
 its kind in the world. About one hundred families, 
 including in all 300 persons, have rooms here. At- 
 tendants are on duty to look after the children during 
 the day, while the fathers are at work and meals are 
 furnished to such as desire them at a minimum rate. 
 
 The reading public is already familiar with the 
 public baths which have for a number of years been 
 in operation in Glasgow, and to these baths have been 
 added public wash houses where women can bring the 
 Family linen and at the rate of 2d per hour make use 
 of the tubs and drying room. I visited one of these 
 wash-rooms and found that the number of people tak- 
 ing advantage of it during the first year was, in round 
 numbers 33,000, in the second year 34,000, in the third 
 year 35,000, and in the fourth year 37,000. 
 
 London is also making progress in the work of 
 municipalizing its public service. The city proper 
 covers a very small territory, in fact, but a mile square, 
 the greater part of the city being under the control
 
 52 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Df what is called the London county council. The Lon- 
 don city council has recently obtained from parliament 
 the right to deal with the water problem and a com- 
 mission has been created for this purpose and is now 
 at work appraising the value of the different water 
 companies which are to be taken over by the said 
 council. The enormous price demanded by these com- 
 panies gives overwhelming proof of London's folly in 
 having so long delayed the undertaking of this public 
 work. As there are no surface street cars in the 
 city of London, the city council has not had the tram- 
 way question to deal with. The London county 
 council has moved much more rapidly than the city 
 council, and I am indebted to Mr. John Burns, M. P., 
 also councilman for the district of Battersea, for much 
 valuable information on this subject. He and Mr. A. 
 J. Shepheard, with whom I crossed the ocean, be- 
 ing kind enough to introduce me to the members of 
 the county council and to place before me the statis- 
 tics in possession of the officials. The county council 
 besides taking over the water service is also furnish- 
 ing to some extent electricity. Just now the 
 county council is putting down tramways and pre- 
 paring to follow in the footsteps of Glasgow in the 
 matter of furnishing transit for its citizens. Like 
 Glasgow, the county council is also furnishing lodg- 
 ing houses for the poorer classes and by so doing is 
 improving the sanitary conditions of the city. In 
 some portions the council is erecting tenement houses, 
 here as in Glasgow the council selecting the worst 
 portions of the city and substituting modern and well- 
 equipped houses for the unsightly and unhealthy tene-
 
 MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP 33 
 
 ment houses that formerly occupied the ground. Mr. 
 Burns took me through one of these sections where 
 about four thousand people are being provided with 
 homes with every modern improvement and at very 
 low rental. Finding that the death rate among the 
 children of the poor was alarmingly great, the county 
 council established a sterilized milk station and the 
 death rate among the children has been very mate- 
 rially decreased. 
 
 Nottingham, England, was visited on the invita- 
 tion of Mr. A. W. Black, until recently mayor. I be- 
 came acquainted with him on the passage across the 
 Atlantic, and found that he had interested himself in 
 the work of extending the municipal control of public 
 utilities. From him and the town clerk. Sir Samuel 
 Johnson, I learned that the city had been furnishing 
 water to its citizens for about thirty years and gas for 
 a still longer time. The price of gas has been re- 
 duced from time to time until it is now about 50 cents 
 per thousand for private citizens, and even at this 
 low rate the gas plant pays into the city treasury a net 
 profit of about $120,000 a year. It is only about five 
 years since the city entered upon the work of furnish- 
 ing electricity, but the profit from that source is now 
 nearly $45,000 annually. The city has recently taken 
 over the tramways and notwithstanding that it has 
 raised the wages of the employes, shortened their 
 hours of labor, improved the service, extended the 
 lines and reduced the fares, it has now derived about 
 $90,000 profit from the earnings of the tramways. This 
 has been the rule wherever private services have been
 
 34 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 undertaken by the municipalities. Nottingham has a 
 population of about 350,000. 
 
 I have taken these cities as an illustration, they 
 being the ones concerning which I have investigated 
 most carefully. 
 
 Birmingham furnishes water and light to its 
 people, and has just decided to take charge of the 
 tramway service. It already owns the tracks, but 
 has been allowing private corporations to run the 
 cars. The people have decided to operate the lines 
 in the future. 
 
 In Belfast, I found that the city had decided to 
 take charge of the tramway tracks, the only disputed 
 question being whether the city would pledge itself to 
 the permanent operation of the lines or reserve the 
 right to permit private corporations to use the tracks. 
 
 Nothing has impressed me more in my visit to the 
 British Isles than the interest which the leading citi- 
 zens of the various municipalities are taking in pro- 
 blems of government and sociology. It nmst be re- 
 membered that here the members of the city councils 
 receive no pay. The work that they do is entirely 
 gratuitous, and I have found that the coimcils are 
 composed of representatives of all classes of society. 
 
 Many of the successful business men, profession- 
 al men and educators are to be found devt)ting a por- 
 tion of their time, sometimes a very considerable por- 
 tion to the work of the city. They attend meetings, 
 serve on committees and carry on investigations, and 
 find their recompense not in a salary, but in the honor
 
 MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP 35 
 
 which attaches to the position and in the consnons- 
 ness that they are giving something of value to their 
 fellows. 
 
 The fact that English cities are doing the work 
 that in American cities is largely let out to private 
 corporations may explain the relative absence of cor- 
 ruption as compared with some of our American cities, 
 but there is no doubt that among the people generally 
 service in the city government is more highly re- 
 garded than it is in most the large cities of the United 
 States. 
 
 I observed with interest the enthusiasm manifest- 
 ed by the officials in the work being done by the re- 
 spective cities. At Birmingham, Mr. Roland H. 
 Barkley, a member of the city council, by request of 
 the lord mayor, called upon me, and not only showed 
 great familiarity with the work of the city govern- 
 ment, but manifested an intense desire to secure for 
 his city the methods that had been shown by exper- 
 ience to be the best. 
 
 Mr. Black, recently mayor of Mottingham, is a 
 very successful lace manufacturer, and yet he seemed 
 as much concerned about the affairs of the city as 
 about the details of his own business Lord Mayor 
 Harrington of Dublin, Lord Mayor Dixon of Belfast 
 and Lord Provost Primrcjse of Glasgow, were all 
 alive to the importance of their work, -Hrul seemed to 
 make the discharge of their duties their chief con- 
 cern. 
 
 In this connection, I desire to record my ap- 
 preciation of the public service ot one ot the most
 
 36 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 interesting and agreeable men whom 1 have met m 
 the Old World, Mr. John Burns. He began his in- 
 dustrial life at the age of ten as a maker of candles. He 
 was afterwards apprenticed as a machinist, and after 
 acquiring proficiency in his trade followed that line 
 of employment until his associates made him their 
 representative in the city government. He was soon 
 afterwards sent to parliament, and has for some fif- 
 teen years represented his district in both bodies. He 
 is only 45, but his hair and beard are so streaked with 
 gray that one would think him ten years older. He 
 is a little below medium height, strongly built, and 
 very active and energetic. A diligent student, quick- 
 witted and effective in speech, it is not surprising that 
 he stands today among the world's foremost represen- 
 tatives of the wage-earners. He is opposed to both 
 drinking and gambling. He receives no salary either 
 as a member of the county council or as a member of 
 parliament, but is supported by his association which 
 pays him what is equivalent to a thousand dollars a 
 year. With this very meagre income he devotes his 
 life to public work, and I have not met a more con- 
 scientious or unselfish public servant. And yet what 
 Mr. Burns is doing on a large scale, many others art 
 doing in a lesser degree. 
 
 I wish that all the citizens of my country could 
 come into contact with the public men whom 1 have 
 met, and catch something of the earnestness with 
 which they are applying themselves to the solution of 
 the municipal problems that press upon the present 
 generation. It would certainly increase the velocity
 
 MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP 37 
 
 of Americar reforms, and arouse that latent patriot- 
 ism which only needs arousing to cope successfully 
 iWith all difficulties. 
 
 While it may seem that the leaders of municipal 
 government in Europe are somewhat altruistic in their 
 labors, there is a broader sense in which they are quite 
 selfish, but it is that laudable selfishness which mani- 
 fests itself in one's desire to lift himself up, not by 
 dragging down others or doing injustice to others, 
 but by lifting up the level upon which all stand. Those 
 who add to the comfort and happiness of their com- 
 munity are making their own lives and property more 
 secure. Those who are endeavoring to infuse hope 
 and ambition into the hearts of the hopeless and their 
 children — are working more wisely than those who 
 are so short-sighted as to believe that the accumulation 
 of money is the only object of life. 
 
 Let us hope that the time is near at hand when 
 the successful business men in the United States, in- 
 stead of continuing their accumulations to the very 
 end of life, will be satisfied with a competency and 
 when this is secured give to their country the benefit 
 of their experience, their intelligence and their con- 
 science, as many of the business men of England, 
 Scotland and Ireland are now doing.
 
 France and Her People. 
 
 My call upon President Loubet was the most in- 
 teresting incident of my visit to France. It was ar- 
 ranged by General Horace Porter, American ambassa- 
 dor to France, who conducted us to lh^ Elysee pal- 
 ace, which is the White house of the French republic, 
 
 President Loubet is probably the most demo- 
 cratic executive that Frane has ever had. He re- 
 minded me of our former President Benjamin Harri- 
 son and of another of our distinguished citizens, An- 
 drew Carnegie — not exactly like either, but resem- 
 bling both — the former in appearance, the latter in 
 manner as well as appearance. 
 
 President Loubet is below the medium height, 
 even of Frenchmen. His shoulders are broad and 
 his frame indicative of great physical strength. His 
 hair is snow white, as are also his beard and mus- 
 tache. He wears his beard cut square at the chin. 
 
 His eyes are dark blue, suggesting that his hair 
 and beard were blond before the years bleached them. 
 His voice is soft, and he speaks with great vivacity, 
 emphasizing his words by expressive gestures. 
 
 He received us in his working room, a beautiful 
 semi-oval apartment, whose large windows open into 
 the beautiful gardens attached to the Elysee palace. 
 The oval end of the room bore great priceless Gobelin 
 tapestry, depicting abundance. On a pedestal under 
 
 if.
 
 FRANCE AND HER PEOPLE 39 
 
 the tapestry was a marble bust of the Minerva-like 
 head ol the Goddess of Liberty oi the French repub- 
 lic. 
 
 The president's desk is a long, flat table, eminent- 
 ly business looking, covered with papers and lighted 
 by twc desk lamps and green shades. A huge electrol- 
 ier dependent from, the frescoed ceiling filled the room 
 with light. 
 
 The president wore a frock coat, the tri-colored 
 button of the Legion oi Honor adorning the lapel. 
 
 President Loubet is a very cordial man, and takes 
 pride in the fact that, like most of our American pres- 
 idents, he has worked his way up from the ranks of 
 the common people. His father was a farmer near 
 the vilage of Montelimar. 
 
 Young Loubet studied law, and then public af- 
 fairs. He has held nearly every office in the gift of 
 the people. He began as mayor of Montelimar, 
 where his aged mother still lives in the old farm- 
 house. 
 
 He was elected a deputy in 1876, and in 1886 was 
 elected to the senate He was minister of public 
 works in 1887, and minister of the interior in 1892. In 
 1895 he was elected president of the senate, and in 
 1899 he was elected president of the republic. 
 
 He talked freely on various questions that came 
 up for consideration, and showed himself to be thor- 
 oughly informed upon the economic as well as the 
 political questions with which France has to dea). 
 His personal popularity and strong good sense have 
 been of inestimable value to his country in the trying 
 times caused by the Dreyfus case.
 
 40 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 President Loubet has been prominently connected 
 with the bimetallic movement, and shows himself :a- 
 .-niliar with the principles upon which bimetallists rely 
 in their defense of that system of finance. 
 
 The president, like all the Frenchmen whom. I 
 .net, feels very friendly toward the United States, and 
 it goes without saying that France under his admin- 
 istration is not likely to do anything at which our 
 country can take just offense. 
 
 It was gratifying to me to hear him express so 
 much good will, for it was evidence of the attachment 
 which the French people feel toward those republican 
 principles of government which they have established 
 by so much struggle and sacrifice. 
 
 Municipal ownership has not made as much 
 progress in France as in England, although most of 
 the cities now own their water works, and some of 
 rhem their lighting plants. The railroads are nearly 
 all owned by private corporations, but they operate 
 ■inder charters running about 100 years, half of which 
 time has now elapsed. 
 
 According to the charters, the government guar- 
 anteed a certain rate of interest on the investment, 
 besides a certain contribution to the sinking fund, and 
 It the end of the charter the roads become the proper- 
 ty of the state. 
 
 Although it is nearly fifty years before the chart- 
 ers expire, the course to be adopted by the govern- 
 ment is already being discussed some insisting that 
 the government should take over the roads and oper- 
 ate them — others favoring an arrangement that will
 
 FRANCE AND HER PEOPLE tl 
 
 continue private operation, although the government 
 will be owner of the property. The same difference oi 
 opinion to be found in our own country is to be found 
 here, and some of the high officials are strongly op- 
 posed to the government entering upon the operation 
 of the roads. 
 
 President Loubet spoke with evident gratification 
 of the general diffusion of wealth in France. He said 
 that they had few men of large fortunes, but a great 
 many men of moderate means, and he felt that the 
 republic was to be congratulated upon the fact that 
 the resources of the country are so largely in the 
 hands of the people. 
 
 He explained that the government loans were 
 taken by the people in small sums and subscribed 
 many times over. Very few of the bonds represent- 
 ing the French debt are held outside of France. The 
 debt furnishes a sort of savings bank for the citizens, 
 and their eagerness to invest in "rentes" (the govern- 
 ment bonds) is proof of their patriotism as well as of 
 their thrift. 
 
 I heard so much of the French peasant that I de- 
 voted one day to a visit into the country. Going out 
 some fifty miles from Paris I found a village of about 
 eighty families. Selecting a representative peasant, I 
 questioned him about the present condition and pros- 
 pects of the French farmer. I found that about three- 
 fourths of the peasants of that village owned their 
 homes, but that only about one-fourth owned the 
 farms they tilled. 
 
 I should explain that the French peasants do not
 
 42 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 as a rule live upon the farms, as is the custom in the 
 United States. With us, whether a farmer owns for- 
 ty acres or a quarter section, he usually lives upon the 
 land, and the houses are therefore scattered at inter- 
 vals over the country. 
 
 The French peasants, on the contrary, are inclined 
 to gather in villages most of them owning their houses 
 and gardens, but going out into the country to culti- 
 vate their fields. Sometimes a peasant will have a 
 vineyard in one direction from his home, a pasture in 
 another and a wheat or beet field in yet another di- 
 rection. 
 
 These fields are sometimes owned, but more often 
 are rented. The landlord aims to get about 4 per cent 
 annually on his investment. The tenant, however, 
 pays the taxes, which sometimes amount to 1 or 2 
 per cent more. 
 
 The peasants complain that the horses which 
 they need to cultivate their crops are made more ex- 
 pensive by the increased consumption of horse-flesh 
 as food, the demand having raised the price of horses. 
 
 The same cause has operated, so I was informed, 
 to reduce the price of cattle. The widespread use of 
 automobiles has lessened the price of straw in Paris, 
 and this has been felt by the wheat growers. 
 
 I found the peasant with whom I talked to be an 
 ardent protectionist. He spoke as if the farmers were 
 driven to it as a last resort. As I was leaving he as- 
 sured me that he was glad to speak to a "republican" 
 and said he would not have talked to me at all if I 
 had not been one.
 
 FRANCE AND HER PEOPLE 43 
 
 This was an evidence of his loyalty to the exist- 
 ing regime in France and also gave additional proof 
 of the fact that the republican party in the United 
 States has an advantage in appealing to newly-arri- 
 ed immigrants merely by reason of its name. 
 
 Foreigners are much better acquainted w^ith the 
 word "republic" than with the word "democracy," 
 and I find that republican speakers have taken advan- 
 tage of this fact and represented the republican party 
 as the only exponent of the doctrines of a republic. 
 
 The New York Independent about a year ago 
 printed the autobiography of a foreign born citizen, 
 who presented the same idea and told of a republican 
 speech in which this argument was made by the ora- 
 tor. 
 
 The birth rate in France scarcely exceeds the 
 death rate, and to my surprise I found that the increase 
 in the country was even less than in Paris, in propor- 
 tion to the population. One Frenchman, apparently 
 well informed, told me that there were small villages 
 in which it was difficult to find a child. 
 
 In the village which I visited I was told that the 
 families average two or three children. To show, 
 however, that the small family was not the universal 
 rule, attention was called to one family there in which 
 there were eleven children. 
 
 The French peasant is a very industrious man and 
 cultivates his land with great care, and as soon as he 
 saves a little money he tries to add to the area of his 
 
 farm. The wife is usually an efficient helper, whether
 
 44 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 in the city or in the country. In the city she is often 
 co-partner with her husband in the store, and assists 
 him to save. 
 
 Whether the tendency of the peasants to gather 
 in villages rather than to live each on his own farm 
 is due to their sociability or is a relic of the feudal 
 system, I cannot say — both reasons were given. 
 
 The French peasant has reason to feel the bur- 
 den of militarism, but the recollection of the last war 
 with Germany is so fresh in his mind that he is not 
 likely to make any vigorous protest as long as he be- 
 lieves a large army necessary for the protection of the 
 republic. 
 
 The sentiment of the French people on this sub- 
 ject is shown by the fact that the figure representing 
 Alsace-Lorraine in the group of statues in the beau- 
 tiful Place de la Concorde is always covered with 
 mourning wreaths, 
 
 I visited the Bank of France, where I was re- 
 ceived by the governor, M. Georges Pallain. The 
 bank's capital stock is about $40,000,000, and it pays 
 a dividend of about 12 per cent, equal to about 4 per 
 cent on the present market value of the stock. The 
 deposits are much smaller in proportion to the capital 
 than are the deposits of our large American banks 
 This is true of the Bank of England, and likewise of 
 the banks of Mexico. 
 
 This smaller proportion between the deposits and 
 the capital stock arrested my attention because in the 
 United States the proportion is sometimes so great 
 as to leave little margin for shrinkage in the event of
 
 FRANCE AND HER PEOPLE 45 
 
 industrial disturbance. If a bank has loans amounting 
 to ten times its capital stock a shrinkage of one-tenth 
 in the value of its assets would wipe out the capital. 
 
 The Bank of France, the Bank of England, and 
 the leading banks of Mexico seem to be conducted 
 on a more conservatif-e basis. The Bank of England 
 and the Bank of France differ largely in their note 
 issues. The former has the right to issue uncovered 
 notes to the extent of the bank's loan to the English 
 government. Upon this loan the bank receives no 
 interest, the note issue being considered an equivalent 
 as no reserve is required to be kept against these 
 notes. The bank can also issue notes in addition to 
 these, but I found to my surprise that this note issue 
 is not profitable to the bank, since these notes are 
 virtually gold certificates, the bank being required to 
 keep on hand an equal amount of gold as a redemption 
 ftmd. 
 
 The Bank of France has outstanding nearly $900,- 
 000,000 in notes, which is the paper money of the 
 country. The bank has the option of redeemnig these 
 notes either in gold or silver, and it exercises that 
 option by refusing to pay gold when gold becomes 
 scarce, or when it seems undesirable to furnish gold 
 for export. 
 
 It has recently refused gold, and those desiring to 
 export that metal have had to purchase it at slight 
 premium. 
 
 The "gold contract," which has become so com- 
 mon in the United States, and which was used to ter- 
 rorize the public in 1896, seems to be unknown in
 
 46 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 France ; or at least I could find no one who knew any- 
 thing about such contracts. They are regarded as 
 contrary to public policy. 
 
 The president of the Bank of France is appointed 
 by the government, so that the bank stands in a dif- 
 ferent attitude toward the government from the na- 
 tional banks of our country. 
 
 I had the pleasure of meeting a number of prom- 
 inent Frenchmen during my visit to Paris, among 
 them Senator Combes, the prime minister, who is just 
 now a most conspicuous figure in the contest be- 
 tween the government and the various religious ord- 
 ers ; Senator Clemenceau, one of the ablest editors in 
 Paris, and a brilliant conversationalist; Baron d'Esto- 
 nelles de Constant, a man of high ideals and leader of 
 the peace movement in France ; the Rev. Albert Koh- 
 ler, author of "The Religion of Effort," and the Rev. 
 Charles Wagner, whose book, "The Simple Life," has 
 had such large circulation in the United States. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Wagner is just such a lookmg man 
 as you would expect to write such a book — strong, 
 rugged and earnest. He impresses you as a man 
 with a mission, and although young in years he has 
 already made an impress upon the thought of the 
 world. His book is a protest against the materialism 
 which is making man the slave of his possessions. 
 
 The influence which Mr. Wagner has already ex- 
 erted shows the power of a great thought, even when 
 it must cross the boundaries of nations and pass 
 through translation into many different tongues. I 
 shall remember my communion with this apostle of
 
 FRANCE AND HER PEOPLE 47 
 
 simplicity as one remembers a visit to a refreshing 
 spring. 
 
 Dr. Max Nordau, the famous author of "Degener- 
 acy," although a German, lives in Paris. I enjoyed my 
 call upon him very much. One quickly recognizes the 
 alertness of his mind, his brilliant powers of general- 
 ization and his aptness in epigram. I also had the 
 pleasure of meeting Senator Fougeirol, a noted advo- 
 cate of bimetallism. 
 
 The visitor to Paris is immediately impressed by 
 the magnificence of the city's boulevards, parks and 
 public squares. There is an elegant spaciousness 
 about the boulevards and squares that surpasses any- 
 thing I have seen elsewhere. 
 
 Parisians assert that the Avenue des Champs Ely- 
 sees is the finest in the world, and so far as my ob- 
 servation goes I am not prepared to dispute the claim. 
 The beauty of Paris deserves all the adjectives that 
 have been lavished upon it. 
 
 One might dwell at length upon the almost end- 
 less array of brilliant shop windows where jewelry, 
 bric-a-brac, hats, gowns and mantles are displayed 
 (and I am not surprised that Paris is the Mecca for 
 women), but I desire to refer briefly to the more 
 permanent beauty of Paris— the beauty of its architec- 
 ture, sculptures and paintings. 
 
 Paris' public buildings, ancient and modern, com- 
 bine solidity with beauty. The statutes, columns and 
 arches that adorn the parks and boulevards bespeak 
 the skill of the artists and the appreciation of the pub- 
 lic which pays for their maintenance.
 
 48 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Paris' many picture galleries, chief of which are 
 the Louvre and the Luxembourg, contain, as all the 
 world knows, extraordinary collections of treasures 
 of art. The encouragement given by the government 
 to every form of art has made Paris the abode of stu- 
 dents from the four corners of the earth. 
 
 The huge palaces at Versailles and Fountaine- 
 bleau are interesting relics of the monarchical period, 
 and they are instructive also, in that they draw a con- 
 trast between the days of the empire and the present 
 time. The extremes of society have been drawn clos- 
 er together by the growth of democracy, and the of- 
 ficials chosen by the people and governing by author- 
 ity of the people are much nearer to the people who 
 pay the taxes and support the government than the 
 kings who lived in gorgeous palaces and claimed to 
 rule by right divine. 
 
 I have left to the last those reminders of earlier 
 France, which are connected with the reigns of Na- 
 poleon. You cannot visit Paris without being made 
 familiar with the face of the "Little Corsican," for it 
 stares at you from the shop windows and looks down 
 at you from the walls of palaces and galleries. 
 
 You see the figure of "the man of destiny" in 
 marble and bronze, sometimes on a level with the eye, 
 sometimes piercing the sky, as it does in the Place 
 Vendome, where it is perched on top of a lofty col- 
 umn, whose pedestal and sides are covered with pan- 
 els in relief made from cannon captured by Napoleon 
 in battle. 
 
 The gigantic Arch of Triumph on the Champs 
 Elysees, commenced by Napoleon, in commemoration
 
 FRANCE AND HER PEOPLE 48 
 
 of his successes, testifies to the splendor of his con- 
 ceptions. 
 
 But overshadowing all other Napoleonic monu- 
 ments is his tomb on the banks of the Seine, ad- 
 joining the Invalides. Its gilded dome attracts atten- 
 tion from afar, and on nearer approach one is charmed 
 with the strength of its walls and the symmetry of 
 its proportions. 
 
 At the door the guard cautions the thoughtless 
 to enter with uncovered head, but the admonition is 
 seldom necessary, for an air of solemnity pervades the 
 place. 
 
 In the center of the rotunda, beneath the fres- 
 coed vault of the great dome, is a circular crypt. Lean- 
 ing over the heavy marble balustrade I gazed on the 
 massive sarcophagus below, which contains all that 
 was mortal of that marvellous combination of intellect 
 and will. 
 
 The sarcophagus is made of dark red porphyry, a 
 fitly chosen stone that might have been colored by the 
 mingling of the intoxicating wine of ambition with 
 the blood spilled to satisfy it. 
 
 Looking down upon the sarcophagus and the 
 stands of tattered battle flags that surround it, I re- 
 viewed the tragic career of this grand master of the art 
 of slaughter, and weighed, as best I could, the claims 
 made for him by his friends. And then I found my- 
 self wondering what the harvest might have been had 
 Napoleon's genius led him along peaceful paths, had 
 the soil of Europe been stirred by the ploughshare
 
 50 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 rather than by his trenchant blade, and the reaping 
 done by implements less destructive than his shot 
 and shell. 
 
 Just beyond and above the entombed emperor 
 stands a cross upon which hangs a life-sized figure of 
 the Christ, flooded by a mellow lemon-colored light, 
 which pours through the stained glass windows of 
 the chapel, 
 
 I know not whether it was by accident or design 
 that this god of war thus sleeps, as it were, at the 
 very feet of the Prince of Peace. 
 
 Whether so intended or not, it will to those who 
 accept the teachings of the sermon on the Mount, 
 symbolize love's final victory over force and the tri- 
 umph of that philosophy which finds happiness in 
 helpful service and glory in doing good.
 
 The Republic of Switzerland. 
 
 No wonder Switzerland is free. The beauty of 
 the country inspires a love of native land and the 
 mountains form a natural fortress behind which the 
 Swiss people could withstand armies many times the 
 size of their own. Nowhere can one find as great a 
 variety of landscape in a day's ride by train as in 
 Switzerland. The road from Berne via Chiasso, on 
 the Italian border, to Italy passes along the shores 
 of lakes whose transparent waters reflect the precipit- 
 ous rocks that overhang them ; by mountain streams 
 that dash and foam madly as if anxious to escape from 
 the solitude of the hills into the companionship of the 
 larger waters of lake and sea, across the gorges, 
 around the foothills and through the nine-mile tunnel 
 of St. Gothard that pierces the mountain a mile be- 
 neath the summit, and then down into the valleys that 
 widen out from the base of the Alps. This day's 
 enthralling ride reminds one of a cinematographic 
 film, so quickly do the views change and so different 
 is each from the other. Along the lower levels are 
 tiny farms and vineyards, a little higher up are ter- 
 raced pastures and quaint farm houses, with gabled 
 roofs — often residence and barn are under the same 
 roof! The mountain sides are scarred with the chutes 
 down which the peasants drag timber on the snow. 
 One passes through a great variety of climate in de- 
 scending from the City of Mexico to Vera Cruz, but 
 
 51
 
 62 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 there one does not see such a succession of picturesque 
 views as greets the eye in the ride across the Alps, 
 
 One would suppose that the people of Switzerland 
 could find ample employment in supplying tht wants 
 of those who temporarily visit their land, drawn by its 
 imusual attractions for the tourist, but to the industry 
 of hotelkeeping are added two that have made Switz- 
 erland famous throughout the world — watchmaking 
 and wood carving. While watches are manufactured 
 as well and as cheaply in the United States as in 
 Switzerland, this industry is one that makes its pres- 
 ence known in every city of this mountain '■epublic. 
 The genius of the Swiss for wood carving manifests 
 itself in innumerable ways. The cuckoo clock and the 
 bear — the symbol of Switzerland, as the eagle is of 
 the United States — are seen in shop windows every- 
 where; the bear in mnumerable postures, the clock in 
 innumerable sizes. At Berne I found some wooden 
 nut-crackers formed to resemble a head, the lower jaw 
 working as a lever and crushing the nut against the 
 upper jaw. I observed one nut-cracker made to re- 
 semble President Roosevelt, and another former Col- 
 onial Secretary Chamberlain of England. I presume 
 that the manufacturer intended to suggest that these 
 two statesmen have more nuts to crack just now than 
 any other men of political prominence ! 
 
 More interesting, however, than its scenery or its 
 industries is the government of Switzerland. It is 
 the most democratic government on the face of the 
 earth, if the word democratic is taken to mean the rule 
 of the people, for in Switzerland the people rule more
 
 SWITZERLAND. 63 
 
 completely than anywhere else. In some of the small 
 cantons the people meet at stated times and act upon 
 political matters in public meeting, recalling the old 
 town hall meeting of New England. In all the can- 
 tons and in the federal government they have the in- 
 itiative and referendum. The latter has been in use 
 since 1874; the former has been adopted more recently. 
 
 From the courteous assistant secretary of state I 
 learned that during the last twenty-nine years 235 fed- 
 eral laws have been submitted to the people by means 
 of the referendum, of which 210 were adopted and 
 twenty-five rejected. The total voting population of 
 Switzerland is about 768,000, and it requires a petition 
 signed by 30,000 — less than 5 per cent of the voting 
 population — to secure a referendum vote on any bill. 
 Fifty thousand voters can petition for the enactment 
 of any desired law, and when such a petition is filed 
 the federal legislature can either pass the law or refuse 
 to pass it. If it refuses, however, its action must be 
 passed upon by a referendum vote. Since the exist- 
 ence of this provision six petitions have been pre- 
 sented, and in every case the legislature refused to 
 pass the law demanded by the petitioners. In five 
 cases the people at the referendum vote sustained the 
 leislature; in one case the action of the legislature was 
 overruled by the voters. In this instance the people 
 had petitioned for the passage of a law that would 
 prevent the slaughter of animals for food until after 
 they had been rendered insensible. 
 
 I found that the Swiss people are so pleased with 
 the popular control over government given them by
 
 54 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 the initiative and referendum, that there is no possi 
 bility that any party will attempt to attack it, although 
 there are some that would prefer the representative 
 system freed from the restraint which the initiative 
 and referendum give. Their arguments are, first, that 
 the legislators knowing that the people can initiate 
 legislation feel less responsibility ; and, second, that 
 as the legislators' actions can be reviewed by the peo- 
 ple, the legislators are more timid about introducing 
 needed reforms. The friends of the initiative and ref- 
 erendum meet these arguments by declaring that the 
 legislators are really not relieved from responsibility, 
 but on the other hand are incited to action by the fact 
 that the people can act in the event that their inter- 
 ests are neglected by the legislature and that the tim- 
 idity suggested is only likely to prevent legislation 
 when the legislators themselves doubt the merit of the 
 proposed action. 
 
 By courtesy of the American minister, Mr. Hill, I 
 had the honor of meeting Dr. Adolphe Deucher, "pres- 
 ident of the Swiss confederation," as he is styled. He 
 is of German blood, as his name would indicate, and 
 he is a fine representative of the scholarly, big-hearted 
 Teuton. He is a tall, slender man, of about 60, with a 
 ruddy face, white mustache and scanty white hair. He 
 speaks with frankness and conviction and is as simple 
 in his manners as the humblest of his people. He has 
 been president once before, and has represented his 
 canton in the federal legislature. He lives very unos- 
 tentatiously, as becomes an official whose salary is 
 only $2,750 a year. He receives $250 a year more than
 
 SWITZERLAND. 56 
 
 his colleagues in the federal council. Switzerland has 
 no executive mansion and the president lives in a 
 modest hotel near the capitol. 
 
 Three languages are spoken in Switzerland — 
 French, German, Italian. French prevails in the 
 region about Geneva, German in and north of Berne 
 and Italian at the southeast near the Italian border. 
 German is perhaps dominant^ if any one tonoue can 
 be said to dominate, with French and Italian fo!!ov<- 
 ing in the order named. The debates in the federal 
 legislature are conducted in the three tongues, and 
 are reported therein officially. No attempt is made to 
 interfere with the teaching of the language that each 
 of the three communities desires, the cantons being 
 independent in matters of local legislation, just as are 
 the states in our country. There seems to be no jeal- 
 ousy or enmity between the different sections except 
 to the extent of a healthful rivalry between them. The 
 feeling of independence, however, is so strong that no 
 federal government could exist without a clear recog- 
 nition of the rights of the component states or cantons. 
 
 As a nation, Switzerland with her five million peo- 
 ple does not attract the attention that neighboring na- 
 tions do, and in a contest at arms, except upon her 
 own soil, she could not hope to achieve much, but in 
 that high forum where conscience dictates and where 
 reason rules she is a conspicuous member of the sister- 
 hood of nations. If we believe the world to be making 
 progress toward nobler national ideals, we may expect 
 Sv/itzerland to occupy a position of increasing import- 
 lance, for the love of liberty that cnaracterizes her
 
 56 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 people, the democratic character of her institutions 
 and the industry of her citizens all combine to give her 
 assurance of increasing prestige. 
 
 I cannot refrain here from giving expression to a 
 thought that has grown upon m';; since my arrival in 
 Europe. I found our ambassador to England, Mr.. 
 Choate, preparing to leave his residence in Carl'on 
 House Terrace, London, because of the prospect". e 
 leturn of its owner. Lord Cu-'zon, from India. I 
 learned that our ambassadors to France have oi'rcu 
 found difficulty in finding suliable houses in Paris, 
 while I found that our minister to Switzerlan i,, Air. 
 Hill, is living in Geneva because he has not been able 
 thus far to find a residence in Berne, the capital. I 
 was also informed that our ambassador to Italy, Mr. 
 Meyer, was compelled to live in a hotel in Rome for 
 a year after his appointment, because he was unable 
 to find a suitable house for the embassy. The trials 
 of our diplomatic representatives in Europe, together 
 with the high rents they are compelled to pay for their 
 residences, have convinced me that we as a people are 
 at fault in not providing permanent and appropriate 
 domiciles for our ambassadors and ministers at for- 
 eign capitals. In the great cities of Europe it is not 
 only impossible to rent at a moderate price a house 
 suitable for our embassy, but it is often difficult to 
 secure a convenient location at any price. It is 
 scarcely democratic toplace upon an official an expense 
 so great as to preclude the appointment of a man of 
 moderate means; nor does it comport with the dignity 
 of our nation to make the choice of an ambassadorial 
 or ministerial residence dependent upon chance and
 
 SWITZERLAND. 51 
 
 circumstance. I have been pleased to observe that 
 our representatives in Europe are conspicuous in the 
 diplomatic circle at court functions because of their 
 modest attire, but it is not necessary that our ambas- 
 sadors' and ministers' homes should be on wheels in 
 order to be democratic. I believe that our govern- 
 ment ought to inaugurate a new^ policy in this matter 
 and build in the chief capitals of foreign nations on 
 land convenient to the foreign offices buildings suit- 
 able in every way for the residences and offices of our 
 diplomatic representatives. Such buildings constructed 
 according to a characteristic American style of archi- 
 tecture and furnished like an American home would 
 not only give to our representative a fixed habitation, 
 but would exhibit to the people of the country to 
 which he is accredited the American manner of living 
 The records of the embassy could be kept more safely 
 in permanent quarters. 
 
 As real estate in all the capitals of Europe is rapidly 
 rising in value, land purchased now would become a 
 profitable investment and the rent estimated upon the 
 purchase price would be a great deal less than will 
 have to be paid twenty or fifty years from now for a 
 suitable site and buildings conveniently located. It is 
 not wise to confine our diplomatic representation to the 
 circle of the wealthy, and it is much better to furnish 
 our ambassadors and ministers with residences than 
 to increase their salaries.
 
 THREE LITTLE KINGDOMS. 
 
 I shall treat in this article of my visit to three little 
 kingdoms in the north of Europe — Denmark, Belgium 
 and The Netherlands. 
 
 I passed through the edge of Sweden on my way 
 from Berlin to Copenhagen and was at Malmoe a 
 short time; but, as it was Christmas day and early in 
 the morning, few stores were open, and I did not have 
 an opportunity to see many people. I had intended to 
 visit Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, but a day's 
 delay in Russia deprived me of that pleasure. 
 
 Copenhagen is not only the capital of Denmark, but 
 its commercial metropolis as well. The city has the 
 air of a seaport. The canal leading from the harbor 
 up to the center of the town was crowded with boats 
 which had taken up their winter quarters and the 
 multitude of masts told of the numbers of those who 
 live upon the ocean. 
 
 Denmark is a densely populated country composed 
 of the Jutland peninsula and a number of islands. The 
 land is for the most part level and not much above the 
 sea, but the farmers of Denmark have distinguished 
 themselves in several departments of agriculture, 
 especially in butter-making — Danish butter command- 
 ing the highest price in London and other large mar- 
 kets.
 
 THREE LITTLE KINGDOMS. 69- 
 
 Copenhagen has some very substantial buildings 
 and an art gallery in which the works of Thorwaldsen, 
 the sculptor, occupy the chief place. 
 
 The people of Denmark, while living under an 
 heriditary monarch, have a written constitution, and 
 parliament is the controlling influence in the govern- 
 ment. Until recently, the sovereign insisted upon se- 
 lecting his cabinet ministers to suit himself; but, about 
 three years ago, he yielded to the demand of parlia- 
 ment that the dominant party in that body be per- 
 mitted to furnish the king's advisers. The change 
 has proven so satisfactory that perfect harmony now 
 exists between the royal family and the legislative 
 body. 
 
 King Christian is advanced in years and is so be- 
 loved by his people that he goes among them without 
 attendants or guards. 
 
 The heir to the throne of Denmark, Prince Freder- 
 ick upon whom, by the courtesy of the American min- 
 ister, Mr. Swensen, I was able to call on Christma? 
 afternoon, is very democratic in his manner, and very 
 cordial in his friendship for America. 
 
 If marrying her daughters to crowned heads is a 
 test, the late Queen of Denmark was a very successful 
 mother. One of her daughters is mother of the pres- 
 ent emperor of Russia, another is wife of the present 
 king of England, and a third is married to one of the 
 smaller kings of Germany. A son, it may be added, 
 is king of Greece. 
 
 I had the pleasure of meeting the prime minister 
 and also Professor Matzen, the president of the state 
 university and Denmark's member of The Hague tri-
 
 «0 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 bunal. He was one of the leading opponents of th< 
 transfer of the Danish islands to the United States. 
 
 I learned v^'hile in Denmark that one of the chie; 
 reasons for the opposition to the sale of the Danist 
 islands to the United States was the fact that the 
 United States did not guarantee full citizenship to the 
 inhabitants of those islands. The nation's conduct 
 elsewhere prevented this. Our refusal to give the 
 Porto Ricans, and the Philippines the protection of 
 the constitution, is largely to blame for the loss of the 
 Danish islands to our country. 
 
 The Danish officials whom I met were deeply in- 
 terested in the United States, and naturally so, for, 
 like Sweden and Norway, Denmark has sent many 
 sons and daughters to the United States ; and these, as 
 have the Swedes and Norwegians, have deported 
 themselves so well as to establish close ties between 
 the mother countries and their adopted land.
 
 BELGIUM. 
 
 Belgium is a busy hive. Its people are crowded to- 
 gether and are very industrious. The farmers and 
 truck gardeners have reduced agriculture to a fine art 
 and the lace w^orkers are famous for their skill. 
 
 Nowhere did I see man's faithful friend, the dog, 
 utilized as in Belgium, He helps to haul the carts 
 along the streets, and his services are so highly prized 
 that large dogs are untaxed, while the small house dog, 
 being an idler, has to contribute his annual quota to 
 the expenses of the government. 
 
 The elegance of some of the public buildings and 
 the beauty of the streets of Brussels surprise one if 
 he has allowed himself to judge Belgium by her di- 
 mensions on the map. Historical interest, however, 
 is centered, not in Brussels, but in the battlefield of 
 Waterloo, some miles away. In the summer time, 
 thousands of tourists (among whom according to the 
 guides are but few Frenchmen) turn their steps to- 
 ward this field which witnessed the overthrow of the 
 greatest military genius of his generation, if not of all 
 time. 
 
 The scene of carnage is now marked by an enorm- 
 ous artificial mound 130 feet in height and surmounted 
 by an immense stone lion — the Lion of Waterloo. The 
 animal looks toward the point from which Napoleon 
 made his last charge and seems to be watching lost 
 the attack may be renewed, Wellington upon visiting 
 
 61
 
 e2 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 the battlefield after the erection of this mound, is said 
 to have complained that they had ruined the battle- 
 field to secure dirt for this stupedous pile ; and it is 
 true that the surface of the earth in that vicinity has 
 been very much altered. In leveling the knolls they 
 have destroyed one of the most interesting land-marks 
 of the battlefield — the sunken road in which so many 
 of the French soldiers lost their lives. As the guide 
 tells it, Napoleon asked a Belgian peasant if there was 
 any ravine to be crossed between him and the enemy's 
 lines, and the peasant replied in the negative ; but 
 when the French rushed over this knoll, they came 
 suddenly and unexpectedly upon a narrow road in a 
 cut about twenty feet deep, and, falling in, filled up the 
 cut until succeeding ranks crossed over on their dead 
 bodies. 
 
 The field as a whole might be described as a roll- 
 ing prairie although the visitor is told of groves no 
 longer standing. At the Hugomond farm, the walls 
 of the house bear evidence of the conflict that raged 
 nearly a century ago, and one is shown the ruins of an 
 old well in which, it is said, the bodies of 300 English 
 soldiers were buried. This portion of the battlefield 
 reminds one somewhat of that portion of the battle- 
 field of Gettysburg which was made famous by Pick- 
 ett's charge, although there are but few monuments at 
 Waterloo to mark the places occupied by the various 
 brigades and divisions. 
 
 At a restaurant near the mound one is shown the 
 chair in which, according to tradition, Wellington sat 
 when he was laying his plans for the last day's bat-
 
 THREE LITTLE KINGDOMS. 63 
 
 tie, and you can, for a franc each, secure bullets war- 
 ranted to have been found upon the field. It is rum- 
 ored, however, that some of the bullets now found are 
 of modern make and that thrifty peasants sow them as 
 they do grain, and gather them for the benefit of 
 tourists. 
 
 I found Europe agitated by a remark recently 
 made by the emperor of Germany which gave the 
 Prussian troops credit for saving the English and win- 
 ning the day, but the French are as quick to dispute 
 this claim as the English. The comedians have taken 
 the matter up in the British Isles and, at one London 
 theatre, an actor dressed as an Englishman, is made 
 to meet a German and, after an exchange of compli- 
 ments, the Englishman brings down the house by 
 saying: "I beg pardon! It may be a little late, but let 
 me thank you for saving us at Waterloo." 
 
 It is hardly worth while for the allies to quarrel 
 over the division of credit. There was glory enough 
 for all— and it required the co-operation of all to over- 
 come the genius and the strategy of Bonaparte.
 
 THE NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Between Waterloo, one of the world's most re- 
 nowned battle-fields, and The Hague, which is to be 
 the home of the Temple of Peace — what a contrast ; 
 and yet Belgium and The Netherlands lie side by 
 side ! Perhaps the contrast is chronological rather 
 than geographical or racial, for the Dutch have had 
 their share of fighting on their own soil, as they had 
 their part in the victory qf 1815. It seems especially 
 appropriate that The Hague should be chosen as the 
 permanent meeting place of the peace tribunal, for it 
 is not only centrally located for European countries, 
 and, being small, is not itself tempted to appeal to 
 arms, but it has long been the home of religious lib- 
 erty, and its people were pioneers in the defense of the 
 doctrine that rulers exist for the people, not the peo- 
 ple for the rulers. 
 
 The capital of The Netherlands — The Hague— 
 (the name is taken from the forest that adjoins) is a 
 beautiful little city and will furnish an appropriate 
 setting for the building which Mr. Carnegie's gener- 
 osity is to provide. Plans are already being prepared 
 for this structure, and one of the officials showed me 
 a picture representing Peace which may be repro- 
 duced upon the ceiling or walls. 
 
 In the gallery at Moscow I saw a painting by the 
 §:reat Russian artist. Verechiagin. It is a pyramid of
 
 THREE LITTLE KINGrOMS 65 
 
 whitened skulls standing out against a dark back- 
 ground, and is dedicated to "The Warriors of the 
 World." It tells the whole story of war in so sohemn, 
 impressive, and terrible a way that Von Moltke is 
 said to have issued an order prohibiting GermaH offi- 
 cers from looking at it when it was exhibited at Berlin. 
 The emperor of Russia, who has the distinction 
 and the honor of having called together the conference 
 which resulted in The Hague tribunal, might with 
 great propriety contribute to the Temple of Peace this 
 masterpiece of one of his countrymen, portraying so 
 vividly the evils which arbitration is intended to 
 remedy. 
 
 One of the members of the arbitration court told 
 me that it was both interesting and instructive to note 
 how the nations appearing before that court empha- 
 sized, not so much their pecuniary claims, as the hon- 
 or of their respective nations and the justice of their 
 acts. 
 
 No one can foresee or foretell how great an influ- 
 ence The Hague tribunal will have upon the world's 
 affairs, but it would seem difficult to exaggerate it. It 
 is cultivating a public opinion which will in time 
 coerce the nations into substituting arbitration for vio- 
 lence in the settlement of international disputes ; and 
 it ought to be a matter of gratification to every Amer- 
 ican that our country is taking so active a part in the 
 forwarding of the movement. 
 
 But The Hague is not the only place of interest 
 in The Netherlands. The land replevined from the 
 sea by the sturdy Dutch and protected by dykes, the
 
 Q6 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 spot immortalized by the temporary sojourn of the 
 Pilgrims, the familiar blue china, the huge wind mills 
 with their deliberate movements, the wooden shoes, 
 and the numerous waterways — all these attract the at- 
 tention of the tourist. 
 
 And the commercial metropolis of Holland, Am- 
 sterdam—what a quaint old city it is! Its more than 
 300 canals roaming their way through the city, and 
 its hundreds of bridges, have given to it the name 
 of "The Northern Venice," and it well deserves the ap- 
 pellation. The houses are built on piles, and as many 
 of them are settling, they lean in every direction, some 
 out toward the street, some back, and some toward the 
 side. The houses are so dependent upon each other 
 for their support that it is a common saying in that 
 city that if you want to injure your neighbor, you have 
 only to pull down your own house. 
 
 Amsterdam is the center of the diamond cutting 
 industry of the world, more than 10,000 hands being 
 employed in that work. As is well known, the Dutch 
 are a rich people, and their commerce, like their mort- 
 gages, can be found everywhere. 
 
 They have a constitutional monarchy, but they 
 have universal education and parliamentary govern- 
 ment, and are jealous of their political rights. 
 
 Denmark, Belgium and The Netherlands— three 
 little kingdoms ! Small in area, but brimful of people, 
 and these people have their part in the solving of 
 problems with which Europe is now grappling.
 
 GERMANY AND SOCIALISM. 
 
 At Berlin I found, as I had at London and Paris, a 
 considerable number of Americans and, as in the other 
 cities, they have organized a society, the object of 
 which is to bring the American residents together for 
 friendly intercourse. At London the group is known 
 as the American Society ; at Paris and Berlin the so- 
 ciety is known as the American Chamber of Com- 
 merce. Through the receptions given by these socie- 
 ties I was able to meet not only the leading American 
 residents, but many foreigners who came as invited 
 guests. Our American residents are evidently con- 
 ducting themselves well because I found that they 
 are well liked by the people among whom they are 
 temporarily sojourning. I am indebted to Ambassa- 
 dor Tower and to the American Chamber of Com- 
 merce for courtesies extended me at Berlin. 
 
 My visit to Germany occurred at Christmas time 
 and while it was for that reason impossible to see 
 the kaiser (much to my regret), I learned something 
 of the German method of observing the great Chris- 
 tian holiday. The German is essentially a domestic 
 man and at Christmas time especially gives himself up 
 to the society of the family, relatives and friends.' 
 Christmas coming on Friday, the festivities covered 
 three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The 
 toys — in which Germany abounds — were of endless 
 variety, and the Christmas trees bending beneath their 
 
 67 I
 
 68 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 load were centers of interest to the young folks. There 
 were dolls and dogs, horses and woolley sheep, cows 
 that give milk, and soldiers — an abundance of soldiers. 
 I saw one cavalryman with a saber in his hand. When 
 he was wound up the horse would rush forward and 
 the rider would strike out with his saber as if he was 
 keeping watch on the Rhine and in the very act of 
 resisting an attack from the enemy. A little strange 
 that the birthday of the Prince of Peace should be 
 celebrated by the presentation of toys illustrating 
 mimic warfare! But as in America we are increasing 
 our army and enlarging our navy we are not in a very 
 good position to take the military mote out of the 
 eye of our friends in the fatherland. 
 
 Berlin is a splendid city with beautiful streets, 
 parks and public buildings. It is more modern in 
 appearance than either London or Paris and there is 
 a solidity and substantialness about the population 
 that explains the character of the emigration from 
 Germany to America. No one can look upon a gath- 
 ering of average Germans without recognizing that 
 he is in the presence of a strong, intelligent and mas- 
 terful people. Bismarck has left his impress upon Ger- 
 many as Napoleon did upon France. An heroic statue 
 of the man of "blood and iron" stands between the 
 reichstag and the column of Victory, which was erect- 
 ed at the close of the Franco-Prussian war. The 
 reichstag is a massive, but graceful structure, built 
 some twenty years ago. In one of the corridors I no- 
 ticed a silk flag which was presented in the seventies 
 by the German women of America. The reichstag
 
 GERMANY. 69 
 
 proper is a popular body, much like the English par- 
 liament, and, as in England, the members do not nec- 
 essarily reside in the districts they represent. The up- 
 per house, or bundesrath, is somewhat like our senate 
 in one respect, namely, that it represents the various 
 states that comprise the German empire, but it differs 
 from our senate, first, in that the subdivisions are rep- 
 resented somewhat in proportion to population, and, 
 second, in that the members of the bundesrath are 
 really ambassadors of the several state governments 
 whose credentials can be withdrawn at any time. As 
 all legislation must be concurred in by the bundesrath 
 as well as by the reichstag it will be seen that the 
 German government is not nearly so responsive to the 
 will of the people as the governments of England, 
 Denmark and the Netherlands. 
 
 In the reichstag they have resorted to a device 
 for saving time in roll call. Each member is supplied 
 with a quantity of tickets, some pink and some white. 
 Each ticket bears on both sides the name of the mem- 
 ber. On the white tickets the word "Ja" (yes) ap- 
 pears under the name, on the pink ones "Nein" (no). 
 These ballots are gathered up in vases containing two 
 receptacles, one white and the other pink. The vases 
 are carried through the hall and the votes deposited 
 according to color. As they are deposited in the 
 different receptacles and are distinguished by color 
 the ballot is quickly taken and counted— in about one- 
 fourth the time, I think, formerly required for roll 
 call. This is a method which our congress might find 
 it convenient to adopt.
 
 70 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 It was my good fortune, while in Berlin, to meet 
 Dr. Otto Arendt, the leading bimetallist of Germany. 
 He became a student of the money question while in 
 college, being converted to the double standard by the 
 writings of Cernucshi, the great French economist. 
 Dr. Arendt is a member of the reichstag, from one of 
 the agricultural constituencies. He has represented his 
 government in international conferences and has urged 
 his government to join in an agreement to restore bi- 
 metallism, but like other advocates of the double stan- 
 dard has found the English financiers an immovable 
 obstruction in the way. 
 
 I have for two reasons reserved for this article 
 some comments on the growth of socialism in Europe. 
 First, because Germany was to be the last of the 
 larger countries visited, and, second, because socialism 
 seems to be growing more rapidly in Germany than 
 anywhere else. I find that nearly all of the European 
 nations have carried collective ownership farther than 
 we have in the United States. In a former article 
 reference has already been made to the growth of 
 municipal ownership in England and Scotland, and I 
 may add that where the private ownership of public 
 utilities is still permitted the regulation of the corpor- 
 ations holding these franchises is generally more strict 
 than in the United States. Let two illustrations suf- 
 fice : Where parliament charters gas and water com- 
 panies in cities it has for some years been the practice 
 to limit the dividends that can be earned — any surplus 
 earnings over and above the dividends allowed must 
 be used in reducing the price paid by the consumer. I
 
 GERMANY. 71 
 
 fear that our money magnates would be at a loss to 
 find words to express their indignation if any such 
 restriction was suggested in America, and yet is it 
 not a just and reasonable restriction? 
 
 In the case of railroads, I noticed that there are 
 in England but few grade (or, as they call them, 
 "level") crossings. I am informed that railroad acci- 
 dents and injuries are not so frequent in England as 
 in the United States. 
 
 In Switzerland the government has recently ac- 
 quired the principal railroad systems. In Holland, 
 Belgium and Denmark also the railroads are largely 
 government roads. In Russia the government owns 
 and operates the roads and I found there a new form 
 of collectivism, namely, the employment of a commun- 
 ity physician who treats the people without charge. 
 These physicians are employed by societies called 
 Zemstro which have control of the roads and the care 
 of the sick. 
 
 In Germany, however, socialism as an economic 
 theory is being urged by a strong and growing party. 
 In the last general election the socialists polled a lit- 
 tle more than three million votes out of a total of 
 about nine and a half millions. Measured by the popu- 
 lar vote it is now the strongest party in Germany. The 
 fact that with thirty-one per cent of the vote it only 
 has eighty-one members of the reichstag out of a to- 
 tal of 397 is due, in part, to the fact that the social- 
 ist vote is massed in the cities and in part to the fact 
 that the population has increased more rapidly in the
 
 72 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 cities and as there has been no recent redistricting the 
 socialist city districts are larger than the districts re- 
 turning members of other parties. 
 
 George von Vollmar, a member of the reichstag, 
 in a recent issue of the National Review thus states 
 the general purpose of the social democratic party 
 in Germany: 
 
 "It is well known that social democracy in all 
 countries, as its name indicates, aims in the first place 
 at social and economic reform. It starts from the 
 point of view that economic development, the substitu- 
 tion of machinery for hand implements, and the sup- 
 planting of small factories by gigantic industrial com- 
 binations, deprive the worker in an ever-increasing de- 
 gree of the essential means of production, thereby con- 
 verting him into a possessionless proletarian, and that 
 the means of production are becoming the exclusive 
 possession of a comparatively small number of capital- 
 ists, who constantly monopolize all the advantages 
 which the gigantic increase in the productive capacity 
 of human effort has brought about. Thus, according to 
 the social democrats, capital is master of all the 
 springs of life, and lays a yoke on the working classes 
 in particular, and the whole population in general, 
 which ever becomes more and more unbearable. The 
 masses, as their insight into the general trend of af- 
 fairs develops, become daily more and more conscious 
 of the contrast between the exploiter and the exploit- 
 ed, and in all countries with an industrial development 
 society is divided into two hostile camps, which wage 
 war on each other with ever increasing bitterness.
 
 GERMANY. 73 
 
 "To this class-war is due the origin and continu- 
 ous development of social democracy, the chief task 
 of which is to unite these factions in an harmonious 
 whole which they will direct to its true goal. Indus- 
 trial combination on a large scale can be converted 
 from a source of misery and oppression into a source 
 of the greatest prosperity and of harmonious perfec- 
 tion when the means of production cease to be the ex- 
 clusive appanage of capital and are transferred to the 
 hands of society at large. The social revolution here 
 indicated implies the liberation not only of the pro- 
 letariat, but of mankind as a whole, which suffers from 
 the decomposing influence of existing class antagon- 
 ism whereby all social progress is crippled." 
 
 One of the most influential of the German social- 
 ists in answer to a series of questions submitted by 
 me said in substance : 
 
 First, the general aim of socialists in Germany is 
 the same as the aim of other socialists throughout the 
 world — namely, the establishment of a collective 
 commonwealth based on democratic equality. 
 
 Second, the socialists of Germany have organized 
 a liberal party of unrivalled strength ; they have edu- 
 cated the working classes to a very high standard of 
 political intelligence and to a strong sense of their in- 
 dependence and of their social mission, as the living 
 and progressive force in every social respect ; they 
 have promoted the organization of trade unions ; and 
 have by their incessant agitation compelled the other 
 parties and the government to take up social and labor 
 legislation.
 
 74 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Third, German socialists at present are contend- 
 ing for a legal eight-hour day and for the creation of 
 a labor department in the government, with labor offi- 
 cers and labor chambers throughout the country. In 
 addition to these special reforms socialists are urging 
 various constitutional and democratic reforms in the 
 states and municipalities— in the latter housing re- 
 forms, direct employment of labor, etc. 
 
 Fourth, there may be some difference of opinion 
 among socialists in regard to the competitive system, 
 but being scientific evolutionists they all agree that 
 competition was at one time a great step in advance 
 and acted for generations as a social lever of industrial 
 progress, but they believe that it has many evil con- 
 sequences and that it is now being outgrown by capi- 
 talistic concerns, whose power to oppress has become 
 a real danger to the community. They contend that 
 there is not much competition left with these mono- 
 polies and that, as on the other hand, education and 
 the sense of civic responsibility are visibly growing, 
 and will grow more rapidly when socialism gets hold 
 of the public mind, socialists think that the time is 
 approaching when all monopolies must and can safely 
 be taken over by the state or municipality as the case 
 may be. This would not destroy all competition at 
 once— in industries not centralized some competition 
 might continue to exist. In this respect also all soc- 
 ialists are evolutionists, however they may differ as to 
 ways and means and political methods. 
 
 Fifth, as to the line between what are called nat- 
 ural monopolies and ordinary industries, the question
 
 GERMANY. 75 
 
 is partly answered by the preceeding paragraph. There 
 is a general consensus of opinion that natural monop- 
 olies should, in any case, be owned by the community. 
 
 I find that even in Germany there are degrees 
 among socialists— some like Babel and Singer empha- 
 sizing the ultimate ends of socialism, while others led 
 by Bernstein are what might be called progressionists 
 or opportunists — that is, they are willing to take the 
 best they can get today and from that vantage ground 
 press on to something better. It is certain that the 
 socialists of Germany are securing reforms, but so far 
 they are reforms which have either already been se- 
 cured in other countries or are advocated elsewhere 
 by other parties as well as by the socialist party. 
 
 The whole question of socialism hangs upon the 
 question: Is competition an evil or a good? If it is an 
 evil then monopolies are right and we have only to 
 decide whether the monopolies should be owned by 
 the state or by private individuals. If, on the other 
 hand, competition is a good then it should be restored 
 where it can be restored. In the case of natural mon- 
 opolies where it is impossible for competition to exist, 
 the government would administer the monopolies not 
 on the ground that competition is undesirable, but on 
 the ground that in such cases it is impossible. 
 
 Those who believe that the right is sure of ulti- 
 mate triumph will watch the struggle in Germany and 
 profit by the lessons taught. I am inclined to be- 
 lieve that political considerations are so mingled with 
 economic theories that it is difficult as yet to know 
 just what proportion of the three million socialist vot-
 
 76 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 ers believe in "the government ownership and opera- 
 tion of all the means of production and distribution." 
 The old age pension act was given as a sop to the 
 socialists, but it strengthened rather than weakened 
 their contentions and their party. It remains to be 
 seen whether the new concessions which they seem 
 likely to secure will still further augment their 
 strength. The Germans are a studious and a thought- 
 ful people and just now they are absorbed in the con- 
 sideration of the aims and methods of the socialist 
 movement (mingled with a greater or less amount of 
 governmental reform), and the world awaits their ver- 
 dict with lieep interest.
 
 Russia and Her Czar. 
 
 The map of Russia makes the other nations o; 
 Europe look insignificant by comparison. Moscow ij 
 called "The Heart of Russia," and yet the trans-Siber- 
 ian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok is aboul 
 6,000 miles long, nearly one-fourth the circumference 
 of the globe. From St. Petersburg to Sebastopol is 
 more than 2,000 miles, and yet Russia's territory ex- 
 tends much further north than St. Petersburg and 
 much further south than Sebastopol. In a book 
 recently issued by authority of the Russian govern- 
 ment some comparisons are made that give an idea 
 of the immensity of Russia's domain. For instance, 
 Siberia is about one and one-half times as large as 
 Europe, 25 times as large as Germany, and covers 
 one-thirteenth of the continental surface of the globe. 
 Besides having great timber belts and vast prairies, 
 Siberia has a hill and lake region ten times as large 
 as Switzerland, and it is claimed that some of the 
 'lakes are as beautiful as those of "The Mountain Re- 
 public." Lately the government has been encourag- 
 ing immigration into the country opened up by the 
 trans-Siberian railway and the success of the move- 
 ment is shown by the fact that the number of pas- 
 sengers carried on the western section of the road 
 increased from 160,000 in 1896 to 379,000 in 1898, and 
 on the middle section from 177,000 in 1897 to 476,000 
 ,in 1898, with a similar increase in freight traffic. The 
 
 77
 
 78 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 government gives a certain area of land to each set- 
 tler and when necessary advances sufficient money tc 
 build homes and barns for the storage of crops and foi 
 the purchase of agricultural implements. The terri- 
 torial greatness of Russia is the first thing that im- 
 presses the tourist, and the second is that it is as yet 
 so sparsely settled that it can without fear of crowd- 
 ing accommodate a vast increase in population. 
 
 Russia embraces all varieties of climate and 
 resources. 
 
 My journey was confined to the northeast portion. 
 I entered the country below Warsaw, went west to 
 Moscow, then north to St. Petersburg and thence 
 southeast to Berlin. This, with the exception of my 
 visit to Tula, gave me my only opportunity to see the 
 people of Russia. They impressed me as being a 
 hardy race and the necessities of climate are such as 
 to compel industry and activity. I never saw else- 
 where such universal preparation for cold weather. As 
 yet Russia is almost entirely agricultural, but manu- 
 facturing enterprises are continually increasing. The 
 peasants live in villages and for the most part hc»ld 
 their lands in common — that is, the lands belong to 
 the commune or village as a whole and not to the 
 individual. When Alexander freed the serfs the land 
 was sold to them jointly on long-time payments. These 
 payments have in only a few instances been complet- 
 ed, wherefore not many of the peasants own land in- 
 dividually. There is just now much discussion in Rus- 
 sia about the method of holding land. Some contend
 
 RUSSIA. 79 
 
 that communal holding tends to discourage thrift and 
 enterprise, and there is some agitation in favor of in- 
 dividual ownership. 
 
 Moscow, the largest city of Russia, has a trifle 
 larger population than St. Petersburg, the capital, 
 which has more than a million. Moscow, which is 
 the commercial center of the empire, gives the cas- 
 ual visitor a much better idea of the characteristic life 
 and architecture of Russia than does St. Petersburg. 
 St. Petersburg, however, is laid out upon a broader, 
 more generous plan, has wider streets, more impres- 
 sive public buildings and private residences, and there 
 is more evidence of wealth in the capital than in the 
 commercial center. Both cities possess admirable 
 museums and art galleries. The chief gallery of Mos- 
 cow devotes nearly all its wall space to pictures by 
 Russian artists, and they are sufficient in number to 
 prove Russia's claim to an honorable place in the 
 world of art. 
 
 The Hermitage at St. Petersburg, which is an 
 annex of the emperor's palace, contains an extraordin- 
 ary number of masterpieces of modern and ancient 
 art. The museum of the academy of sciences pos- 
 sesses a remarkable collection of fine specimens of pre- 
 historic animals, among them mammoths, the largest 
 and best preserved of which was found only a few 
 years ago at the foot of a Siberian glacier. 
 
 The visitor to Russia comes away with conflict- 
 ing emotions. He is impressed by the wonderful 
 possibilities of the country, but is oppressed by the 
 limitations and restrictions which the government
 
 80 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 places upon individual action and activity. As soon 
 as the traveler reaches the border of Russia his pass- 
 port is demanded. It is again demanded the moment 
 he arrives at his hotel, and it is demanded and inspect- 
 ed at every place he stops. When he is about to 
 leave the country he must send his passport to the 
 police office and have it indorsed with official permis- 
 sion to depart. Not only is a passport demanded at 
 every place from the foreigner, but native Russians, 
 high and low, must also bear passports and be pre- 
 pared to submit them for inspection upon demand. Not 
 even officers of the army are exempt from this rigid 
 rule. 
 
 The censorship over the press and over private 
 mail is very strict. I brought away with me a copy 
 of Stead's Review of Reviews which had been posted 
 to a subscriber in Russia and which had passed 
 through the hands of the censor. Its pages bore 
 abundant evidence of the care with which he scrutin- 
 ized foreign publications, for objectionable cartoons, 
 articles and even paragraphs had been made illegible 
 by an obliterating stamp. 
 
 The governm.ent of Russia, as the world knows, is 
 an autocracy. All power is vested in the emperor, 
 and all authority emanates from him. Being an auto- 
 cracy, Russia has, of course, no legislative body, such 
 as is now a part of the government of nearly every 
 civilized country on the globe. It has not trial by 
 jury and it knows not the writ of habeas corpus. The 
 custom of exiling or banishing without trial persons 
 obectionable to the government is still practiced. A
 
 RUSSIA. 81 
 
 large number of Finns, many of them persons of prom- 
 inence, have been deported from Finnland since the 
 decree of 1899, which limited the self-governmnel 
 which the Finns had enjoyed since Russia annexed 
 their country. 
 
 While in St. Petersburg I was, by the courtesy 
 of the American ambassador, Mr. McCormick, given 
 an opportunity of meeting and chatting with the czar 
 of all the Russias, Emperor Nicholas II. I found him 
 at his winter residence, the palace of Tzarskoje Selo, 
 which is about an hour's ride from St. Petersburg. 
 
 Of all the emperor's palaces, Tzarskoje Selo is his 
 favorite. It stands in a magnificent park which at 
 this time of year is covered with snow. The emperor 
 is a young man, having been born in 1868. He is not 
 more than five feet seven or eight inches in height 
 and apparently weighs about 160 pounds. His figure is 
 slender and erect, his face boyish and his eyes a light 
 blue. His hair, which is blonde, is cut rather short 
 and combed upward over the forehead. The czar 
 wears a mustache and short beard. The general 
 expression of his face is gentle rather than severe and 
 he speaks English perfectly. He informed me that 
 about 65 per cent of the adult men of Russia can read 
 and write and that the number is increasing at the 
 rate of about 3 per cent a year. This increase, the 
 czar said, was shown by the recruits to the army, and 
 as these come from all provinces of the empire and all 
 classes of society, he believes it to be a fair test of 
 the people as a whole. The czar declared himself 
 deeply interested in the spread of education among
 
 82 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 the people and seemed to realize that opportunities for 
 education should be extended to men and women 
 equally. I referred to a decree issued by him about 
 a year ago promising a measure of self-government 
 to the local communities. The czar said : "Yes, that 
 was issued last February, and the plan is now being 
 worked out." He manifested great gratification at 
 the outcome of the proposals submitted by him which 
 resulted in the establishment of The Hague court of 
 arbitration and it is a movement of which he may 
 justly feel proud, for while it is not probable that The 
 Hague tribunal will at once end all wars, it is certain 
 to contribute largely to the growth of a sentiment that 
 will substitute the reign of reason for the rule of 
 brute force. The czar spoke warmly of the friendly 
 relations that had existed for years between Russia 
 and the United States, He said that the people of his 
 country had rejoiced in the growth and greatness of 
 the United States. Then, speaking with considerable 
 feeling, the czar said: "The attitude of Russia in the 
 Kischinef¥ affair has been very much misrepresented 
 by some of the newspapers and I wish you would tell 
 your people so when you return to the United States." 
 
 The Russian officials deny that the government 
 was in any way responsible for the massacre and I 
 was informed that the government had caused the 
 prosecution and secured the imprisonment of many of 
 those implicated. The emperor showed in his con- 
 versation that he respected public opinion in the Unit- 
 ed States and was anxious that his administration 
 should not '•est under condemnation. Jt seems to be
 
 RUSSIA. 83 
 
 the general opinion of those with whom I had a chance 
 to speak in Russia that the emperor himself is much 
 more progressive and liberal than his official environ- 
 ment. If he were free to act upon his own judgment, 
 it is believed that he would go further and faster than 
 the officeholding class surrounding him in broadening 
 the foundations of government, and from his words 
 and manner during my conversation with him I am 
 inclined to share this opinion. 
 
 What Russia most needs today are free speech 
 and a free press — free speech that those who have the 
 welfare of the country at heart may give expression 
 to their views and contril^ute their wisdom to that 
 public opinion which in all free countries controls to 
 a greater or less extent those who hold office. To 
 deny freedom of speech is to question the ability of 
 truth to combat error ; it is to doubt the power of 
 right to vindicate itself. A free press would not 
 only enable those in office to see their actions as oth- 
 ers see them, but would exercise a wholesome re- 
 straint. Publicity will often deter an official from 
 wrong-doing when other restraints would be insuf- 
 ficient, and those who are anxious to do well ought 
 to welcome anything that would throw light upon 
 their path. With free speech and a free press it 
 would not be long before the participation of the Rus- 
 sian people in government would be enlarged, and 
 with that enlarged share in the control of their own 
 afifairs would come not only contentment, but the 
 education which responsibility and self-government 
 bring. It is impossible to prepare people for self-
 
 84 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 government by depriving them of the exercise of po- 
 litical rights. As children learn to walk by being 
 allowed to fall and rise and fall and rise again, so peo- 
 ple profit by experience and learn from the conse- 
 quences of their mistakes. 
 
 That the Russian people are devoted to their 
 church is evident everywhere. Every village and 
 town has its churches, and the cities have cathedrals, 
 chapels and shrines seemingly innumerable. St. 
 Isaac's cathedral in St. Petersburg is an immense bas- 
 ilica and is ornamented in nave and transcept with 
 precious and semi-precious stones. The superb por- 
 tico is supported by a maze of granite monoliths seven 
 feet in diameter. There is now in process of construc- 
 tion at Moscow a still more elaborate cathedral. Rus- 
 sia is not a good missionary field for two reasons : 
 First, because the people seem wedded to their church, 
 and, second, because no one is permitted to sever his 
 connection with the church. 
 
 The child of an orthodox Russian becomes a mem- 
 ber of the church of his parents and if he desires to 
 enter another church he must leave the country. If 
 one of the orthodox church marries a member of an- 
 other church the children must of necessity be reared 
 in the Russian faith. It will be seen, therefore, that 
 the church is very closely connected with the govern- 
 ment itself, and quite as arbitrary. 
 
 De Tocqueville some fifty years ago predicted a 
 large place for Russia among the nations of Europe 
 and my visit to the great empire of the northeast con- 
 vinced me that Russia with universal education, free-
 
 RUSSIA. 85 
 
 dom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of reli- 
 gion and constitutional self-government would exert 
 an influence upon the destinies of the old world to 
 which it would be difficult to set a limit.
 
 Rome — The Catholic Capital. 
 
 The dominant feature of Rome is the relig-ious 
 feature, and it is fitting that it should be so, for here 
 the soil was stained with the blood of those who first 
 harkened to the voice of the Nazarene--here a cruel 
 Nero lighted his garden with human torches, little 
 thinking that the religion of those whom he burned 
 would in time illumine the earth. 
 
 The fact that the city is the capital of the Catho- 
 lic world is apparent everywhere. All interest is 
 centered in the Vatican and St. Peter's, The civil 
 government of Italy extends to the nation's borders, 
 but the papal authority of Rome reaches to the re- 
 motest corners of the earth. I was anxious to see 
 the man upon whom such vast responsibility rests, and 
 whose words so profoundly influence millions of the 
 human race. Lord Denbigh, of England, had given 
 me a letter of introduction to Cardinal Merry del Val, 
 the papal secretary of state, and armed with this I 
 visited the Vatican. Cardinal del Val is an exceed- 
 ingly interesting man. He was born of Spanish par- 
 ents, but one of his grand-parents was English, and 
 he is connected by ties of blood with several families 
 of the English nobility. He was educated in England, 
 and speaks that language fluently and without an ac- 
 cent, as he does French, German, Italian and Span- 
 ish. His linguistic accomplishments are almost as 
 great as those of the famous Cardinal Mezzofanti. 
 
 86
 
 X 
 
 o 
 
 m 
 
 3
 
 THE CATHOLIC CAPITAL. 87 
 
 Cardinal del Val is an unusually young man to occupy 
 such an important post — he is not yet forty. He im- 
 presses one as a man of rare ability and he possesses 
 extraordinary versatility and a diplomatic training 
 that will make him eminently useful to His Holiness. 
 The papal secretary of state is a tall, slender, distin- 
 guished-looking man. His intellectual face is thin and 
 oval ; his eyes are large, dark and brilliant, showing 
 his Spanish birth. He received us in his private 
 apartments in the Vatican. They are among the most 
 interesting of the 1,200 rooms in that great building 
 and were once occupied by that famous pope who was 
 a Borgia. The ceilings and walls down to the floor 
 are painted magnificently, the decoration having been 
 done by the hand of a master artist of Borgia's reign. 
 For centuries the suit now occupied by Cardinal del 
 Val had been part of the Vatican library. The beautiful 
 walls were once hidden by a coat of rude whitewash, 
 but the paintings were discovered not long ago and 
 the pictures restored once more to view. 
 
 Before visiting the Vatican I called upon Monsig- 
 nor Kennedy, the rector of the American college. Mgr. 
 Kennedy is a learned and an exceedingly agreeable 
 American and under his efficient management the 
 number of students in the college has been doubled 
 within a few years. He enabled me to meet Pope 
 Pius' Maestro di Camera. By the good offices of Car- 
 dinal del Val, and the Maestro di Camera it was ar- 
 ranged that I should have a private audience with the 
 Holy Father the following day, Mgr. Kennedy acting 
 as interpreter.
 
 88 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Pope Pius received us in his private audience 
 loom adjoining the public audience chamber, where 
 distinguished Catholics from all over the world were 
 collected and ready to be presented and receive the 
 papal blessing. The private audience room is a rather 
 small apartment, simply, but beautifully furnished and 
 decorated. A throne bearing the papal crown occu- 
 pied one side of the room. His Holiness greeted us 
 very courteously and cordially. He wore a long 
 white cassock, with a girdle at the waist; the fisher- 
 man's ring was on his finger and he wore a small, 
 closely fitting skull-cap of white. I had an opportun- 
 ity to study his face. It is a round, strong face, full 
 of kindliness and benevolence, but there are not lack- 
 ing indications that its possessor has a purpose and 
 will of his own. The face is ruddy and the nose rath- 
 er long — it is straight and not arched. His eyes are 
 large, blue and friendly. The scant hair visible below 
 the skull-cap is white. In stature the Holy Father is 
 about five feet nine or ten inches and his figure is 
 sturdy, but not too heavy. His step is light and gives 
 an impression of strength and good health. 
 
 His Holiness has already gained a reputation as 
 a democratic pontiflF and enjoys a large and growing 
 popularity with the people. He is an orator and often 
 on Sunday goes into one of the many court yards of 
 the Vatican and preaches to the crowds that gather 
 quite informally. His gestures are said to be grace- 
 ful and his voice melodious. His manner is earnest 
 and his thoughts are expressed in a clear and emphatic 
 language. There is a feeling in Rome that Pius X. is
 
 THE CATHOLIC CAPITAL. 89 
 
 going to be known in history as a reformer — not as a 
 reformer of doctrine, but as one who will popularize 
 the church's doctrine with a view to increasing the 
 heartiness and zeal of the masses in the application of 
 religious truth to everyday life. 
 
 I assured his Holiness that I appreciated the op- 
 portunity that was his to give impetus to the moral 
 forces of the world, and he replied : "I hope my efforts 
 in that direction will be such as to merit commenda- 
 tion." Answering my statement that I called to pre- 
 sent the good will of many Catholic friends as well 
 as to pay my respects, His Holiness asked me to car- 
 ry his benediction back to them. 
 
 If I may venture an opinion upon such brief ob- 
 servation, it is that heart characteristics will dominate 
 the present pontiff's course. He is not so renowned 
 a scholar and diplomat as was his predecessor, nor is 
 he so skilled in statecraft, but he is a virile, energetic, 
 pratical religious teacher, charitable, abounding in 
 good works and full of brotherly love. I am confident 
 that he will play an important part in the world-wide 
 conflict between man and mammon. 
 
 The world has made and is making great progress 
 in education and in industry. The percentage of illit- 
 eracy is everywhere steadily decreasing.The standards 
 of art and taste are rising and the forces of nature are 
 being harnessed to do the work of man. Steam, mad- 
 ly escaping from its prison walls, turns myrid wheels 
 and drags our commerce over land and sea, while 
 electricity, more fleet of foot than Mercury, has be- 
 come the message-bearer of millions. Even the waves
 
 90 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 of the air are now obedient to the command of man 
 and intelligence is flashed across the ocean without the 
 aid of wires. With this dominion over nature man has 
 been able to advance his physical well-being as well 
 as to enlarge his mental horizon, but has the moral 
 development of the people kept pace with material 
 prosperity? The growing antagonism between capital 
 and labor, the lack of sympathy often manifest be- 
 tween those of the same race and even of the same 
 religion when enjoying incomes quite unequal — these 
 things would seem to indicate that the heart has lagged 
 behind the head and the purse. The restoration of the 
 equilibrium and the infusing of a feeling of brother- 
 hood that will establish justice and good will 
 must be the aim of those who are sincerely 
 interested in the progress of the race. This is pre- 
 eminently the work of our religious teachers, although 
 it is a work in which the laity as well as the clergy 
 must take part. 
 
 After meeting Pius X., late the beloved patriarch 
 of Venice, I feel assured that he is peculiarly fitted to 
 lead his portion of the Christian church in this great 
 endeavor. 
 
 The Vatican which serves as the home and exe- 
 cutive offices of the supreme pontiff of the Catholic 
 church is an enormous building, or rather collection 
 of buildings for it bears evidence of additions and an- 
 nexes. One might be easily lost in its maze of corri- 
 dors. The ceilings of the chief apartments are high 
 and, like the walls of the spacious rooms and halls, 
 are covered with frescoes of priceless value. The vat-
 
 THE CATHOLIC CAPITAL. 91 
 
 ican adjoins St. Peter's cathedral or basilica as it is 
 called — a description of whose beauties would fill a 
 volume. The basilica is so harmoniously proportioned 
 that one does not appreciate its vastness from a dis- 
 tance, but once within its walls it is easy to credit the 
 statement that fifty thousand persons can be crowded 
 into it. In a crypt just beneath the great dome is the 
 tomb of St. Peter about which myriad lamps are kept 
 constantly burning. Near the tomb is a crucifix sus- 
 pended under a canopy supported by four spiral col- 
 umns that are replicas of a column elsewhere in the 
 cathedral that is said to have been part of Solomon's 
 temple. Not far from the crucifix is the famous 
 bronze statue of St. Peter, made from a pagan statue 
 of Jupiter. It is mounted upon a pedestal about five 
 feet high and the large toe of the right foot, which 
 projects over the pedestal, has been worn smooth by 
 the lips of devout visitors to the basilica. 
 
 To me the most remarkable of the splendors of 
 the cathedral were the Mosaic pictures of which there 
 are many of heroic size. These Mosaics depict Bible 
 scenes and characters and are done with such mar- 
 vellous skill that a little way ofif one can hardly doubt 
 that they are the product of the brush of some great 
 master. The colors, tints and shades are so perfect 
 that it is difficult to believe that the pictures are 
 formed by the piecing together of tiny bits of colored 
 marbles and other stones. The Vatican maintains a 
 staff of artists in Mosaic, some of whose work may be 
 purchased by the public. I was shown the master- 
 piece of Michael Angelo in the cathedral of St. Petei
 
 92 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 in Vinculo — a statue of Moses, seated. In the right 
 knee there is a slight crack visible and it is the tradi- 
 tion that when the great sculptor had finished his 
 work he struck the knee with his mallet in a burst of 
 enthusiasm and exclaimed, "Now, speak." St. Paul's 
 cathedral, which stands outside the ancient wall of the 
 city, is of modern construction and is therefore less in- 
 teresting to the visitor than the great basilica of St. 
 Peter's. 
 
 Next to the Vatican and the cathedrals in interest 
 are the ruins of ancient Rome. In England and France 
 I had seen buildings many centuries old ; in Rome one 
 walks at the foot of walls that for nearly two thousand 
 years have defied the ravages of time. The best pre- 
 served and most stupendous of the relics of "The Eter- 
 nal City" is the Colosseum. It is built upon a scale 
 that gives some idea of the largeness of Roman con- 
 ceptions and of the prodigality with which the em- 
 perors expended the money and labor of the people. 
 The arena in which the gladiators fought with their 
 fellows and with wild beasts — the arena in which many 
 of the Christian martyrs met their death — is slightly 
 oval in form, the longest diameter being about 250 feet. 
 The arena was so arranged that it could be flooded 
 with water and used for aquatic tournaments. The 
 spectators looked down upon the contests from galler- 
 ies that rose in four tiers to a height of 150 feet. At 
 one end of the arena was the tribune occupied by the 
 emperor and his suite; at the other end the vestal vir- 
 gins occupied another tribune and it was their privil- 
 ege to confer either life or death upon the vanquished
 
 THE CATHOLIC CAPITAL. 93 
 
 gladiators by turning the thumb up or down — turned 
 up it meant life, turned down, death. The Roman 
 populace gained access to the galleries by 160 doors 
 and stairways. The seating capacity of the Colosseum 
 is estimated to have been fifty thousand. 
 
 The Forum is even richer than the Colosseum in 
 historic interest and recent excavations have brought 
 to light what are supposed to be the tomb of Caesar 
 and the tomb of Romulus. The tribune is pointed 
 out from which the Roman orators addressed the mul- 
 titude. Here Cicero hurled his invectives at Cataline 
 and Mark Anthony is by Shakespeare made to plead 
 here for fallen Caesar. The triumphal arch of Con- 
 stantine stands at one end of the Forum and is in an 
 excellent state of preservation. Among the carvings 
 lately exhumed are some (especially atractive to an 
 agriculturist) showing the forms of the bull, the sheep 
 and the hog. They are so like the best breeds of these 
 animals today that one can scarcely believe they were 
 chiseled from stone nearly twenty centuries ago. In 
 Rome, as in Paris, there is a Pantheon in the familiar 
 style of Greek architecture. In the Roman Pantheon 
 is the tomb of Raphael. Cardinal Bembo in recognition 
 of Raphael's genius, caused to be placed upon his tomb 
 a Latin epitaph which Hope has translated : 
 "Living, great nature feared he might outvie 
 Her works, and dying fears herself to die." 
 To those who are familiar with Roman history the 
 river Tiber is an object of interest, but here, as is often 
 the case, one feels disappointed in finding that the 
 thing pictured was larger than the reality. The Tiber,
 
 •94 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 yellow as the Missouri, flows through the very heart 
 of Rome and is kept within its channel by a high stone 
 embankment. In and near Rome are many ancient 
 palaces, some of them falling into decay, and some, 
 well preserved. One of the most modern of the pal- 
 aces of the Italian nobles was built by American mon- 
 ey, the wife being a member of a wealthy New York 
 family. Part of this palace is now occupied by the 
 American ambassador, Mr. Myer, to whom I am in- 
 debted for courtesies extended in Rome. Art galler- 
 ies and museums are numerous in Rome and in the 
 other cities of Italy, and contain many of the works 
 of the great Italian artists like Raphael Angelo, Titian 
 and others. The palace of King Victor Emmanuel 
 and the public buildings of Rome are imposing, but do 
 not compare in size or magnificence with the ancient 
 palaces of England and France. The journey from 
 Rome to Venice carried us through a very fertile part 
 of Italy. The land is carefully cultivated ; the thrifty 
 farmers in some places have set out mulberry trees for 
 the cultivation of the silk worm and have trained grape 
 vines upon the trees. 
 
 We passed through the edge of Venice and saw 
 the gondoliers on the Grand Canal waiting to carry 
 passengers into the city. A very intelligent Italian 
 newspaper correspondent whom I met in Rome in 
 formed me that the northern provinces of Italy were 
 much further advanced in education than the southern 
 provinces, but that the people of the south were men- 
 tally very alert and with the addition of instruction 
 would soon reach the intellectual level of the north.
 
 THE CATHOLIC CAPITAL. 95 
 
 My stay in Italy was all too brief and I left with much 
 reluctance this nursery of early civilization — this seat 
 of government of the world's greatest religious organ- 
 ization.
 
 Tolstoy, the Apostle of Love. 
 
 Count Leo Tolstoy, the intellectual giant of Rus- 
 sia, the moral Titan of Europe and the world's most 
 conspicuous exponent of the doctrine of love, is living 
 a life of quiet retirement upon his estate near the vil- 
 lage of Yasnaya, Poliana, about one hundred and thir- 
 ty miles south of Moscow. 
 
 I made a visit to the home of this peasant philoso- 
 pher during my stay in Russia, driving from Tula in 
 the early morning and arriving just after daylight. 
 Consul General Smith of Moscow arranged with 
 Count Tolstoy for the visit. I had intended remain- 
 ing only a few hours, but his welcome was so cordial 
 that my stay was prolonged until near midnight 
 Count Tolstoy is now about seventy-six years old, and 
 while he shows the advance of years he is still full of 
 mental vigor and retains much of his physical 
 strength. As an illustration of the latter, I might refer 
 to the horseback ride and walk which we took together 
 in the afternoon. The ride covered about four miles 
 and the walk about two. When we reached the 
 house the count said that he would take a little rest 
 and insisted that I should do likewise. A few min- 
 utes later when I expressed to the count's physician, 
 Dr. Burkenheim, the fear that he might have over- 
 taxed his strength, the doctor smilingly assured me 
 that the count usually took more exercise, but had 
 
 96
 
 (TOLSTOY. 97 
 
 purposely lessened his allowance that day, fearing that 
 he might fatigue me. 
 
 Count Tolstoy is an impressive figure. His years 
 have only slightly bowed his broad shoulders and his 
 step is still alert. In height he is about five feet eight, 
 his head is large and his abundant hair is not yet 
 wholly white. His large blue eyes are set wide apart 
 and are shaded by heavy eyebrows. The forehead is 
 unusually wide and high. He wears a long, full 
 beard that gives him a patriarchal appearance. The 
 mouth is large and the lips full. The nose is rather 
 long and the nostrils wide. The hands are muscular, 
 and the grasp bespeaks warmth of heart The count 
 dresses like the peasants of his country, wearing a 
 grayish-blue blouse belted in at the waist, with skirts 
 reaching nearly to the boot-tops. His trousers, also 
 of the peasant style, are inclined to be baggy and 
 are stuffed into his boots. I was informed that the 
 count never wears any other dress even when other 
 members of the family are entertaining guests in even- 
 ing clothes. 
 
 The room which I occupied was the one used by 
 the count as a study in his younger days, and I was 
 shown a ring in the ceiling from which at the age of 
 forty-eight he planned to hang himself—a plan from 
 which he was turned by the resolve to change the 
 manner and purpose of his life. As is well known, 
 Count Tolstoy is a member of the Russian nobility and 
 for nearly fifty years led the life of a nobleman. He 
 early achieved fame as a novelist, his "War and 
 Peace," which was written when he was but a young
 
 98 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 man, being considered one of the literary master- 
 pieces of the century. He sounded all the "depths 
 and shoals of honor" in the literary and social world ; 
 he realized all that one could wish or expect in these 
 lines, but found that success did not satisfy the crav- 
 ings of the inner man. While he was meditating up- 
 on what he had come to regard as a wasted life, a 
 change came over him, and with a faith that has never 
 faltered he turned about and entered upon a career 
 that has been unique in history. He donned the 
 simple garb of a peasant, and, living frugally, has de- 
 voted himself to philosophy and unremunerative work 
 —that is, unremunerative from a financial standpoint, 
 although he declares that it has brought him more 
 genuine enjoyment than he ever knew before. All of 
 his books written since this change in his life have been 
 given to the public without copyright except in one in- 
 stance when the proceeds of "Resurrection" were 
 pledged to the aid of the Russian Quakers, called 
 Doukhobors, whom the count assisted to emigrate 
 from their persecution in Russia to western Canada, 
 where they now reside. As an evidence of the count's 
 complete renunciation of all money considerations, it is 
 stated that he has declined an ofTer of $500,000 for the 
 copyright of the books written by him before his life 
 current was altered. 
 
 My object in visiting him was not so much to 
 learn his views—for his opinions have had wide expres- 
 sion and can be found in his numerous essays— but it 
 was rather to see the man and ascertain if I could from 
 personal contact the secret of the tremendous influence
 
 TOLSTOY. 99 
 
 that he is exerting upon the thought of the world. I 
 am satis-fied that, notwithstanding his great intellect, 
 his colossal strength lies in his heart more than in his 
 mind. It is true that few have equalled him in power 
 of analysis and in clearness of statement, while none 
 have surpassed him in beauty and aptness of illustra- 
 tion. But no one can commune with him without 
 feeling that the man is like an overflowing spring- 
 asking nothing, but giving always. He preaches self- 
 abnegation and has demonstrated to his own satis- 
 faction that there is more genuine joy in living for 
 others than in living upon others—more happiness in 
 serving than in being served. 
 
 The purpose of life, as defined by him, has re- 
 cently been quoted by Mr. Ernest Crosby in "The 
 Open Court." It reads as follows : 
 
 "Life then is the activity of the animal individual- 
 ity working in submission to the law of reason. Reason 
 shows man that happiness cannot be obtained by a 
 self-life and leaves only one outlet open for him and 
 that is love. Love is the only legitimate manifesta- 
 tion of life. It is an activity that has for its ob- 
 ject the good of others. When it makes its appear- 
 ance the meaningless strife of the animal life ceases." 
 
 Love is the dominant note in Count Tolstoy's 
 philosophy. It is not only the only weapon of defense 
 which he recognizes, but it is the only means by which 
 he would influence others. It is both his shield and 
 his sword. He is a deeply religious man, notwith- 
 standing the fact that he was a few years ago excom- 
 municated by the Russian church. In one of his 
 essays he has defined religion as follows:
 
 100 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 "True religion is a relation, accordant with reason 
 and knowledge, which man establishes with the in- 
 finite life surrounding him, and it is such as binds his 
 life to that infinity, and guides his conduct." 
 
 He not only takes his stand boldly upon the side 
 of spiritual, as distinguished from material, philosophy, 
 but he administers a rebuke to those who assume that 
 religious sentiment is an indication of intellectual 
 weakness or belongs to the lower stages of man's de- 
 velopment. In his essay on "Religion and Morality," 
 to which he referred me for his opinion on this subject, 
 he says : 
 
 "Moreover, every man who has ever, even in 
 childhood, experienced religious feeling, knows by 
 personal experience that it was evoked in him, not by 
 external, terrifying, material phenomena, but by an 
 inner consciousness, which had nothing to do with 
 the fear of the unknown forces of nature — a conscious- 
 ness of his own insignificance, loneliness and guilt. 
 And, therefore, both by external observation and by 
 personal experience, man may know that religion is 
 not the worship of gods, evoked by superstitious fear 
 of the invisible forces of nature, proper to men only at 
 a certain period of their development; but is some- 
 thing quite independent either of fear or of their de- 
 gree of education — a something that cannot be de- 
 stroyed by any development of culture. For manV 
 consciousness of his finiteness amid an infinite univ 
 verse, and of his sinfulness (i. e., of his not having 
 done all he might and should have done) has always 
 existed and will exist as long as man remains man."
 
 TOLSTOY. 101 
 
 If religion is an expression of "man's conscious- 
 ness of his finiteness amid an mfinite universe, and of 
 his sinfulness," it cannot be outgrown until one be- 
 lieves himself to have reached perfection and to pos- 
 sess all knowledge, and observation teaches us that 
 those who hold this opinion of themselves are not the 
 farthest advanced, but simply lack that comprehension 
 of their own ignorance and frailty which is the very 
 beginning of progress. 
 
 Count Tolstoy is an advocate of the doctrine of 
 non-resistance. He not only believes that evil can be 
 overcome by good, but he denies that it can be over- 
 come in any other way. I asked him several questions 
 on this subject, and the following dialogue presents 
 his views : 
 
 Q. Do you draw any line between the use of force 
 to avenge an injury already received, and the use of 
 force to protect yourself from an injury about to be 
 inflicted? 
 
 A. No. Instead of using violence to protect my- 
 self, I ought rather to express my sorrow that I had 
 done anything that would make anyone desire to 
 injure me. 
 
 Q. Do you draw a line between the use of force 
 to protect a right and the use of force to create a right? 
 
 A. No. That is the excuse generally given for 
 the use of violence. Men insist that they are simply 
 defending a right, when, in fact, they are trying to 
 secure something that they desire and to which they 
 are not entitled. The use of violence is not necessary 
 to secure one's rights ; there are more effective means.
 
 102 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Q. Do you draw any distinction between the use 
 of force to protect yourself and the use of force to pro- 
 tect some one under your care — a child, for instance? 
 
 A. No. As we do not attain entirely to our 
 ideals, we might find it difficult in such a case not to 
 resort to the use of force,but it would not be justifiable, 
 and, besides, rules cannot be made for such excep- 
 tional cases. Millions of people have been the vic- 
 tims of force and have suffered because it has been 
 thought right to employ it ; but I am now old and I 
 have never known in all my life a single instance in 
 which a child was attacked in such a way that it would 
 have been necessary for me to use force for its protec- 
 tion. I prefer to consider actual rather than imaginary 
 cases. 
 
 I found later that this last question had been 
 answered m a letter on non-resistance addressed to 
 Mr. Ernest Crosby, in 1896, (included in a little vol- 
 ume of Tolstoy's Essays and Letters recently pub- 
 lished by Grant Richards, Leicester Square, London, 
 and reprinted by Funk & Wagnalls of New York). In 
 this letter he says: 
 
 "None of us has ever yet met the imaginary rob- 
 ber with the imaginary child, but all the horrors which 
 fill the annals of history and of our own times came 
 and come from this one thing — that people will believe 
 that they can foresee the results of hypothetical future 
 actions/' 
 
 When I visited him he was just finishing an in- 
 troduction to a biographical sketch of William Lloyd
 
 TOLSTOY. 103 
 
 Garrison, his attention having been called to Garrison 
 by the latter's advocacy of the doctrine of non-resist- 
 ance. 
 
 Tolstoy, in one of the strongest essays that he has 
 written — an essay entitled "Industry and Idleness"— 
 elaborates and defends the doctrine advanced by a 
 Russian name Bondaref, to the effect that each indi- 
 vidual should labor with his hands, at least to the 
 extent of producing his own food. I referred to this 
 and asked him for a brief statement of his reasons. He 
 said that it was necessary for one to engage in manual 
 labor in order to keep himself in sympathy with those 
 who toil, and he described the process by which people 
 first relieve themselves of the necessity of physical 
 exertion and then come to look with a sort of con- 
 tempt upon those who find it necessary to work with 
 their hands. He believes that lack of sympathy lies 
 at the root of most of the injustice which men suffer 
 at the hands of their fellows. He holds that it is not 
 sufficient that one can remember a time when he 
 earned his bread in the sweat of his brow, but that he 
 must continue to know what physical fatigue means 
 and what drudgery is, in order that he may rightly 
 estimate his brother and deal with him as a brother. 
 In addition to this he says that, when one begins to 
 live upon the labor of others, he is never quite sure 
 that he is earning his living. Let me quote his lan- 
 guage : "If you use more than you produce you can- 
 not be quite content, if you are a conscientious man. 
 Who can know how much I work? It is impossible, 
 A man must work as much as he can with his hands.
 
 104 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 taking the most difficult and disagreeable tasks, that 
 is, if he wishes to have a quiet conscience. Mental 
 work is much easier than physical work, despite what 
 is said to the contrary. No work is too humble, too 
 disagreeable, to do. No man ought to dodge work. 
 If I dodge work I feel guilty. There are some people; 
 who think they are so precious that other people must 
 do the dirty, disagreeable work for them. Every man 
 is so vain as to think his own work most important. 
 That is why I try to work with my hands by the side 
 of workingmen. If I write a book, I cannot be quite 
 sure whether it will be useful or not. If I produce 
 something that will support life, I know that I have 
 done something useful." 
 
 Tolstoy presents an ideal, and while he recognizes 
 that the best of efforts is but an approach to the ideal, 
 he does not consent to the lowering of the ideal itself 
 or the defense of anything that aims at less than the 
 entire realization of the ideal. He is opposed to what 
 he calls palliatives, and insists that we need the re- 
 formation of the individual more than the reformation 
 of law or government. He holds that the first thing 
 'to do is to substitute the Christian spirit for the 
 selfish spirit. He likens those who are trying to make 
 piecemeal progress, to persons who are trying to push 
 cars along a track by putting their shoulders against 
 the cars. He says that they could better employ their 
 energy by putting steam in the engine, which would 
 then pull the cars. And the religious spirit he defines 
 as "such a belief in God and such a feeling of responsi- 
 .bility to God as will manifest itself both in the wor-
 
 TOLSTOY. 105 
 
 ship of the Creator and in fellowship with the created." 
 During the course of his conversation he touched 
 on some of the problems with which the various na- 
 tions have to deal. Of course he is opposed to war 
 under all circumstances, and regards the professional 
 soldier as laboring under a delusion. He says that 
 soldiers, instead of following their consciences, accept 
 the doctrine that a soldier must do what he is com- 
 manded to do, placing upon his superior officer the 
 responsibility for the command. He denies that any 
 individual can thus shift the responsibility for his con- 
 duct. In speaking of soldiers, he expressed an opin- 
 'x)n that indicates his hostility to the whole miltary 
 system. He said that soldiers insisted upon being tried 
 by military men and military courts, and added: 
 "That is amusing. I remember that when that plea 
 was made in a case recently, I retorted that if that 
 was so, why was not a murderer justified in demand- 
 ing a trial at the hands of murderers, or a burglar in 
 demanding trial by a jury of burglars. That would 
 be on all fours with the other proposition." 
 
 He is not a believer in protection, and regards a 
 tariflf levied upon all of the people for the benefit of 
 some of the people as an abuse of government and 
 immoral in principle. I found that he was an admirer 
 of Henry George and a believer in his theory in regard 
 to the single tax. 
 
 He is opposed to trusts. He says that the trust 
 is a new kind of despotism and that it is a menace to 
 modern society. He regards the power that it gives 
 men to oppress their fellows as even more dangerous 
 than its power to reap great profits.
 
 106 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 He referred to some of our very rich men and de- 
 clared that the possession of great wealth was ob- 
 jectionable, both because of its influence over its pos- 
 sessor and because of the power it gave him over his 
 fellows. I asked him what use a man could make of 
 a great fortune, and he replied: "Let him give it 
 away to the first person he meets. That would be 
 better than keeping it." And then he told how a lady 
 of fortune once asked his advice as to what she could 
 do with her money (she derived her income from a 
 large manufacturing establishment) and he replied 
 that if she wanted to do good with her money she 
 might help her work-people to return to the country, 
 and assist them in buying and stocking their farms. 
 "If I do that," she exclaimed in dismay, "I would not 
 have any people to work for me, and my income would 
 disappear." 
 
 As all are more or less creatures of environment, 
 Tolstoy's views upon religion have probably been col- 
 ored somewhat by his experience with the Greek 
 church. He has, in some instances, used arguments 
 against the Greek church which are broad enough to 
 apply to all church organizations. He has not always 
 discriminated between the proper use of an organiza- 
 tion, and the abuse of the power which a large organ- 
 ization possesses. While animated by a sincere desire 
 to hasten the reign of universal brotherhood, and to 
 help the world to a realization of the central thought 
 of Christ's teachings, he has not, I think, fully appre- 
 ciated the great aid which a church organization can 
 lend when properly directed. In the work in which
 
 TOLSTOY. 107 
 
 Tolstoy is engaged, he will find his strongest allies 
 among church members to whom the commandment 
 "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" is not merely 
 sound philosophy, but a divine decree. These will 
 work in the church and through the church, while he 
 stands without raising his voice to the same God and 
 calling men to the same kind of life. 
 
 His experience with the arbitrary methods of his 
 own government has led him to say things that have 
 been construed as a condemnation of all government. 
 He as seen so much violence and injustice done in 
 the name of the government, that it is not strange that 
 the evils of government should impress him more than 
 its possibilities for good. And yet those who believe 
 that a just government is a blessing can work with 
 him in the effort to secure such remedial measures as 
 he asks for in his letter "To the Czar and His As- 
 sistants." 
 
 Tolstoy's career shows how despotic is the sway 
 of the heart and how, after all, it rules the world, for 
 while his literary achievements have been admired, 
 the influence which they have exerted is as nothing 
 compared with the influence exerted by his philosophy. 
 People enjoy reading his character sketches, his dia- 
 logues and his descriptions of Russian life, but these 
 do not take hold upon men like his simple presentation 
 of the doctrine of love, exemplified in his life as clearly 
 as it is expressed by his pen. Many of his utterances 
 are denied publication in Russia, and when printed 
 abroad cannot be carried across the border, and yet 
 he has made such a powerful impression upon the
 
 108 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 world that he is himself safe from molestation. He 
 can say with impunity against his government and 
 against the Greek church, what it would be perilous for 
 others to say, and his very security is proof positive 
 that in Russia thought inspired by love is, as Carlyle 
 has declared it to be everywhere, stronger than artil- 
 lery parks.
 
 NOTES ON EUROPE. 
 
 In the articles written on the different European 
 nations visited I confined myself to certain subjects, 
 but there are a number of things worthy of comment 
 which were not germane to the matters discussed. I 
 shall present some of these under the above head. 
 
 An American who travels in England in the win- 
 ter time is sure to notice the coldness of the cars. The 
 English people do not seem to notice this, for if they 
 did the matter would certainly be remedied ; but the 
 stranger who has to wrap up in blankets and keep his 
 feet upon a tank of hot water, makes comparisons be- 
 tween the comfort of the American railway cars and 
 those of England, much to the disadvantage of the 
 latter. On the continent the temperature of the cars 
 is higher and travel more pleasant. 
 
 Sheep graze in the very suburbs of London. This 
 was a surprise to me. I saw more sheep in the little 
 traveling that I did in England than I have seen in the 
 United States east of the Mississippi River in years of 
 travel. But after one has enjoyed for a few days the 
 English mutton chop, the best in the world, he under- 
 stands why English sheep are privileged to graze upon 
 high priced lands. 
 
 No stranger visits London withjut seeing the 
 Parliament Building. It is an imposing structure 
 viewed from the outside, and has many handsome 
 rooms and corridors, but the House of Parliament
 
 110 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 is disappointing. The chamber occupied by the mem- 
 bers of Parliament is small compared with the num- 
 ber of members. There are no desks and the benches 
 will not accommodate more than half of the member- 
 ship. It is evident that they do not expect a full at- 
 tendance. The gallery is also diminutive and capable 
 of seating but a few persons. And yet, Parliament 
 rules England. It is the great legislative body of the 
 British Isles, and all important questions are settled 
 there. When Parliament declares against a policy of 
 the Government, the Government bows to its will and 
 summons the leader of the opposition to form a new 
 cabinet. While the House of Lords has the legal right 
 to oppose measures that arise in Parliament, it 
 seldom does so; and while the king has a legal right 
 to veto, that right has not been exercised for a long 
 time. When one considers the paramount influence of 
 Parliament over the English Government, he under- 
 stands why men like Gladstone would prefer to be in 
 Parliament rather than in the House of Lords. 
 
 The House of Lords is much more elegantly fur- 
 nished than Parliament, but it excites curiosity rather 
 than interest. It, too, is small compared with the 
 number of Lords ; but as the Lords seldom attend, the 
 accommodations are ample. Only three members are 
 required to constitute a quorum, and it is easy there- 
 fore to get together enough to acquiesce in measures 
 that pass Parliament. So far as any real influence is 
 concerned the House of Lords might as well be abol- 
 ished ; and as only three are necessary to constitute a 
 quorum, it would only be necessary to reduce the nee-
 
 NOTES ON bLUROFE. Ill 
 
 essary number by three nnd make none a qnonim to 
 entirely remove this legislative body from consider- 
 ation. 
 
 The Courts of England are a matter of interest to 
 American lawyers, and a matter of curiosity to other 
 Americans. As our Supreme Judges wear gowns, the 
 gown is not so unfamiliar to us ; but the wig, which is 
 still worn by the English judges, barristers and solici- 
 tors, is not seen in this country. The wig is made of 
 white curly hair and does not reach much below the 
 ears. When the wearer has black hair, or red hair, or 
 in fact hair of any color except white, the contrast be- 
 tween the wig and the natural hair sometimes excites 
 a smile from those who are not impressed with the 
 necessity for this relic of ancient times. In one of the 
 court rooms which I visited, a son of Charles Dickens 
 was arguing a case, and while I did not recognize 
 any of the brilliancy and humor that have led me to 
 place Dickens at the head of the novelists whom I 
 have read, the son is said to be a reasonably success- 
 ful lawyer. In one of the Admiralty Courts a very 
 bushy headed wharfman was testifying to a salvage 
 contract which he had made and he was quite em- 
 phatic in his assertions that the terms were '"alf and 
 'alf." 
 
 In one of che court rooms Lord Alverstone was 
 presiding, and I had the pleasure of meeting him 
 afterwards at dinner in Lincoln Inn Court. He is one 
 of the finest looking men whom I met in England. He 
 rendered a decision in favor of the United States in 
 the matter of the recent arbitration with Canada.
 
 112 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Ambassador Joseph Choate placed me under ob- 
 ligations to him, as did also Secretary of the Legation, 
 Henry White, by their many courtesies extended. 
 
 At Mr. Choate's table I had the pleasure of meet- 
 ing Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, the present Premier. He 
 strikes one as a scholarly man rather than as a par- 
 liamentary fighter. He has had a remarkable official 
 career. As he was and is still a bimetallist, I found 
 him a congenial man to have at my right. Mr. Richie, 
 who left the Cabinet because of a disagreement with 
 Mr. Balfour on the Fiscal question, sat at my left, and 
 as he was an ardent opponent of protection, I had no 
 trouble conversing with him. I learned afterwards 
 that Mr, Balfour and Mr. Richie had not met since 
 the Cabinet rupture. Among those present at the 
 table was Hon. Leonard Courtney, for man}^ years a 
 member of Parliament. He was a member of the 
 Royal Commission that presented the now world re- 
 nowned report on falling prices. He also took an 
 active part in opposing the war against the Boers. In 
 appearance he reminds one of Senator Allen G. Thur- 
 man, having something of the same strength and rug- 
 gedness of feature. I am indebted to him for an op- 
 portunity to visit Lincoln Inn Court, where I met a 
 number of other eminent judges besides Lord Alver- 
 stone. 
 
 Mr. Moreton Frewen was also a guest of Ambas- 
 sador Choate on that occasion. He has frequently 
 visited the United States and has written much on the 
 subject of silver. When he came to the United States 
 soon after the election in 1896, and was told that there
 
 NOTES ON EUROPE. 113 
 
 had been some repeating in some of the cities, he in- 
 quired, "Is it not twice as honest to vote twice for 
 honest money as to vote once?" I found, however, 
 that he was working with the Chamberlain protec- 
 tionists, who, by the way, call themselves "tariff re- 
 formers." He had found a Bible passage which he 
 was using on the stump. It was taken from Genesis. 
 Pharaoah said to some one who inquired of him, "Go 
 unto Joseph ; what he saith to you, do." It seems, 
 however, from the more recent elections, that the peo- 
 ple have refused to identify the modern Joseph with 
 the ancient one. 
 
 At Mr. Choate's table the subject of story telling 
 was discussed, and some comment made about the 
 proverbial slowness of the Englishman in catching the 
 point of American stories. I determined to test this 
 with a story and told of the experience of the minister 
 who was arguing against the possibility of perfection 
 in this life. He asked his congregation, "Is there any 
 one here who is perfect?" No one arose. "Is there 
 any one in the congregation who has ever seen a per- 
 fect person?" No one arose. Continuing his inquiry, 
 he asked, "Is there any one here who has ever heard 
 of a perfect person?" A very meek little woman arose 
 in the rear of the room. He repeated his question to 
 be sure that she understood, and as she again declared 
 that she had heard of such a person, he asked her to 
 give the name of the perfect person of whom she had 
 heard. She replied, "My husband's first wife." All oi 
 the Englishmen at the table saw the point of the story
 
 lU UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 at once, and one of them remarked that he thought the 
 story would be appreciated wherever domestic life is 
 known. 
 
 While the English are not given to the telling of 
 stories as much as the Americans are, it must not be 
 inferred that they are deficient in a sense of humor, 
 The Briton is really fond of fun, as any one must con- 
 clude who reads English literature or listens to Eng- 
 lish speeches. English humor, however, is of the quiet 
 and continuous style rather than of the bubbling and 
 explosive variety. 
 
 It was my good fortune to meet in London, Mr 
 Sidney Webb and his talented wife, both of whom 
 have written extensively on municipal ownership and 
 industrial co-operation. 
 
 One of the most interesting figures in European 
 journalism is Sir Alfred Harmsworth, proprietor of the 
 London Daily Mail. He has achieved a remarkable 
 success and is still a young man. His country home, 
 some thirty miles out from London, is an old English 
 castle Which he recently secured for a long term of 
 years. The house was built more than three hundred 
 years ago by one of the kings for a favorite courtier. 
 The estate is large enough to include farm and pasture 
 lands and a well stocked hunting preserve. Lady 
 Harmsworth is one of the most beautiful women in 
 the kingdom and entertains lavishly. 
 
 The average foreigner does not have any higher 
 opinion than the American does of those "interna- 
 tional marriages" by means of which some of the de- 
 caying estates of titled foreigners are being restored,
 
 NOTES ON EUROPE 115 
 
 but there are many marriages between our people and 
 Europeans which rest upon affection and congeniality. 
 The union of Rt. Hon. Joseph Chamberlain and the 
 daughter of Ex-Secretary Endicott, who was at the 
 head of the Navy Department during Mr. Cleveland's 
 first administration, is a notable illustration. Mrs. 
 Chamberlain is a charming and accomplished woman 
 and justly popular with the Britons as well as with 
 the Americans who visit England. 
 
 The American tourist is sure to find some of his 
 countrymen stranded in London. I met several of 
 them. Most of them represented themselves as re- 
 lated to prominent political friends, and these I could 
 assist without inquiring too closely into the alleged 
 relationship, but one case of a different kind failed to 
 appeal to me. A lady who attached a high sounding 
 title to her name sent her secretary to solicit aid. He 
 represented her as an American who had against her 
 parents' wishes married a titled Englishman; her hus- 
 band had deserted her and her ph5^sician had told her 
 that her health required that she spend the winter in 
 Southern France. Her American relatives were rich, 
 I was assured, but she was too proud to let them know 
 of her misfortune. It was a sad story even when told 
 b}'- a secretary (how she could afford one I do not 
 know), but T did not feel justified in encouraging a 
 pride that led her to make her wants known to 
 strangers rather than to her own kin. 
 
 In my article on the growth of municipal owner- 
 ship (it will be found on another page), I referred to 
 the work of John Burns, the noted labor leader of
 
 116 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 London. I may add here that his seven or eight years 
 old son is the handsomes' rJiild that I saw in England. 
 I was on the stag at Lord Roseberry's meeting and 
 my attention wa attracted to a child of unusual 
 beauty sitting jus in front of me. I asked the gentle- 
 man at my side wL^ther he was a fair sample of the 
 English boy; he replied that he was an excellent rep- 
 resentative. Soon afterward the mother introduced 
 herself to me as the wife of John Burns. I thought it 
 an interesting co-incidence that I should admire the 
 child unconscious of his relationship to the man who 
 had the day before impressed me so favorably. 
 
 And, speaking of Mr. Burns, I reproduce below an 
 item which appeared in one of the London papers the 
 day after I returned Mr. Burns' call. He sent it to me 
 with the remark that it probably differed from the per- 
 sonal items to which I was accustomed. It reads : — 
 "Mr. Burns' Mysterious Visitor. 
 
 "Just before ten o'clock this (Friday) morning a 
 hansom cab (plentifully bespattered with gilt coro- 
 nets) stopped outside the residence of Mr. Burns, Lav- 
 ender Hill. A person alighted and was received with 
 every appearance of cordiality by Mr. Burns, who 
 escorted him into the house. We believe the visitor 
 was Lord Roseberry ; he certainly bore a striking re- 
 semblance to that childlike peer. Possibly, however, 
 it was only the King of Italy. In diplomatic circles it 
 has been known for a long time that his Italian Maj- 
 esty intended to visit the Municipal Mecca for much 
 the same reasons that induced Peter the Great of Rus- 
 sia to come to England. It was known, also, that he
 
 NOTES ON EUROPE. 117 
 
 would come in some sort of disguise. That Mr. Burns' 
 visitor this morning was a person of importance is 
 evidenced by the fact that a constable in uniform and 
 two or three other men (probably secret service offi- 
 cers) were in waiting when the cab drew up. They 
 stood round the visitor and the constable saluted re- 
 spectfully. A uniformed policeman had been in the 
 neighborhood of Mr. Burns' house and the "Crown" 
 all the morning. 
 
 (Note — It was an ordinary cab and no policemen 
 or secret service men were in sight. — Editor.) 
 
 'Westminster Abbey is one of the places which 
 the visitor cannot well neglect. It was originally the 
 burial place of royalty, and as the guide shows you 
 the tablets and statues which perpetuate the memory 
 of warrior kings and tells you how this king killed 
 that one, and that king killed another, you recall the 
 story of the American minister who concluded a very 
 short discourse at the funeral of a man of question- 
 able character by saying, "Some believe that he was a 
 tolerable good man, while others believe that he was 
 a very bad man, but whether he was good or bad we 
 have this consolation, that he is dead." It is a relief 
 to pass from the bloody annals of the earlier days and 
 from the bloody deeds of ancient royalty to that part 
 of the building which is honored by memorials of the 
 great men in modern English life. To the American 
 the most noted of those recently buried in Westmin- 
 ster Abbey was Gladstone. His life spanned the pres- 
 ent and the past generation, and his character and tal- 
 ents are regarded as a part of the heritage of English 
 speaking people
 
 118 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 A description of the Art Gallery, the public build- 
 ings, the Tower, and of the many interesting and his- 
 toric places would occupy more space than I can spare 
 at this time. 
 
 I shall pass from England with one observation. 
 Upon the streets of London, and in fact throughout 
 the British Isles, the rule is to "turn to the left." The 
 American notices this at once, and until he becoir.cs 
 accustomed to it he is in danger of collision. If Eng- 
 land and the United States ever come together in an 
 unfriendly way, it will probably be accounted for by 
 the difference in our rules. We will be turning to the 
 right while she will be turning to the left. 
 
 Queenstown, Ireland, the first town to greet the 
 tourist when he reaches Northern Europe and the last 
 to bid him farewell when he departs, is a quaint and 
 interesting old place. It is near the City of Cork, and 
 the names upon the signs — the Murphys, the McDon- 
 alds, the O'Briens, etc., are so familiar that one might 
 suppose it to be an American colony. Here the re- 
 turning traveler has a chance to spend any change 
 which he has left, for black thorn canes and shillalahs, 
 "Robert Emmett" and "Harp of Erin" handkerchiefs 
 and lace collars are offered in abundance. The price 
 of these wares has been known to fall considerably as 
 the moment of departure approaches. At Queenstown 
 one can hear the Irish brogue in all its richness and if 
 he takes a little jaunt about the town he can enjoy 
 the humor for which the Irish are famed. 
 
 Scotland has a hardy population, due probably to 
 the climate. Even near the southern boundary, the
 
 NOTES ON EUROPE. 119 
 
 weather was quite wintry before Thanskgiving Day of 
 last year. Scotch plaids are in evidence at the stores 
 and the visitor has an opportunity to buy traveling 
 blankets bearing the figures and the colors of the va- 
 rious Scottish clans. As I visited Scotland to study 
 municipal ownership I reserved for a future trip a 
 visit to the places of natural and historic interest. 
 
 Strange that a narrow channel should make such 
 a difiference as there is between the Englishman and 
 the Frenchman. Some one has said, "Not only is 
 England an island, but each Englishman is an island." 
 This puts the case a little too strongly, but one no- 
 tices that the French are much more gregarious than 
 the English and more inclined to sociability. Their at- 
 tention to strangers while not more sincere is more 
 marked. 
 
 Paris seems to be the favorite place for residence 
 for Americans who desire to live in Europe. The cli- 
 mate is milder, the attractions are more numerous and 
 the cooking, it is said, is the best in the world. 
 
 The automobile seems to have captured Paris, pos- 
 sibly because of its many wide streets and boule- 
 vards. 
 
 While the tipping system may not be worse in 
 France than in other countries, it is certainly nowhere 
 more fully developed. It is said that in some of the 
 fashionable restaurants of Paris the tips are so valua- 
 ble that the waiters, instead of receiving wages, pay 
 a bonus for a chance to serve. But all over Europe 
 service of every kind is rewarded with tips, and a 
 failure to comply with the custom makes the delin- 
 quent a persona non grata. At the hotels all the at-
 
 120 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 tendants seem to get notice of the intended departure 
 of a guest and they Hne up to receive a remembrance — 
 porter, chambermaid, valet, bell-boy, elevator man, 
 and some whose faces are entirely new to the guest. 
 The cab-drivers collect the fare fixed by city ordinance 
 and expect a tip besides. Ten per cent is the amount 
 usually given and anything less fails to elicit thanks. 
 An Irish jaunting car driver at QueenstOwn took out 
 his tip in making change. While the traveller is often 
 tempted to rebel against the tip system as it is found 
 in Europe, he finally concludes that he can not reform 
 a continent in one brief visit and submits with as good 
 grace as possible. 
 
 Guides can be found at all the leading hotels and 
 they are well worth what they charge. They are ac- 
 quainted with all places of interest, and can act as in- 
 terpreters if one wants to make enquiries or do shop- 
 ping. 
 
 The rivers of Europe which have been immorta- 
 lized in poetry and song — the rivers whose names we 
 learn when as children we study geography — are a lit- 
 tle disappointing. The Thames at London, the Seine 
 at Paris, the Tiber at Rome, the Danube at Vienna, the 
 Spree at Berlin, the Po in northern Italy, and the 
 Rhine are not as large as fancy has pictured ; but the 
 lakes of Switzerland surpass description. 
 
 I regretted that I could not visit the Bay of Na- 
 ples, for I never think of it without recalling the lines:
 
 NOTES ON EUROPE 121 
 
 I care not if 
 
 My little skiff 
 Float swift or slow 
 
 From cliff to cliff. 
 IWith dreamful eyes 
 
 My spirit lies 
 Under the walls 
 
 Of Paradise. 
 
 Surely it must be a delightfully restful place if it 
 justifies the description given by the poet. 
 
 I was disappointed that I did not have time to see 
 more of Germany. Berlin was the only city in which 
 I stopped, and the fact that the Holiday festivities 
 were at their height made it difficult to prosecute any 
 investigation. In another article I have discussed the 
 German socialistic propaganda, and I shall here con- 
 tent myself with calling attention to their railroad 
 system. The total railroad mileage at the end of the 
 year 1900, as reported by the American consul, was 
 28,601. Of this mileage private companies owned 2,573, 
 and the federal government 798, the remainder was 
 owned by the various German states, some of the states 
 owning but a few miles of line. The ownership of the 
 railroads by the various states does not in the least 
 interfere with the operation of the lines. The plan in 
 operation in Germany suggests the possibility of state 
 ownership in this country as distinguished from fed- 
 eral ownership. 
 
 In Austria I saw for the first time the systematic 
 cultivation of forests. In some places the various 
 plantin^-s were near enough together to show trees of
 
 122 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 all sizes. At one side the trees were but a few feet in 
 height while those at the other side of the forest were 
 being converted into fuel. 
 
 Vienna, the capital of Austria, is not the "Old 
 Vienna" which was re-produced at the Chicago 
 World's Fair and at the Buffalo Exposition, but is a 
 substantial, new, and up-to-date city. The stores ex- 
 hibit an endless variety of leather goods, and I found 
 there, as also in Belgium, many novelties in iron, steel 
 and brass. 
 
 Russia deserves more attention than I could give 
 it in the articles on Tolstoy and the czar. It is a land 
 of wonderful resources and possibilities, and is making 
 great progress considering the fact that a large pro- 
 portion of the population has so recently emerged from 
 serfdom. The peasants live in villages as in France 
 and their life is primitive compared with life in the 
 larger cities. There has been rapid growth in manu- 
 facturing, commerce and art. Besides furnishing one 
 of the greatest of novelists, Tolstoy, who is also the 
 greatest of living philosophers, Russia has given to the 
 world many others who are prominent in literature 
 and in art. There is an art gallery at Moscow devoted 
 almost entirely to the work of Russian artists. Here 
 one finds a most interesting collection, a large number 
 of the pictures being devoted to home scenes and his- 
 toric events. In this gallery the nude in art is notice- 
 able by its absence. In the art gallery at St. Peters- 
 burg most of the paintings are by foreign artists. 
 There is in this gallery a wonderful collection of cam- 
 eos, jewelry and precious stones. 
 
 I found in Russia a very friendly feeling toward
 
 NOTES ON EUROPE 123 
 
 the United States. Prince Hilkoff, who is at the 
 head of the Siberian railroad, speaks English fluently, 
 as do nearly all the other prominent officials. He in- 
 formed me that he visited the United States about 
 1858 and crossed the plains by wagon. He inquired 
 about the Platte river and its branches and remem- 
 bered the names of the forts along the route. 
 
 The driving horses of St. Petersburg are the best 
 that I saw in Europe. They are round, strongly built, 
 graceful in form and even in gait. They are not as 
 speedy as the standard-bred trotters, but they are 
 hardy and sufficiently fast. A peculiar yoke or half 
 yoke is used to which the harness is fastened. It is at 
 the end of the shafts and rises considerably above the 
 shoulders. Often three horses are driven abreast. In 
 such case the horse in the center is trained to carry 
 his head up and the horses on either side turn their 
 heads out. They present a very attractive appearance 
 when fastened to the sleigh or to the drosky. 
 
 I have spoken in another article of the deep hold 
 which the Greek church has upon the people of Russia. 
 A story which I heard in St. Petersburg illustrates 
 this. An American residing there asked her cook to 
 go to the market after some pigeons, or doves as 
 they are more often called. The latter was horrified 
 at the thought and refused, saying, "The Holy Ghost 
 descended upon our Saviour in the form of a dove 
 and it might be in one of these." Another American 
 was rebuked by her servant who when told to throw 
 something out of the window replied "This is Easter 
 and Christ is risen. He might be passing by at this 
 moment."
 
 124 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 In Russia we find the extremes. The government 
 is the most arbitrary known among civilized nations 
 and yet in Russia are to be found some of the most 
 advanced and devoted advocates of civil liberty. No- 
 where is the doctrine of force more fully illustrated 
 and yet from Russia come the strongest arguments in 
 favor of non-resistance. The poison and the antidote 
 seem to be found near together in the world of thought 
 as well as in the physical world.
 
 Thanksgiving 
 Address 
 
 Dellverad at the Banquet given by The American Society of 
 London at the Hotel Cecil, London, November 26, 1903 
 
 err
 
 THANKSGIVING DAY ADDRESS 
 
 Mr. Chairman, Your Excellency, Your Grace, My 
 Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is I who have rea- 
 son to be grateful to the American Society for the op- 
 portunity of meeting so many of my own countrymen 
 and English men and women who are so like my coun- 
 trymen that I cannot, looking down the tables, tell 
 which is which. I am not surprised to find that the 
 ladies of England are so handsome as to be taken for 
 Americans, for I have found the ladies everywhere 
 handsome enough for the men, but I have been a little 
 surprised to find that I could not tell an Englishman 
 from an American on the street here. And as I have a 
 high opinion of the American, I cannot have a low 
 opinion of the Englishman. (Cheers.) It is proper 
 that I should express my gratitude tonight for several 
 things. I am grateful to our distinguished ambassador 
 for the courtesies he has shown me, and I have the ad- 
 vantage of him in one respect, I had seen and heard 
 him before. Once when I was in Washington, a young 
 man then, I went into the supreme court of the United 
 States, and heard a lawyer arguing a case. I was so 
 impressed with the appearance of the man and with 
 the manner of his speech that I inquired who this law- 
 yer might be, and was told that it was Mr. Choate of 
 New York. From that time to this I have looked back 
 
 127
 
 128 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 to that occasion, and I have never found in my country 
 a law^yer w^ho measured higher than he did. (Cheers.) 
 I am grateful to him for his kind words, although in 
 doing me what he intended for a kindness he has 
 somewhat embarrassed me, and if I were to give full 
 credit to what he has said I am afraid I might soon b" 
 like the young lady whose sweetheart praised her until 
 she became so vain that she would not speak to him. 
 (Laughter.) This society, I am informed, celebrates 
 two occasions, the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving 
 Day. On the Fourth of July we celebrate our inde- 
 pendence ; on Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our 
 dependence. And it is proper that Mr. Choate should 
 be a conspicuous figure on both occasions, because on 
 on the Fourth of July we boast of what we have done, 
 and on Thanksgiving Day we feel grateful for what we 
 have received, and we are both proud of, and grateful 
 for. Ambassador Choate. (Laughter and cheers.) On 
 the Fourth of July the eagle seems a little larger than 
 it does on any other day, and its scream may grate 
 more harshly on the foreign ear than it does at any 
 Other time. But on this day we cultivate reverence 
 and express our appreciation of those blessings that 
 have come to our country without the thought or aid 
 of Americans. We have reason to look with some de- 
 gree of pride upon the achievement of the United 
 States; we contemplate the present with satisfaction, 
 and look to the future with hope ; and yet on this occa- 
 sion we may well remember that we are but building 
 upon the foundations that have been laid for us. We 
 did not create the fertile soil that is the basis of our
 
 THANKSGIVING ADDRESS 129 
 
 agricultural greatness ; the streams that drain and feed 
 our valleys were not channelled by human hands. We 
 did not fashion the climate that gives us the white cot- 
 ton belt of the south, the yellow wheat belt of the 
 north, and the central corn belt that joins the two and 
 overlaps them both. We do not gather up the mois- 
 ture and fix the date of the early and later rains ; we 
 did not hide away in the mountains the gold and the 
 silver; we did not store in the earth the deposits of cop- 
 per and of zinc; we did not create the measures of coal 
 and the beds of iron. All these natural resources, 
 which we have but commenced to develop, are the gift 
 of Him before Whom we bow in gratitude tonight. 
 (Loud cheers.) Nor are we indebted to the Heavenly 
 Father alone, for we have received much from those 
 who are separated from us by the Atlantic. If we have 
 great and flourishing industries we must not forget 
 that every nation in Europe has sent us its trained and 
 skilled artisans. If we have made intellectual pro- 
 gress, we must remember that those who crossed the 
 ocean as pioneers brought with them their intelligence 
 and their desire for learning. Even our religion is not 
 of American origin. Like you, we laid the foundations 
 of our church in the Holy Land, and those who came 
 in the Mayflower and in other ships brought a love of 
 religious liberty. Free speech, which has been devel- 
 oped in our country, and which we prize so much, is 
 not of American origin. Since I have been here I have 
 been profoundly impressed with the part that Eng- 
 lishmen have taken in establishing the right of free 
 speech. (Cheers.) And I may say that before I came
 
 130 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 to this country the thing that most challenged my ad- 
 miration in the Englishman was his determination to 
 make his opinion known when he had an opinion that 
 he thought should be given to the world. (Cheers.) 
 Passing through the Bank of England, to which my 
 friend, the ambassador, has referred, my attention was 
 called to a protest that Admiral Cochrane wrote upon 
 the bank note with which he paid the thousand pounds 
 fine that had been assessed against him. I was inter- 
 ested in that protest because it showed a fearlessness 
 that indicates the possibilities of the race. Let me 
 read what he said: "My health having suffered by 
 long and close confinement, and my oppressors having 
 resolved to deprive me of property or life, I submit to 
 robbery to protect myself from murder (laughter) in 
 the hope that I shall live to bring the delinquents to 
 justice." (Renewed laughter.) That is the spirit that 
 moves the world! There was a man in prison. He 
 must pay his fine in order to gain his liberty. He be- 
 lieved the action of the court unjust. He knew that if 
 he stayed there he would lose his life and lose the 
 chance for vindication, and yet, as he was going forth 
 from the prison doors, he did not go with bowed head 
 or cringing, but flung his protest in the face of his op- 
 pressors, and told them he submitted to robbery to 
 protect his life in the hope that, having escaped from 
 their hands, he might bring them to justice. I like 
 that in the Englishman, and during my short knowl- 
 edge of public affairs I have looked across the ocean 
 and admired the moral courage and the manliness of 
 those Englishmen who have dared to stand out against
 
 THANKSGIVING ADDRESS 131 
 
 overwhelming odds and assert their opinions before 
 the world. (Cheers.) We sometimes feel that we 
 have a sort of proprietary interest in the principles of 
 government set forth in the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. That is a document which we have given to the 
 world, and yet the principles set forth therein were not 
 invented by an American. Thomas Jefferson expressed 
 them in felicitous language and put them into perma- 
 nent form, but the principles had been known before. 
 The doctrine that all men are created equal, that they 
 are endowed with inalienable rights, that governments 
 were instituted amongst men to secure these rights, 
 and that they derived their just power from the con- 
 sent of the governed — this doctrine which stands four , 
 square with all the world was not conceived in the 
 United States, it did not spring from the American 
 mind — aye, it did not come so much from any mind 
 as it was an emanation from the heart, and it had been 
 in the hearts of men for ages. (Cheers.) Before 
 Columbus turned the prow of his ship towards the 
 west on that eventful voyage, before the Barons 
 wrested Magna Charta from King John — yes, before 
 the Roman legions landed on the shores of this island 
 — aye, before Homer sang — that sentiment had nestled 
 in the heart of man, and nerved him to resist the op- 
 pressor. That sentiment was not even of human 
 origin. Our own great Lincoln declared that it was 
 God Himself who implanted in every human heart 
 the love of liberty. Yes, when God created man He 
 ^ave him life. He linked to life the love of liberty, 
 and what God hath joined together let no man put
 
 132 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 asunder. (Cheers.) We have received great bles- 
 sings from God and from all the world, and what is 
 our duty? We cannot make return to those from 
 whom those gifts were received. It is not in our 
 power to make return to the Father above. Nor can 
 we make return to those who have sacrificed so much 
 for our advancement. The child can never make full 
 return to the mother whose life trembled in the bal- 
 ance at its birth, and whose kindness and care guard- 
 ed it in all the years of infancy. The student cannot 
 make full return to the teacher who awakened the 
 mind, and aroused an ambition for a broader intel- 
 lectual life. The adult cannot make full return to the 
 patriarch whose noble life gave inspiration and in- 
 centive. So a generation cannot make return to the 
 generation gone ; it must make its return to the gener- 
 ations to come. Our nation must discharge its debt 
 not to the dead, but to the living. How can our 
 country discharge this great debt? In but one way, 
 and that is by giving to the world something equal in 
 value to that which it has received from the world. 
 And what is the greatest gift that man can be- 
 stow upon man? Feed a man and he will hunger 
 again ; give him clothing and his clothing will wear 
 out; but give him a noble ideal, and that ideal will be 
 with him through every waking hour, lifting him to 
 a higher plane of life, and giving him a broader con- 
 ception of his relations to his fellows. I know, 
 therefore, of no greater service that my country can 
 render to the world than to furnish to the world the 
 highest ideal that the world has known. That ideal
 
 THANKSGIVING ADDRESS 133 
 
 must be so far above us that it will keep us looking 
 upward all our lives, and so far in advance of us that 
 we shall never overtake it. I know of no better il- 
 lustration of an ideal life than the living spring, pour- 
 ing forth constantly of that which refreshes and invig- 
 orates — no better illustration of a worthless life than 
 the stagnant pool which receives contribution from 
 all the land around and around and gives forth nothing. 
 (Cheers.) Our nation must make a large contribu- 
 tion to the welfare of the world, and it is no 
 reflection upon those who have gone before to say 
 that we ought to do better than they have done. We 
 would not meet the responsibilities of today if we did 
 not build still higher the social structure to which they 
 devoted their lives. (Cheers.) I visited the Tower of 
 London today and saw upon the wall a strange figure. 
 It was made of swords, ramrods, and bayonets, and 
 was fashioned into the form of a flower. Someone had 
 put a card on it and aptly named it the passion flower 
 —and it has been too often the international flower. 
 But the world has made progress. No longer do am- 
 bition and avarice furnish a sufficient excuse for war. 
 The world has made progress, and today you cannot 
 justify bloodshed except in defense of a right already 
 ascertained, and then only when all peaceable means 
 have been exhausted. (Cheers.) The world has made 
 progress. We have reached a point where we re- 
 spect not the man who will die to secure some pecun- 
 iary advantage, but the man who will die in defense 
 of his rights. We admire the courage of the man 
 who is willing to die in defense of his rights, but
 
 134 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 there is yet before us a higher ground. Is he great 
 who will die in defense of his rights? There is yet to 
 come the greater man — the man who will die rather 
 than tresspass upon the rights of another. (Cheers.) 
 Hail to the nation whatever its name may be that 
 leads the world towards the realization of this higher 
 ideal. I am glad that we now recognize that there is 
 'something more powerful than physical force, and 
 no one has stated it better than Carlyle. He said that 
 thought was stronger than artillery parks, and at last 
 molded the world like soft clay; that behind thought 
 was love, and that there never was a wise head that 
 had not behind it a generous heart. The world is com- 
 ing to understand that armies and navies, however 
 numerous and strong, are impotent to stop thought. 
 Thought inspired by love will yet rule the world. I 
 am glad that there is a national product more valu- 
 able than gold or silver, more valuable than cotton or 
 wheat or corn or iron — an ideal. That is a merchan- 
 dise — if I may call it such — that moves freely from 
 country to country. You cannot vex it with an export 
 tax or hinder it with an import tariff (Cheers.) It is 
 greater than legislators, and rises triumphant over 
 the machinery of government. In the rivalry to pre- 
 sent the best ideal to the world, love, not hatred, will 
 control ; and I am glad that on this Thanksgiving Day 
 I can meet with my countrymen and their friends 
 here assembled, return thanks for what my country 
 has received, thanks for the progress that the world 
 has made, and contemplate with joy the coming of 
 that day when the rivalry between nations will be.
 
 THANKSGIVING ADDRESS 13i 
 
 not to see which can injure the other most, but tc 
 show which can hold highest the light that guides the 
 footsteps of the human race to higher ground. (Loud 
 and prolonged cheers.)
 
 Cuban Articles 
 
 The following Cuban Articles were written for and copyrighted by 
 
 Collier's Weekly, and reproduced by courtesy 
 
 of that paper.
 
 THE PEARL OF THE ANTILLES. 
 
 Cuba, the largest, richest and most populous of 
 the West Indian islands, lies about ninety miles south 
 of Key West, the southernmost point of Florida. It 
 is separated from the mainland by that mightiest river 
 of the earth, the Gulf Stream, whose resistless cur- 
 rent sweeps to the northeast through a channel half 
 a mile deep and carries the warmth of the southern 
 seas far into the Temperate Zone. 
 
 "The Pearl of the Antilles," as Cuba is called, is 
 about nine hundred miles from east to west, and so 
 narrow (about one hundred and twenty miles at its 
 greatest width) that it looks on the map like a small 
 arc of a great circle. Its coast line is broken by in- 
 numerable bays and harbors, many of them admir- 
 ably adapted for commerce. A large part of the sur- 
 face of the island is made up of rolling prairies and the 
 land is generally fertile. In the east a mountain range 
 rises to a considerable height, terminating in Pico Tur- 
 quino, which lifts its peak to an elevation of six thous- 
 and nine hundred feet. The rivers are abundant, but 
 are not navigable to any great extent There are a 
 number of excellent turnpikes, many of them lined on 
 either side with shade and flowering trees The 
 stranger is at once attracted by the Royal Ponciana 
 (flamboyant), a tree which grows to the height of 
 thirty or forty feet, spreads out like a great umbrella 
 and is covered with clusters of bright red flowers. The 
 
 189
 
 140 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 royal palm is the most important tree of the island. 
 Its slender trunk rises to a great height, and it pre- 
 sents an imposing appearance. Its foliage furnishes 
 the material commonly used for the thatching of the 
 roofs of the huts, and the bark which it sheds each 
 year furnises the material used for making baskets, 
 for the siding of houses and for the baling of tobacco. 
 The wood of the royal palm, while not hard enough 
 for building purposes, is still useful for fences and 
 light work. This tree is so indispensable to the people 
 of the island that it has been made a part of the Cuban 
 coat of arms. 
 
 Cuba also produces a large variety of hard woods, 
 the best known being mahogany and ebony; but there 
 are others almost as beautiful and as useful. The 
 employes of Colonel Bliss, the collector of customs at 
 Havana, presented him a beautiful desk and cabinet 
 upon his departure from the island. It was made by 
 Senor Nicolas Quintana, and eighteen different kinds 
 of wood were employed in its construction. It not 
 Dnly shows the variety of hard woods, but is an ex- 
 :ellent specimen of the cabinet-maker's skill. 
 
 The climate of Cuba is mild and the temperature 
 quite uniform. Even in the warmest part of the sum- 
 ner the mercury seldom rises above 92 in the shade 
 ind in the winter it does not fall below 40 or 45. The 
 jun, however, is very hot, and for eight or nine months 
 :n the year work is practically suspended during the 
 middle of the day. 
 
 A visitor to the island even in the month of May 
 inds the Panama hat an indispensable companion of 
 he men and the fan a necessary part of the apparel of
 
 PE^RL OF THE ANTILLES 141 
 
 the women ; and it may be added that the hats range 
 in price from a few dollars to one hundred and the 
 fans from a few cents to five hundred dollars. In pur- 
 chasing it is well to have some one along who is a 
 good judge of the quality of these articles, because 
 the stranger often finds it difficult to measure the 
 /alue except by the price placed upon the article and 
 this price is sometimes adjusted according to a sliding 
 scale. 
 
 The rainfall in Cuba varies ; sometimes it amounts 
 to one hundred inches in a year and at other times it 
 is considerably less. The rainy season usually begins 
 in May and ends in October or November, and during 
 this period a rainfall of ten or twelve inches in a day 
 is not rare; and yet the land is not badly washed. 
 
 The island is full of springs, many of them of 
 considerable size. The city of Havana is supplied 
 from an enormous spring which issues from the side 
 of a hill about ten miles south of Havana. The water 
 is clear and wholesome. The only fault that it has is 
 a trace of lime, a characteristic of most of the spring 
 water of the island. This spring not only supplies all 
 the water that Havana needs, but nearly forty per 
 cent of the flow is turned into an adjoining river as 
 waste. The water is carried to the city through an 
 immense aqueduct which was constructed by a Span- 
 iard named Albear, who came from his native country 
 with plans which were accepted and carried out by 
 local authorities. While the expense was very great, 
 the work was well done and is a monument to the 
 genius of the engineer. I call particular attention to
 
 142 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Havana's water supply because in contemplating a 
 dsit to the island the character of the water gave me 
 most concern, and I had resolved to rely upon Apol- 
 linaris or some other mineral water. The first day in 
 the city, however, convinced me that the water was 
 pure, and I drank it freely during my week's stay. 
 
 The resources of the island have not been fully 
 developed, and many things that are imported might 
 as well be raised at home. The diversification of the 
 industries of the island ought to be one of the first 
 works to engage the attention of the minister of agri- 
 culture. The cocoanut, orange and pineapple are 
 found in reasonable abundance; a small but very pal- 
 atable banana and a small lime are grown. Tomtoes, 
 cabbages and a number of other vegetables are being 
 cultivated, but truck gardening has not reached the 
 perfection that it has in the United States. 
 
 At present the sugar and tobacco industries are 
 given almost undivided attention. The sugar crop of 
 Cuba amounted to 1,054,214 tons in the season of 
 1893-94. During the war it fell to as low as 212,051 
 tons — that was during the year 1896-97, There has 
 been a gradual increase from that date to the present 
 year, when it is estimated that the crop will equal 
 700,000 tons. This is almost all raw sugar and is sent 
 to the United States ; the exports of refined sugar do 
 not average $3,000 per year, and the average amount 
 exported to countries other than the United States 
 does not exceed 1,000 tons. Cuba is exceptionally 
 fitted for the production of sugar. The cane grows 
 throughout the entire year and does not require re-
 
 PEARL OF THE ANTILLES 143 
 
 planting. A crop can be harvested every nine or ten 
 months and one planting will last for from eight to 
 fifteen years, according to the soil and care. In fact, 
 tliere are instances of fields that have not been re- 
 planted for thirty or forty years. 
 
 Tobacco is not so important a crop as sugar, and 
 yet in Pinar del Rio, the western province of the isl- 
 and, there is produced a variety of tobacco that has 
 made the Havana cigar famous the world over. The 
 tobacco exports were valued at $21,084,750 in 1899 
 and at $26,084,971 in 1900. 
 
 Horses and mules are sometimes used for carrying 
 burdens, an immense sack with a large pocket on either 
 side being thrown across the back of the animal. The 
 ox, however, is usually employed for the cultivation of 
 the soil and for the carrying of farm products. The 
 American who visits the island will notice the yoke. 
 Instead of putting the burden upon the shoulders as 
 the American yoke does, it is fastened around the 
 horns like the Assyrian yoke, so that the ainmals push 
 the load with their heads. 
 
 One notices the scarcity of milk and butter. Upon 
 inquiry I was told that the milk yielded very little 
 cream and that the natives used butter scarcely at all. 
 American residents, however, insisted that it was due 
 to the fact that cows were not cared for as in the 
 United States, and one who has had considerable ex- 
 perience in Cuba declared that he had fed grain to his 
 cows and secured as good a result in both milk and 
 butter as could be secured in the United States. The 
 pasturage is excellent, and several Americans are plan-
 
 U4 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 ning to make an experiment in cattle raising. They 
 claim that a steer can be raised and fattened on half 
 the sum required in the western states. They believe 
 that sufficient meat can be produced to supply the 
 entire island and leave a surplus for export. Little 
 attention has been given to the breeding of high grade 
 hogs or cattle, and goats are apparently more numer- 
 ous than sheep. 
 
 The population of Cuba numbers about one and a 
 half million, according to the best estimates, of which 
 the negroes constitute about one-third. Slavery was 
 formally abolished in 1856, but the traffic continued 
 until 1886. The slave trade thrived in Cuba after it 
 had been abolished in the United States, and it is said 
 that a cargo of Congo negroes was sold on the island 
 as late as 1878. 
 
 The population is made up of Spaniards and their 
 descendants — the former are called Spaniards and the 
 latter Cubans. The Spaniards own the bulk of the 
 personal property and much of the real estate, while 
 the latter make up the majority of the voting popula- 
 tion. During the wars which have ravaged the island 
 the Cubans have suffered most because much of their 
 property was confiscated or burned, while those Span- 
 iards who were loyal to the government largely es- 
 caped. It is estimated that the lands of the island are 
 mortgaged to more than sixty-five per cent of their 
 present market value, the mortgages generally being 
 given for money with which to stock and improve the 
 farms. During the struggle for liberty the improve- 
 ments were destroyed, but the mortgages escaped 
 unharmed.
 
 PEARL OF THE ANTILLES 145 
 
 The Cuban people are as a rule docile, domestic, 
 well-meaning and temperate. There is almost an en- 
 tire absence of drunkenness. Americans admit that 
 about the only evidences of intoxication they have seen 
 on the island have been exhibited by the Americans. 
 
 The education of the children was much neg- 
 lected during the numerous insurrections, but in no 
 respect has the island shown more marked improve- 
 ment than the attention given to the instruction of the 
 children. During the period of American intervention 
 the number of children in attendance at schools has 
 increased several hundred per cent. The governor of 
 the province of Matanzas told me that in the city of 
 Matanzas the number of children in school there had 
 increased from twenty-five hundred to over seven 
 thousand within the last five years, notwithstanding 
 the large mortality among the children during the last 
 war. He pointed with some pride to a large building 
 which under Spanish rule was used for a jail but is 
 now occupied by a public school. There is at Havana, 
 also, a large building until recently used for the stor- 
 age of ammunition, which is being converted into a 
 great university. 
 
 The religion of the island is Catholic, and almost 
 all of the inhabitants have been baptized in that faith. 
 This church has splendid houses of worship and many 
 large institutions devoted to charity and benevolence. 
 There is absolute freedom of religion, and most of the 
 prominent Protestant denominations have representa- 
 tives here. On Sunday night preceding the inaugura- 
 tion of the president a union patriotic service was held
 
 ,146 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 and the pastors of all the Protestant churches took 
 in the building occupied by the Congregational church, 
 part. Some of these churches have established private 
 schools, and these have a very satisfactory attendance. 
 
 The difference between the country and the city is 
 very marked. In the country many of the people live 
 in small and scantily furnished houses, each family 
 cultivating a small tract of land. There are, however, 
 some very large plantations, and these, of course, have 
 commodious houses and expensive mills for the ex- 
 tracting of sugar from cane. In the cities the houses 
 are built in solid blocks and have no yards. In the 
 better houses there is usually an open court inside, but 
 the population is crowded very closely together. 
 
 Those who have not visited Mexico or some other 
 Spanish country will be struck by a custom which pre- 
 vails in Cuba. The family carriage is usually kept in 
 the front hall and the stable is generally a part of the 
 house. For instance, you will find a house costing 
 from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand dollars, 
 with marble floors, ceilings twenty-five feet high, and 
 with large rooms, filled with elegant furniture, paint- 
 ings and statuary. In the centre will be a beautiful 
 court, with all kinds of tropical flowers and plants, 
 watered by a costly fountain. On the first floor will 
 be the living rooms, in the basement will be the kitchen 
 and the servants' rooms, and adjoining a perfectly 
 equipped bathroom will be found the carriage room 
 and the stable. 
 
 Havana is, of course, the city of the greatest size 
 and interest. The Cubans call it Habana, although the
 
 PEARL OF THE ANTILLES 147 
 
 English-speaking people of the world substitute a "v" 
 for the "b." It means a haven, and the name was first 
 applied to a city on the southern coast and afterward 
 given to the present city. It lies on the south shore of 
 Havana bay, one of the best harbors in the island. It 
 is entered by a deep but narrow channel, and is so 
 large and well proteted that an entire fleet can ride at 
 anchor. 
 
 The wreck of the Maine is still visible in the 
 harbor, and is an object of intense interest to both 
 Americans and Cubans ; for to the former it recalls a 
 great national bereavement, while the Cubans recog- 
 nize that, horrible and lamentable as it was, it had an 
 important influence in the securing of their independ- 
 ence. Morro Castle guards the entrance to the harbor, 
 and it is admirably situated, as well as admirably con- 
 structed, for defense. It is built upon a cliff and its 
 massive walls made the Spaniards feel secure from 
 any foreign attack. Near by is Fort Cabanas, which is 
 equally well constructed, and, having been the scene 
 of the execution of many Cuban patriots, is equally in- 
 teresting to the visitor. The formal transfer of the 
 government from the United States to the Cuban re- 
 public gave the Cubans scarcely less pleasure than the 
 raising of the Cuban flag over Morro and Cabanas* 
 In fact, it is said that when, on the 11th day of May, 
 the president-elect landed at Havana and the Cuban 
 flag was for a short time raised over Morro, the vet- 
 erans of the prolonged wars were so affected that they 
 shouted, wept and hugged each other by turns. 
 
 Fort Principe, which crowns a natural eminence
 
 148 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 just back of the city of Havana, is said to be the 
 strongest fortification on the Western Hemisphere, It 
 was constructed for the defense of Havana and will 
 accommodate a garrison of many thousands. The city 
 of Havana is built upon the shore of the sea and of 
 Havana bay, the ground gradually sloping back from 
 the water's edge toward Port Principe. 
 
 The streets are narrow, like the streets of Mexican 
 cities, and show a reckless disregard of the points of 
 the compass. The residences are nearly all one story, 
 and have a window and door opening upon the street, 
 the former invariably protected by iron bars or grat- 
 ing. In the middle of the window is a gate which is 
 unlocked in the cool of the evening, and the young 
 ladies stand at the opening and watch the passers-by. 
 The presence of so many beautiful faces at the win- 
 dows enhances the pleasure of a drive through the 
 streets at this hour of the day. The casual admirer 
 must be content to talk with the senorita through the 
 bars ; only an accepted suitor is admitted to the parlor, 
 and even then he must do his courting in the presence 
 of some older member of the family. Until the period 
 of intervention the young ladies never went upon the 
 street alone. Though this custom has relaxed some- 
 what, it is usual even now for the mother or a chap- 
 eron to accompany the daughter. 
 
 The principal street of Havana is called the Prado, 
 and leads from the point opposite Morro Castle back 
 into the interior of the city. It has been very much 
 improved under General Wood's direction and is now 
 the most beautiful part of the city. While a consider-
 
 PEARL OF THE ANTILLES 149 
 
 able sum was expended upon this improvement, the 
 Cubans are very proud of it and it is the place most 
 Frequented in the evening. On Sundays, about sunset, 
 the Prado is crowded, A contract has been given to 
 m individual to furnish seats for those who desire to 
 rest, and the city receives four thousand dollars a year 
 tor the concession. Thousands of people line this 
 ;treet, while every one who has a carriage or can hire 
 3ne joins in the procession. On the Sunday preceding 
 :he inauguration the carriages were sometimes four 
 ibreast and the travel was so congested that it was 
 difficult to drive faster than a walk. Here one can see 
 Havana life in all its phases. The wealthy are out in 
 splendid equipages, and those of more moderate means 
 mingle with them, while on the sidewalks will be found 
 1 promiscuous crowd, all neatly dressed, and so peace- 
 ful and orderly that no officer of the law is necessary 
 to control them. 
 
 Not far from Havana, about twelve miles to the 
 southwest, at a beautiful little cove, is situated the 
 bouse of the Havana Yacht club. It has a large mem- 
 3ership and furnishes a delightful place for rest and 
 recuperation. The road leading from Havana to the 
 y^acht club passes by the cemetery and Columbia 
 Barracks. 
 
 The cemetery is an object of interest to those who 
 are not acquainted with burial customs in tropical 
 countries. The private vaults of the wealthy are made 
 of cement and stone and are waterproof. A marble 
 slab covers the grave and artificial flowers adorn the 
 lot. Those who cannot afford to own a private vault
 
 150 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 are buried in vaults rented for a limited time, and when 
 the time is up the remains are removed to the bone- 
 pile if further rent is not forthcoming. The very poor 
 are carried to the cemetery in a rented box and buried, 
 mother earth furnishing them their only coffin. There 
 are a number of beautiful monuments in the Havana 
 cemetery, the most elaborate of which is one of white 
 marble, erected to the memory of forty volunteer fire- 
 men who lost their lives in a disastrous explosion which 
 occurred some years ago. Next to the firemen's monu- 
 ment in size and even surpassing it in interest is the 
 pile of granite and marble reared in honor of the eight 
 students who were shot by order of one of the Spanish 
 generals. 
 
 Columbia Barracks is the name given to the place 
 where the American troops were encamped during the 
 intervention. General Lee's army corps located the 
 camp upon a beautiful knoll overlooking the sea. It 
 proved to be a healthful place, and our soldiers suf- 
 fered far less than it was feared they would when they 
 embarked for Cuba. 
 
 From General Wood I learned that the island has 
 been entirely purged of yellow fever and that the death 
 rate in Havana is now lower than in Washington, 
 D. C. 
 
 Major W. C. Gorges of the United States army, 
 who has been in charge of the sanitary department, 
 deserves great credit for the work that has been done 
 in the matter of improving sanitary conditions in the 
 island. Under his administration the mosquito theory 
 was fully tested, and it was proven to the satisfaction 
 of all who watched the experiment that the disease is
 
 PEARL OF THE ANTILLES 15] 
 
 not transmitted by contact with the yellow fever pa- 
 tient but by the bite of a mosquito which has pre- 
 viously bitten one having the disease. Dr. Carlos 
 Finlay of Havana some twenty-one years ago brought 
 this terrible indictment against the mosquito and, after 
 a fair and impartial trial, it stands convicted before 
 the world. 
 
 Governor Jennings of Florida, who visited Cuba 
 for the double purpose of attending the inauguration 
 and of investigating the sanitary system of the island, 
 was much gratified to learn of the care that is now 
 taken to provide against and stamp out contagious 
 diseases. Florida is so near to Cuba that his people 
 are vitally interested in the subject. From him I 
 learned that vaccination against smallpox has received 
 especial attention in Cuba. A room is fitted up with the 
 most modern scientific equipment; expert physicians 
 are in charge ; calves, first tested as to their general 
 health, are vaccinated and kept under surveillance for 
 five days and then placed upon a table made for the 
 purpose and the bovine virus is extracted. This is 
 placed in vats and, after being thoroughly prepared, is 
 made into what are called points, each point containing 
 sufficient virus to vaccinate five persons. One calf 
 furnishes bovine virus enough to vaccinate 1,000 per- 
 sons. The Havana institution furnishes virus for the 
 island and the marine hospital service of the United 
 States. Some idea of the magnitude of this institution 
 can be gathered from the fact that 250,000 persons 
 have been vaccinated on the island of Cuba within five 
 months, and the care taken is shown by the fact that 
 not a single case of death has resulted in all that num- 
 ber of vaccinations.
 
 152 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 There is also at Havana a very complete disin- 
 fecting plant. The United States steamer Sanator, 
 especially built for ship disinfection and for handling 
 of large numbers of soldiers and passengers, arrived at 
 Havana during the latter part of June, 1900 ; it is the 
 only disinfecting steamer in the world and is pro- 
 vided with the most modern apparatus, including 
 shower baths and robing and disrobing rooms suffi- 
 cient to handle 1,000 persons daily. The experience 
 of the army in Montauk Point in 1898 suggested many 
 improvements in the matter of disinfection, and these 
 suggestions have been utilized in the construction of 
 this vessel. During the month of June, 1901, this 
 steamer disinfected 40 passenger vessels, and 39 fishing 
 smacks, making a total of 79 vessels. During the first 
 fiscal year 463 vessels were disinfected, together with 
 4,360 pieces of baggage. 
 
 The public buildings of Havana are substantially 
 constructed and will last for many years. The Span- 
 iards had an eye to the future and built for posterity, 
 therefore the official headquarters at Havana and the 
 other cities are large, strong and massive. 
 
 The prison is an immense building, and though 
 ornamental in appearance is unfortunately situated on 
 the Prado. The condition of the prison, by the way, 
 has been much improved during American occupancy, 
 a fact to which the Cubans point with muh pride and 
 satisfaction. The Palace, occupied by the governor 
 general during Spanish rule, is a commodious structure 
 near the wharf, and Former Governor General Wood 
 has made his headquarters here, as have the heads of 
 the various departments of the government.
 
 PEARL OF THE ANTILLES 153 
 
 When I called upon the mayor, the able and ac- 
 complished Senor De la Torre, I was ushered into a 
 reception room which was formerly the crown room of 
 the palace. There my attention was immediately at- 
 tracted by two splendid oil paintings of large size. 
 One represented Cortes landing in Cuba, and the other 
 the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth Rock. 
 In the first picture the great Spanish explorer appeared 
 as the central figure ; he was mounted upon a war- 
 horse and around him were cannons, guns, sabres and 
 chains. The second picture represented a group of 
 unarmed men, women and children ; one held an open 
 book, while on the ground were spade and pick and 
 saw. The pictures were presented in 1867, by Senor 
 Miguel de Aldama, the wealthiest Cuban of his time, 
 who, a year later, was a prominent leader in the war 
 begun for the independence of Cuba. The pictures 
 contrast the doctrine of colonization by conquest with 
 the peaceful methods employed by those who go forth 
 to build a new home in a new country. There is an 
 exquisite humor in the gift and the donor would have 
 felt fully repaid if he could have known that those 
 pictures would for thirty years mock every kingly 
 gathering and utter their mute protest against arbi- 
 trary power and colonel mis-government. 
 
 Bull fighting and cock fighting have been prohib- 
 ited during the intervention, and "J^i Alai," a very 
 skilful ball game, has taken their place to some extent. 
 But for the gambling that is encouraged by the "J^^i 
 Alai" company the game would be deserving of praise. 
 
 Havana is destined to be a popular winter resort
 
 164 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 for American tourists. It is only three and one-half 
 days from New York by steamer and only little more 
 than a day from southern Florida, and its climate af- 
 fords a delightful retreat from the rigors of a northern 
 winter. The hotels are well kept and sufficiently com- 
 modious for the traveling public, but as the number 
 of American tourists increases there will doubtless 
 spring up other hotels built and conducted upon the 
 American plan. 
 
 The one great and overshadowing need of Havana 
 is a sewerage system, and that subject is now being 
 considered. It has not been thought advisable to run 
 a sewer into the harbor because it has no outlet, and 
 the fact that the Gulf Stream would carry into the 
 harbor any refuse matter emptied along the seacoast 
 makes the problem a difficult one ; but that it will be 
 soon solved is certain, and then no city on the Western 
 Hemisphere will be more attractive to those who have 
 the time and means for travel. 
 
 To Americans Santiago is almost as interesting as 
 Havana, because it was the scene of the decisive land 
 engagement of the Spanish-American war as well as 
 the scene of one of the two great naval battles of that 
 war. The harbor of Santiago is as well protected as 
 the Havana harbor, but is not so large. 
 
 Nature has also done much for the harbors at Cien- 
 fuegos and Matanzas and both are prominent shipping 
 points for the exportation of sugar. There are now 
 more than 150,000 tons of sugar stored in the ware- 
 houses at the latter place. The harbor at Matanzas is 
 an open one, but large vessels anchor in deep water 
 about a mile from the wharf and have no difficulty in
 
 PEARL OF THE ANTILLES 155 
 
 loading and unloading from lighters. Like Havana, 
 the city draws it water supply from springs, and, lying 
 upon the side of a hill, it can be more easily drained. 
 Captain Hay of the United States army, who was in 
 charge of the military government as well as the cus- 
 tom house at that place, says that Matanzas is now 
 the cleanest city he has ever seen. He is also author- 
 ity for the statement that the Cubans are law-abiding 
 and very easy to get along with. There is near Matan- 
 zas the famous valley of the Yumuri, an excellent view 
 of which is obtained from the old church of Montserrat, 
 situated on a high hill near the city. There is said to 
 be no more beautiful view on the island, and for that 
 matter it would be difficult to find a more pleasing one 
 anywhere. The caves of Bellamar, about three miles 
 from Matanzas, are also highly praised. 
 
 The Isle of Pines, which lies just south of Cuba 
 rtnd is still held by the United States, subject to final 
 settlement by treaty, is said to be the healthiest of the 
 West India islands. Much of the land of the island has 
 been bought by Americans, and several En;if]ish- 
 speaking communities have already been established 
 there.
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE CUBAN REPUBLIC. 
 
 "Viva Cuba Libre!" "Viva la Republica de 
 Cuba!" These were the exclamations of delight and 
 of patriotism with which the Cuban people greeted 
 the 20th day of May, 1902, the day upon which the 
 American government of intervention formally trans- 
 ferred authority to the newly formed Cuban govern- 
 ment. 
 
 For days the city of Havana had been busy with 
 preparations for the great event. Fifty thousand dol- 
 lars had been contributed by the citizens and spent in 
 decorations. Triumphal arches towered above the 
 streets ; large Cuban flags floated from the flagstaf?s of 
 the business blocks and little flags fluttered from bam- 
 boo poles ; streamers covered the buildings and pa- 
 triotic mottoes and pictures of dead heroes recalled the 
 struggle of more than thirty years, so full of sacrifice 
 and so replete with valor, just now culminating in a 
 glorious victory. Everywhere were evidences of joy 
 and exultation. 
 
 From the time the president-elect landed at the 
 wharf of Havana the people were in a state of sup- 
 pressed excitement, impatiently waiting the hour for 
 which they had looked and longed. The most notable 
 event of the week preceding the inauguration was the 
 banquet tendered by the Cuban veterans to Governor 
 General Wood on Friday evening, May 16. General 
 Maximo Gomez, the greatest of Cuban generals, the 
 
 156
 
 BIRTH OF THE CUBAN REPUBLIC 157 
 
 hero of the war for independence, the idol of the 
 Cuban patriots and the trusted friend of tlie new presi- 
 dent, sat at the head of the table. On his left was 
 President-elect Tomas Estrada Palma and on his right 
 General Leonard A. Wood. At the same table sat the 
 principal military and civil officials of Cuba, mingled 
 with the ofhcers of the United States army. The ban- 
 quet tables were made to form a shield and occupied 
 the entire floor of the Tacon Theatre, while the five 
 galleries of that splendid auditorium were crowded 
 with ladies and gentlemen in evening dress. The 
 banqueters below and the spectators above presented 
 a combination of bravery and beauty ever to be re- 
 membered. 
 
 General Gomez being a man of action rather than 
 of words, called upon Senor Gonzalo de Quesada to 
 act as toastmaster, and that the latter discharged his 
 duty well was evident from the manner in which his 
 introductions were greeted. Brief speeches were made 
 by Senor Mario Garcia Kohly, General Fernando 
 Freyre Andrade and myself. Then Governor General 
 Wood was presented, and the entire audience arose 
 and stood while he expressed in modest but felicitous 
 language his appreciation of the courtesies shown him 
 and his good wishes for the Cuban republic. It was 
 an inspiring scene, the like of which has been rare in 
 the world's history — the representative of a great and 
 powerful government voluntarily surrendering into the 
 hands of a comparatively small nation an authority 
 that might have been withheld had the United States 
 been actuated by the motives which control most na- 
 tions that go to war. It was an act of magnanimity and
 
 158 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 of fidelity to principle that raised higher the flag about 
 to be lowered — it was a moral victory more potent for 
 good than any triumph of arms. 
 
 General Wood has had a difficult task, and while 
 mistakes have been made and an occasional criticism 
 is heard, these are outweighed by the positive good 
 that has been done. 
 
 The Teller resolution, which was added to the 
 resolution of intervention, contained the following 
 words : 
 
 "That the United States hereby disclaims any dis- 
 position or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdic- 
 tion or control over said island except for the pacifica- 
 tion thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is 
 accomplished, to leave the government and control of 
 the island to its people." 
 
 If any American citizen has regretted the making 
 of that promise or has favored its violation he would 
 have been converted had he attended the banquet given 
 by the veterans on Friday evening. He would have 
 learned that love is better than homage and that our 
 nation enjoys a greater reward than it could possibly 
 have secured by conquest or violence. 
 
 On the Saturday night following the banquet 
 General Wood gave a farewell reception in the same 
 theatre, with President Palma as the guest of honor. 
 An immense crowd was in attendance. On the same 
 evening the leading Spanish society of the city cele- 
 brated the coronation of Spain's young king by a grand 
 ball in the Casino Espanol. Here, amid the waving of
 
 BIRTH OF THE CUBAN REPUBLIC 159 
 
 Spanish flags and the perfume of tropical flowers, the 
 €hte of the Spanish element met and drank the health 
 of Alfonso XIII. 
 
 At midnight on the 19th the bells rang, the en- 
 gines and boats whistled, cannons fired and each per- 
 son seemed to try to make more noise than his neigh- 
 bor. From that time on, for several days the city was 
 given over to rejoicing and to the heartiest manifesta- 
 tions of delight. Firecrackers were exploded every- 
 where, and that, too, with a recklessness that would 
 have done credit to the American small boy. 
 
 When the Spaniards evacuated Havana the beau- 
 tiful statue of Queen Isabella, which stood in the cen- 
 tre of the most prominent park, was taken down, 
 but the pedestal was left standing. The Cubans, to 
 signalize the change which had taken place in their 
 government, secured a statue such as is used in the 
 United States to represent the Goddess of Liberty and, 
 on the forenoon of the 20th, this statue was placed up- 
 on the pedestal. The crowds that surged by it noted 
 and commented on the transformation that had taken 
 place in the ideas for which their government stood. 
 At night a light was placed in the uplifted hand of the 
 goddess, and the Western Hemisphere beheld a new 
 "Liberty, enlightening the world." 
 
 As the hour of noon approached the human tide 
 that had ebbed and flowed through the streets began 
 to form a stream, and this stream, passing through 
 Central Park, divided, one part going in the direction 
 of the Palace, where the formal transfer of the govern- 
 ment was to take place, and the other passing down 
 the Prado to the point opposite Morro Castle.
 
 160 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 The American soldiers occupied the Placa de 
 Armas just in front of the palace and kept clear the 
 street between. The people filled all the other streets 
 around, and looked down from windows and from the 
 roofs of the neighboring buildings. 
 
 In the reception room of the palace gathered those 
 who by special invitation were permitted to witness 
 the simple ceremony which preceded the retirement of 
 General Wood and the inauguration of President 
 Palma. The room was not a large one and the number 
 of persons admitted did not exceed one hundred and 
 fifty or two hundred. The members of the cabinet, 
 members of the supreme court, members of the Cuban 
 congress, the archbishop of Cuba and his escort, the 
 governors of the various provinces, mayors, magis- 
 trates, and a few officers of the American army and 
 navy, with members of the diplomatic corps, news- 
 paper men and less than a score of others gathered 
 about the centre of the room. 
 
 I found that but few Americans outside of the 
 military and naval officials were present. Senator 
 James K. Jones of Arkansas, chairman of the demo- 
 cratic national committee; Senator Money of Missis- 
 sippi and his son, Senator Mason of Illinois and wife, 
 ex-Senator Thurston of Nebraska and wife. Congress- 
 man DeArmond of Missouri, Governor Jennings of 
 Florida, his wife and son, a few without title and the 
 photographers represented unofficial America. That 
 the United States, which appointed three special en- 
 voys to witness the coronation of Edward VII. of 
 England and one special envoy to witness the coron-
 
 BIRTH OF THE CUBAN REPUBLIC 161 
 
 ation of Alfonso XIII, of Spain, had no envoy to tes- 
 tify to the interest which our people felt in the birth of 
 a republic whose very existence was due to American 
 intervention, was a fact frequently commented upon 
 by both Cubans and resident Americans. 
 
 At about five minutes before twelve Governor 
 General Wood and President-elect Tomas Estrada 
 Palma took their positions in the center of the room. 
 General Wood inquired for General Gomez, and a 
 messenger having been sent to bring him from the 
 rear of the room, he was asked to take a position next 
 to the president. These three, together with the 
 president's secretary, constituted the inner group. In 
 a circle just outside this group stood Captain Scott, 
 the adjutant general of the department of Cuba, the 
 members of the supreme court, senate and congress 
 and the archbishop, while crowding around these 
 without regard to position were the remaining guests, 
 each anxious to be near enough to hear the words 
 spoken by the principal participants. Mrs. Palma and 
 family stood a few feet to the rear of the president and 
 General Wood, while General Wood's wife and the 
 other ladies of the company occupied vantage ground 
 near the windows. 
 
 Just at twelve a cannon shot fired at one of 
 the forts startled the audience. It was followed by 
 another roar and then by another. Then the whistles 
 of the ships lying at anchor in the harbor began to 
 blow, and the crowd outside, thinking the transfer 
 had taken place, commenced to cheer. In the midst 
 of this babel of noise General Wood read a brief paper 
 to President Palma, stating that in the name and by
 
 162 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 authority of the American government he relinquished 
 authority over the island and surrendered it into the 
 keeping of the new government to be administered 
 in accordance with the constitution adopted by the 
 people of Cuba and the Piatt amendment. He then 
 read a letter from President Roosevelt extending con- 
 gratulations to President Palma and expressing his 
 good wishes for the success and prosperity of the re- 
 public. General Wood then with a faltering voice as- 
 sured President Palma of his appreciation of the 
 courtesies shown him and of his sincere regard and 
 good will for the new government and the Cuban peo- 
 ple, and with this American occupation ended. 
 
 The president read from manuscript, written in 
 Spanish his acceptance of the responsibilities of the 
 office and, speaking for his government, promised to 
 fulfill the terms imposed. Then in English he replied 
 in a few heartfelt words to General Wood's farewell. 
 General Wood extended his hand and, after a cordial 
 greeting, the president turned to the chief justice, 
 took the oath of office and then modestly received and 
 acknowledged the congratulations showered upon him. 
 
 As soon as General Wood ceased speaking the 
 'American flag on the palace was lowered and the 
 Cuban flag raised in its place amid the acclamation of 
 the multitude. Simultaneously with the lowering of 
 the flag on the palace building the flags that floated 
 from the other government buildings were hauled 
 down and Cuban flags quickly substituted for them. 
 The crowd at the end of the Prado raised a mighty 
 shout when the stars and stripes on Morro Castle 
 came down and the single-star Cuban flag was flung
 
 BIRTH OF THE CUBAN REPUBLIC 163 
 
 to the breeze ; and yet, happy as they were, there was 
 a touch of sadness in their rejoicing, for they had come 
 to love the American flag. A member of the com- 
 mission charged with the changing of the flags on 
 Morro Castle — that grim fortress that had been the 
 scene of so much cruelty and bloodshed — told me that 
 when the American flag was lowered the Cuban sol- 
 diers stationed at that place rushed forward and 
 caught it up, saying that it must not be allowed to 
 touch the ground — they even pressed its folds to their 
 lips. The Americans present were deeply touched by 
 the affection displayed, and well they might be. 
 
 As soon as the ceremonies were completed at 
 the palace General Wood and his staff officers, accom- 
 panied by the president, his cabinet, the members of 
 the court and congress, and other officials, marched 
 behind the escort to the wharf. The Spanish word 
 "viva," which means "live," is used in the same way 
 as our word "hurrah," and as the procession moved 
 toward the boat the crowd waved and cheered "Viva 
 General Wood," "Viva Presidente Palma," "Viva la 
 Republica Americana," "Viva Cuba libre." All were 
 proposed and given with equal fervor. In fact, the 
 good will entertained for the Americans was apparent 
 on every hand, no partialitv being shown in the salu- 
 tations and exclamations. 
 
 Having seen the Americans safely aboard the 
 Brooklyn, which carried General Wood and his staff, 
 and the Morro Castle, which carried the soldiers, 
 President Palma and his cabinet returned to the pal- 
 ace and held a consultation ; but the people lingered
 
 164 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 on the Prado until the ships passed through the chan- 
 nel out into the sea and then waved a farewell to the 
 government that had entered Cuba as a friend, with- 
 stood the temptations which come with the exercise of 
 power and, as soon as a stable government was estab- 
 lished removed the flag from the island, only to leave 
 it enshrined in the hearts of the people. 
 
 President Palma is small in statue, but large in 
 experience, capacity and patriotism. He is a man of 
 education, refinement and wide acquaintance. He 
 took part in the war of 1868, and was one of the early 
 presidents of the government then formed. He was 
 taken prisoner and was in a Spanish fortress when 
 the treaty of 1878 was signed. His release was 
 finally secured at the request of the republic of Hon- 
 duras, where he had resided for a few years ; but he 
 had no faith in the promises made by Spain, 
 and when he left the prison it was with the 
 determination not to return to Cuba until she 
 was an independent nation. After a brief so- 
 journ in Honduras, where he married the daughter 
 of the president of that republic, he moved to the 
 United States and located at Central Valley, N. Y. 
 There he established his home and reared his family, 
 occupying his time and securing some income by 
 teaching school. When he entered the war for inde- 
 pendence a large estate which he owned was con- 
 fiscated by the Spanish government, and this was aft- 
 erward offered to him if he would return to Cuba and 
 take the oath of allegiance, but he was so earnest in 
 his desire to secure Cuban independence that he de- 
 clined.
 
 BIRTH OF THE CUBAN REPUBLIC 165 
 
 He was, however, in constant communication 
 with the people of the island, and when the new in- 
 surrection was started in 1895 he became the head of 
 the American junta, and it was largely through his 
 wise and persistent efforts that the people of the 
 United States were brought to understand the condi- 
 tion of affairs in the island. He is called from his long 
 exile to be crowned with the honor of being Cuba's 
 first chief executive. 
 
 I have become sufficiently acquainted with the 
 man to be convinced of his greatness and goodness, 
 and in congratulating him I expressed the hope, which 
 I believe to be well founded, that his influence upon 
 his people may be as far-reaching and as potent for 
 good as the influence exerted by our first president 
 upon the American people. 
 
 The president has selected a strong and represen- 
 tative cabinet ; Carlos Zaldo of Havana will be min- 
 ister of state and justice. He is a leader of the radi- 
 cal wing of the democratic-republican party, which 
 opposed adoption of the Piatt amendment to the con- 
 stitution of Cuba and opposed Palma for president un- 
 til his oppcr'^nt (Masso) had withdrawn from the 
 race. Senor Zaldo i^ a lawyer and member of the 
 Cuban-American banking house of Zaldo & Co. 
 
 The minister of the interior will be Dr. Tamayo, 
 a doctor and member of the nationalist or military 
 party (headed by General Maximo Gomez) from 
 which both Brooke and Wood drew most of their 
 cabinet material. Dr. Tamayo is a cousin to President
 
 166 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Palma. He is the only member of General Wood's 
 regime retained in office by the new executive in 
 malfing up his cabinet. 
 
 Minister of Finance Garcia Montes, republican, 
 is a lawyer and friend of General Mendez-Capote, un- 
 der whom he served as a sub-secretary in the Brooke 
 cabinet. Montes' appointment to the head of the 
 finance department under the new republic is attribut- 
 ed almost solely to the personal influence of Capote. 
 The latter voted for the Piatt amendment. 
 
 The minister of agriculture, commerce and in- 
 dustries will be Emilo Terry, the millionaire sugar 
 planter of central Cuba. He is also one of the lead- 
 ing bankers of Cienfuegos. 
 
 Minister of Public Instruction Eduardo Yero is 
 a disciple of Jose Marti, former editor of the junta 
 newspaper "Patria," in New York city; recently con- 
 nected with the Cuban school system as a superinten- 
 dent under Commissioners Frye and Hanna, He is 
 a man of excellent educational qualifications. 
 
 Minister of Public Works Manuel Luciano Diaz 
 is a Spaniard, and engineer and former railway super- 
 intendent. 
 
 That the people of Cuba are capable of self-gov- 
 ernment is not a question open for dispute. Henry 
 Clay declared, in his defence of the independence of 
 the South American republics, that God never made 
 a people incapable of self-government ; that it was the 
 doctrine of thrones and a reflection on Jehovah to say 
 that He created people incapable of self-government 
 and left them to the government of kings and emperors. 
 Clay's logic is sound. Capacity for government is
 
 BIRTH OF THE CUBAN REPUBLIC 167 
 
 not a thing to be acquired or to be bestowed ; it is in- 
 herent in the people. As individuals differ in wisdom, 
 in self-restraint and in moral character, so nations 
 differ, but it cannot be said that any nation has 
 reached perfection in the science of government or in 
 the art of administration ; neither can it be said that 
 any nation is so low down in the scale of civilization 
 that it needs a foreign master. When Jefferson was 
 invited to suggest laws for a French colony which lo- 
 cated in the United States early in the nineteenth cen- 
 tury, he declined, and gave as his reason that laws 
 were the outgrowth of the history and habits of the 
 people and that no alien could be sufficiently in sym- 
 pathy with, or sufficiently informed about, a people to 
 make their laws for them. Self-government is in itself 
 a developing process and growth in capacity comes 
 with the exercise of human rights under self-govern- 
 ment. But one who visits Cuba and becomes acquaint- 
 ed with the people need not rest the case upon ab- 
 stract principles, for he is convinced by observation 
 that the Cubans not only have the right to govern 
 themselves but also have the ability to do so. That they 
 will make mistakes is certain, but have we not made 
 mistakes in the United States? That they may some- 
 times resort to violence instead of reason is possible, 
 but have we not done so in the United States? It is 
 even possible that the island may occasionally be the 
 scene of civil war, but have we not had civil war in 
 the United States? The child will stuiTible and fall 
 in its effort to walk, but is there any other means b\ 
 which it can learn to walk?
 
 168 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Cuban independence will not give the people a 
 government free from fault, but it will give them a 
 government as good as they deserve to have — a gov- 
 ernment that will improve as the people themselves 
 make progress in virtue and intelligence. Free gov- 
 ernment does not mean that each citizen will have just 
 such a government as he wants; it simply means that 
 the people will have such a government as the ma- 
 jority desire, and that each individual can present 
 his views to his fellows with the confidence that what- 
 ever is best for all will ultimately prevail. 
 
 Several important questions will require imme- 
 diate consideration. The question of sanitation will, 
 of course, receive the attention of the new govern- 
 ment ; for Cuba cannot afford to be shut out from the 
 outside world, and it cannot expect communication 
 between the island and the United States unless that 
 communication can be carried on without risk of dis- 
 ease. 
 
 Education is a problem of the first magnitude. 
 While private and parochial schools can do much, 
 the public schools must place education within the 
 reach of every child and thus fit all for more intelli- 
 gent participation in the affairs of the government. 
 The deep and widespread interest already manifested 
 in the improvement of school facilities gives great 
 encouragement for the future. 
 
 It should be the policy of the government to en- 
 courage home building and home owning. Until hu- 
 man nature is entirely changed men will give better 
 care and cultivation to land which they own than to
 
 BIRTH OF THE CUBAN REPUBLIC 168 
 
 land which they rent. The stimulus that one finds in 
 the sense of proprietorship is indispensable to the 
 highest effort. To this end the growth of great estates 
 should be discouraged and a wider distribution of the 
 land encouraged. 
 
 Saving should also be encouraged and to this 
 end government savings banks would be useful. 
 
 The government must be careful to avoid the 
 evils of private monopoly. Man is too frail to be in- 
 trusted with the power which a monopoly gives, and 
 the president and his advisers should be on their 
 guard against the dangers which come with the grant- 
 ing of franchises and concessions for the control of 
 any branch of business. The government of interven- 
 tion has reserved to the Cuban government the right 
 to cancel and annul all franchises granted during the 
 temporary occupancy of the island. It will thus be 
 within the power of the permanent government to 
 make such conditions and impose such restrictions as 
 may seem necessary, and it is to be hoped that means 
 will be taken at once to protect the rights of the 
 people. 
 
 In the procession which escorted President-elect 
 Palma to his home when he retured from exile, a 
 number of Cuban ladies represented the republics of 
 the Western Hemisphere, the United States being the 
 eldest, Cuba the youngest of the group. It reminded 
 me of the great banyan tree under which our party 
 rested for a moment as we passed through Key West ; 
 for are not these republics much like the banyan tree? 
 Free government was planted upon American soil a 
 century and a quarter ago ; it grew and sent forth its
 
 170 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 influence like branches in every direction, and these 
 branches taking root now support the parent tree ; 
 beneath the influence of these repubHcs, separate in 
 their government and yet united in their aspirations 
 an ever-increasing multitude finds shelter and pro- 
 tection. Long live the national banyan tree — the 
 American republics ! ,
 
 Patriotism 
 
 Address delivered by Mr. Bryan at the banquet given by the Cuban 
 
 Veterans to Governor General Wood and his staff, Friday 
 
 evening, May 16, 1902
 
 Patriotism. 
 
 Mr. Toastmaster, Ladies and Gentleman: I es- 
 teem it a great privilege and a high honor to be in- 
 vited to participate in this memorable occasion. I am 
 not here to represent the government of the United 
 States. The distinguished soldier and citizen who 
 has represented the American government upon the 
 island with so much ability and success is present 
 to represent my country in an official capacity; but 
 as an American citizen I can congratulate you upon 
 the realization of your hopes, and as an Amerian 
 citizen I can give expression to the pride that I feel at 
 the fact that our soldiers and official representatives 
 have conducted themselves so well that the Cuban 
 veterans tender them this complimentary dinner and 
 express so much of gratitude and of good will. 
 
 When asked to respond to the toast, I could 
 think of no better sentiment than "Patriotism." 
 
 Of what other sentiment could I think at a ban- 
 quet given by the veterans of the Cuban army and in 
 the presence of the great soldier (General Gomez) 
 who sits at the head of the table tonight, and in the 
 presence of Cuba's favorite son, Senor Estrada Palma, 
 who is to enjoy the honor of being the first chief exec- 
 utive of this republic. 
 
 The word "patriotism" has been translated into 
 every language and its spirit has been exhibited to a 
 greater or less extent in every land, but nowhere has 
 
 178
 
 174 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 more patriotism been shown than in this beautiful 
 isle of the sea, where liberty and independence have 
 been purchased by so much blood and sacrifice. You 
 may well be pardoned for feeling an exultation too 
 deep for expression and in that exultation my country- 
 men fully share ; and yet I would be less than a 
 friend if I failed to suggest that there are victories 
 before you even greater than the victories already 
 won. The work of self-government is a continuous 
 work and one that taxes both the patience and the 
 energy of the citizen. Under an arbitrary govern- 
 ment where the monarch thinks and acts for the sub- 
 ject, the subject may be indifferent and indolent, but 
 in a republic where the governments rests upon the 
 consent of the governed there is no place for sloth- 
 fulness. 
 
 Patriotism is a virtue which must be displayed 
 in peace as well as in war, and may be defined as 
 that love of country which leads the citizen to give 
 to his country that which his country needs at the 
 time his country needs it. In time of war the citizen 
 may be called upon to die for his country; in time 
 of peace he must live for his country. In time of 
 war he may be called upon to give his body as a 
 sacrifice; in time of peace his country demands his 
 head and his heart, his intellect and his conscience.You 
 have shown that you were willing to lay down your 
 lives in order to purchase liberty, now you will be 
 called upon to exhibit self-restraint and moral courage 
 in dealing with the problems of government. 
 
 It is written that he who ruleth his own spirit is 
 greater than he that taketh a city. It is too much to
 
 PATRIOTISM 175 
 
 expect that all things will be done as anyone would 
 like to have them done or that everyone will receive 
 the reward of which he and his friends may think him 
 deserving; and in hours of disappointment it is well 
 to remember that a person can show more patriotism 
 by suffering for a great cause than by enjoying great 
 rewards. 
 
 In time of war your island was divided and there 
 was much bitterness between those who fought for 
 independence and those who supported the authority 
 of Spain. Now that you are about to enter upon the 
 enjoyment of the blessings of self-government it 
 should be your purpose to heal all the wounds and 
 to unite the people in a common destiny. If there 
 be those who would prefer the sovereignty of Spain to 
 an experiment in self-government, do not abuse them, 
 but convert them to the doctrines of free government 
 by showing them the superiority of a republic. It 
 may even be an advantage to those in power to have 
 some citizens who are skeptical and ready to criticise, 
 for it will make public officials more careful of their 
 conduct. 
 
 Jefferson declares that free government exists in 
 jealousy rather than in confidence, and it is certainly 
 true that public servants are most faithful when their 
 acts are under constant scrutiny. 
 
 One of the questions with which you will have 
 to deal is that of public education and you will find 
 it of advantage to lay for your republic a broad and 
 deep foundation by providing for universal education. 
 The citizen will appreciate the advantages of free 
 government in proportion as his mental horizon is en- 
 larged and his capacity for usefulness increased.
 
 176 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 No one is wise enough to act as a censor in mat- 
 ters of education and select those who are to be sent 
 to school. No one can say upon which child of to- 
 day the responsibilities of the next generation will 
 fall, hence the nation will find its security in fitting the 
 largest possible number for full participation in all 
 that concerns the nation's welfare. 
 
 You rejoice tonight that our nation is going to 
 keep its promise and give the world an example of 
 fidelity to a public trust, and yet it is a cause of con- 
 gratulation to us as much as to you, for we had 
 more to lose than you if we failed to keep the pledge 
 made at the beginning of the Spanish war. I believe 
 that the citizens of our country are as happy as you 
 over the successful outcome of your heroic struggle; 
 they will rejoice in all the good fortune that comes 
 to you and they will grieve over any mistake that you 
 may make. They appreciate the gratitude which you 
 express, but they find their reward in the good they 
 have been able to accomplish, for life's happiness is 
 not measured by the gifts which one receives, but by 
 the contribution which he makes to the welfare of his 
 fellows. 
 
 Let me borrow a story which has been used to 
 illustrate the position of the United States: A man 
 wended his way through the streets of a great city. 
 Unmindful of the merchandise exposed on every hand 
 he sought out a store where birds were kept for sale. 
 Purchasing bird after bird he opened the cages and 
 allowed the feathered songsters to fly away. When
 
 PATRIOTISM 177 
 
 asked why he thus squandered his money, he replied: 
 "I was once a captive myself and I find pleasure in 
 setting even a bird at liberty." 
 
 The United States once went through the strug- 
 gle from which you have just emerged; the American 
 people once by the aid of a friendly power won a 
 victory similar to that which you are now celebrat- 
 ing, and our people find gratification in helping to 
 open the door that barred your way to the exercise of 
 your political rights. 
 
 I have come to witness the lowering of our flag 
 and the raising of the flag of the Cuban republic ; but 
 the event will bring no humiliation to the people of 
 my country, for it is better that the stars and stripes 
 should be indelibly impressed upon your hearts than 
 that they should float above your heads
 
 Mexico 
 
 The article describing the first visit to Mexico was written for and 
 
 copyrighted by the New York World, and is reproduced 
 
 by courtesy of that newspaper. The article describing 
 
 the second visit was written for The Commoner,
 
 MEXICO. 
 The First Visit. 
 
 The reading which I did preparatory to my visit 
 to Mexico revealed to me how little I had known of 
 the history of that country, past and current. In this 
 connection I acknowledge my indebtedness to Senor 
 Romero, the Mexican Minister at Washington, for 
 advanced proofs of his book just issuing from the 
 press, descriptive of Mexico at the present time. Senor 
 Romero, besides being a student of great industry and 
 research, is thoroughly familiar with our language, 
 and his book will be of great value to both republics 
 in that it gives to the people of the United States full 
 and authentic information with regard to our neigh- 
 bor on the south. The readers of The World may be 
 interested in a brief reference to some of the facts 
 which came under my observation during a three 
 weeks' stay in the land of the Aztecs. 
 
 I found : 
 
 First — That Mexico is a delightful place to visit. 
 Travel on the main lines is as safe, as comfortable and 
 as cheap as in the United States. The City of Mexico 
 is within four days' ride of Kansas City, and can be 
 reached by three routes. The Mexican National 
 leaves the Rio Grande at Laredo, the International at 
 Eagle Pass and the Mexican Central at El Paso. 
 
 The weather is dry and pleasant during the win- 
 181
 
 182 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 ter months, and the temperature high enough to be 
 inviting to those who find the cold of the North too 
 rigorous. The descent from the City of Mexico to 
 Vera Cruz can be made between sunrise and sunset, 
 and in the course of the day the traveller has an op- 
 portunity to compare the flora of two zones. As 
 both the Mexican and the Interoceanic Railroads con- 
 nect the capital with this seaport, the tourist is en- 
 abled to vary the scenery without loss of time. The 
 new railroad which is building from the City of Mex- 
 ico to Acapulco rises twenty-five hundred feet 
 a'.most within sight of the City of Mexico, and then 
 drops five thousand feet to Cuernavaca, the present 
 terminus. The three snow-crowned peaks, Popocata- 
 petl and Izteccihuatl and Orizaba, are mag- 
 nificent mountains. Popocatapetl and Iztecci- 
 huatl are near the City of Mexico . The first- 
 named, the largest of the three, presents the best 
 view from Cuernavaca. All three can be seen from a 
 point on the Interoceanic road, near Pueblo. Cathe- 
 drals built before the landing of the Pilgrims, huge 
 public buildings, differing entirely in architecture 
 from our own ; unique Chapultepec, a national art gal- 
 lery filled with rare and valuable paintings, and a 
 museum containing innumerable relics of a civiliza- 
 tion which antedates the discovery of the continent 
 by Europeans — all these combine to interest and in- 
 struct. 
 
 Second — That while our nation has more inhabi- 
 tants, covers more territory and possesses greater 
 wealth, we cannot surpass the Mexicans in hospi-
 
 MEXICO— FIRST VISIT 183 
 
 tality or in the courtesy which they extend to 
 strangers. 
 
 Third — ^That the Mexican authorities entertain a 
 very friendly feeling towards the citizens of the United 
 States, and heartily desire a continuation of the amic- 
 able relations now existing between the two nations. 
 
 Fourth — That Mexico is as firm as the United 
 States in the support of the Monroe doctrine, having 
 realized only thirty years ago the dangers attendant 
 upon an attempt to extend monarchical institutions 
 upon the western hemisphere. 
 
 Fifth — That President Diaz is entirely deserving 
 of the enconiums bestowed upon him by his own peo- 
 ple, by resident Americans and by visitors. He has 
 a genius for public affairs, understands the conditions 
 and needs of his people, and has their confidence to a 
 degree seldom enjoyed by an executive, either her- 
 editary or elective. While the advantages of a stable 
 government are now so generally recognized that his 
 death or resignation would not disturb the existing 
 order of things, yet his qualifications have been so 
 amply proved and his administration so completely 
 successful that his people are unanimous in the hope 
 that he may yet enjoy many years of official life. 
 
 Hidalgo, the warrior priest, who led the move- 
 ment which resulted in independence, is called the 
 Mexican Washington; Juarez, who successfully de- 
 fended his country against Maxmilian, was the secondl 
 great Mexican leader of the Nineteenth century;] 
 President Diaz, himself a brave general, by restoring) 
 order, establishing the supremacy of the civil law andJ
 
 184 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 perfecting the system of public education, has earned 
 for himself, and will enjoy in history, a place by the 
 side of Hidalgo and Juarez. 
 
 Sixth — ^That the public men of Mexico are not in- 
 ferior to our own in intelligence, education and gen- 
 eral information. Senor Mariscal, secretary of foreign 
 affairs, adds to great ability a long experience as a dip- 
 lomat, and is worthy of comparison with the pre- 
 miers of the leading nations of the world. Senor 
 Limantaur, secretary of finance, is a most accom- 
 plished gentlman and has exhibited superior skill in 
 the management of the fiscal affairs of the republic. 
 The other cabinet officers, governors, members of the 
 national and state congresses, mayors etc., whom I 
 met were, without exception, men of refinement and 
 scholarly attainments. 
 
 Seventh — That the English language is being 
 taught more and more extensively each year, and is 
 now understood and spoken by most of the public 
 men or by members of their families. I was in- 
 formed that a majority of the members of the federal 
 congress could understand a speech delivered in our 
 language. The leading hotels and stores have clerks 
 who can speak English, so that travel and traffic are 
 made easy. 
 
 Eighth — Mexico is making substantial progress 
 in education. The public schools are free and atten- 
 dance is compulsory. The president and those asso- 
 ciated with him in authority are putting forth every 
 possible effort to improve the system of instruction 
 and to bring all the children under the influence of
 
 MEXICO— FIRST VISIT 185 
 
 the school-teacher. As an illustration, in the state 
 of Mexico the number of schools has increased more 
 than 100 per cent, within the last ten years, and the 
 number of pupils in attendance shows an equal in- 
 crease. The girls and boys enter school upon an equal 
 footing, and the ambition of the pupil is stimulated 
 by the offer of rewards for merit. 
 
 It was our good fortune to be invited to witness 
 the distribution of prizes for the schools of the Fed- 
 eral District. Nothing impressed me more than the 
 scene here presented. President Diaz delivered the 
 awards to several hundred boys and girls. The In- 
 dian and the Spaniard, the rich and the poor, all min- 
 gle together in the public schools and vie with each 
 other for the prizes. The state not only furnishes in- 
 struction in the elementary branches, but provides in- 
 dustrial training for both boys and girls, normal 
 schools for teachers and professional schools for stu- 
 dents of law and medicine. President Diaz recently 
 quoted a remark made by Von Moltke in praise of 
 the German school-teacher and also pointed out the 
 necessity for educated mothers. He recognizes, as 
 did Jefferson, that popular education is vital in a re- 
 public, and largely through his efforts Mexico sees a 
 yearly increase in the number of those who are capa- 
 ble of intelligent participation in government. 
 
 Ninth — That the free coinage of silver is entirely 
 satisfactory to the people of Mexico. They have had 
 a chance to test the system thoroughly and to com- 
 pare it with the systems of the United States, En- 
 gland, France and Germany, and I found no disposi-
 
 18^ UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 tion either among the officials or among the people 
 to favor the gold standard. The Federal Government 
 pays about six millions annually on gold obligations, 
 and while it is compelled to collect over twelve mil- 
 lions in silver to cover this interest account, it has 
 no difficulty in doing so, because of the prosperous 
 condition of the nation's industries. The Government 
 is not only meeting its expenses, but has a surplus. 
 In Mexico the producers of wealth have not encount- 
 ered the disastrous fall in prices which has afflicted all 
 the gold-standard countries since 18T3. While ex- 
 change has fluctuated, the fluctuation has only affected 
 foreign trade, and that fluctuation, while of small im- 
 portance when compared with the great advantage of 
 maintaining the level of prices, will entirely disap- 
 pear when the parity between gold and silver is re- 
 stored. 
 
 I found quite a number of ^^lexicans who went 
 so far as to express the hope that the United States 
 would continue the gold standard because of the ad- 
 vantage which ^lexican manufacturers find in a high 
 rate of exchange, but the majority of the people with 
 whom I talked desire the restoration of bimetallism in 
 the United States in order that stability in exchange 
 may be added to stability in prices. 
 
 The United States has had the gold standard for 
 twenty-three years, and the system has proved so un- 
 satisfacton.- that at the last election six million and a 
 half of voters expressed a desire for independent bi- 
 metallism, while seven millions cast their votes for 
 candidates pledged to international bimetallism. The
 
 MEXICO— FIRST VISIT 181 
 
 gold standard has been so disastrous that even a Re- 
 publican Administration is asking foreign nations to 
 help us to get rid of it. The people of ^Mexico could 
 adopt the gold standard if they desired to do so, and 
 yet no considerable number of them wish to abandon 
 silver. 
 
 Tenth — That Mexico is more prosperous today 
 than every before. Her industries are increasing in 
 number and importance. Near Orizaba is a cotton 
 mill of immense proportions. The company operates 
 eighteen thousand looms and seventy thousand spin- 
 dles. The plant has earned more than 16 per 
 cent, a 3'ear on the capital stock during the last five 
 years, has been enlarged at the rate of more than 10 
 per cent, per annum during that time, and the com- 
 pany is preparing to add five hundred looms and 
 twelve thousand spindles this year. At San Luis 
 Potosi I found a cotton factory owned by an Ameri- 
 can. The proprietor told me that he had been enlarg- 
 ing his plant and found the business profitable. I 
 went through a new cotton factory at Monterey and 
 learned of a large mill now under construction at 
 Guadalajara. There are a number of cotton mills also 
 in the neighl^nrhood of Pueblo. 
 
 The manufacture of woollen goods, the manufac- 
 ture of hats, the mamnacture of boots and shoes and 
 the brewing of beer are all growing industries. The 
 silk industry is in its infancy, but a Frenchman has 
 planted over three million mulberrj^ trees in the State 
 of Guanajuato within the last few years and is much 
 encouraged over the success thus far achieved. I vis-
 
 188 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 ited a silk factory which he had recently opened in 
 the suburbs of the City of Mexico. 
 
 The premium on gold has acted as a wall to keep 
 out foreign competition and at the same time has giv- 
 en a substantial bounty upon exports. While I was 
 in Mexico the gold premium varied from $1.05 to 
 $1.15, and I shall therefore take $1.10 as an average. 
 In 1873 the Mexican dollar commanded a premium of 
 about three cents over our gold dollar. At that time 
 a yard of cloth worth a dollar in the United States or 
 Europe, when imported by Mexico, would be worth 
 about 97 cents in Mexican money, plus transportation 
 and tariff. Now, with gold at a premium of $1.10, a 
 yard of cloth worth a dollar in the United States or 
 Europe is worth $2.10 in Mexican money, plus trans- 
 portation and tariff. Where the gold price has fallen 
 one half, the Mexican price is about the same that it 
 was in 1873. 
 
 On the other hand, those who export from Mexico 
 have a great advantage over competitors living in 
 gold-standard countries. For instance, a coffee raiser 
 in Mexico, because of the rise in exchange, has fared 
 much better than the planter who has cultivated coffee 
 on a goid basis and who has found his income di- 
 minishing- while his debts and fixed charges refused to 
 fall. One of the gold men of my own State has laid 
 aside his political scruples sufficiently to invest in a 
 large tract of land near Tampico, upon which he is 
 planting the coffee berry. He is not the only Ameri- 
 can citizen who is seeking in Mexico the prosperity 
 for which he voted in the United States.
 
 MEXICO— FIRST VISIT 189 
 
 The cotton mills of Mexico now consume more 
 cotton than Mexico produces, but the acreage is in- 
 creasing. If, as some expect, they find it possible to 
 produce upon Mexican soil all the cotton needed by 
 their mills, the Mexicans will become dangerous com- 
 petitors of the gold-standard countries. At present 
 they are handicapped by having to import so large a 
 proportion of their raw material. In reply to the 
 argument that is sometimes made, namely, that we 
 can protect our manufacturers by still higher duties, I 
 contend that we can only do so by increasing the dis- 
 advantage under which American farmers now labor. 
 The lot of our farmer is hard enough when the price 
 of what he buys falls in the same proportion as the 
 price of his own product, because even then his taxes, 
 debts and other fixed charges do not fall. If, however, 
 we maintain the price of manufactured goods by a 
 high tariff, the burdens of the farmer will be so in- 
 creased as to make his ultimate bankruptcy certain. 
 
 I might mention in this connection that I found 
 many of our protected manufacturers selling their 
 wares in Mexico in competition with their European 
 rivals. At one store I found lamps and lamp chim- 
 neys made in Missouri, hammers and shovels made 
 in Philadelphia, cutlery made in Massachusetts, also 
 Yale locks ; Disston saws and hinges made in the 
 United States. California wines and canned fruits 
 and Chicago canned meats find a market in Mexico. 
 At Guanajuato is a theatre, recently completed, the 
 structural iron of which came from the United States. 
 At several places I saw electrical apparatus of Ameri-
 
 190 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 an construction. In many instances an additional dis- 
 count is given by American manufacturers upon ex- 
 ported goods. 
 
 Eleventh — That wages are not only higher on an 
 average than ever before, but still rising. Progress or 
 retrogression can be determined only by comparing 
 the present with the past. The condition of the lab- 
 oring classes in Mexico can be improved, but it is a 
 fact that they are in better condition than they were 
 in 1873, when the Mexican dollar was worth more than 
 our gold dollar, and I believe that their condition is 
 much better today than it would have been if Mexico 
 had adopted the gold standard when the United 
 States did. It is not fair to compare the wages in 
 one country with the wages in another country with- 
 out first making allowance for differences in effic- 
 iency, differences in climatic conditions, differences in 
 habits, &c. 
 
 Even within the boundaries of our own country 
 there are differences too great to be ignored. During 
 President Harrison's Administration Secretary Rusk 
 issued a document entitled, "Wages of Farm Labor in 
 the United States" (Report No. 4, year 1893). Page 
 16 of this report contains a table showing that in 1893 
 the average wages for farm labor (without board) 
 was $12.50 per month in South Carolina, $13.30 in 
 North Carolina, $13.50 in Georgia and $13.75 in 
 Alabama, while in California the wages paid were 
 $36.50 and in the State of Washington $37.50, the 
 average for all the states for that year being $18.60. 
 For farm labor, with board, the wages varied from 
 $8.40 to $25 and averaged $12.54.
 
 MEXICO— FIRST VISIT 191 
 
 The report says that white farm labor in the 
 United States received $282 per annum ; that the same 
 labor received about $150 in Great Britain and $90 in 
 Germany. I refer to this report beause it was 
 issued by Republican authority and shows that under 
 the operation of the same financial system and the 
 same tariff system farm labor received three times as 
 much in one part of the Union as it did in another 
 part. When it is remembered that the wages paid 
 in each state were ascertained by averages, it will be 
 seen that the differencebetweenthe best-paid labor and 
 the poorest-paid labor is still greater. The report also 
 shows that in the United States Caucasian farm labor 
 receives more than three times as much as the same 
 labor receives in Germany, although both countries 
 have a gold standard and a protetive tariff. Between 
 1816 and 1834 England had a gold standard and the 
 United States had a double standard, with silver as the 
 money in common use, and yet laboring men were bet- 
 ter off here than in England. Turkey is one of the 
 gold-standard nations, and Japan, until recently, 
 coined silver at a ratio almost identical with ours, and 
 yet the progress of Japan was so great that Mr. 
 Cleveland commented upon it in a message during his 
 second term. The gold-standard advocate who would 
 consider it unfair to compare Japan and Turkey does 
 not hesitate to blame silver for the low wages of the 
 peons of Mexico. 
 
 In all the leading cities of Mexico can be found 
 people from the United States, England, Germany and 
 France — all drawn from gold-standard countries by
 
 192 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 the advantages offered in Mexico. Few have gone 
 from the United States to Canada, where they have 
 the gold standard and speak the English language, but 
 in Mexico, where an American citizen is compelled to 
 learn an entirely new language, there are already sev- 
 eral American colonies, and the number is constantly 
 increasing. Some are in business for themselves, some 
 working for wages, and they stay there, although they 
 are at liberty to return whenever they see an oppor- 
 tunity to better their condition in the United States. 
 
 Twelfth — Real estate is rising in Mexico. Public 
 and private improvements are in progress. Guadalajara 
 one of the largest cities of the republic and surpassed 
 by none in beauty, has recently decided to put in a 
 complete system of sewerage and water-works. The 
 work of constructing the sewers was let to a New 
 Jersey contractor last month. Monterey has recently 
 laid considerable brick pavement and the capital has 
 nearly completed a sewerage tunnel through a moun- 
 tain range. Electricity is taking the place of the old- 
 time street lantern, the shoe is gradually supplanting 
 the sandal and the coat is winning against the serape. 
 
 It would be unfair to give to Mexico's financial 
 policy credit for all the progress which the country has 
 made in the last twenty-five years. Her Government 
 and her Government officials have contributed much to 
 her development by giving security to life, protection 
 to property and stimulus to education. If the advo- 
 cates of the gold standard insist that her financial sys- 
 tem has been a hindrance and that she has gone for- 
 ward not because of it but in spite of it, I reply that
 
 MEXICO— FIRST VISIT 199 
 
 my observation, as well as my reason, leads me to be- 
 lieve that the use of silver has been of material advan- 
 tage to Mexico, and I am more than ever convinced 
 that the best interests of our own people demand the 
 immediate restoration of the free and unlimited coin- 
 age of gold and silver at the present legal ratio of 16 
 to 1 without waiting for the aid or consent of any other 
 nation. 
 
 Mexico is not strong enough to maintain the par- 
 ity between the metals, but the people of the United 
 States are. Mexico has by the use of silver avoided 
 the fall in prices, but has suffered to a certain extent 
 from the fluctuations in exchange. By opening our 
 mints to the free coinage of silver we too shall escape 
 from falling prices, and, by maintaining the parity, we 
 shall, in addition, avoid fluctuation in exchange.
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO. 
 Second Visit. 
 
 Have you ever visited the land of the Aztecs? If 
 not you have a treat in store for you. And even those 
 who have been there before find themselves unable to 
 resist the temptation to return occasionally to enjoy 
 again the fascinating beauty of the scenery and to 
 note the progress which the young republic to the 
 south of us is making. 
 
 Having spent the holidays in Mexico I feel that 
 the reader will pardon me for devoting a few columns 
 to the subject — even more, he will expect it. Nowhere 
 in the world can the tourist find so much variety in so 
 limited a territory, and no country ofifers to the Ameri- 
 can so much of interest and of education at so small 
 an expense. The Aztec ruins alone would repay a 
 visit. They furnish conclusive proof of a civilization 
 far in advance of that reached by the Indians farther 
 north. Relics are being dug up constantly. We 
 brought back to confound the republicans an Aztec 
 god with gold and silver ornaments, showing that 
 both metals were appreciated by the native Americans 
 before the republican party was organized. There is 
 about sixteen times as much silver as gold on the 
 idol. While in the hot country near Tierra Blancha 
 we dug into a mound and found numerous pieces of 
 crockery and parts of figures. 
 
 194
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO 195 
 
 The Santa Fe railroad makes connections at Mil- 
 ano, Tex., with the International, and that road pass- 
 ing through Austin and San Antonio connects with 
 the Mexican National at Laredo. The Mexican Na? 
 tional is the main line to Monterey, the most Ameri- 
 can of the Mexican cities, situated only 168 miles from 
 the Rio Grande. Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila, one 
 of the richest of the mining states, San Luis Potosi, 
 one of the largest cities of the republic, Toluca, the 
 progressive capital of the state of Mexico — the state 
 out of which the federal district was carved — these are 
 the main cities on this line between Monterey and the 
 City of Mexico. The trip from the border to the 
 capital traverses every variety of country from plain 
 to valley and mountain. Among the principal large 
 cities near the City of Mexico may be named Guadala- 
 jara, in the west central portion, one of the prettiest 
 cities to be found anywhere; Aguas Callietes, named 
 for the hot springs there; Guanajuato, which is noted 
 for having one of the oldest silver mines, one of the 
 handsomest theatres and the largest collection of 
 mummies to be found on the continent, and Cuerna- 
 vaca, just south of the City of Mexico, always of in- 
 terest to tourists because of the private residence of 
 Cortez, and now becoming famous as a health resort. 
 Popocatapetl, one of the tallest peaks on this hemi- 
 sphere, is seen to advantage from the Cuernavaca 
 road. 
 
 The ride from the City of Mexico to Vera Cruz 
 over the Mexican railroad, begins at an elevation of 
 7,348 feet. The ride up to Esperanza, 700 feet above.
 
 196 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 is through the valley of Mexico, where the main crops 
 are wheat and corn. From the car window one can 
 draw a contrast between the old methods and the 
 new, for some still use horses to tramp out the 
 wheat, while a few employ the American-made thrash- 
 ing machine. Here, too, the old plow closely resem- 
 bling the crooked stick and drawn by oxen is fight- 
 ing against the innovation of the modern plow. 
 
 In this great valley the maguey plant is also a 
 conspicuous feature. The various fields are often sep- 
 arated by rows of the maguey, and where the fields 
 are small the picture presented is an exceedinly at- 
 tractive one. The maguey furnishes a variety of 
 products — mescal, a kind of alcoholic drink used in 
 the lower altitudes, is made from the roots of this 
 plant, while pulque, the life-blood of the plant, the 
 great drink of the plateau, is drawn from it at its ma- 
 turity. Pulque looks like milk when dilulted with 
 water, and, when fresh, smells like yeast. It is car- 
 ried in pig skins, and carloads of it find their way into 
 the City of Mexico every morning. It will produce a 
 genuine case of intoxication, and the habit when once 
 formed is as hard to cure as the whisky habit. On New 
 Year's day we visited a hacienda in the suburbs of the 
 City of Mexico owned by General John B . Frisby, an 
 American, who went to Mexico several years ago and 
 who is now identified with many large business enter- 
 prises. Our atttention was called to a dog there 
 which had acquired a taste for pulque. He goes to 
 the field twice a day and finds some maguey plant 
 from which pulque is being extracted (the period of
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO 197 
 
 extraction covers several weeks) and gets his dram, 
 and then he staggers back with red eyes and sleeps off 
 the effect of the liquor. He has ceased to be of value 
 as a shepherd dog, but he is still useful as a horrible 
 example. 
 
 A part of the Frisby ranch has been converted 
 into a dairy very successfully conducted by a man 
 from Missouri who has imported into the country a 
 large number of Jersey, Holstein and Brown Swiss 
 cows. The dairy is a model of cleanliness and has 
 proved profitable to its owners. 
 
 But I digress. After leaving Esperanza the des- 
 cent to Vera Cruz on the gulf, 112 miles distant, is 
 begun. During the first seventeen miles of this trip 
 the descent (to Maltrata) is about 2,500 feet and the 
 scenery beautiful beyond description. From Maltrata 
 to Orizaba the distance is only thirteen miles, but the 
 descent is something over 1,500 feet. From Orizaba 
 the descent is a little more gradual, the fall of 1,300 
 feet being distributed over sixteen miles. At Cor- 
 dova one sees tropical vegetation in all its luxuriance 
 — oranges, pine-apples, bananas, coffee, all at one time, 
 and in the distance the snow-clad summit of Orizaba 
 which rises nearly 17,370 feet above the level of the 
 ocean. 
 
 From Cordova a new line called the Vera Cruz 
 and Pacific, or as it is sometimes known, the Mason 
 line, is just being completed to the isthmus. A branch 
 from Tierra Blancha to Vera Cruz makes this a trans- 
 continental line, and the improvement of the harbor at 
 Vera Cruz will probably give it a considerable portion 
 of the business across the isthmus. It also opens up
 
 198 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 fertile sugar, rice and grazing lands in southern 
 Mexico. 
 
 West of the village of Tierra Blancha, just across 
 the Amapa river, in the state of Oaxaca, we visited a 
 rubber tree plantation. It was projected by Alfred 
 Bishop Mason, a Chicago business man, but the work 
 of development has fallen to his nephews, Raymond 
 Willis and James Trowbridge, the former a graduate 
 of the Boston Polytechnic and the latter of Yale. 
 These young men began about three years ago the 
 clearing of about four hundred acres of tropical forest, 
 so dense that it was difficult to secure any accurate 
 idea of the lay of the land. They now have about 
 300,000 rubber trees growing, the oldest two and a 
 half years old. It will be four or five years before the 
 plantation begins to yield a return, but there is at this 
 time every promise of success. If the experiment rea- 
 lizes the hopes of the young men they will deserve the 
 reward that they will secure for they will not only 
 make a fortune out of mother earth, but they will 
 show others what can be accomplished in the de- 
 velopment of this industry and thus become public 
 benefactors. This well illustrates the difference be- 
 tween wealth created by the establishment of some 
 new industry and wealth absorbed by trading or spec- 
 ulation. 
 
 For two years Willis and Trowbridge lived in 
 a hut thatched with palm leaves, but last spring they 
 began the erection of a commodious stone house, with 
 wide and airy porches, and to this newly completed 
 residence the former has recently brought his bride, a
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO 199 
 
 Wellesley graduate, to preside over this new center oi 
 American civilization. 
 
 Near Hacienda Yale, as this new plantation ia 
 called, is a low wooded mountain range, where as I 
 was assured by Mr. Julio Tardos, who has a cattle 
 ranch near, parrots, monkeys and even tigers can be 
 found in their native haunts. But this I can only 
 report from hearsay, for I did not have time to hunt 
 .parrots or monkeys and was not disposed to infringe 
 upon the patent of those who find relief from the 
 cares of state in the pursuit of the larger and more 
 ferocious wild animals. 
 
 The history of Mexico reads like a novel. 
 Prescott's description of its conquest by Cortez 
 could hardly be credited but for the confirmation 
 which one finds on every hand. The toilsome 
 march from the seashore to the table-land, the in- 
 trigues with jealous tribes, the hair-breath escapes, 
 the explorations and the advanced Indian civilization 
 found — all these make Prescott's volumes intensely 
 interesting. Senor Romero has brought the history 
 down to date in two volumes issued by Putnam &. Co., 
 of New York, books that ought to be studied by every 
 American. 
 
 Nearly a hundred years ago the people of Mexico, 
 part Spanish and part Indian, took up the fight for 
 independence and, unaided, secured a separate politi- 
 cal existence. This ended Spain's reign of three cen- 
 turies beginning with the Conquest, during which time 
 that mother country had given to Mexico a language 
 and a religion, and had taken from Mexico about >
 
 200 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 everything valuable that could be extracted from soil 
 or people. Following independence came an era oJ 
 frequent revolutions, although they were for the most 
 part accompanied by but little bloodshed. 
 
 Among the political leaders whose careers illus- 
 trate the ups and downs of political ambition, Santa 
 Ana was conspicuous. Sometimes he was in author- 
 ity; sometimes he was fleeing from a successful op- 
 ponent. At one time he lost a limb in battle, and as it 
 was during one of his periods of victory the severed 
 limb was buried with great pomp and ceremony. When 
 he again suffered defeat and his opponent came into 
 possession of the government the burled limb was 
 resurrected, it is said, and despitefully kicked through 
 the streets of the city. (I have sympathized with 
 Santa Ana sometimes when I have been buried by the 
 republicans and then exhumed for purposes of criti- 
 cism.) 
 
 The Mexican war brought the people of the 
 United States and the people of Mexico into sharp 
 antagonism for a little while, but the animosities en- 
 gendered at that time have passed away, and there is 
 now the most cordial feeling between the Mexicans 
 and the Americans. This is partially due to the fact 
 that the United States was largely instrumental in 
 helping to rescue Mexico from European domination 
 when, under the pretense of collecting a debt, Maxi- 
 millian came over from Austria and declared himself 
 emperor. He came while our civil war was in pro- 
 gress, and at a time when our government was not
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO 201 
 
 in position to enforce the Monroe doctrine. As soon, 
 however, as peace was declared at Appomatox oui 
 government began to interest itself again in the pro- 
 tection of American soil, and as a result of its protests 
 the European nations that had encouraged Maximil- 
 lian withdrew from his support and left him to be dealt 
 with by the Mexican people, who executed him as a 
 solemn warning to other ambitious European mon- 
 archs. 
 
 Jaures, who was the Mexican leader at that time, 
 became president, and is regarded as the second great 
 Mexican — Hidalgo, who was the first leader in the 
 war for independence, being considered the first. Hi- 
 dalgo is often called the "Mexican Washington." 
 
 The museum at the City of Mexico exhibits the 
 state carriage of Maximillian, ornamented with silk 
 and gold, and costing, it is said, $60,000. Near by is 
 the very modest carriage of Jaures. The visitor marks 
 the contrast between the splendor of an empire and 
 the simplicity of a republic. Looking at the emperor's 
 carriage and remembering his tragic end one recalls 
 the lines of Gray's Elegy — 
 
 "The paths of glory lead but to the grave," 
 
 Between the Mexican war with the United States 
 and the usurpation of Maximillian came the contest 
 between the clergy and the laity in which the latter 
 were successful and separated church and state so 
 completely that while practically all of the people are 
 members of one church the work of the church and 
 the work of the state are not allowed to conflict. The 
 experience of Mexico shows that if you will implant
 
 202 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 in people the idea of self-government and teach them 
 the inalienable rights of the individual they will apply 
 that doctrine to all questions, and without being less 
 devoted to their religion will obey the injunction, 
 "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and 
 unto God the things that are God's." 
 
 The third great man produced by the Mexican 
 republic is the present president. With the exception 
 of one term he has been president since 1876, during 
 which time he has shown wonderful ability, and it is 
 doubtful if there is in the world today a chief execu- 
 tive of greater capacity or devotion to his people. 
 Certainly no people have made greater relative pro- 
 gress than the Mexican people have made under the 
 administration of Porfirio Diaz. Education has been 
 promoted, law and order established, agriculture de- 
 veloped, commerce stimulated, and nearly every sec- 
 tion of the country connected by railroad with the 
 capital. While there are many able and strong men 
 upon whom the mantle of president might worthily 
 fall, he has been so remarkably successful and has such 
 a hold upon all classes of people that he will doubtless 
 remain at the head of the government as long as he 
 lives — the people would hardly consent to his with- 
 drawal even if he desired to lay down the responsi- 
 bilities of the position. 
 
 I am sometimes asked whether I would advise 
 people to invest in Mexico. The conditions that gov- 
 ern an investment are so dependent upon circum- 
 stances that no general advice can be given. In a 
 report recently made to the American government,
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO 203 
 
 Consul General Barlow of the City of Mexico gave 
 detailed statistics to show that up to the present time 
 American money to the amount of about $511,000,000 
 has been invested in the republic of Mexico. His re- 
 port gives the amount invested in each town and the 
 names of American firms doing business in Mexico. 
 This very valuable report when published can prob- 
 ably be secured from members of congress if not by 
 direct application to the state department. 
 
 The investments may be divided, generally, into 
 five classes : railroad investments, mining investments, 
 agricultural investments, manufacturing investments, 
 and investments in city realty. In addition to these 
 there have been investments in municipal lighting and 
 water plants and there has been considerable made by 
 Americans in contracting for the construction of rail- 
 roads and the erection of public buildings. 
 
 The Mexican railroads employ Amerians for con- 
 ductors and engineers almost to the exclusion of the 
 natives. The reason given me by one of the conduc- 
 tors was that there is not so large a middle class to 
 draw from there as in the United States. In Mexico 
 the peons are not yet competent to fill these positions 
 and the well-to-do Mexicans prefer the professions. 
 With the increase in education, however, it is probable 
 that the Americans will not long be able to monopolize 
 this branch of the service. 
 
 Quite a number of Americans are interested in 
 gold, silver and copper mines in Mexico, that country 
 coming second as a producer of silver and having an
 
 304 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 increased output (now about $10,000,000 annually) of 
 gold. 
 
 A large amount of American money has been in- 
 vested in agricultural lands, coffee, sugar and grazing 
 lands having the preference. The grazmg lands are 
 to be found both in the mountains, where the condi- 
 tions are similar to those that prevail on the slopes of 
 the Rockies, or in the lowlands, where there is a pro- 
 lific growth of nutritious grass. 
 
 The coffee lands are on the slopes of the moun- 
 tains where the warm air from the lowlands meets the 
 cooler air from the plateau and where there is an 
 abundant rainfall. The sugar lands lie as a rule a 
 little lower than the coffee lands. There is some cot- 
 ton in Mexico, but not a great deal as compared with 
 states like Texas. 
 
 Mr. J. A. Roberston of Monterey is one of the 
 enterprising Americans who has had experience in the 
 development of agricultural lands, besides being con- 
 nected with brick-making and other manufacturing 
 enterprises. 
 
 Judge Y. Sepulvida, formerly of California, has 
 shown that an American can succeed there in the law, 
 as has also Mr. Will Crittenden, formerly of Missouri. 
 
 There has been a large and constant growth in 
 the manufacturing industry of Mexico, especially in 
 the manufacture of cotton. There are some very large 
 plants, one of which is located at Orizaba and others 
 are scattered throughout the country, 
 
 Toluca, the capital of the state of Mexico, is mak- 
 ing rapid progress in the development of manufactures
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO 205 
 
 in metal, fabrics and cereals. Governor Villada, the 
 chief executive of this state, is one of the ablest, most 
 energetic and generous of the public men of Mexico, 
 and has had much to do with stimulating the progress 
 so apparent in his state. He prepared an exhibit to be 
 shown at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and al- 
 ready has a state exposition at Toluca which is well 
 worth visiting. We spent a day there, and were sur- 
 prised at the diversity of industry and at the superior 
 workmanship manifested. Besides the industries men- 
 tioned they have fine pottery plants and paper mills, 
 one of the mills making an excellent quality of writing 
 paper from the leaves of the maguey plant. Here, as 
 elsewhere in Mexico, there is an abundance of wood 
 carving, drawn work and feather work. 
 
 Considerable money has been made by Americans 
 by subdividing and platting acre property near the 
 growing cities. There are many opportunities in 
 Mexico for the man who goes there with capital and 
 with knowledge of an industry to bring out the latent 
 possibilities of soil and climate. There are also op- 
 portunities for those who go as skilled laborers to 
 oversee industries in the process of development, 
 although these opportunities lessen with the increase 
 of education among the Mexicans, but in going one 
 must consider the change of climate. Emigration is 
 seldom from zone to zone, and it is not likely that any 
 large number of Americans will care to make a per- 
 manent residence in what is known as the hot country, 
 that is, the lowlands in the torrid zone. On the plateau
 
 206 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 the altitude (about 7,000 feet) is such that our people 
 can live there without sufifering inconvenience. It is 
 hardly worth one's while to go there to look for ordi- 
 nary day's work, and if any one is contemplating an 
 investment he ought to visit the country first and 
 acquaint himself with all the circumstances that sur- 
 round the industry in which he is going to invest. The 
 cost of a trip to Mexico is so small compared with an 
 investment of any considerable sum that a person 
 would be foolish to send his money without first look- 
 ing over the ground himself. 
 
 One has no difficulty in traveling in Mexico be- 
 cause he finds English spoken on the railroads and in 
 all the leading hotels and stores. I may add a word 
 of caution. The venders at the depots do not always 
 follow the "one price" plan. The price when the train 
 first stops is sometimes considerably higher than the 
 price of the same article just as the train is leaving. 
 We heard stories of the deceptions occasionally prac- 
 ticed in the preparation of merchandise for the mar- 
 ket. In fact our boy, after having bought a pair of very 
 pretty little birds, was somewhat disturbed by the sug- 
 gestion that birds were sometimes painted for the pur- 
 pose of giving variety of color. Sufficient time has 
 elapsed, however, to show that in this case the liues 
 were put on by nature's brush and made indelible. 
 
 I found that the people of Mexico were discussing 
 the money question. I did not meet a single person 
 in the republic who declared himself in favor of the 
 gold standard, but some were alarmed at the possibility 
 of its adoption. Statements eminating from the United
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO 207 
 
 States financiers have been quoted in Mexican papers 
 and some of the local financiers have adopted the pol- 
 icy that has everywhere been pursued by those who 
 sought to make a change in the financial system 
 against the interests of the people. These financiers, 
 while declaring themselves averse to the gold stand- 
 ard, were suggesting the fixing of a new ratio between 
 gold and silver with the idea of preventing the fluctu- 
 ation of exchange. 
 
 All domestic business is transacted with silver, 
 and when the people buy home products the question 
 of exchange does not enter in, but the importers are 
 embarrassed by a fall in silver. If they agree to sell 
 to retailers at a certain price in silver their profit may 
 be entirely extinguished by a rise in exchange. This 
 has a tendency, however, to make them buy domestic- 
 made goods, and the domestic manufacturers have not 
 been heard to complain. The better informed of the 
 Mexicans understand that a change in the ratio is only 
 an indirect means of securing a step toward the gold 
 standard, for the adoption of a new ratio — 32 to 1 hav- 
 ing been suggested by one local financier — would not 
 prevent the fluctuation in exchange unless the govern- 
 ment should undertake to exchange gold and silver 
 coins at that ratio. If the new ratio was established 
 and the government assumed no responsibility for the 
 maintenance of that ratio in the market, the fluctuation 
 would go on every day just as now, with this addi- 
 tional disadvantage that the change, as soon as it was 
 recognized to be a blow at silver, would probably still 
 further depress the price of that metal. If, on the
 
 308 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 other hand, the government undertook to maintain the 
 parity by exchanging gold for silver at that ratio it 
 would have to bear the losses now borne by the import 
 trade, but it would not have the same means of pro- 
 tecting itself that the importer has. The importer can 
 protect himself by buying at home, but the govern- 
 ment could only protect itself by collecting taxes 
 enough to cover the loss. The danger about this ex- 
 periment is that the financiers, having secured a new 
 ratio would, if it proved unsatisfactory, as it certainly 
 would, insist that having taken that step a further step 
 would have to be taken. If the ratio was changed and 
 the government did not make the metals interchange- 
 able at that ratio the next step would be a demand that 
 the government assume this responsibility, and if the 
 government did assume it the expense of it would be 
 used as an argument in favor of abandoning silver 
 entirely. 
 
 Silver is Mexico's largest export, and her public 
 men understand that legislation against it would not 
 only reduce the export price and thus lessen 
 the ability of Mexico to pay her debts abroad, but if it 
 finally led to the discarding of a money which she pro- 
 duces herself, would compel her to mortgage herself 
 to foreign financiers to secure the money necessary to 
 do the business of the country. 
 
 Mexico's leaders, from the president and members 
 of his cabinet down to the members of congress, gov- 
 ernors and lesser officials, are much better informed 
 than the outside world gives them credit for being, and 
 they know that Mexico, a great silver producing coun-
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO 209 
 
 try, could not discriminate against silver and join in 
 the scramble for gold without immediately increasing 
 the gap between gold and silver, a sufficient evil, and 
 without ultimately aiding to drive other silver using 
 nations to the yellow metal. It is likely, therefore, 
 that Mexico will adhere to silver in spite of the incon- 
 venience caused by a fluctuation in exchange rather 
 than invite the greater perils that would come from an 
 adoption of the gold standard. 
 
 It is evident from what is going on in the United 
 States and in the great money centers that the finan- 
 ciers are determined to take from the people any ad- 
 vantage that might come from an increased production 
 of gold. Schemes are being constantly devised for in- 
 creasing the demand for gold, and the strain upon it. 
 If the money-changers have their way the demand will 
 not only be made equal to the supply, but enough 
 greater than the supply to insure an era of falling 
 prices, a condition beneficial only to the owners of 
 money and fixed investments. 
 
 The quantitative theory of money is now gener- 
 ally admitted. It is a well recognized fact that a 
 doubling of the population without any increase in the 
 supply of wheat would raise the price of wheat, and it 
 is also understood that a doubling of the gold using 
 population without an increase in the supply of gold 
 would raise the purchasing power of each ounce of 
 gold. The director of the mint is already discouraging 
 the production of gold, and the financiers are doing 
 what they can to increase the demand for it. These 
 efforts cannot be successful without serious injury to
 
 310 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 the producing classes of the world. The people in 
 gold-using countries ought to be grateful to Mexico 
 for standing steadfast in her determination to keep 
 silver a part of the currency of the world, for, to the 
 extent that silver is used, the strain upon gold is 
 lessened. 
 
 In conclusion I may add that Mexico furnishes a 
 complete answer to the arguments of imperialists. In 
 the first place, those who say that we cannot haul 
 down the flag when once it has been raised will find 
 that our flag once floated over Chepultepec, the rocky 
 hill that rises abruptly from the plain of Mexico and 
 which was for ages the citidel of the Montezumas. 
 liWhen the treaty of peace was signed our flag was 
 hauled down and brought back more than 800 miles to 
 the Rio Grande. This not only proves that the flag 
 can be hauled down, but subsequent history shows 
 that it was better for the flag of the Mexican republic 
 to float over the Mexican people than that the char- 
 acter of our government should have been changed in 
 order to make our flag wave over a subject race. Her 
 officials are of the same race and blood as her citizens, 
 and they are knit together by bonds of sympathy that 
 are impossible when a foreign master rules a con- 
 quered people. 
 
 Sometimes the imperialist attempts to appeal to a 
 patriotic sentiment and argues that our flag must float 
 over the Philippines because Americans lie buried 
 there. If he will visit Mexico he will find in the sub- 
 urbs of the capital an American graveyard where the 
 stars and stripes are raised at sunrise and lowered at
 
 OUR SISTER REPUBLIC— MEXICO 211 
 
 sunset. In this ground, owned by the United States, 
 the soldiers of the Mexican war, known and unknown, 
 are buried and an American citizen, an appointee of 
 our government, sees that their graves are kept green. 
 Here on Decoration Day flowers are brought, and the 
 sleep of these soldiers is none the less sweet because 
 their companions in arms and their country's officials 
 preferred to observe the principles of the Declaration 
 of Independence rather than convert a republic into 
 an empire. 
 
 Again, the imperialist will find in Mexico more 
 progress made in the last thirty years than he can find 
 in India during the hundred and fifty years of English 
 rule. And in Mexico the imperialist will find more 
 great men developed by the inspiring doctrines of civil 
 liberty and inalienable rights than England has ever 
 sent to India to conduct her colonial government. 
 
 All things considered, Mexico's exptrience is il- 
 lustrative of the growth of democratic principles and 
 can be studied with profit by Americans. The friend- 
 ship existing today between the United States and 
 Mexico is based upon an identity of interests and upon 
 a growing identity of ideas. If any conflict arises be- 
 tween the United States and European countries in 
 respect to the enforcement of the Monroe doctrine, 
 Mexico is likely to be our staunchest and most valu- 
 able ally.
 
 Value of an Ideal 
 
 A L«€t<are Dftliversd a Number of Times at Colleges, 
 Chautauquas and In Lecture Courses.
 
 THE VALUE OF AN IDEAL. 
 
 What is the value of an ideal? Have you ever 
 attempted to estimate its worth? Have you ever tried 
 to measure its value in dollars and cents? If you would 
 know the pecuniary value of an ideal, go into the home 
 of some man of great wealth who has an only son ; 
 go into that home when the son has gone downward 
 in a path of dissipation until the father no longer 
 hopes for his reform, and then ask the father what an 
 ideal would have been worth that would have made 
 a man out of his son instead of a wreck. He will tell 
 you that all the money that he has or could have, he 
 would gladly give for an ideal of life that would turn 
 his boy's steps upward instead of downward. 
 
 An ideal is above price. It means the difference 
 between success and failure—the difference between a 
 noble life and a disgraceful career, and it sometimes 
 means the difference between life and death. Have 
 you noticed the increasing number of suicides? I speak 
 not of those sad cases in which the reason dethroned 
 leaves the hand no guide, but rather of those cases, 
 increasing in number, where the person who takes his 
 life finds nothing worth living for. When I read of 
 one of these cases I ask myself whether it is not 
 caused by a false ideal of life. If one measures life 
 by what others do for him he is apt to be disappointed, 
 for people are not likely to do as much for him as he 
 
 215
 
 216 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 expects. One of the most difficult things in life is 
 to maintain the parity between one's opinion of his 
 own merits and the opinion that others have of him 
 If, I repeat, a man measures life by what others do 
 for him, he is apt to be disappointed, but if he meas- 
 ures life by what he does for others, there is no time 
 for despair. If he measures life by its accumulations, 
 these usually fall short of his expectations, but if he 
 measures life by the contribution which he makes to 
 the sum of human happiness, his only disappoint- 
 ment is in not finding time to do all that his heart 
 prompts him to do. Whether he spends his time try- 
 ing to absorb from the world, only to have the bur- 
 den of life grow daily heavier, or spends his time in 
 an effort to accomplish something of real value to the 
 race, depends upon his ideal. 
 
 The ideal must be far enough above us to keep us 
 looking up toward it all the time, and it must be far 
 enough in advance of us to keep us struggling toward 
 it to the end of life. It is a very poor ideal that one 
 ever fully realizes, and it is a great misfortune for 
 one to overtake his ideal, for when he does his prog- 
 ress stops. I was once made an honorary member 
 of a class and asked to suggest a class motto. I sug- 
 gested "Ever-Green" and some of the class did not 
 like it. They did not like to admit that they ever had 
 been green, not to speak of always being green. But 
 it is a good class motto because the period of green- 
 ness is the period of growth. When we cease to be 
 green and are entirely ripe we are ready for decay. I 
 like to think of life as a continual progress toward
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 217 
 
 higher and better things — as a continual unfolding. 
 There is no better description of a really noble life 
 than that given in Holy Writ where the wise man 
 speaks of the path of the just as "like the shining light 
 that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 
 
 The ideal is permanent; it does not change. 
 Therefore it is so important that the ideal shall be a 
 worthy one. I speak as a parent to parents, and 
 teachers will endorse what I say, when I declare that 
 one of the most important things in dealing with the 
 young is to get the person to take firm hold of a 
 high ideal. Give one food and he will hunger again ; 
 give him clothing and his clothing will wear out, but 
 give him a high ideal and that ideal will be with him 
 through every waking hour, lifting him to a higher 
 plane in life and giving him a broader conception of 
 his relations to his fellows. Plans may change ; cir- 
 cumstances will change plans. Each one of us can 
 testify to this. Even ambitions change, for circum- 
 stances will change ambitions. If you will pardon 
 a reference to my own case, I have had three ambi- 
 tions, — two so far back that I can scarcely remember 
 them, and one so recent that I can hardly forget it. 
 My first ambition was to be a Baptist preacher. When 
 I was a small boy if any body asked me what I in- 
 tended to be, I always replied "A Baptist preacher;" 
 but my father took me one evening to see an immer- 
 sion and upon reaching home I asked him if it would 
 be necessary to go down into that pool of water in 
 order to be a Baptist preacher. He replied that it 
 would, and it is a tradition in our family that I never
 
 218 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 afterwards would say that I was going to be a Baptist 
 preacher. 
 
 My second ambition was to be a farmer and raise 
 pumpkins, and there are doubtla^s a great many peo- 
 ple who are glad that I naw have a chance to realize 
 my second ambition without having my agricultural 
 pursuits interrupted by official cares. 
 
 My third ambition was to be a lawyer. When I 
 was a barefoot boy I used to go to the court house 
 and sitting upon the steps leading up to the bench up- 
 on which my father then sat I listened to the trial of 
 cases and looked forward to the time when I would be 
 practicing at the bar. That ambition guided me 
 through my boyhood days and my college days. I 
 studied law, was admitted to the bar, practiced for 
 a while in Illinois and then located in Nebraska. In 
 removing from Illinois to Nebraska I was influenced 
 solely by professional reasons. I need not give you 
 any further assurance that I did not move to Ne- 
 braska for political reasons than to say that at the 
 time of my location in Lincoln, Nebraska was re- 
 publican, the congressional district was republican, 
 the county was republican, the city was republican, 
 the ward was republican, and the voting precinct was 
 republican—and to tell the truth about it, there has not 
 been as much change in that respect as there ought to 
 have been considering the intelligence of the people 
 among whom I have been living. 
 
 I entered politics by accident and remained there 
 by design. I was nominated for Congress in 1890 
 because it was not though^- possible for a demo-
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 219 
 
 crat to be elected. I was young and new In the 
 state. If it had been a democratic district the honor 
 would have gone to some one older, of longer resi- 
 dence and more deserving. A republican paper said 
 next morning after the convention that a confidence 
 game had been played upon a young man from Illi- 
 nois and that he had been offered as a sacrifice upon 
 the party altar because he had not been in the 
 state long enough to know the political complexion 
 of the district. My location in Nebraska was due 
 to my acquaintance with a man whom I learned to 
 know in college and this acquaintance became more 
 intimate because of a joke which I played upon him 
 when we were students. Tracing it back step by 
 step, I said one evening in Baltimore that I was elect- 
 ed to congress as a result of a joke that I played upon 
 a friend in college. The gentleman who followed 
 me said that that was nothing, that he had known 
 men to go to congress as a result of a joke they had 
 played upon an entire community. 
 
 My term in congress brought me into contact 
 with the great political and economic problems now 
 demanding solution and I have never since that time 
 been willing to withdraw myself from their study 
 and discussion, and I offer no apology at this time 
 for being interested in the science of government. It 
 is a noble science, and one to which the citizen must 
 give his attention. I have no patience with those 
 who feel that they are too good to take part in poli- 
 tics. When I find a person who thinks that he is 
 too good to take part in politics, I find one who is
 
 220 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 not quite good enough to deserve the blessings of a 
 free government. Parents sometimes warn their 
 sons to keep out of politics; mothers sometimes urge 
 their sons to avoid politics lest they become contam- 
 inated by it. This ought not to be. It used to be the 
 boast of the Roman matron that she could rear strong 
 and courageous sons for the battle-field. In this age 
 when the victories of peace are no less renowned than 
 the victories of war, and in this country where every 
 year brings a conflict, it ought to be the boast of 
 American mothers that they can rear strong and cour- 
 ageous sons who can enter politics without contamin- 
 ation and purify politics rather than be corrupted by 
 politics. 
 
 But while my plans and ambitious have been 
 changed by circumstances, I trust that my ideals of 
 citizenship have not changed, and that I may be per- 
 mitted to share with you an ideal that will place 
 above the holding of any office, however great, the 
 purpose to do what I can to make this country so 
 good that to be a private citizen in the United States 
 will be greater than to be a king in any other na- 
 tion. 
 
 The ideal dominates the life, determines the char- 
 acter and fixes a man's place among his fellows. I 
 shall mention some instances that have come under 
 my own observation and as I speak of them I am 
 sure you will recall instances within your knowledge 
 where the ideal has in an open and obvious way con- 
 trolled the life. I have known laboring men who, 
 working for wages, have been able to support them-
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 221 
 
 selves, acquire a library and become acquainted witli 
 the philosophers, orators and historians of the world, 
 and many of them have laid aside enough to gratify 
 their ambition for a college course. What enables 
 them to resist temptation dud press forward to the 
 consummation Qf a high purpose? It is their ideal ol 
 life. As 1 have gone through the country I have 
 found here and there young men — sometimes the sons 
 of farmers, sometimes the sons of mechanics, some- 
 times the sons of merchants, sometimes the sons oi 
 professional men — young men who have one charac- 
 teristic in common, namely, that they have been pre- 
 paring for service. They have learned that service is 
 the measure of greatness, and though they have not 
 always known just what line of work they were to 
 follow, they have been preparing themselves for ser- 
 vice, and they will be ready when the opportunity 
 comes. 
 
 I know a young man who came to this country 
 when he was eighteen years of age; he came to study 
 our institutions and learn of our form of govern- 
 ment, and now he has returned with a determination 
 to be helpful to his people. I watched him for five 
 years, and I never knew a man who more patiently or 
 perseveringly pursued a high ideal. You might have 
 offered him all the money in the treasury to have be- 
 come a citizen of the United States, but it would 
 have been no temptation to him. He would have told 
 you that he had a higher ideal than to stand guard 
 over a chest of money. His desire was to be useful to 
 his country, and I have no doubt that he will be.
 
 222 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 I was passing through Chicago some months ago 
 and having a few hours to spare between trains, went 
 out to the Hull House, that splendid institution pre- 
 sided over by Jane Addams. I was surprised to learn 
 of the magnitude of its work. I learned that more 
 than five thousand names were enrolled upon the 
 books of the association ; that mothers left their babes 
 there when they went out to work, that little chil- 
 dren received kindergarten instruction there, that 
 young women found a home there and young men a 
 place where they could meet and coni.nune free from 
 the temptations of city life. More than twenty young 
 men and young women give their entire time to the 
 work of this association without compensation. Simi- 
 lar institutions will be found in nearly all of the larger 
 cities and in many of the smaller ones, and in these in- 
 stitutions young men and young women, many of 
 them college graduates, give a part or all of their 
 time to gratuitous work. Why? Because somehow 
 or somewhere they have taken hold of an ideal of 
 life that lifts them above the sordid selfishness that 
 surrounds them and makes them find a delight in 
 bringing life and light and hope into homes that are 
 dark. The same can be said of the thousands who 
 labor in the institutions of charity, mercy and benevo- 
 lence. 
 
 A few months ago it was my good fortune to 
 spend a day in the country home of the peasant phil- 
 osopher of Russia. You know something of the his- 
 tory of Tolstoy, how he was born in the ranks of 
 the nobility and how with such a birth he enjoyed
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL z-^a 
 
 every possible social distinction. At an early age 
 he became a writer of fiction and his books have given 
 him a fixed place among the novelists of the century. 
 *'He sounded all the depths and shoals of honor" in 
 so far as honor could be derived from society or from 
 literature, and yet at the age of forty-eight life seemed 
 so vain and empty to him that he would fain have 
 terminated his existence. They showed me a ring 
 in the ceiling of a room in his house from which he 
 had planned to hang himself. And what deterred 
 him? A change came in his ideals. He was born 
 again, he became a new creature, and for more than 
 twenty-eight years, clad in the garb of a peasant and 
 living the simple life of a peasant, he has been preach- 
 ing unto all the world a philosophy that rests upon 
 the doctrine "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
 all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself." There is 
 scarcely a civilized community in all the world where 
 the name of Tolstoy is not known and where his in- 
 fluence has not been felt. He has made such an im- 
 pression upon the heart of Russia and the world that 
 while some of his books are refused publication in 
 Russia and denied importation from abroad, while 
 people are prohibited from circulating some of the 
 things that he writes, yet with a million men under 
 arms the government does not lay its hands upon 
 Tolstoy. 
 
 Let me add another illustration of a complete 
 change in the ideal. In college I became acquainted 
 with a student fourteen years my senior, and learned 
 the story of his life. For some years he was a tramp,
 
 224 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 going from place to place without fixed purpose or 
 habitation. One night he went by accident into a place 
 where a revival was in progress, and he was not only 
 converted but he decided to be a minister. 1 watched 
 him as he worked his way through college, domg 
 chores to earn his board and lodging, working on 
 Saturdays in a store, and during the summer months 
 at anything he could find to do. I watched him as 
 he worked his way through theological seminary and 
 then I watched him as he prtacned the Gospel until 
 he died, and I never knew a man more consecrated to 
 a high purpose. The change came in his life as in the 
 twinkling of an eye. Could anything be more mar- 
 velous? 
 
 Some have rejected the Christian religion because 
 they could not understand its mysteries and its mir- 
 acles. I passed through a period of skepticism when 
 I was in college, but I have seen outside of the Bible 
 so many things more marvelous than anything record- 
 ed in Holy Writ that its mysteries no longer disturb 
 me. Is it impossible that a multitude could have 
 been fed with a few loaves and fishes? Every spring 
 when the sun melts the ice and drives away the snow, 
 vegetation springs up and not a few thousand but hun- 
 dreds of millions are fed with the products of the 
 soil. And how many of those who eat are satisfied 
 understand the chemistry of the vegetable? I plant 
 some seed myself in the springtime, — lettuce seed, 
 melon seed, various kinds of seed. The earth grows 
 warm beneath the rays of the sun; the seeds burst 
 forth and send their little roots down into the ground
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 225 
 
 and their tiny leaves up into the air. And, draw- 
 ing their sustenance from the same soil and the same 
 atmosphere, these vegetables finally mature and when 
 I go to gather them I find that they differ in size, in 
 shape, in flavor, in coloring, in everything. But I like 
 them and eat them although I do not understand the 
 mystery of their growth. Did you ever raise a rad- 
 ish? You put a small black seed into the black soil 
 and in a little while you return to the garden and find 
 the full grown radish. The top is green, the body 
 white and almost transparent and the skin a delicate 
 red or pink. What mysterious power reaches out 
 and gathers from the ground the particles which give 
 it form and size and flavor? Whose is the invisible 
 brush that transfer to the root, growing in darkness, 
 the hues of the summer sunset? If we were to refuse 
 to eat anything until we could understand the mys- 
 tery of its creation we would die of starvation — but 
 mystery, it seems, never bothers us in the dining 
 room, it is only in the church that it causes us to 
 hesitate. 
 
 The mystery of life itself has never been revealed 
 to us. Six thousand years of human history, and yet 
 who understands the mystery of his own being? I 
 speak to you from this platform ; we have our thoughts, 
 we have our hopes, we have our fears, and yet we 
 know that in a moment a change may come over any 
 one of us that will convert a living, breathing human 
 being into a mass of lifeless clay. We walk all the 
 way beneath the shadow of death, and yet the splendid 
 civilization which we see about us is the product of
 
 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 men and women who do not understand the mystery 
 of their own lives. 
 
 I have been reading a book recently on materialism 
 and I have been interested in the attempt of the author 
 to drive God out of the universe. He searches for 
 Him with a microscope, and because he cannot find 
 Him with a microscope, he declares that he is too 
 small to see; then he searches for Him with a tele- 
 scope, and because he cannot see Him among the stars 
 or beyond, he declares that there is no God, — that 
 matter and force alone are eternal, and that force act- 
 ing on matter has produced the clod, the grass that 
 grows upon the clod, the beast that feeds upon the 
 grass, and man, the climax of created things. I have 
 tried to follow his reasoning and have made up my 
 mind that it requires more faith to accept the scien- 
 tific demonstrations of materialism than to accept any 
 religion of which I have known. As I tried to follow 
 his syllogisms I was reminded of the reasoning of a 
 man who conceived the idea that a grasshopper 
 heard through its legs. But he would not accept it 
 without demonstration, so he took a grasshopper, put 
 it on a board and knocked on the board. The grass- 
 hopper jumped, and this he regarded as evidence that 
 the sound traveled along the board till it reached the 
 grasshoppers legs and then went up through the legs 
 to the center of life. But he was not willing to accept 
 it upon affirmative proof alone; he insisted upon prov- 
 ing it negatively, so he pulled the legs off the grass- 
 hopper and put it on the board and rapped again. As 
 the grasshopper did not jump, he was convinced that 
 it heard through its legs.
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 227 
 
 I say I was reminded of the grasshopper scientist 
 when I read the arguments employed to prove that 
 there is no God, no spiritual life. There is nothing in 
 materialism to explain the change which takes place 
 in a human heart when a man begins to hate the 
 things he loved and to love the things he hated — noth- 
 ing in materialism to explain the marvellous transform- 
 ation that takes place in a human being who, before 
 the change, would have sacrificed a world to his own 
 advancement but who after the change would give his 
 life for a principle and esteem it a privilege to sacrifice 
 for his convictions. In the journey from the cradle to 
 the grave we encounter nothing so marvellous as the 
 change in the ideals that works a revolution in the 
 life itself. 
 
 It makes a great deal of difference to the individ- 
 ual what his ideal is, and it also makes a difference to 
 those about him. If you have a man working for you, 
 it makes a great deal of difference to you whether he 
 is watching you all the time to see that you give him 
 the best possible pay for his work, or watching himself 
 a little to see that he gives you the best possible work 
 for his pay. And we are all working for somebody. 
 Instead of working by the day and receiving our pay 
 at night, or instead of working by the month and re- 
 ceiving our pay at the end of the month, we may be in 
 independent business and receiving a compensation 
 fixed by competition, but if we are not living a life of 
 idleness we must be working for somebody, and it 
 makes a great deal of difference to society whether
 
 228 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 we are simply bent upon absorbing as much as pos- 
 sible from the world, or are trying to give a dollar's 
 worth of service for a dollar's worth of pay. There 
 are some who regard it as a discreditable thing to en- 
 gage in productive labor. There are places where they 
 count with pride the number of generations between 
 themselves and honest toil. If I can leave but one 
 thought with the young men who honor me by their 
 presence on this occasion, let it be this thought — that 
 we must all have food and clothing and shelter, and 
 must either earn these things or have them given to 
 us, and any self-respecting young man ought to be 
 ashamed to sponge upon the world for his living and 
 not render unto the world valuable service in return. 
 Sometimes you meet a man who boasts that he is 
 "self-made," that he did it all himself, that he owes no 
 man anything. Well, a little of the big-head may be 
 excusable. I remember hearing my father say once 
 that if a man had the big head you could whittle it 
 down, but that if he had the little head there was no 
 hope for him. It is necessary that a person should 
 have confidence in his ability to do things, or he will 
 not undertake them. But when I hear of a man boast- 
 ing of his independence I feel like cross-examining 
 him. We owe a great deal to environment. I was 
 going along by the side of the court house in Chicago 
 one wintery day and saw some little boys gambling 
 with their pennies in a warm corner by the building. 
 A question arose in my mind, namely, why these 
 little fellows were born and reared amid an environ- 
 ment that gave them no higher ideals of life, while so
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 229 
 
 many in Chicago and in the country at large were 
 born amid an environment that gave them higher 
 ideals and larger conceptions of life? The scene made 
 an impression upon my memory, and when I hear a 
 man boasting that he owes no one anything, I feel like 
 asking him whether he has paid back the debt he owes 
 to father and mother, teacher and patriarch? Whether 
 he has paid back the debt he owes to the patriots who 
 with blood and sacrifice purchased the liberties which 
 we now enjoy. We have received so much from the 
 generations past and from those about us that instead 
 of boasting of what we have done we ought to learn 
 humility and be content if at the end of life we can 
 look back over the years and be assured that we have 
 given to the world a service equal in value to that 
 which we have received. 
 
 There is abroad in the land a speculative spirit that 
 is doing much harm. Instead of trying to earn a liv- 
 ing, young men are bent on making a fortune. Not 
 content with the slow accumulations of honest toil, 
 they are seeking some short cut to riches, and are not 
 always scrupulous about the means employed. The 
 "get-rich-quick" schemes that spring up and swindle 
 the public until they are discovered and driven out, 
 prey upon the speculative spirit and find all their vic- 
 tims among those who are trying to get something for 
 nothing. If a lottery were permitted to open up in 
 this town and offered a thousand dollar prize, and sold 
 chances at a dollar apiece, you would be surprised to 
 find how many would send around to the back door 
 and purchase a ticket.
 
 230 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 What we need today is an ideal of life that vvil' 
 make people as anxious to render full service as they 
 are to draw full pay — an ideal that will make them 
 measure life by what they bestow upon their fellows 
 not by what they receive. 
 
 Not only must the individual have an ideal, but we 
 must have ideals as groups of individuals and in every 
 department of life. We have our domestic ideals. 
 Whether a marriage is happy or not depends not so 
 much upon the size of the house or the amount of the 
 income, as upon the ideals with which the parties 
 tnter marriage. If two people contract marriage like 
 some people trade horses — each one trying to get the 
 better of the bargain — it is not certain that the mar- 
 riage will be a happy one. In fact, the man who cheats 
 In a horse trade has at least one advantage over the 
 man who cheats in matrimony. The man who cheats 
 In a horse trade may console himself with the thought 
 that he will never see again the person whom he has 
 cheated. Not so fortunate is the man who cheats in 
 marriage. He not only sees daily the person whom 
 he has cheated, but he is sometimes reminded of it — 
 and it is just as bad if the cheating is done by the 
 other side. Americans sometimes have to blush when 
 they read of the international marriages so much dis- 
 cussed in the papers. I speak not now of those cases 
 where love leaps across the ocean and binds two 
 hearts — there are such cases and they are worthy of a 
 blessing. But I speak rather of those commercial 
 transactions which are by courtesy called marriages, 
 where some young woman in this country trades a
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 231 
 
 fortune that she never earned to a broken down prince 
 of another country for a title that he never earned, 
 and they call it a fair exchange. I have sometimes 
 thought that it might be worth while to establish 
 papers in the centers of the old world to tell the peo- 
 ple of our real marriages, so that they would not mis- 
 understand us. 
 
 There is an American ideal of domestic life. When 
 two persons, drawn together by the indissoluble ties 
 of love, enter marriage, each one contributing a full 
 part and both ready to share life's struggles and trials 
 as well as its victories and its joys — when these, mu- 
 tually helpful and mutually forbearing, start out to 
 build an American home it ought to be the fittest 
 earthly type of heaven. 
 
 In business it is necesary to have an ideal. It is as 
 impossible to build a business without an ideal as it 
 is to build a house without a plan. Some think that 
 competition is so sharp now that it is impossible to 
 be strictly honest in business ; some think that it is 
 necessary to recommend a thing, not as it is, but as 
 the customer wants it to be. There never was a time 
 'when it was more necessary than it is today that busi- 
 ness should be built upon a foundation of absolute 
 integrity. 
 
 In the professions, also, an ideal is necessary .Take 
 the medical profession for illustration. It is proper 
 that the physician should collect money from his pa- 
 tients for he must live while he helps others to live, 
 but the physicians who have written their names high 
 upon the scroll of fame have had a higher ideal than
 
 332 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 the making of money. They have had a passion for 
 the study of their profession ; they have searched diH- 
 gently for the hidden causes of disease and the reme- 
 dies therefore and they have found more delight in 
 giving to the world some discovery of benefit to the 
 race, than they have found in all of the money that 
 they have collected from their patients. 
 
 And the lawyer; has he ideals? Yes. I suppose 
 the ideals of lawyers vary as much as the ideals in 
 any other profession. I have known lawyers to boast 
 of securing the acquittal of men whom they knew to 
 be guilty; I have heard them boast of having secured 
 for their clients what they knew their clients did not 
 deserve. I do not understand how a lawyer can so 
 bor-st. He is an officer of the court and as such he is 
 sworn to assist in the administration of justice. When 
 he has helped his client to secure all that is justly due 
 him he has done his full duty as a lawyer, and if he 
 goes beyond that he goes at his own peril. Show me 
 a lawyer who has spent a lifetime trying to obliterate 
 the line between right and wrong and I will show you 
 a man whose character has grown weaker year by 
 year, and whose advice is at last of no value to a client, 
 because he will have lost the power to discriminate be- 
 tween right and wrong. Show me, on the other hand, 
 a lawyer who has spent a lifetime in the search for 
 truth, determined to follow where it leads, and I will 
 show you a man whose character has grown stronger 
 year by year and whose advice is of constantly increas- 
 ing value because the power to discern the truth 
 grcws with the honest search for truth.
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 233 
 
 Then, too, a lawyer's influence with the judge de- 
 pends largely upon his reputation for honesty. Of 
 course a lawyer can fool a judge a few times and lead 
 him into a hole, but after awhile the judge learns to 
 know the lawyer, and then he cannot follow the law- 
 yer's arguments because he is looking for the hole all 
 the time, which he knows is somewhere and which he 
 is trying to avoid. I need not remind you that nothing 
 is so valuable to a jury lawyer as a reputation that 
 will make the jurors believe that he will not under 
 any circumstances misstate a proposition of law or of 
 evidence. And so I might take up each occupation, 
 calling and profession, and show that the ideal con- 
 trols the life, determines the character and establishes 
 a man's place among his fellows. 
 
 But let me speak of the ideals of a larger group. 
 What of our political ideals? The party as well as 
 the individual must have its ideals, and we are far 
 enough from the election to admit that there is room 
 in all the parties for the raising of the party ideal. 
 How can a person most aid Jiis party? Let us sup- 
 pose that one is passionately devoted to his party and 
 anxious to render it the maximum of service; how 
 can he render this service? By raising the ideal of 
 his party. If a young man asks me how he can make 
 a fortune in a day, I cannot tell him. If he asks how 
 he can become rich in a year, I know not what to 
 answer him, but I can tell him that if he will locate in 
 any community and for twenty-five years live an 
 j honest life, an industrious life, a useful life, he will 
 make friends and fasten them to him with hooks of 
 [steel ; he will make his impress upon the community
 
 234 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 and the chances are many to one that before the 
 quarter of a century has elapsed his fellows will call 
 upon him to act for them and to represent them in 
 important matters. 
 
 And so if you ask me how we can win an election 
 this year, I do not know. If you ask me how we can 
 insure a victory four years from now, I cannot tell, 
 but I do know that the party which has the highest 
 lideals and that strives most earnestly to realize its 
 ideals will ultimately dominate this country and make 
 its impress upon the history of the nation. As it is 
 more important that the young man shall know how 
 to build character and win a permanent success than 
 that he shall know how to become rich in a day, so it 
 is more important that we shall know how to contrib- 
 ute to the permanent influence of a party than it is 
 that we be able to win a temporary victory or dis- 
 tribute the spoils of office after a successful campaign. 
 
 The country is suffering today from a demoraliza- 
 tion of its ideals. Instead of measuring people by the 
 manhood or womanhood they manifest, we are too 
 prone to measure them by the amount of money they 
 possess, and this demoralization has naturally and 
 necessarily extended to politics. Instead of asking 'Ts 
 it right?" we are tempted to ask "Will it pay?" and 
 "Will it win?" As a result the public conscience is 
 becoming seared and the public service debauched. 
 We find corruption in elections and corruption in 
 office. Men sell their votes, councilmen sell their in- 
 fluence, while state legislators and federal representa- 
 tives turn the government from its legitimate channels
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 235 
 
 and make it a private asset in business. It is said 
 that in some precincts in Delaware a majority of the 
 voters have been paid for their votes. Governor Garvin 
 of Rhode Island calls attention to the corruption in 
 that state ; there is corruption in Connecticut, in New 
 Jersey and in Pennsylvania. I learned of an instance 
 in New York where a farmer with a quarter-section 
 of land demanded a dollar and a half for his vote, and 
 I learned of another instance in West Virginia where 
 a man came in fourteen miles from the country the day 
 before election to notify the committee that he would 
 not vote the next day unless he received a dollar. In 
 some places I found that democrats were imitating 
 republican methods. They excused it by saying that 
 they were fighting the Devil with fire. This is no 
 excuse. It is poor policy to fight the devil with fire. 
 He knows more about fire than you do and does not 
 have to pay so much for fuel. I was assured that the 
 democrats did not buy votes exactly like the republi- 
 cans. I was assured that the democrats only bought 
 votes when they found some democrat who was being 
 tempted more than he could bear, and that they only 
 used money to fortify the virtue of the democrat for 
 fear he might yield to temptation and become vicious. 
 
 How are we to stop this corruption ? Not by going 
 into the market and bidding against our opponents, 
 but by placing against money something stronger 
 than money. And what is stronger than money? A 
 conscience is stronger than money. A conscience that 
 will enable a man to stand by a stake and smile while 
 the flames consume him is stronger than money, and
 
 286 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 we must appeal to the conscience — not to a demo- 
 cratic conscience or to a republican conscience, but to 
 an American conscience and to a Christian conscience 
 and place this awakened conscience against the on- 
 flowing tide of corruption in the United States. 
 
 We must have parties in this country. Jefferson 
 said that there were naturally two parties in every 
 country — a democratic party and an aristocratic party 
 (and he did not use the word "democratic" in a parti- 
 san sense, for at that time the party which we now 
 call democratic was called the republican party). Jef- 
 ferson said that a democratic party would naturally 
 draw to itself those who believe in the people and 
 trust them, while an aristocratic party would natur- 
 ally draw to itself those who do not believe in or trust 
 the people. Jefferson was right. Go into any country 
 in Europe, and you will find a party of some name 
 that is trying to increase the participation of the peo- 
 ple in the government, and you v/ill also find a party 
 of some name which is obstructing every step toward 
 popular government. We have the same difference 
 in this country, but the democratic spirit is broader 
 here than any party. Wherever the question has been 
 clearly presented and on the one side there was an at- 
 tempt to carry the government nearer to the people 
 and on the other an effort to carry the government 
 further from the people, popular government has al- 
 ways won. Let me illustrate. The Australian ballot 
 is intended to protect the citizen in his right to vote, 
 and thus give effect to the real wishes of the people, 
 and when this reform was proposed it swept the coon-
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 23T 
 
 try without regard to the party in power in the various 
 states. Take the demand for the election of senators 
 by the people; upon what does it rest? Upon the 
 belief that the people have the right to and the capac- 
 ity for self-government. The sentiment in favor of this 
 reform has grown until a resolution proposing a con- 
 stitutional amendment has passed the Lower House 
 of congress four times — twice when the house was 
 democratic and twice when it was republican. This 
 reform is sure to come, because the people believe in 
 self-government, and they will in time insist upon 
 making the government conform to their belief. 
 
 The initiative and referendum involve the same 
 principles. The initiative describes the process by 
 which the people compel the submission of a ques- 
 tion upon which they desire to vote, and the referen- 
 dum describes the process by which they act upon a 
 question submitted. In each new charter the power 
 of the people is increased. Limitations are placed 
 upon legislative power and new questions are sub- 
 mitted to a popular vote. It is now necessary al- 
 most everywhere to submit to the people of a city 
 the question of issuing bonds. The movement in 
 favor of submitting franchises also is an irresistible 
 one, and the time will come when it will be impossible 
 for councilmen to sell franchises in return for money 
 paid to themselves. 
 
 Switzerland is probably the most democratic 
 country in the world. There the initiative and refer- 
 endum are employed by both the federal government 
 and by the local subdivisions, and the government is
 
 238 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 completely responsive to the will of the people. 
 In order to formulate a party ideal, we must have a 
 theory of government as a basis, and in this country 
 the fundamental principle of government is that the 
 people have a right to have what they want in legis- 
 lation. I made this statement in a lecture in Michigan 
 and one of the audience took issue with me. He said 
 that I ought to amend the statement and say that the 
 people have a right to have what they want provided 
 they want what is right. I asked him who would de- 
 cide the question of right? And he had to admit that 
 at last the decision lay with the people. Constitutions 
 place limitations upon legislatures and upon the peo- 
 ple themselves, but the constitutions are made by the 
 people and can be changed by the people. The only 
 escape from the rule of the majority is the rule of the 
 minority, and if a majority make mistakes, would not 
 a minority also? But mistakes made by a majority 
 will be corrected when they are discovered, while 
 mistakes made by a minority in power may not be 
 corrected if the mistake is pecuniarily advantageous 
 to those in power. The revolutions that have from 
 time to time shaken the world have been caused large- 
 ly by the refusal of the minority to correct mis- 
 takes beneficial to those who make the mistakes but 
 injurious to the people at large. Bearing in mind the 
 right of the people to deliberately fix the means by 
 which they will express themselves, and their right to 
 place limitations upon themselves, so that they can- 
 not act hastily or under a sudden impulse, I repeat 
 that the people have a right to have what they want
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 239 
 
 in legislation. If they want a high tariff, they have 
 a right to it; if they want a low tariff, they have a 
 right to that. They have a right to make tariff laws 
 and to repeal them. They have a right to the gold 
 standard if they want it, and they have a right to the 
 double standard if they desire that, or if they prefer 
 they can demonetize both gold and silver and substi- 
 tute some other kind of money. If gold and silver 
 furnish too much money, they can strike down one; 
 if the remaining metal still furnishes too much they 
 can strike that down and substitute something 
 scarcer. Ever since the discovery of radium, of which 
 it is said there are but two pounds in the world, I 
 have been fearful that an attempt would be made to 
 make it the standard money of the country. But if 
 the people decide to demonetize both gold and silver 
 and substitute radium I will still insist that they have 
 a right to do it. And then if they then decide to give 
 Morgan one pound and Rockefeller the other, I shall 
 still stand with the people and watch Rockefeller and 
 Morgan while they use the money. 
 
 The people have a right to have trusts if they 
 want them. They have a right to have one trust, a 
 hundred trusts or a thousand, and they also have a 
 right to kill every private monopoly. 
 
 If the people have a right to have what they want, 
 then the duty of the party is plain. It is to present to 
 the people a code of principles and policies to be acted 
 upon by them. Who can defend the practicing of de- 
 ception upon the voters? Who can justify the winning 
 of a victory by false pretense? Who can excuse a fraud 
 upon the people? No one can defend a party ideal that
 
 240 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 does not require honesty in party contests. The policy 
 of the party must be determined by the voters of 
 the party, and he must have a low conception of poli- 
 tical ethics who would seek by stealth to give to the 
 minority of the party the authority that belongs to the 
 majority. And so he must have a low conception of 
 political ethics who would seek to secure for a min- 
 ority of the people the authority that belongs to a 
 majority. I want my party to write an honest plat- 
 form, dealing candidly with the questions at issue; I 
 want it to nominate a ticket composed of men who 
 conscientiously believe in the principles of the party 
 as ennunciated, and then I want the party to an- 
 nounce to the country "These are our principles; 
 these are our candidates. Elect thera and they will 
 carry out the principles for which they stand ; they 
 will not under any circumstances betray the trust 
 committed to their keeping." 
 
 This is the ideal that the democratic party ought 
 to have and it is an ideal high enough for every party. 
 
 There is this difference between the ideal and 
 other things of value, namely, that an ideal cannot be 
 patented or copyrighted. We often see things that we 
 cannot hope to possess, but there is no ideal however 
 high that cannot be ours if we desire it. The high- 
 est ideal of human life that this world has ever known 
 was that furnished by the life of the Man of Gallilee. 
 But it was an ideal within the comprehension of the 
 fisherman of his day, and the Bible says of Him that 
 the common people heard Him gladly. So with a 
 high party ideal. It can be comprehended by all the
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 241 
 
 members of the party, and it can be adopted by every 
 party. If we can fight out political battles upon this 
 plane there is no humiliation about defeat. I have 
 passed through two presidential campaigns, and many 
 have rejoiced over my defeats, but if events prove that 
 my defeats have been good for this country, I shall 
 rejoice over them myself more than any opponent has 
 rejoiced. And when I say this I am not unselfish, for 
 it is better for me that my political opponents should 
 bring good to my country than that I should by any 
 mistake of mine bring evil. Senator Hill of Georgia 
 once said: 
 
 "Who saves his country saves himself and all 
 things saved do bless him ; who lets his country die, 
 lets all things die, dies himself ignobly and all things 
 dying curse him." 
 
 This is my country. I want a good government 
 while I live; I want to leave a good government as a 
 priceless legacy to my children and if my political op- 
 ponents can devise for my country, my children and 
 myself a better government than I can devise, they 
 are not my enemies, but my friends. 
 
 Not only must the party have an ideal, but the 
 nation muist also have its ideal, and it is the ideal of 
 this nation that has made it known throughout the 
 world. You will find people in foreign lands who do 
 not know our population or the number of acres un- 
 der our flag. You will find people who do not know 
 how many cattle we raise or how much corn or cot- 
 ton we export, but you will not find people anywhere 
 who have not some conception of the nation's ideal.
 
 242 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 This ideal has been a light shining out unto all the 
 world and its rays have illumined the shores of 
 every land. We have boasted of this ideal in the 
 past, and it must not be lowered now. We followed 
 this ideal in dealing with Cuba. It was my good for- 
 tune to be in Cuba on the day when the formal trans- 
 fer took place, and I never was more proud of my na- 
 tion in my life than I was on the 20th day of May, 
 1902, when this great republic rose superior to a great 
 temptation, recognized the inalienable rights of the 
 people of Cuba and secured to them the fruits of a 
 victory for which they had struggled and sacrificed 
 for more than a generation. We hauled down the 
 flag, it is true, and in its place they raised the flag of 
 the Cuban republic, but when we lowered the flag we 
 raised it higher than it ever had been before, and 
 when we brought it away we left it enshrined in the 
 hearts of a grateful people. 
 
 Is it the desire of any simply to make our flag 
 feared? Let us rather make it loved by every human 
 being. Instead of having people bow before it, let 
 up have them turn their faces toward it and thank 
 God that there is one flag that stands for human 
 rights and for the doctrine of self-government every- 
 where. There are some who say that we must now 
 have the largest navy in the world in order to terrorize 
 other nations, and make them respect us. But if we 
 make our navy the largest in the world, other nations 
 will increase their navies because we have increased 
 ours, and then we will have to increase ours again, 
 because they will have increased theirs, and they will
 
 VALUE OF AN IDEAL 243 
 
 have to increase theirs again because we have in- 
 creased ours — and there is no limit to this rivalry, but 
 the limit of the power of the people to bear the bur- 
 dens of taxation. There is a better, a safer and a less 
 expensive plan. Instead of trying to make our navy 
 the largest in the world, let us try to make our gov- 
 ernment the best government on earth. Instead of 
 trying to make our flag float everywhere, let us make 
 it stand for justice wherever it floats — for justice be- 
 tween man and man, for justice between nation and 
 nation, and for humanity always. And then the people 
 of the world will learn to know and to revere that flag, 
 because it will be their protection as well as ours. And 
 then if any king raises his hand against our flag the 
 oppressed people of his own land will rise up and say 
 to him "Hands off! That flag stands for our rights as 
 well as the rights of the American people." It is 
 possible to make our flag represent such an ideal. We 
 shall not fulfill our great mission, we shall not live 
 up to our high duty unless we present to the world 
 the highest ideals in individual life, in domestic life, in 
 business life, in professional life, in politcal life — and 
 the highest national ideal that the world has ever 
 known.
 
 A Conquering Nation 
 
 A lecture delivered a number of times at colleges, 
 chautauquas and in lecture courses.
 
 ,.A CONQUERING NATION. 
 
 During national campaigns it is difficult to reach the 
 sober thought of the public. When the platforms are 
 adopted and the tickets nominated,the people get set in 
 their ways and it is difficult to make an impression 
 upon them. It is said that an old colored servant of 
 Andrew Jackson, who survived his master many years, 
 was asked if he thought Andrew Jackson went to 
 heaven. He answered, "If he set his head that way, 
 he did." During campaigns, I repeat, people get their 
 heads set and are not open to conviction. I am glad, 
 therefore, to speak to you between campaigns. I de- 
 sire to talk to you about questions of government, but 
 I want to deal with those questions in such a funda- 
 mental way as not to oflfend political opponents. 
 
 I am convinced that we have all given relatively 
 too much time to the consideration of the pecuniary 
 features of public questions, and too little time to 
 the consideration of the moral principles, which under- 
 lie all questions. In discussing the tariff question the 
 advocates of a high tariff have tried to show that pro- 
 tection puts money into the pockets of the people, and 
 the advocates of a low tariff have tried to show that 
 protection takes money out of the pockets of the peo- 
 ple — but it has all been about money. In the discus- 
 sion of the money question we have compared dollars 
 and systems of dollars. When we have discussed the 
 trust question we have generally considered the pe- 
 
 247
 
 248 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 cuniary benefit of private monopolies and the pecun- 
 iary objections to them. Even the question of imper- 
 iaHsm has been dragged down into the mire ot dollars 
 and cents. Instead of trying to ascertain the moral 
 principle involved, we have spent too much time try- 
 ing to find out whether a colonial policy would pay. 
 
 Let me then invite your attention to certain moral 
 principles which I believe to be intimately connected 
 with our government. 
 
 In looking for a subject for a non-partisan ad- 
 dress some months ago, I stumbled across the word 
 "Civilization." The more I thought of it the more it 
 grew upon me. Have you ever tried to write a defin- 
 ition of civilization? Buckle described civilization as 
 measured by the mastery of the human mind over the 
 forces of nature. It surprised me to find that he left 
 out of consideration the moral element and I was still 
 more surprised to find that he not only intentionally 
 omitted the moral element, but defended the omis- 
 sion by declaring that substantially the same moral 
 principles had been accepted in all ages, and from this 
 proposition he argued that we must measure the dif- 
 ferences between peoples and races by the differences 
 in their mental development. I am compelled to dis- 
 sent from Buckle, and I believe that his error consists 
 largely in this, — that he has measured people by the 
 moral principles accepted rather than by the moral 
 principles exemplified in life. If you will take the 
 worst man you know and place him beside the best 
 man you know, you will find that both admit the cor- 
 rectness of the great moral principles that underlie
 
 A CONQUERING NATION ■ 249 
 
 society. Wherein do they differ, then? One lives 
 his moral principles, and you call him an upright man, 
 the other suspends them in hours of temptation, and 
 you punish him as a criminal. My investigation has led 
 me to believe that the moral element is not only im- 
 portant but paramount in government, and that the 
 decay of nations has been due to a decay in the moral 
 element. A government is strong in proportion as it 
 rests upon justice; it becomes weak in proportion as 
 injustice is substituted for justice. Sometimes we 
 hear it said that nations, like invididuals, must neces- 
 sarily decay. Some argue that, because the individual 
 is born, grows strong, passes through a period of ma- 
 turity and at last becomes infirm and dies, a nation 
 composed of individuals must pass through the same 
 stages and at last reach the same end. I deny that 
 there is any analogy between the individual and the 
 nation that makes it necessary for the nation to die. 
 The individual must die, for death is a part of the law 
 of his being, but nations, while at a given time com- 
 posed of individuals, are in their history composed of 
 generations. As one generation passes off the stage, 
 another comes on, and, unless there is some reason 
 why a future generation should be weaker or worse 
 than this there is no reason why this nation should 
 ever be weaker or worse than it is now. I assert, 
 therefore, that there is no necessary reason why this 
 nation should not be greater and more glorious a 
 thousand years from now than it is now. If the time 
 ever comes when this nation shall turn downward and 
 at last by its wreck and ruin furnish a warning to the
 
 250 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 nations that come after it, it will be because of moral 
 decay among the people and in our government. 
 
 A definition ought to include every essential ele- 
 ment of the thing defined and exclude everything else, 
 and I have found no definition of civilization which 
 seems to fill this requirement, I suggest, therefore, 
 for your consideration the following definition : Civili- 
 zation is the harmonious development of the human 
 race, physically, mentally and morally. The word, 
 socially, might be added, and yet it is difficult to con- 
 ceive of an harmonious mental and moral develop- 
 ment that does not include a social development, for 
 a proper heart development makes one recognize the 
 ties that bind him to his fellows, and a proper mental 
 development leads him to employ the wisest means for 
 the carrying on of the joint work of society. 
 
 I have taken as my subject on this occasion, "A 
 Conquering Nation" because I am anxious that this 
 nation shall grow in strength and influence among the 
 nations. I am anxious that it shall be a great nation, 
 a conquering nation. I am anxious that it shall 
 overcome the world. But what is the measure of na- 
 tional greatness? I know of no way of measuring a 
 nation except to apply to it the same moral principles 
 that we apply to an individual. I will go further than 
 that; I know of no moral principle that can be ap- 
 plied to one human being that cannot be applied — aye, 
 that must not be applied — to eighty millions of human 
 beings acting together as a nation. One of the great 
 dangers of the present day is the tendency to limit 
 and amend and qualify great moral principles. Let me
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 251 
 
 illustrate. There is a commandment which reads: 
 "Thou shalt not steal." That is the way we learned 
 it. It is simple and plain and strong, but it is be- 
 ing amended to read "Thou shalt not steal — on a small 
 scale." If the larceny is on a large scale it is dif- 
 ferent. I am not revealing any secrets when I tell 
 you that as a rule it is safer in this country to steal 
 a million dollars than it is to steal a hundred dollars. 
 
 The man who steals a hundred dollars is a com- 
 mon ordinary thief, but if a man steals a million we are 
 30 amazed at his genius that we sometimes forget to 
 punish his rascality. If a man steals a hundred dol- 
 lars he is sure to go to the penitentiary, but if he steals 
 a million it is not so certain. Nor is this the only 
 commandment that is being amended. There is a 
 commandment against covetousness and we all know 
 that it is a sin for a man to covet a thing of small 
 value, but if a nation covets the territory of another 
 nation and the governm.ent of other people, it is some- 
 times called patriotism and justified as providential. 
 There is still another commandment that reads, "Thou 
 shalt not kill." You cannot mistake its meaning; but it 
 is being amended to read that you must not kill a man 
 unless he has something you want. Or if still ob- 
 served as between individuals, there are some who in- 
 sist that eighty millions of people may join together 
 and kill eight millions in the Orient if they can extend 
 the nation's trade thereby. I repeat that this tendency 
 to amend and limit and qualify great moral principles 
 is a dangerous tendency. There is a lesson that we 
 ought to learn, — a lesson founded upon Holy Writ and
 
 362 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 taught by history, namely, that a nation, no matter 
 how large it may be, cannot do wrong with impunity. 
 It is as true of a nation as it is of an individual that 
 the harvest is according to the sowing. Be not de- 
 ceived because the punishment does not follow imme- 
 diately upon the heels of the crime. A man may at 
 fifty pay the penalty for sins committed at twenty-five ; 
 so a nation may pay the penalty for sins committed a 
 decade or a century before. If a nation sows the wind 
 it will reap the whirlwind, though many seedtimes and 
 harvests may pass between the sowing and the reap- 
 ing. If your child shows a tendency to depart from the 
 path of recitude, you do not wait for him to commit 
 some great crime before you correct him ; you show 
 him at once the tendency of his act. And so if we love 
 our country and are anxious to do our duty as citi- 
 zens, we must not wait until there is some flagrant 
 abuse of government, or until an evil is fully devel- 
 oped. We must watch the tendency of the principles 
 at work. Every evil policy will bring forth evil fruit, 
 and the punishment is sure to come. 
 
 We must measure a nation's greatness as we 
 would measure the greatness of an individual, and 
 what is the measure of individual greatness? It is a 
 laudable ambition for your boy or mine to aspire to 
 become the greatest man in the state, the nation or the 
 world, but he must understand the true measure of 
 greatness, and to find that measure we have to go back 
 to the Bible. I am not ashamed to quote from the 
 Bible, for I have never found any other book which 
 contains so much of truth, nor have I found any other 
 book in which truth was so well expressed. You will
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 253 
 
 remember that the disciples quarreled among them- 
 selves as to which should be the greatest in the king- 
 dom of heaven, and when they brought the question to 
 the Master, he said: "Let him who would be chiefest 
 among you be the servant of all." Service is the meas- 
 ure of greatness. It always has been true ; it is true 
 today; it always will be true that he is greatest who 
 does the most good. But if there is any one here who 
 is not willing to accept Bible authority, I am glad 
 that I can fortify this scriptural quotation with the 
 testimony of the greatest of heathen philosophers. In 
 the conversations of Socrates I find that he quotes 
 from another Greek the story of the choice of Hercules. 
 The story runs like this : iWhen Hercules was a young 
 man he went out to meditate upon his course in life,and 
 as he meditated two maidens appeared to him. One, in 
 gaudy attire, said: "Hercules, if you will follow the 
 path that I point out, your life will be a life of 
 ease. You will have no troubles, no trials, no hard- 
 ships ; your whole time will be occupied in the selec- 
 tion of food to eat and wine to drink." Hercules said 
 to her: "What is your name?" and she replied "My 
 name is Pleasure, but my enemies call me vice." The 
 other maiden said : "Hercules, I will not deceive you. 
 If you follow the path that I point out, your life will 
 be full of hardships, full of trials, full of great under- 
 takings, but, Hercules, it is the path that leads to im- 
 mortality. If you would have people love you, you 
 must serve them ; if you would have your state honor 
 you, you must confer some great benefit upon your 
 state."
 
 254 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Thus, whether we rely upon history sacred or pro- 
 fane, we find that service is the measure of greatness. 
 
 Not only is service the measure of greatness, but 
 it is the measure of happiness as well. We are happy, 
 not in proportion as people do something for us, but 
 in proportion as we do something for others. I ap- 
 peal to your own experiences for verification. Look 
 back over your lives; what days are brightest? The 
 days remembered because of what others have done 
 for you? No, the days that are brightest — and they 
 will grow brighter with the years — are the days which 
 are glorified by some generous contribution to the wel- 
 fare of the world. 
 
 If I were able to put on canvas my conception of 
 a happy and a successful life, I would represent it as a 
 living spring, pouring forth constantly of that which 
 refreshes and invigorates and I would represent an un- 
 happy and unsuccessful life as a stagnant pool receiv- 
 ing contributions from all the land around and giv- 
 ing forth nothing in return. It is sound philosophy 
 as well as good religion to say that a life is happy in 
 proportion as it abounds in helpfulness, not in propor- 
 tion as it absorbs from the world. It is fortunate 
 that this is true, because if one were happy in propor- 
 tion as people did something for him, his happiness 
 would be in the keeping of others, but if his happiness 
 depends upon what he does for others, it is in his own 
 keeping, and it is his own fault if he is not happy. 
 
 Then, too, people remember better that which they 
 do for others than they do that which others do for 
 them. If you doubt it, go into politics. You will find
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 255 
 
 that if you do something for a man he may forget it, 
 but if he does something for you, he will always re- 
 member it. On the evening of the day when I was first 
 elected to congress, we gathered at the office of the 
 chairman of the committee to receive the returns. And 
 a gentleman came up to me and assured me that he 
 himself had written my name on more than two hun- 
 dred ballots in his voting precinct. I was amazed 
 at his industry; it was an extraordinary amount of 
 work for one man to do and you can imagine my 
 mortification when the returns came in from that pre- 
 cinct and I found that I had not only failed to re- 
 ceive any votes upon my own merits, but that I had 
 apparently not been able to hold all he secured for 
 me, because I had less votes in the precinct than he 
 thought he had secured. Yet I have no doubt 
 that the man intended to be truthful, and told only 
 what he thought he had done, but the explanation is 
 simple. When you look at what you do for others 
 you see all that you do, and more too; and the longer 
 you look the more you see. Thus the pleasure that 
 you derive from remembering it increases with the 
 years. But when you look at what others do for you, 
 you not only do not see all that they do, but the longer 
 you look the less you see. The pleasure, therefore, 
 that you derive from remembering what others do for 
 you is a decreasing pleasure. 
 
 I may add, also, that we love people in proportion 
 as we serve them. I remember a little play put upon 
 the stage by the senior class of the high school of our 
 city. There were several characters in the play, among
 
 256 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 them a man, his wife and their daughter. To make the 
 play natural, the daughter had a beau, and to make 
 it entirely lifelike, she had two beaus, and these beaus 
 were in constant rivalry for the hand of the girl. It 
 so happened that the father, mother and daughter took 
 a trip to Sv/itzerland and it also happened that on 
 the day of their arrival the two young men also hap- 
 pened to arrive in Switzerland, and the con- 
 test was continued. Soon after the arrival of the 
 group the old man got into a dangerous place on a 
 mountainside and one of the young men saved his 
 life. Not long after that the other young man was in 
 danger, and the old man saved his life. Now what was 
 the result? The wife ever and anon reminded her hus- 
 band how grateful he should be to the young man who 
 had saved his life, but while the husband got tired of 
 hearing of this, he never got tired of telling how much 
 he had done for the other young man. Thus while the 
 wife out of gratitude favored the young man who had 
 saved her husband's life, the father formed an attach- 
 ment for the young man whose life he had saved. This 
 is not strange; the Bible explains it when it says: 
 "Where your treasures are, there will your heart be 
 also." If you bestow your time, your interest or 
 your goods upon one, your affections will follow the 
 gift. The more you do for him, the more you will love 
 him. If you want to love all the world, I do not know 
 of any better way to bring yourself into this attitude 
 than to try to do something for all the world. Why 
 is it that there is nothing on earth like a mother's love? 
 It is because there is no service under heaven like that 
 which the mother renders to her child.
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 257 
 
 But a great many people who understand that 
 service measures greatness and are anxious to win 
 greatness by service have mistaken the method of ser- 
 vice. I have become so interested in this subect that 
 I have carefully examined to see in how many differ- 
 ent ways people have tried to be useful, and I have 
 been surprised to find that in all the history of the 
 human race, but two methods have been employed. 
 The first is the forcible method, and it has been em- 
 ployed most. A man has an idea which he thinks is 
 good ; he tells it to his neighbors and they do not like 
 it. He thinks that it would be much better for them 
 if they would like it, and so he starts out with a 
 club to make them accept his idea. But the trouble 
 about this rule is that it works both ways. If a man 
 starts out with a club to make his neighbors think as 
 he does, the chances are — well, at least sixteen-to-one 
 — that they will employ a club in the effort to make 
 him think as they do, and then they will quarrel and 
 fight. They will spend so much time in trying to coerce 
 each other, that they will have no time left to do each 
 other good. There is just one other method, and it is 
 the Bible method : "Be not overcome of evil, but over- 
 come evil with good." There is no other method 
 known under Heaven or among men whereby we can 
 overcome evil except to substitute something better 
 for it. I am not much of a farmer ; I have been given 
 more credit for my farming than I deserve, and my 
 little farm has received more advertising than it is 
 entitled to, but I have farmed enough to know that 
 if you cut down weeds they will grow again. You 
 may cut them down as often as you like, but they will
 
 258 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 still spring up. But if you will plant something- that 
 has more vitality than the weeds you will not only get 
 rid of the constant cutting, but you will receive the 
 benefit of the crop. So I believe that the best service 
 that one can render a fellow being is to give him a 
 high ideal in the place of a low one. Any other help 
 is temporary, but when you furnish an ideal you fur- 
 nish a permanent possession and a permanent blessing 
 Let me apply this principle. Ever since that 
 terrible act which took from us our chief executive 
 there has been much discussion of anarchy, and many 
 remedies have been suggested, but they have all been 
 in the line of suppression. I want to suppress the 
 manifestations of anarchy, but I am not willing to stop 
 with suppression. I do not want us to make the mis- 
 take that they have made in the old countries. In those 
 countries in which they have simply employed sup- 
 pressive measures, they have the most anarchists to- 
 day. We must go further and remove the spirit of 
 anarchy. There is no place in the United States for 
 the spirit of anarchy. But how is this spirit to be re- 
 moved? Not by suppression only — for this is but 
 temporary. If we are to have a permanent remedy 
 we must find it in education. We must teach the 
 people that a government is necessary, for it is. We 
 must teach them that our government is the best gov- 
 ernment on earth, for it is ; but that is not enough. It 
 is the duty of everyone to exert himself to the utter- 
 most to make this government so good that every citi- 
 zen will be willing to die, if need be, to preserve the 
 blessings of this government to his children and to his 
 children's children.
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 259 
 
 The funeral oration of Pericles is probably with 
 the exception of the oration of Demosthenes on the 
 Crown, the the most famous oration that has 
 come down to us from the Greeks, and the most 
 impressive part of this oration presents as a reason 
 for Greek patriotism the beneficience of the govern- 
 ment of that country. After describing the greatness 
 of his country, and the excellence of his government, 
 he said : "It was for such a country then, that these 
 men, resolved not to have it be taken from them, died 
 fighting, and we their survivors may well be willing to 
 suffer in its behalf." The remedy for anarchy is to 
 make the government deserve the love of every citi- 
 zen. They are doing most to cure the spirit of an- 
 archy who are doing most to make the government 
 perfect in all its parts ; they are doing most to culti- 
 vate and spread the spirit of anarchy who pervert the 
 aims of the government, rob the many for the benefit 
 of the few and then curse the people who do not like 
 to be robbed. A government can be a great blessing 
 or a great curse. When a government takes from the 
 citizen the power to redress his own wrongs, it as- 
 sumes the solemn duty of protecting him from every 
 arm uplifted for his injury. If a government firsc dis- 
 arms a citizen and then leaves him to be despoiled by 
 those who act under the favoritism of the government, 
 the victim of the wrong, brooding over his injuries, 
 will be likely to listen to the voice of the anarchist. 
 
 If any further authority is necessary to support the 
 doctrine which I am trying to present, you will find 
 it in the Bible. The passage reads, "Let your light so
 
 260 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 shine before men, that they may see your good works 
 and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." It is the 
 influence of example, — it is the power that goes out 
 from an upright life. There is no influence for good 
 that equals the example of one who shows the world 
 how to live. We have overestimated, I think, the rel- 
 ative importance of the mind, and underestimated the 
 relative importance of the heart in the shaping of hu- 
 man happiness. When I say this do not think that I 
 lack interest in education. I am an enthusiast on the 
 subject of education. I am anxious that every boy 
 and girl in this land shall be educated. Nothing made 
 me more indignant in 1896 than the statement of an 
 eminent divine who declared that the farmers' sons 
 were being educated so much that they were getting 
 dissatified with the position that God intended then- 
 to fill. God never made any man wise enough to say 
 in advance what position your boy or my boy was 
 intended to fill. God never made any man 
 wise enough to draw a line and say that the children 
 on one side should be educated and the children on 
 the other side should be neglected. I want my cliil- 
 dren educated, but I want my neighbor's children edu- 
 cated also, so that if my children lack wisdom they 
 may have the benefit of the wisdom of my neigh- 
 bor's children. But as enthusiastic as I am on the 
 subject of education, I repeat that I think we have 
 boasted ton much of what the mind has done, and not 
 sufficiently considered what the heart can do. We 
 talk of the inventions of genius, and they have indeed 
 been great. We are amazed to think that a man can 
 stand by the side of the telegraph instrument and by
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 261 
 
 means of the electric current talk with people ten 
 thousand miles away, but if that achievement is won- 
 derful, the achievements of the heart are still more 
 wonderful. The heart that is full of love for its fel- 
 lows, the heart that yearns to do some great good, 
 the heart that puts into operation some movement 
 for the uplifting of the human race, that heart will 
 speak to hearts that will beat ten thousand years after 
 all our hearts are still. That is more wonderful than 
 talking to people ten thousand miles away. 
 
 I go into a cemetery and I find there monuments 
 reared to the dead, and they generally vary in size and 
 beauty according to the amount of the estate left. 
 Sometimes I find a monument reared by grateful 
 hands to one whom the world calls great, but how few 
 of all the countless millions of the human race will 
 ever be remembered a century after their death by any 
 monument that marks their resting place? I am glad 
 that the Creator, as infinite in love as in power, has 
 made it possible for the humblest citizen in all the 
 land, if actuated by a high purpose and inspired by a 
 noble zeal to rear for himself a monument that will 
 endure when all the monuments of granite and of 
 bronze have crumbled to dust. 
 
 I fear the plutocracy of wealth and respect the ar- 
 istocracy of learning, but I thank God for the demo- 
 cracy of the heart that makes it possible for every 
 human being to do something to make life worth liv- 
 ing while he lives and the world better for his exist- 
 ence in it. Mathematicians are able to calculate how 
 far it is from the farthest star to the earth, but no
 
 262 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 mathematician has yet been able to calculate the influ- 
 ence for good of one kind word, or of one kind act. The 
 life comes into contact with the lives about it, and 
 through this generation it reaches on through the 
 countless generations to come. 
 
 This is the measure of individual greatness. No 
 one will dispute that individual greatness is measured 
 by service. If this is the measure of individual great- 
 ness, what is the measure of national greatness? Can 
 you have one rule for the individual and an entirely 
 different rule for a nation composed of eighty millions 
 of individuals? What is your idea of a great nation, a 
 great destiny, a great mission? Do you think that 
 this nation can achieve greatness by going out and 
 subjugating half-civilized tribes? Do you think that 
 this nation can achieve greatness by searching the 
 highways and by-ways of the world in the hope of 
 finding inferior people with money enough in their 
 pockets to excite our avarice but without strength to 
 resist our aggression? Is that your idea of a great na- 
 tion, a great destiny, a great mission? Mine goes be- 
 yond it. I want this nation to influence, not the fee- 
 ble races only but the strong ones as well ; I want it to 
 dominate, not merely inferior races, but also superior 
 ones. I want this nation to conquer the world, not 
 with its armies and its navies, but with its ideas. I 
 want this nation to destroy every throne on earth, not 
 by force or violence, but by showing the world some- 
 thing better than a throne — a government resting up- 
 on the consent of the governed — strong because it is 
 loved, and loved because it is good. I want this na-
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 263 
 
 tion to solve the problems of this generation and by 
 doing so not only bless our own people, but give life 
 and hope to those who labor under greater disadvan- 
 tages than we do. 
 
 And how shall we render this service to the world? 
 By a high and noble example. We have an advantage 
 over all the nations of the past in that we have the 
 printing press, the electric current, the rteam engine 
 and the steam boat. These bring all the corners of 
 the earth close together, and make it possible for peo- 
 ple to know everywhere what is well done anywhere. 
 We have a second advantage in that we have the best 
 form of religion that the world has ever known. I 
 speak not now of the Godward part of our religion. I 
 speak not of those commandments which tell us how 
 we should behave toward our Creator. I speak rather 
 of the manward side of our religion and of those com- 
 mandments that deal with our conduct toward our fel- 
 lows, those commandments which were condensed in- 
 to one great commandment, "Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbor as thyself." If we can succeed in exempli- 
 fying this commandment in individual and national life 
 we shall exert an influence for good upon the human 
 race greater than all the other nations of the earth 
 combined have done before. 
 
 We have a third advantage in that we have gathered 
 here the best blood of all the races of the old world. 
 These people who have come to cast in their lot with 
 us are still linked by ties of blood to those across the 
 sea, and any improvement in the science of govern- 
 ment or in the art of administration will at once be
 
 264 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 communicated to other lands. Our nation is, as it 
 were, a city set on a hill whose light cannot be hid. 
 
 Then we have a fourth advantage, in that we have 
 the best government of which the mind of man has 
 conceived. I do not mean to say that our govern- 
 ment is perfect in all its details, or that it ever will be 
 perfect, no matter what party is in power, for govern- 
 ment, like civilization, is progressive, and while we 
 should strive every day to make our government more 
 and more perfect, the work of improvement will never 
 be fully completed. I repeat that the government is 
 not perfect. I would not jeopardize whatever reputa- 
 tion I may have for truth and veracity by saying that 
 the government is perfect now or will be under any 
 administration. When the democrats are in power I 
 can prove by all the lepublicans that the government 
 is not perfect, and when the republicans are in power 
 — well, no proof is necessary then — it is then apparent 
 to us, at least, that the government is not perfect. But 
 we have the best government that the world has 
 known because the people can make the government 
 as good as they desire to have. And as the people 
 make progress in virtue and in intelligence, the gov- 
 ernment reflecting the virtue and intelligence of the 
 people will make progress also. But with this great 
 opportunity comes a great responsibility and as our 
 opportunity is greater than any other nation has ever 
 enjoyed so there presses down upon American citizen- 
 ship a greater responsibility than the citizens of any 
 other land have ever borne. 
 
 If we are to solve the problems that confront us
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 265 
 
 we must have a rule. Nothing can be done without a 
 rule. Socrates is credited with the saying that you 
 cannot reason with a man until you find some propo- 
 sition upon which you and he can agree, and that then 
 with this as a foundation you can proceed with an 
 argument. I desire to reason with you, and to do so I 
 must first find some proposition so fundamental that 
 we can all accept it, and so universal that we can ap- 
 ply it in the discussion of all of the problems of gov- 
 ernment. I find such a fundamental proposition in 
 the declaration of independence, namely, that all men 
 are created equal. This is declared to be a self-evident 
 truth, but by that it is not meant that no one will 
 dispute it. An English historian has said that if there 
 was any money to be made by it, eloquent and learned 
 men would be found to dispute the law of gravitation. 
 No truth that ever fell from lips human or divine is 
 so plain that it will not be disputed by those who 
 find, or think they find, a profit in disputing it. The 
 declaration that all men are created equal is a truth so 
 self-evident that those who desire to dispute it must 
 first attempt to misconstrue it before they dare to 
 deny it. It does not mean that all men are created 
 equal in physical strength ; men vary in physical 
 strength, and a man's strength varies from year to 
 year. It does not mean that all men are created equal 
 in mental ability ; some inherit more mental ability 
 than others, and some acquire superior mental ability 
 by study and discipline. It does not mean that all men 
 are created equal in moral worth, for moral character 
 is a matter of growth.
 
 266 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Neither does it mean that all men are equal or can 
 be equal in the possession of this world's goods, for 
 if wealth is a reward of merit, it must differ in propor- 
 tion to merit. Those who believe in the doctrine that 
 all men are created equal are not trying to level so- 
 ciety by taking from the industrious to give to the 
 idle, or from the economical to give to the spendthrift. 
 All that they contend for is that the law should be so 
 made and the government so administered that every 
 citizen will secure from society a reward proportion- 
 ate to his contribution to the wellfare of society. They 
 protest against measuring a civilization by the refine- 
 ment and happiness of a few and plead for a civiliza- 
 tion that will embrace within its benefits every deserv- 
 ing member of society. 
 
 The declaration that all men are created equal 
 means that men are created equal in their natural 
 rights. It means that God never gave to one human 
 being a single natural right that he did not give to 
 every other human being, and among these rights the 
 Declaration of Independence enumerates the right to 
 ■ live, the right to liberty and the right to the pursuit of 
 happiness. 
 
 Jefferson condensed this fundamental principal of 
 government into a political maxim : "Equal rights to 
 all and especial privileges to none." Upon this maxim 
 can you build a government ; upon no other maxim, 
 can you build a government like ours.
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 267 
 
 It is in the application of this principle that we 
 find differences of opinion and these differences are 
 sometimes due to lack of information, sometimes to 
 prejudice, and sometimes to real or supposed difference 
 in interest. Let me apply this principle briefly to a 
 few questions before the country, in order to show 
 how universal is its application. I am not so anxious 
 to have you accept my application of this principle as 
 I am to have you make some application that will 
 satisfy your own judgments and consciences. I am 
 not so anxious to have you think as I think on these 
 subjects as I am to have you think, because those who 
 think will ultimately arrive at a correct conclusion, 
 while those who refuse to think or who fail to think 
 cannot assist in the solution of any great question. 
 
 Let me apply this principle, first, to the most fa- 
 miliar of all public questions, the question of taxation. 
 Other questions may come and other questions may 
 go, but the question of taxation, like Tennyson's 
 brook, goes on and on forever. We may dispute about 
 the amount to be collected and we may dispute about 
 the method of collection, but the subject of taxation is 
 with us always. The object to be aimed at is absolute 
 justice in the collection of each citizen's share of the 
 taxes. Unjust taxation is nothing less than larceny 
 under the form of law for it takes from one more than 
 he should pay, while it leaves in the pockets of an- 
 other money that in equity belongs to the government. 
 An unjust system of taxes, therefore, merely transfers 
 money without right from one man's pocket to the 
 pocket of another, and if the law is made by those who
 
 268 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 avoid burdens that they should bear and is made for 
 the purpose of avoiding those burdens it is as indefen- 
 sible in morals as it is from the standpoint of political 
 economy. 
 
 Is there any rule by which we can determine in 
 what proportion people should pay taxes? Adam 
 Smith suggested a rule a century ago but it is so just 
 that it must have been thought of long before he was 
 born. The rule is that citizens should contribute to 
 the support of their government in exact proportion 
 to the benefits received by them from their govern- 
 ment. While all will accept this as an abstract propo- 
 sition, it is surprising how far we deviate from it in 
 actual practice. Take the Internal Revenue Tax as 
 an illustration. It is paid by those who use liquor and 
 tobacco, and it is paid, not in proportion to the wealth 
 of the consumers, not in proportion to their incomes ; 
 and not in proportion to the amount of protection they 
 receive from the government, but in proportion to 
 the liquor and tobacco used; and it is needless to say 
 that the poor, as a rule, contribute a larger proportion 
 of their incomes than the rich to support the govern- 
 ment in so far as they are taxed through the Internal 
 Revenue Department. The same is true of tariff 
 taxes. Import duties are laid upon what we eat and 
 wear and use, and the duty, if reduced to an ad val- 
 orum, is usually heaviest upon articles which the poor 
 use. As people do not eat, wear clothing or use tax- 
 able merchandise in proportion to their incomes, it 
 will be seen that the poor contribute a larger propor- 
 tion of their incomes than the rich to the support of
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 269 
 
 the government in so far as the revenue is collected 
 through import duties. The income tax has been 
 suggested as a step toward an equalization of the bur- 
 dens of government. The income tax adjusts itself 
 to the man's income ; if he has a small income to pay 
 with, his tax is small, and if the tax is large 
 it is because his income is large. While there 
 is no scientifically exact means of determining 
 the proportion in which people profit by the 
 protection of the government, there is no safer meas- 
 ure than the size of the income, and therefore, no sys- 
 tem of taxes more nearly approaches justice than that 
 which makes the contribution to the government pro- 
 portionate to the income of the contributor. If the 
 income tax were the only system of taxation in use, 
 justice would require that the taxes should be levied 
 upon small incomes ^^ well as large ones, but, when 
 the system is used in connection with an Internal 
 Revenue system, which over-burdens the poor, and in 
 connection with a tariff system, which also over- 
 burdens the poor, justice requires that small incomes 
 be made exempt from the income tax in order that the 
 total taxes may be equitably distributed. 
 
 Let us apply this maxim to the trust question. In 
 opposing what are called trusts, the line ought to be 
 drawn at the private monopoly ; that is, the govern- 
 ment should prohibit the existence of any corporation 
 large enough to exercise a controlling influence upon 
 the production or price of a commodity. Up to this 
 point, combinations of capital may be defended or 
 criticised, for there are arguments on both sides, but
 
 270 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 when a combination of capital reaches a point where 
 it is able to control either the product or the price to 
 be demanded, so that the consumer is at the mercy of 
 this one producer, then the corporation, being a mon- 
 opoly, becomes indefensible and intolerable. It does 
 not require an extended knowledge of history to en- 
 able one to condemn a private monopoly, although 
 history furnishes an abundance of incontrovertable 
 proof. All that one needs to know is human nature 
 and the rules which he applies in every-day life. No 
 one would be willing to try a case before a judge who 
 was a party to the suit, neither would any one be 
 willing to try a case before a jury whose members 
 were pecuniarily interested in the result of the suit. 
 In the case of a private monopoly, the consumer is 
 compelled to try his case before a tribunal composed 
 of the men in charge of the trust and they are pecun- 
 iarily interested in deciding against him. If we are 
 to destroy the monopoly, it must be by an attack upon 
 the principle and not by an attack upon those mon- 
 opolies which are most offensive or whose managers 
 show the least conscience. If monopolies are to be 
 destroyed, it must be upon the maxim of "equal rights 
 to all and special privileges to none." This maxim 
 is violated when the country is delivered into the 
 hands of men who have a pecuniary interest in ex- 
 torting as much as possible regardless of the services 
 rendered by them. When there is competition, the 
 consumer has protection; when there is no competi- 
 tion, the consumer is almost sure to be plundered — he 
 cannot afford to rely upon the mercy of an occasional 
 benevolent trust magnate.
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 271 
 
 The principle for which we are contending must 
 be applied to the labor question also, and nowhere is 
 this application more necessary at this time. In deal- 
 ing with the labor question, the recognition of equal 
 rights to all is essential. The right of the laboring 
 man to a trial by jury is as sacred as the right of 
 other members of society to a trial before a jury of 
 peers. This right is denied by government by injunc- 
 tion. The right of laboring men to reasonable hours 
 ought to be observed as sacredly as the right of other 
 members of society to reasonable hours. If we rec- 
 ognize as we do the necessity for hours of recreation 
 for ourselves and families, we ought not to begrudge 
 these hours to those who toil at less pleasant and 
 more fatiguing work. If we desire an income that 
 will relieve our children from the necessity of labor 
 while they are young, we should not forget that the 
 laborer has the same interest in his children and that 
 society, too, has a right to demand that they should 
 be so cared for and so educated that they can, when 
 grown, give to their country the highest and most 
 efficient service. At this time, one of the most im- 
 portant questions in connection with labor is the 
 question of arbitration, and it is becoming more and 
 more apparent that a peaceful adjustment of the dif- 
 ferences between corporations and their employes is 
 as necessary to the welfare of society at large as it 
 is to the laboring man. There is no more reason why 
 a laboring man should be compelled to fight out his 
 differences with his employer by strike or boycott 
 than there is for compelling citizens to abandon
 
 272 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 courts of justice and settle their differences with each 
 other personally. "Equal rights to all and special 
 privileges to none" must therefore be observed io 
 the settlement of the problems that affect employe 
 and employer. 
 
 Even the money question can be settled by this 
 Jeffersonian maxim, and it can be settled in no other 
 way. There is but one kind of dollar that can be de- 
 fined as an ideal dollar and that is the stable dollar — 
 the dollar that does not change in its average purchas- 
 ing power. The most fundamental principle in the 
 science of money is that a dollar is good in propor- 
 tion as its average purchasing power is fixed and 
 unchanging. The second is that the value of a dol- 
 lar, other things being equal, depends upon the num- 
 ber of dollars — an increase in the volume of money de- 
 creasing the purchasing power of the dollar, a decrease 
 in the volume of money increasing the purchase power 
 of the dollar. Sometimes "an honest dollar" has 
 been defined as a dollar which does not suffer loss 
 in melting, but no one who has any knowledge of the 
 science of money would attempt to defend the "melt- 
 ing-pot test" as a test of honest money. Whether a 
 dollar can be melted without loss is entirely due to 
 the law. If the law provides, as it does, that 25 8-10 
 grains of standard gold can be coined into a dollar 
 without charge then the melting of a dollar does not 
 destroy any of its value, because it can be immediately 
 recoined without loss. If, however, the law fixed a 
 coinage charge, then the dollar would lose value to 
 the extent of that coinage charge because that amount
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 273 
 
 would have to be added to the melted gold to con- 
 vert it into a coined dollar. At present, a gold dollar 
 can be melted without loss because it can be recoined 
 without charge ; a silver dollar cannot be melted with- 
 out loss because when melted it cannot be recoined at 
 all. For about twenty-four years after 1873, the cru- 
 sade against silver resulted in a constant rise in the 
 purchasing power of the dollar and a constant fall in 
 the value of property as measured by money. It was 
 to check this fall and to restore the parity between 
 money and property that bimetallists throughout the 
 world contended for the remonetization of silver. Since 
 1896, an increase in the production of gold has 
 brought in part what the restoration of bitmetallism 
 would have brought in a greater measure, but con- 
 ditions have been so unusual since 1896 that it is not 
 yet possible to tell whether the equilibrium between 
 money and property has been restored, neither is it 
 possible to calculate for how long a period the new 
 gold supplies will be sufficient. It is certain that 
 the quantity of money in circulation must constantly 
 increase in order to keep pace with population and 
 business, and, whenever the supply of money fails to 
 keep pace with the demand for it, we shall always 
 have an era of rising dollars and falling prices, and 
 the term "falling-prices" is but another term for busi- 
 ness depression and hard times. Only by recogniz- 
 ing the doctrine of equal rights to all and special 
 privileges to none can we hope to reach an adjust- 
 ment of the money question that will be permanent, 
 for no adjustment can be regarded as permanent that 
 does not do justice as between man and man.
 
 274 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 But while I am anxious that we shall apply the doc- 
 trine of "equal rights to all and special privileges to 
 none" to all our domestic questions and thus settle 
 them rightly, both for our own good and for the 
 example of others, I am also anxious that we shall 
 apply this doctrine in our dealings with foreign 
 nations ; for they will recognize the principle much 
 more clearly when it is applied to international ques- 
 tions than when it is applied to our domestic pro- 
 blems. Just now we are being watched much more 
 closely than usual. We are on the witness-stand, 
 and our testimony will either strengthen the doctrine 
 of self-government everywhere or weaken it through- 
 out the world. There are but two theories of govern- 
 ment—in all history, no others have been suggested. 
 These are, first, that governments derive their just 
 powers from the consent of the governed, and, sec- 
 ond, that governments rest upon force. If govern- 
 ment by what is called divine right seems to be a 
 third, it is not really so. It is only a subdivision of 
 the second form, for no king can assert a divine right 
 to rule, unless he has a force superior to any one who 
 contests his right. 
 
 In dealing with Cuba, we recognized the inalien- 
 able right of the people of Cuba to liberty and inde- 
 pendence. We cannot deny the equally inalienable 
 right of the people of the Philippines to liberty and 
 self government without a departure from our theory 
 of government. And in dealing with the Philippine 
 question, we must determine whether our nation is 
 to be a physical force ruling where it can and defending
 
 A CONQUERING NATION 275 
 
 its rule by the arguments used in defense of monarch- 
 ies or whether we shall be a moral force ruling 
 where we do rule by the consent of the governed and 
 influencing others by the force of our example. If 
 the Filipinos desired to become a part of our people 
 we might make them citizens but for the race ques- 
 tion which it would raise — and we have enough race 
 trouble now — but to hold them as colonies, to tax them 
 without representation and govern them without the 
 consent of the governed would mean a return to dog- 
 mas of arbitrary power which our forefathers success- 
 fully resisted. 
 
 If we have faith in the truths set forth in the 
 Declaration of Independence and there said to be 
 self-evident; if we have faith in the triumph of these 
 truths ; if we have faith in the influence of a high and 
 holy example ; if we have faith in the Christian doc- 
 trine of the triumph of righteousness, we will not sub- 
 stitute war and conquest for the peaceful progress of 
 the past. 
 
 This nation should be a great nation, a conquering 
 nation. It should overcome the world. How? By 
 following the precept given in Holy Writ: "Be not 
 overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
 
 The Attractions of 
 Farming 
 
 Written for and copyrighted by The Saturday Evsning Post, Phila- 
 delphia, and reproduced by courtesy of that journal
 
 THE ATTRACTIONS OF FARMING. 
 
 Before mentioning the modern improvements 
 which add to the comfort of farm life, the agricultur- 
 ist's place in the nation's economy and the advantages 
 offered by the farm deserve attention. Of all the toil- 
 ers the tiller of the ground is in closest touch with 
 Mother Earth. He learns the secrets of Nature, 
 watches the seasons, and is the alchemist at whose 
 touch base soil is transmuted into golden grain, grass 
 into milk and meat, and rainfall into the syrup of the 
 cane. He feeds the world and clothes it as well. If 
 the farmers by concerted action were to take a year's 
 vacatiCin, the trader, the artisan, the teacher and the 
 members of the learned professions would soon be pe- 
 titioning upon bended knees for their return to work. 
 Those who are content to live without considering the 
 source whence come the necessaries of life scarcely 
 realize how dependent they are upon the farmer's brain 
 and muscle. If the steak is tender it is because the 
 farmer has by a wise selection cultivated good breeds, 
 raised nutritious food, and, despite the heat or cold, 
 brought the food in proper quantity and proportion to 
 the animals whose flesh supplies the table. The flour 
 in the bread is made from wheat that has to be sown 
 and harvested, threshed and delivered at the railway 
 station before it passes between the stones at the mill. 
 The sugar that sweetens the tea and the coffee has its 
 story to tell of the farmer's care and constancy, while 
 
 279
 
 280 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 th« early vegetables testify to his vigilance and in- 
 dustry. And yet many who "fare sumptuously every 
 day" give little thought to the farmer's labors. 
 
 Not only is the farmer the firm foundation upon 
 which all other classes rest, but his vocation gives the 
 broadest training to the threefold man. If civilization 
 can be defined as the harmonious development of the 
 human race, physically, mentally and morally, then 
 agriculture is truly a civilizing agency. The field is 
 better equipped than the gymnasium with the appli- 
 ances necessary for physical training. All the muscles 
 of the body are brought into play, and the air has a 
 freshness and a wholesomeness that no system of ven- 
 tilation can provide. The resident of the city finds 
 that his daily exercise not only costs him money but 
 costs him time, and he ofte ntakes it grudgingly and 
 from a sense of duty. The farmer finds his exercise 
 both useful and profitable. In the city there is little 
 that a boy can do; on the farm there is employment for 
 persons of every age — employment that does not over- 
 tax their strength and need not trespass upon their 
 school hours. 
 
 That the farm gives a good foundation for men- 
 tal training is evident to any one who has compared 
 the school records of country boys with the school 
 records of the boys in the cities. Habits of applica- 
 tion, of industry and of thoroughness in school come 
 naturally enough to one who has been trained to farm 
 work. Not only does the farm furnish mental athletes 
 for the city, but the average farmer possesses more 
 information of general value than the average resident 
 of a city. If he has not always read the latest fiction
 
 ATTRACTIONS OF FARMING 281 
 
 or the most sensational criminal news, he has gen- 
 erally read something fully as useful. The long even- 
 ings of the winter, the rainy days of the summer, and 
 the Sabbath days throughout the year give him many 
 hours for reading, and while at work he has more time 
 for meditation and for the digestion of what he reads 
 than those employed at other kinds of labor. 
 
 He is not afflicted with insomnia nor troubled 
 with nervous prostration. He has the "sound mind in 
 the sound body" which has been sought in every age. 
 
 To an even greater extent is the farmer's occupa- 
 tion conducive to moral development. Bondaref, a 
 Russian author much praised by Tolstoy, says : "It is 
 physically impossible that true religious knowledge or 
 pure morality should exist among any classes of a na- 
 tion who do not work with their hands for their bread." 
 To the farmer the miracle is of daily occurrence. 
 The feeding of a multitude with a few loaves 
 and fishes cannot mystify one who every spring 
 watches the earth's awakening and estimates the mil- 
 lions who are to be supplied by the chemistry of the 
 vegetable. Resurrection and immortality are easily 
 understood by one who sees a harvest spring from 
 buried grain, and the fruits of a new birth are easily 
 comprehended by one who has watched the earth grow 
 verdant beneath the smiles of a summer's sun. The 
 parables of Christ, taken from every-day life, make 
 plain to the farmer the Divine philosophy. He reads 
 of the sower, and his own experience furnishes a par- 
 allel. He knows, too, how a tiny seed can grow into a 
 great tree, and he has seen the tares side by side with 
 the wheat. He is often called upon to exercis* pa-
 
 282 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 tience with the barren tree, and his faith increases as 
 he follows the blade through all the stages of its de- 
 velopment until he sees "the full corn in the ear." 
 
 The farmer, while gathering the fruits of his labor 
 and enriching himself by adding to the world's wealth, 
 learns the true basis of rewards. He learns to give a 
 dollar's worth of work for a dollar's worth of product, 
 and when he not only produces something, but im- 
 proves the methods of production, he feels the satis- 
 faction that comes when one makes a genuine contri- 
 bution to the general welfare. The farmer feels a sense 
 of proprietorship in the product of his labor that is not 
 felt by one who produces as an employee or through 
 an employee. . It is this sense of proprietorship and 
 independence that makes one feel, as he grows older, 
 an increasing desire to own his own home, and to have 
 enough land about him to give rest to his body, quiet 
 to his mind and peace to his soul. 
 
 The child raised upon the farm has the advantage 
 of occupation, and a great advantage it is — for "Satan 
 finds some mischief still for idle hands to do" — and is 
 shielded from the allurements of the city while good 
 habits are being acquired and character is being 
 formed. 
 
 It is not that farm life is without its temptations, 
 but the influence of the father, the mother and the 
 home have a greater field for operation, and parental 
 authority is not here so strained to counteract the 
 force of outside currents. 
 
 Did you ever go through a crowded tenement 
 quarter on Sunday afternoon or at twilight in sum- 
 mer? One's heart aches at the sight of the thousands
 
 ATTRACTIONS OF FARMING 28^ 
 
 of little children whose only playground is the side- 
 walk and whose conceptions of an all-loving and merci- 
 ful Heavenly Father must be dwarfed and deformed 
 by the squalor and unhappiness about them. They 
 breathe the dust-ladened and soot-poisoned air, and 
 while this enfeebles their bodies, their minds and 
 hearts are exposed to the contagion of the street and 
 the alley. 
 
 Even in the cultivation of a taste for the aesthetic 
 the country has its advantages. As some one has ex- 
 pressed it, "God made the country, man made the 
 town." There is a beauty in the handiwork of the 
 Almighty which it is the pride of man to approach but 
 not within his power to reach. A country landscape, 
 with its hues that change with the seasons, cannot be 
 transferred to paper or to canvas. Those who live 
 their lives on narrow streets and have their vision lim- 
 ited by lofty walls miss the glowing tints of the dawn 
 and the rich colorings that streak the west at sunset. 
 They know not the invigorating breezes of the early 
 morning, the music of the birds, or the lowing of the 
 contented kine at nightfall. The cut flowers from the 
 hothouse are not a perfect substitute for the buds that 
 are cultivated by members of the family, and that seem 
 to shed a richer fragrance because they are home 
 grown and represent a care that can be measured. 
 
 The most laborious forms of farm labor, consider- 
 ing the quantity of work to be done, are plowing and 
 harvesting grain, hay and corn. The riding plow has 
 robbed one form of its excessive fatigue, the self- 
 binder has supplanted the cradle, and the mower has 
 taken the place of the scythe, while more recently the
 
 284 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 corn-cutter has not only lightened the work of gath- 
 ering corn, but has made it possible to postpone the 
 husking until winter, besides making it easier to save 
 the fodder. 
 
 With improved breeds the pleasure of handling 
 stock is largely increased. There is a satisfaction in 
 raising the best kinds of cattle and the best speci- 
 mens of the various breeds. Take the shorthorn, for 
 instance — one of the best, if not the best, of all-pur- 
 pose breeds. One takes a pardonable pride in ex- 
 hibiting such an animal and learns to admire its 
 points of superiority. The shorthorn cow, giving, as 
 she does, a fair quantity of milk of good quality and 
 raising large and easily-fattened calves, is a favorite 
 with the small farmer. If to the herd a few Jerseys 
 can be added the housewife rejoices in still richer 
 milk. The Polled Jersey now has an association of its 
 own and bids fair to rival the Jersey with horns. If 
 one desires to add a dairy to his farm the Holstein is 
 found valuable because of the quantity of milk given, 
 while the Hereford, the Galloway and the Polled An- 
 gus are popular with the range. 
 
 Hogs, though not noted for that virtue which is 
 said to be next to godliness, are a necessary and pro- 
 fitable adjunct to the farm. They grow into money 
 more rapidly than any other kind of stock, and excite 
 an interest which their greediness cannot entirely de- 
 stroy. The Poland China has long been a popular 
 breed and still contests for public favor with the 
 Durocas, the Berkshires and the Chester Whites. 
 
 Even more fascinating, if possible, is the poultry 
 department of the farm. The numerous breeds give
 
 ATTRACTIONS OF FARMING 285 
 
 a wide range for taste, and no one can attend a poul- 
 try show without being convinced that the cultivation 
 of barnyard fowls — they are called "birds" if they 
 are of a fine breed — not only furnishes an enjoyable oc- 
 cupation but yields in the aggregate an enormous an- 
 nual product. The Plymouth Rock is probably the 
 most popular of the dual purpose fowls, although I 
 think the White Wyandottcs preferable, possibly for 
 aesthetic rather than economic reasons, the white 
 chickens looking well against a background of green 
 grass, clover or alfalfa. 
 
 I have mentioned but two branches of farm work; 
 the raising of stock (cattle and hogs) and the care 
 of poultry. Many farmers make a specialty of horses 
 — driving horses, riding horses, draft horses or race 
 horses. Then the various kinds of crops furnish an op- 
 portunity for experiments and investigation, while 
 the garden is the pride of every rural household. 
 
 Horticulture is the handmaid of Agriculture and 
 occupies a position of increasing importance. He who 
 plants a tree plans for the future and gives evidence 
 of his interest in posterity. Nor is such labor entirely 
 unselfish, for fruit, grapes and berries, not travel-worn 
 but fresh and wholesome, are a part of the farmer's 
 reward. But enough has been said to indicate the 
 breadth of the field that opens before one who is con- 
 tent to exchange honest labor for the products of the 
 soil. 
 
 The agricultural colleges have made wonderful 
 strides during recent years, and, with the experi- 
 ment stations, are greatly extending the scientific 
 knowledge of the young men who are preparing them-
 
 286 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 selves for farm life. As these trained men establish 
 themselves and begin to apply their knowledge we 
 may expect to see the farms and farmhouses better 
 cared for, the fertility of the soil better preserved by 
 a rotation of crops, the stock better selected and better 
 fed, and the yield of the farm increased by wise ar- 
 rangement of the work. The agricultural experiment 
 stations are becoming an important part of the govern- 
 ment's co-operative work. The expense of their ex- 
 periments is borne by all and the results are free to 
 all. In the case of an invention the patentee is given 
 a monopoly for a term of years as a reward of his 
 contribution to the welfare of society; sometimes the 
 reward is exorbitant, and it often goes to speculators 
 who advance money upon the patent, rather than to 
 the patentee. Where encouragement is given to an 
 industry by a bounty or tariff it is often given through 
 favoritism and can be withdrawn only with great 
 difficulty, but at the experiment stations the work 
 is done by public officials for the benefit of the public. 
 There is a political reason just now why the work 
 of the agricultural colleges should be heartily encour- 
 aged. The interests of the farmer have been neglected 
 by the government. Though the farmer has to pay 
 more than his share of the taxes, measured by his in- 
 come, the annual appropriations for the army and 
 navy are at present more than thirty times as great 
 as the appropriation for the agricultural department. 
 The members of congress are nearly all residents of 
 the cities, and, without intending it, they naturally 
 give more attention to the needs of the cities than to 
 the needs of the rural districts. Though this is true
 
 ATTRACTIONS OF FARMING 287 
 
 to a less extent of State officials and State Legisla- 
 tures, still, even here the country does not have a 
 representation in proportion to its voting strength. 
 The better education of those who intend to farm will 
 have a tendency to increase the proportion of farmer 
 statesmen and to enlarge the agriculturist's share in 
 the management of the Government. Prince Bis- 
 marck was a few years ago quoted as saying that the 
 farmers must stand together and "protect themselves 
 against the drones of society who produce nothing 
 but laws." It is certainly true that the non-producers 
 produce more law than the producers of wealth. The 
 rapidly increasing interest taken in the work of ag- 
 ricultural colleges gives promise of a salutary change 
 in this respect. 
 
 These colleges are also destined to perform an 
 important work in teaching the dignity of labor. It 
 has been too much the custom to regard the academy 
 and the college as established for the professional 
 classes only, and farm work has too frequently been 
 left to those with inferior educational advantages. 
 With better instruction and more complete college 
 training the farmers of the next generation will em- 
 phasize the fact that an intelligent acquaintance with 
 manual labor qualifies rather than unfits one for un- 
 derstanding the great industrial and social problems 
 that press for solution. Tolstoy attributes most of the 
 estrangement between the classes to lack of sym- 
 pathy, and believes that sympathy can best be culti- 
 vated by a return to bread-labor — the primary strug- 
 gle with Nature — each one doing enough manual labor 
 to produce his own bread. If Tolstoy is correct, then
 
 288 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 the industrial schools in the cities and the agricultural 
 colleges ought to exert a powerful influence in recon- 
 ciling and harmonizing labor and capital. 
 
 A number of influences are at work which tend 
 to add greatly to the attractiveness and enjoyment of 
 country life, without robbing it of its distinctive ad- 
 vantages. The rural delivery, in addition to its great 
 convenience, has already increased the amount of mail 
 sent and received by farmers. The postal check and 
 the extension of the parcel post will still further con- 
 tribute to his welfare. The telephone lessens by one- 
 half the anxious hours of suspense between sickness 
 or accident and the arriva] of relief, besides putting 
 the farmer into immediate communication with the 
 telegraph office and with his neighbors. He can now 
 arrange his shipments with less risk and can eflfect 
 a considerable saving in time. The electric lines are 
 bringing cheap and rapid transit to an ever-increasing 
 proportion of the population and are destined to in- 
 crease the value of suburban property at the expense 
 of the tenement-house and the flat. Joint high 
 schools, rural libraries and the delivery of children to 
 and from the schoolhouse are improving the educa- 
 tional facilities in the country. The good roads move- 
 ment is destined still further to augment the farmer's 
 comfort and well-being by raising the mud embargo 
 and making the carrying of crops possible, and social 
 intercourse easier, during the wet months. 
 
 The manufacture of acetylene and other kinds of 
 gas has been so perfected that it is possible for the 
 farmer to equip his home at small expense with
 
 ATTRACTIONS OF FARMING 289 
 
 light equal to the gas of the cities, and the experiments 
 now being made with alcohol give promise of a time 
 when the prairie states can convert their corn and po- 
 tatoes into alcohol and supply themselves with a 
 material suitable for heating and illumination. With 
 alcohol freed from the tax and made unfit for drinking, 
 the Mississippi Valley will be quite independent of 
 the oil trust and the anthracite coal trust. 
 
 The greatest convenience in city life is the water 
 supply in the house. No woman who has enjoyed 
 for a time the luxury of running water in the house 
 can quite adjust herself to the old way of bringing 
 water from the well of cistern. It is not surprising 
 therefore, to find a rapidly increasing number of farm- 
 ers equipping their homes with a water system that 
 furnishes water for the sink, the bathtub and the 
 closet. For some time the tank in the attic was the 
 only means of distributing water through the house, 
 but the compressed air tank is rapidly taking its place. 
 The attic tank, because of the possibility of freezing in 
 the winter and leakage at any time, was always a 
 source of anxiety. The compressed air tank can be 
 placed in the basement, or outside underground, and 
 answers every purpose. (Where the tank is placed 
 under-ground it is best to have a space around it suf- 
 ficient to permit inspection and repair.) In the prai- 
 rie states the windmill is now employed to fill the 
 tank, and when geared to work automatically the 
 pressure can be kept at any point desired. Now that 
 to the former advantages of the country home the con- 
 veniences of the city are being added, we may ex- 
 pect a reversal of the tendency toward an increase in
 
 290 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 the proportion of the urban population. If the tide 
 turns, as it seems likely to, and the congestion of 
 the city is relieved by the Fettling of adjacent fields 
 and the reclamation of arid lands, it is difficult to es- 
 timate fully the effect upon the country. The muni- 
 cipal problems which are absorbing so much attention 
 the problems of sociologoy and the problems of gov- 
 ernment in general, will be made easier, and the foun- 
 dation will be laid for a higher and more enduring 
 national life. The bringing of the extremes of so- 
 ciety nearer together and the cultivation of a more 
 cordial, fraternal feeling will not be the least of the 
 blessings to be hoped for from the improvements that 
 are making farming more attractive and country life 
 more inviting.
 
 Peace 
 
 Address Delivered by Mr. Bryan before the Holland 
 Society, New York City. January, 1904
 
 PEACE 
 
 Mr. President, Members of the Holland Society, 
 Ladies and Gentlemen : 
 
 I esteem it a great privilege to be here. I re- 
 ceived this invitation while I was in Europe, and 
 your President sent me a book telling what has been 
 done by the society and reproducing some of the 
 speeches that had been made. He also gave me the 
 names of some of the distinguished men who, in times 
 past, have appeared before this society. It is a 
 great array of distinguished names, and as I looked 
 over them and saw how they represented different 
 elements of our national life and recalled different 
 characteristics of the early settlers, I wondered if in 
 the selection you had not tried to find men living to- 
 day who in some way would remind you of the great 
 men among the Dutch. For instance, I see that Sen- 
 ator Depew of New York has spoken here, and I feel 
 sure that he was invited because he can make as good 
 a bargain as Peter Minuit who bought the island from 
 the Indians. And then I see that the President has 
 been here. It has been suggested that he was selected 
 because he recalled the strenuousnss of Peter Stuy- 
 vesant. I do not know why I was invited, unless my 
 reticence might have suggested William the Silent. 
 
 I accepted your invitation gladly, because I know 
 by observation that one can learn much more by see-
 
 294 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 ing things than by reading about them. I had read 
 of the way the early Dutch lived here, and I wanted 
 to come in order that I might have an object-lesson, 
 for, of course, your banquet here is made as much 
 as possible like the dinners that they had upon Man- 
 hattan in the early days. I can almost see those 
 Dutch now, and I can hear them, or I thought I 
 heard them when I heard the rattle of your wooden 
 shoes upon the floor. But, do you know, I have been 
 wondering since I came if a part of the history of 
 these early settlers had not been left untold. We all 
 know that the English came one time and took pos- 
 session. Now, I have been among the English lately, 
 and I cannot believe that they would do anything so 
 impolite, at least those whom I met were not, I am 
 sure, responsible or anything very bad. And this 
 is the way I explain it: The Dutch were eating then, 
 as you are eating now ; they had a sumptuous repast, 
 and the English, learning of it, were simply unable to 
 withstand the temptation to take possession of the 
 tables. And if the Dutch who were at the tables, 
 felt as little like fighting as I do now, they did not 
 make a very vigorous resistance. But as soon as 
 they had time to digest their food and rest a little, 
 they went and took back the tables from the En- 
 glish. I am saisfied that that accounts for the tem- 
 porary cession of Manhattan Island. 1 am glad to 
 be here, glad to see you, and glad to learn just how 
 they did in those days, for I think I understand the 
 Dutch better now than I did when I simply read 
 about them.
 
 PEACE 295 
 
 I have enjoyed the speeches made, only I am a 
 little embarrassed by the compliments paid by my 
 good friend, (Mr. Beck,) and I think I understand 
 now why he apologized for what he was going to 
 say. He knew he was going to speak so well that he 
 would have to apologize for it, or it would seem un- 
 fair to me. As I listened to him, I could not help 
 thinking of the excuse a Chinese editor once gave for 
 rejecting a manuscript that some one sent in — it was 
 probably from "Pro Bono Publico," "Constant 
 Reader," or "Veritas." The editor sent it back, say- 
 ing that he was unwilling to publish it because it 
 was of so high an order of merit that it would set a 
 standard of excellence that no one else could approach 
 and that it would, therefore, cause a good deal of dis- 
 satisfaction in the country. I am afraid that Mr. Beck 
 has set such a high standard of oratory here that it 
 will be very difficult for myself and for the speakers 
 at future Holland Society dinners to rise to his stan- 
 dard. Another thing, I am embarrassed by the fact 
 that both he and my friend Dr. Lorimer over here 
 touched on politics. I do not like to have anybody 
 touch on politics when I come last. I do not know 
 how I am going to withstand the temptation to talk 
 politics unless I retaliate on Brother Lorimer; as he, 
 a preacher, made a political speech, I, somewhat in 
 politics, may preach a sermon. 
 
 My subject is Peace, and I have been thinking 
 about it, especially since the trip that I made to the 
 Netherlands. I am not going to speak here of the 
 wonderful bravery of those people, a bravery exem- 
 plified all through their history, a bravery of which
 
 396 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 '^Vfe had a recent illustration, when a handful of them 
 down in South Africa made such a heroic fight for 
 their political existence. While they failed there, they 
 brought blessings to liberty-loving people everywhere, 
 for they made a war of conquest so expensive that no 
 nation in the near future will attempt to take inde- 
 pendence from a republic, however small. 
 
 I have been thinking of the progress made by 
 the inhabitants of the Netherlands, how they have 
 rescued their lands from the seas and won their vic- 
 tory over Neptune. I was interested in the quaint cit- 
 ies there, in their hundreds of canals and their leaning 
 buildings. I was interested in all that I saw, but I 
 was impressed most by the fact that the Netherlands 
 is to furnish the site for the Temple of Peace soon 
 to be erected; that on that soil, reddened by the 
 blood of an Eighty Years' War, will rise the perma- 
 nent home of the Arbitration Court. At The Hague 
 I recalled the long struggle for freedom of conscience, 
 for freedom of speech, and for constitutional govern- 
 ment, and rejoiced that at last the fragrant flower of 
 peace had appeared upon the thorny stalk of war. I 
 am glad that an American citizen has contributed the 
 money that makes it possible for this building to be 
 erected in a place so well fitted for it. And as I 
 thought of little Holland — little among the nations 
 and yet great in contests where mind and heart con- 
 trol — I recalled the words of the Prophet of old, who 
 foretold an era of peace so universal and so pro- 
 found that to emphasize it he pictured it as extending 
 even to the animals, and said that the wolf would 
 dwell with the lamb, that the leopard would lie down
 
 PEACE 297 
 
 with the kid, that the calf, the lion, and the fatling 
 would keep company together, and that a little child 
 should lead them. Are our eyes to witness the fulfil- 
 ment of this prohpecy? 
 
 In a forum where right prevails and where dis- 
 putes are settled, not by armed force but by reason, 
 a little nation like the Netherlands can enter into an 
 honorable rivalry with her more populous neighbors. 
 But this has not come all at once. It has been of grad- 
 ual growth, as all things are of gradual growth that 
 are strong and lasting. The trees that are able to 
 withstand the storms mature slowly, and so do great 
 movements. 
 
 "Heaven is not gained by a single bound; 
 We build the ladder by which we rise 
 From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 
 
 And mount its sumit round by round." 
 
 So with reforms; it takes time to work them 
 out. We need not expect that the nations will disband 
 their armies at once; we need not expect that all dif- 
 ficulties will be taken before the Court of Arbitration ; 
 but we have reason to believe that the light of a better 
 day is dawning, and that we are about to enter upon 
 an era in which conscience will assert its supremacy 
 over brute force, and the crown of victory be awarded, 
 not to the nation that has the largest army or the 
 strongest navy, but to the nation that sets the best ex- 
 ample and contributes most to the welfare of the 
 world. 
 
 Sometimes when we see the war spirit rampant, 
 we are tempted to say with the poet,
 
 298 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 "Right forever on the scaffold, 
 Wroner forever on the throne. ' ' 
 
 but in such hours we can draw inspiration and en- 
 couragement from Holy Writ. When Elijah was flee- 
 ing from the wrath of wicked Jezebel and believed all 
 the prophets to have been slain, the Lord commanded 
 him to stand upon the mountain, and as he stood 
 there, a mighty wind swept by him and rent the 
 rocks asunder, but God was not in the wind ; and after 
 the wind came an earthquake, but God was not in 
 the earthquake; and after the earthquake, a fire, hut 
 God was not in the fire ; and ifter the fire, a still, small 
 voice, and it was the voice of God. And so, to-day, 
 throughout the world an increasing number, standing 
 upon the heights, are coming to believe that God is 
 not in the ironclads that sweep the ocean with their 
 guns, that God is not in the armies that shake the 
 earth with their tread, or in the fire of musketry, but 
 in the still, small voice of justice that issues from tri- 
 bunals like that instituted at The Hague. There have 
 been times when bravery upon the battlefield was con- 
 sidered the highest form of virtue. There have been 
 times when intellectual supremacy and intellectual in- 
 dependence were considered all-sufficient, but the time 
 is coming when heart characteristics will re- 
 ceive the attention that they deserve; time is 
 coming when we shall not define civilization as 
 Buckle defined it, "as measured by the mastery of 
 the human mind over the forces of nature," but shall 
 define it as the harmonious development of the hum- 
 an race, physically, mentally and morally. The time 
 jis coming wb-en physical perfection alone will not sat-
 
 , PEACE 2 9 i) 
 
 isfy, when intellectual training alone will not be suf- 
 ficient, but when the spiritual man will be considered 
 and his welfare guarded. I believe that we are to 
 build this permanent peace, this permanent arbitration, 
 not upon a plutocracy of wealth or upon an aristocracy 
 of learning, but upon the democracy of the heart. We 
 shall then arraign every evil at the bar of the public 
 conscience, for the most potent force of which man has 
 personal knowledge is the conscience. That con- 
 science can be awakened, and when awakened, its gen- 
 tle promptings are more imperative than statute laws, 
 and the invisible barriers which it builds around us are 
 stronger than prison walls. 
 
 It is to this conscience that nations today appeal 
 when they appear before The Hague tribunal. One 
 of the members of that tribunal told me that he was 
 interested to note that the great nations represented 
 there by counsel spend their time, not in discussing 
 their pecuniary loss or gain, but in defending their 
 honor. 
 
 It is impossible to overestimate the influence of 
 this appeal to conscience. As has been well said to- 
 night by China's distinguished Ambassador, the sug- 
 gestion of this Peace Conference presented by the 
 Emperor of Russia was not a new discovery ; it simply 
 gave expression to a sentiment that had been growing 
 in the hearts of people all over the world. And this 
 appeal to conscience must be made in this country 
 as well as in our international relations. We com- 
 plain not at the great development of the last century ; 
 we complain rather that the moral sense has not kept 
 pace with industrial expansion. We are, as it were.
 
 300 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 trying to guide a great ship with the apparatus that 
 was scarcely sufficient for a smaller one. It is like 
 equipping the Celtic with the rudder made for the 
 Half-Moon. It is necessary that the moral sense 
 shall be addressed ; and when my friend here (Mr. 
 Beck) mentioned the Labor Organization as a menace, 
 I feel like suggesting another danger, more menac- 
 ing, I think, than any organization of men who are 
 earning their bread in the sweat of the brow. 
 
 I refer to the conscienceless organizations of cap- 
 ital that plunder stockholders and patrons, and defy 
 the law. More dangerous, too, than any labor organi- 
 zation is the use of money in elections, money that 
 has debauched our politics and made the purchase of 
 votes common upon the street. Men sell franchises 
 and legislate for the great corporation. The use of 
 money in elections is, to my mind, a far greater men- 
 ace to this country than anything that comes from 
 the organization of laboring men. And what is the 
 remedy for labor troubles? The same remedy that 
 we are to employ in international politics. It is not to 
 fight among ourselves ; it is not to abuse each other ; 
 it is to appeal to the conscience of the people — the 
 most potent force, I repeat, of which we have knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 I saw at Rome the great Colosseum, and I re- 
 called the time when the Christian martyrs were 
 dragged into the arena and devoured by the wild 
 beasts. We are told that, when they entered the 
 arena, they assembled in the centre, raised their hands 
 to heaven, and prayed and sang until life was extinct. 
 How helpless they seemed to be ! How irresistible
 
 PEACE 301 
 
 seemed the forces arrayed against them ! And yet 
 those people, upon their bended knees, invoked a 
 power stronger than the legions of Rome, and it was 
 only a few decades before their prayers were an- 
 swered — before their doctrine of love overwhelmed 
 the doctrine oi force that bad consigtita cncm ^^ ^Veir 
 death. 
 
 I found in Russia a peasant philosopher preach- 
 ing the gospel of love. He lives in a land where they 
 have almost a million soldiers. They do not allow 
 some of his articles to be published; they will banish 
 people for circulating them ; they stop at the border 
 those who attempt to carry them printed into the 
 country; and yet the doctrine of that apostle of love 
 has so touched the hearts of the people of the world 
 that, while they may punish the people who circulate 
 what he says, they do not lay their hands upon the 
 man himself. What does it mean? It means just what 
 has been said by Carlyle, that thought is stronger 
 than artillery parks, and that back of every great 
 thought is love. I believe that this movement to sub- 
 stitute reason for force in the settlement of differences 
 between nations rests upon love, upon an all-pervad- 
 ing love, upon a love that must in the end triumph. If 
 we build in this country, we must build upon that 
 foundation. If you ask me if there is any doctrine 
 that will bring peace in this country, I reply that it is 
 the doctrine, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy- 
 self," and that that is the only peace-insuring doc- 
 trine. Can you bring peace by attacking laborers' or- 
 ganizations? See what they have done; give credit for 
 what they have accomplished. Do not simply blame
 
 302 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 them for their errors; give them credit for their 
 achievements. They have given us the Australian 
 ballot, which allows an American citizen to vote ac- 
 cording to the dictates of his own conscience and re- 
 lieves him from the fear of being driven to the polls 
 by his employer. Give them credit for thus maintain- 
 ing the dignity of American citizenship. Give them 
 credit for having decreased the hours of labor. Do 
 you think it is unjust that the hours of labor should 
 be decreased? We try to take care of our own chil- 
 dren — try to take care of them well. When we look 
 after ourselves we try to do it well. If we drive 
 the laboring man from his bed to his work, and then 
 drive him back from his work to his bed, what time is 
 he going to have for the cultivation of his mind and 
 the development of his heart? These men are Ameri- 
 can citizens. In time of war we need them, and a 
 man who is fit to die for his country, ought to be per- 
 mitted to live for it and enjoy life in it. These are 
 the people who produce the wealth of this nation. 
 These are the people upon whom our nation rests 
 both in peace and in war. Why not give them justice? 
 Why not deal with them as you would deal with 
 brothers? The labor organizations are trying to pro- 
 hibit child labor in factories. Go into the factories 
 and see the children at work, bent beneath their 
 cares, and when you remember that you permit this 
 dwarfing of their minds and dwarfing of their bodies, 
 this destroying of their chances for life, ask yourself 
 if you would permit it in the case of your own chil- 
 dren ; and if not, remember that these children are 
 made in the image of God as your children are, and
 
 PEACE 303 
 
 that you must love them as you love your own chil- 
 dren. 
 
 I came here to speak of peace, international 
 peace, a peace that will bring together the nations of 
 the earth, a peace that will give us the substitution of 
 reason and right for force and might. But I am 
 willing to apply that doctrine to my own country, and 
 I am willing to apply it to every question. You, who 
 boast of our descent from the brave Dutch ; you, who 
 boast that in your veins is the blood of a noble ances- 
 try; I appeal to you to meet these questions with the 
 heroism that your ancestors displayed. If they were 
 willing to die for their rights, are you not willing to 
 respect the rights of others as well as to defend your 
 own? There is something that is greater than dying 
 for one's own rights. That is great, but I am looking 
 for the time when there will be something greater yet, 
 a civilization beyond any that we have yet seen, a 
 civilization in which the greatest citizen will be, not 
 the man who will die in defense of his own rights, but 
 the man who will die rather than trespass upon the 
 rights of another. 
 
 Upon this foundation only can we build peace, 
 peace among citizens and peace among nations. 
 Peace must rest on love, and every question that af- 
 fects us must be decided not by the way it affects the 
 pocketbook, but as it is determined by the conscience 
 — that prompter which we all have with us if we will 
 but listen to it. 
 
 I am very grateful, my friends, for this opportun- 
 ity to speak to you.
 
 304 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 I did not have much chance to speak to some of 
 you during the campaign. You thought that those 
 who talked as I talked, were enemies of yours; we 
 were not. You thought we wanted to injure you; we 
 did not. You thought that we were radical ; we were 
 not; we were conservative; we were not advocating 
 retaliation ; we were simply asking that our institu- 
 tions be built on justice. Beware of those who come 
 afterward — of the radicals who will not be content to 
 stop a wrong, but will want to go back and get re- 
 venge for what has been done. I appeal to you to 
 meet these questions, and if you love peace, do not 
 love it in Holland only; love it in America. If you 
 love peace, seek the foundation upon which it rests. 
 You will find that when the Nazarene's coming was 
 announced to the Shepherds who kept their flocks by 
 night, it was "Peace on earth, good will towards men." 
 How can you have peace without good will toward 
 men? I appeal to you to consider the true foundation 
 of peace, here and everywhere, and you will find in 
 the recognition of the rights of your fellows a higher 
 happiness and a greater satisfaction than can be found 
 In a shortsighted selfishness that trespasses upon the 
 rights of another, whether that other person be a 
 merchant or a laboring man.
 
 Imperialism 
 
 Speech Delivered by Mr. Bryan in response 1o tlie Committee 
 appointed to notify him of his nomination to the presi- 
 dency, at Indianapolis, August 8, 1900
 
 IMPERIALISM. 
 
 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Notification 
 Committee: I shall, at an early day, and in a more 
 formal manner accept the nomination which you ten- 
 der, and I shall at that time discuss the various ques- 
 tions covered by the Democratic platform. It may 
 not be out of place, however, to submit a few obser- 
 vations at this time upon the general character of the 
 contest before us and upon the question which is de- 
 clared to be of paramount importance in this cam- 
 paign. 
 
 When I say that the contest of 1900 is a contest 
 between Democracy on the one hand and plutocracy 
 on the other I do not mean to say that all our oppon- 
 ents have deliberately chosen to give to organized 
 wealth a predominating influence in the affairs of the 
 Government, but I do assert that on the important is- 
 sues of the day the Republican party is dominated by 
 those influences which constantly tend to substitute 
 the worship of mammon for the protection of the 
 rights of man. 
 
 In 1859 Lincoln said that the Republican party 
 believed in the man and the dollar, but that in case of 
 conflict it believed in the man before the dollar. This 
 is the proper relation which should exist between the 
 two. Man, the handiwork of God, comes first; 
 money, the handiwork of man, is of inferior impor- 
 
 807
 
 308 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 tance. Man is the master, money the servant, but 
 upon all important questions today R-epublican legisla- 
 tion tends to make money the master and man the 
 servant. 
 
 The maxim of Jefferson, "equal rights to all and 
 special privileges to none," and the doctrine of Lin- 
 coln that this should be a government "of the people, 
 by the people and for the people," are being disre- 
 garded and the instrumentalities of government are 
 being used to advance the interests of those who 
 are in a position to secure favors from the 
 Government. 
 
 The Democratic party is not making war upon the 
 honest acquisition of wealth ; it has no desire to dis- 
 courage industry, economy and thrift. On the con- 
 trary, it gives to every citizen the greatest possible 
 stimulus to honest toil when it promises him protec- 
 tion in the enjoyment of the proceeds of his labor. 
 Property rights are most secure when human rights 
 are most respected. Democracy strives for civiliza- 
 tion in which every member of society will share ac- 
 cording to his merits. 
 
 No one has a right to expect from a society more 
 than a fair compensation for the services which he 
 renders to society. If he secures more it is at the 
 expense of some one else. It is no injustice to him 
 to prevent his doing injustice to another. To him 
 who would, either through class legislation or in the 
 absence of necessary legislation, trespass upon the 
 rights of another the Democratic party says, "Thou 
 Shalt not."
 
 IMPERIALISM 309 
 
 Against us are arayed a comparatively small but 
 politically and financially powerful number who really 
 profit by Republican policies ; but with them are as- 
 sociated a large number who, because of their attach- 
 ment to their party name, are giving their support to 
 doctrines antagonistic to the former teachings of their 
 own party. 
 
 Republicans who used to advocate bimetallism 
 now try to convince themselves that the gold standard 
 is good ; Republicans who were f ormerl}'- attached to 
 the greenback are now seeking an excuse for giving 
 national banks control of the nation's paper money; 
 Republicans w^ho used to boast that the Republican 
 party was paying off the national debt are now 
 looking for reasons to support a perpetual and 
 increasing debt; Republicans who formerly ab- 
 horred a trust now beguile themselves with the 
 delusion that there are good trusts, and bad 
 trusts, while in their minds, the line between 
 the two is becoming more and more obscure ; Republi- 
 cans who, in times past, congratulated the country 
 upon the small expense of our standing army, are 
 now making light of the objections which are urged 
 against a large increase in the permanent military es- 
 tablishment ; Republicans who gloried in our indepen- 
 dence when the nation was less powerful now look 
 with favor upon a foreign alliance ; Republicans who 
 three years ago condemned "forcible annexation" as 
 immoral and even criminal a^-e now sure that it is both 
 immoral and criminal to oppose forcible annexation. 
 That partisanship has already blinded many to present 
 dangers is certain ; how large a portion of the Re-
 
 810 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 publican party can be drawn over to the new policies 
 remains to be seen. 
 
 For a time Republican leaders were inclined to 
 deny to opponents the right to criticise the Philippine 
 policy of the administration, but upon investigation 
 they found that both Lincoln and Clay asserted and 
 exercised the right to criticise a President during the 
 progress of the Mexican war. 
 
 Instead of meeting the issue boldly and submit- 
 ting a clear and positive plan for dealing with the 
 Philippine question, the Republican convention 
 adopted a platform the larger part of which was de- 
 voted to boasting and self-congratulation. 
 
 In attempting to press economic questions upon 
 the country to the exclusion of those which involve the 
 very structure of our government, the Republican 
 leaders give new evidence of their abandonment of 
 the earlier ideals of their party and of their complete 
 subserviency to pecuniary considerations. 
 
 But they shall not be permitted to evade the stu- 
 pendous and far-reaching issue which they have de- 
 liberately brought into the arena of politics. When 
 the president, supported by a practically unanimous 
 vote of the House and Senate, entered upon a war 
 with Spain for the purpose of aiding the struggling 
 patriots of Cuba, the country, without regard to par- 
 ty, applauded. 
 
 Although the Democrats realized that the ad- 
 ministration would necessarily gain a political advan- 
 tage from the conduct of a war which in the very nature 
 of the case must soon end in a complete victory, they 
 ried with the Republicans in the support which ther
 
 IMPERIALISM 811 
 
 gave to the president. When the war was over and 
 the Republican leaders began to suggest the propriety 
 of a colonial policy opposition at once manifested it- 
 self. 
 
 When the President fiinaHy laid before the Senate 
 a treaty which recognized the independence of Cuba, 
 but provided for the cession of the Philippine Islands to 
 the United States, the menace of imperialism became 
 so apparent that many preferred to reject the treaty 
 and risk the ills that might follow rather than take the 
 chance of correcting the errors of the treaty by the 
 independent action of this country. 
 
 I was among the number of those who believed it 
 better to ratify the treaty and end the war, release 
 the volunteers, remove the excuse for war expenditures 
 and then give the Filipinos the independence which 
 might be forced from Spain by a new treaty. 
 
 In view of the criticism which my action aroused 
 in some quarters, I take this occasion to restate the 
 reasons given at that time. I thought it safer to 
 trust the American people to give independence to the 
 Filipinos than to trust the accomplishment of that pur- 
 pose to diplomacy with an unfriendly nation. 
 
 Lincoln embodied an argument in the question 
 when he asked, "Can aliens make treaties easier than 
 friends can make laws ?" I believe that we are now in 
 a better position to wage a successful contest against 
 imperialism than we would have been had the treaty 
 been rejected. With the treaty ratified a clean-cut is- 
 sue is presented between a governmnet by consent and 
 a government by force, and imperialists must bear the
 
 312 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 responsibility for all that happens until the question is 
 settled. 
 
 If the treaty had been rejected the opponents of 
 imperialism would have been held repsonsible for any 
 international complications which might have arisen 
 'oefore the ratification of another treaty. But whatever 
 difference of opinion may have existed as to the best 
 method of opposing a colonial policy, there never was 
 any difference as to the great importance of the ques- 
 tion and there is no difference now as to the course to 
 be pursued. 
 
 The title of Spain being extinguished we were at 
 liberty to deal with the Filipinos according to Ameri- 
 can principles. The Bacon resolution, introduced a 
 month before hostilities broke out at Manila, prom- 
 ised independence to the Filipinos on the same terms 
 that it was promised to the Cubans. I supported this 
 resolution and believe that its adoption prior to the 
 breaking out of hostilities would have prevented blood- 
 shed, and that its adoption at any subsequent time 
 would have ended hostilities. 
 
 If the treaty had been rejected considerable time 
 would have necessarily elapsed before a new treaty 
 could have been agreed upon and ratified and during 
 that time the question would have been agitating the 
 public mind. If the Bacon resolution had been adopted 
 by the senate and carried out by the president, either 
 at the time of the ratification of the treaty or at any 
 time afterwards, it would have taken the question of 
 imperialism out of politics and left the American people 
 free to deal with their domestic problems. But the
 
 IMPERIALISM 313 
 
 resolution was defeated by the vote of the republican 
 vice-president, and from that time to this a repubican 
 congress has refused to take any action whatever in 
 the matter. 
 
 When hostilities broke out at Manila republican 
 speakers and republican editors at once sought to lay 
 the blame upon those who had delayed the ratification 
 of the treaty, and, during the progress of the war, the 
 same republicans have accused the opponents of im- 
 perialism of giving encouragement to the Filipinos. 
 This is a cowardly evasion of responsibility. 
 
 If it is right for the United States to hold the 
 Philippine Islands permanently and imitate European 
 empires in the government of colonies, the republican 
 party ought to state its position and defend it, but it 
 must expect the subject races to protest against such 
 a policy and to resist to the extent of their abiity. 
 
 The Filipinos do not need any encouragement 
 from Americans now living. Our whole history has 
 been an encouragement not only to the Filipinos, but 
 to all who are denied a voice in their own government. 
 If the republicans are prepared to censure all who 
 have used language calculated to make the Filipinos 
 hate foreign domination, let them condemn the 
 speech of Patrick Penry. When he utttered that 
 passionate appeal, "Give me liberty or give me death," 
 he expressed a sentiment which still echoes in the 
 hearts of men. 
 
 Let them censure Jefferson; of all the statesmen 
 of history none have used words so offensive to those 
 who would hold their fellows in political bor-^age. Let
 
 314 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 them censure Washington, who declared that the col- 
 onists must choose between liberty and slavery. Or, 
 if the statute of limitations has run again the sins of 
 Henry and Jefferson and Washmgton, let them censure 
 Lincoln, whose Gettysburg speech will be quoted in 
 defense of popular government when the present advo- 
 cates of force and conquest are forgotten. 
 
 Some one has said that a truth once spoken, can 
 never be recalled. It goes on and on, and no one can 
 set a limit to its ever-widening influence. But if it 
 were possible to obliterate every word written or 
 spoken in defense of the principles set forth in the 
 Declaration of Independence, a war of conquest would 
 still leave its legacy of perpetual hatred, for it was God 
 himself who placed in every human heart the love of 
 liberty. He never made a race of people so low in the 
 scale of civilization or nitelligence that it would wel- 
 come a foreign master. 
 
 Those who would have this nation enter upon a 
 career of empire must consider not only the effect of 
 imperialism on the Filipinos, but they must also calcu- 
 late its effects upon our own nation. We cannot re- 
 pudiate the principle of self-government in the Philip- 
 pines without weakening that principle here. 
 
 Lincoln said that the safety ul this nation was not 
 in its fleets, its armies, or its forts, but in the spirit 
 which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all 
 lands, everywhere, and he warned his countrymen 
 that they could not destroy this spirit without plant- 
 ing the seeds of despotism at their own doors. 
 
 Even now we are beginning to see the paralyzing 
 influence of imperialism. Heretofore this nation has
 
 IMPERIALISM 315 
 
 been prompt to express its sympathy with those who 
 were fighting for civil liberty. While our sphere of 
 activity has been limited to the western hemisphere, 
 our sympathies have not been bounded by the seas. 
 We have felt it due to ourselves and to the world, as 
 well as to those who were struggling for the right to 
 govern themselves, to proclaim the interest which our 
 people have, from the date of their own independence, 
 felt in every contest between human rights and arbi- 
 trary power. 
 
 Three-quarters of a century ago, when our nation 
 was small, the struggles of Greece aroused our people, 
 and Webster and Clay gave eloquent expression to the 
 universal desire for Grecian independence. In 1896 all 
 parties manifested a lively interest in the success of 
 the Cubans, but now when a war is in progress in 
 South Africa, which must result in the extension of the 
 monarchical idea, or in the triumph of a republic, the 
 advocates of imperialism in this country dare not say 
 a word in behalf of the Boets. 
 
 Sympathy for the Boers does not arise from any 
 unfriendliness towards England ; the American people 
 are not unfriendly toward the people of any nation. 
 This sympathy is due to the fact that, as stated in our 
 platform, we believe in the principles of self-govern- 
 ment and reject, as did our forefathers, the claims of 
 monarchy. If this nation surrenders its belief in the 
 cmiversal application of the principles set forth in the 
 Declaration of Independence, it will lose the prestige 
 md influence which it has enjoyed among the nations 
 IS an exponent of popular government.
 
 316 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Our opponents, conscious of the weakness of their 
 cause, seek to confuse imperialism with expansion, and 
 have even dared to claim Jefferson as a supporter of 
 their policy. Jefferson spoke so freely and used lan- 
 guage with such precision that no one can be ignorant 
 of his views. On one ocasion he declared : "If there 
 be one principle more deeply rooted than any other in 
 the mind of every American, it is that we should have 
 nothing- to do with conquest." And again he said: 
 "Conquest is not in our principles ; it is inconsistent 
 with our government." 
 
 The forcible annexation of territory to be gov- 
 erned by arbitrary power differs as much from the 
 acquisition of territory to be built up into states as a 
 monarchy differs from a democracy. The democratic 
 party does not oppose expansion when expansion en- 
 larges the area of the republic and incorporates land 
 which can be settled by American citizens, or adds to 
 our population people who are willing to become citi- 
 zens and are capable of discharging their duties as 
 such. 
 
 The acquisition of the Louisiana territory, Florida, 
 Texas and other tracts which have been secured from 
 time to time enlarged the republic and the constitution 
 followed the flag into the new territory. It is now pro- 
 posed to seize upon distant territory already more 
 densely populated than our own country and to force 
 upon the people a government for which there is no 
 warrant in our constitution or our laws. 
 
 Even the argument that this earth belongs to those 
 who desire to cultivate it and who have the physical
 
 IMPERIALISM 317 
 
 power to acquire it cannot be invoked to justify the 
 appropriation of the Philippine islands by the United 
 States. If the islands were uninhabited American 
 citizens would not be willing to go there and till the 
 soil. The white race will not live so near the equator. 
 Other nations have tried to colonize in the same lati- 
 tude. The Netherlands have controlled Java for three 
 hundred years and yet today there are less than sixty 
 thousand people of European birth scattered among 
 the twenty-five million natives. 
 
 After a century and a half of English domination 
 in India, less than one-twentieth of one per cent of the 
 people of India are of English birth, and it requires 
 an army of seventy thousand British soldiers to take 
 care of the tax collectors, .'^pain had asserted title to 
 the Philippine islands for three centuries and yet when 
 our fleet entered Manila bay there were less than ten 
 thousand Spaniards residing in the Philippines. 
 
 A colonial policy means that we shall send to the 
 Philippine islands a few traders, a few taskmasters and 
 a few officeholders and an army large enough to sup- 
 port the authority of a small fraction of the people 
 while they rule the natives. 
 
 If we have an imperial policy we must have a 
 great standing army as its natural and necessary com- 
 plement. The spirit which will justify the forcible an- 
 nexation of the Philippine islands will justify the seiz- 
 ure of other islands and the domination of other peo- 
 ple, and with wars of conquest we can expect a certain 
 if not rapid, growth of our military establishment. 
 
 That a large permanent increase in our regular 
 army is intended by republican leaders is not a matter
 
 318 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 of conjecture, but a matter of fact. In his message of 
 December 5, 1898, the president asked for authority to 
 increase the standing army to 100,000. In 1896 the 
 army contained about 35,000. Within two years the 
 president asked for four times that many, and a repub- 
 lican house of representatives complied with the re- 
 quest after the Spanish treaty had been signed, and 
 when no country was at war with the United States. 
 
 If such an army is demanded when an imperial 
 policy is contemplated, but not openly avowed, what 
 may be expected if the people encourage the republican 
 party by indorsing its policy at the polls? 
 
 A large standing army is not only a pecuniary 
 burden to the people and, if accompanied by compul- 
 sory service, a constant source of irritation, but it is 
 ever a menace to a republican form of government. 
 
 The army is the personification of force, and mili- 
 tarism wnll inevitably change the ideals of the people 
 and turn the thoughts of our young men from the arts 
 of peace to the science of war. The government which 
 relies for its defense upon its citizens is more likely 
 to be just than one which has at call a large body of 
 professional soldiers. 
 
 A small standing army and a well-equipped and 
 well-disciplined state militia are sufficient at ordinary 
 times, and in an emergency the nation should in the 
 future as in the past place its dependence upon the 
 volunteers who come from all occupations at their 
 country's call and return to productive labor when 
 their services are no longer required — men who fight 
 when the country needs fighters and work when the 
 country needs workers.
 
 IMPERIALISM 318 
 
 The republican platform assumes that the Philip- 
 pine islands will be retained under American sover- 
 eignty, and we have a right to demand of the republi- 
 can leaders a discussion of the future status of the 
 Filipino. Is he to be a citizen or a subject? Are we to 
 bring into the body politic eight or ten million Asiatics, 
 so different from us in race and history that amalga- 
 mation is impossible? Are they to share with us in 
 making the laws and shaping the destiny of this na- 
 tion? No republican of prominence has been bold 
 enough to advocate such a proposition. 
 
 The McEnery resolution, adopted by the senate 
 immediately after the ratification of the treaty, ex- 
 pressly negatives this idea. The democratic platform 
 describes the situation when it says that the Filipinos 
 cannot be citizens without endangering our civiliza- 
 tion. Who will dispute it? And what is the alterna- 
 tive? If the Filipino is not to be a citizen, shall we 
 make him a subject? On that question the democratic 
 patform speaks with equal emphasis. It declares that 
 the Filipino cannot be a subject without endangering 
 our form of government. A republic can have no sub- 
 jects. A subject is possible only in a government rest- 
 ing upon force ; he is unknown in a government deriv- 
 without consent and taxation without representation. 
 
 The republican platform says that "the largest 
 measure of self-government consistent with their wel- 
 fare and our duties shall be secured to them (the Fili- 
 pinos) by law." This is a strange doctrine for a gov- 
 ernment which owes its very existence to the men who 
 offered their lives as a protest against government
 
 320 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 without consent and taxation without representation. 
 
 In what respect does the position of the republi- 
 can party differ from the position taken by the EngHsh 
 government in 1776? Did net the English government 
 promise a good government to the colonists? What 
 king ever promised a bad government to his people? 
 Did not the English government promise that the col- 
 onists should have the largest measure of self-govern- 
 ment consistent with their welfare and English duties? 
 Did not the Spanish government promise to give to the 
 Cubans the largest measure of self-government con- 
 sistent with their welfare and Spanish duties? The 
 whole difiference between a monarchy and a republic 
 may be summed up in one sentence. In a monarchy 
 the king gives to the people what he believes to be a 
 good government; in a repij!>lic the people secure for 
 themseves what they believe to be a good government. 
 
 The republican party has accepted the European 
 idea and planted itself upon the ground taken by 
 George III., and by every ruler who distrusts the ca- 
 pacity of the people for self-government or denies them 
 a voice in their own affairs. 
 
 The republican platform promises that some meas- 
 ure of self-government is to be given the Filipinos by 
 law ; but even this pledge is not fulfilled. Nearly six- 
 teen months elapsed after the ratification of the treaty 
 before the adjournment of congress last June and yet 
 no law was passed dealing Avith the Philippine situa- 
 tion. The will of the president has been the only law 
 in the Philippine islands wherever the American au- 
 thority extends.
 
 IMPERIALISM 331 
 
 Why does the republican party hesitate to legis- 
 late upon the Philippine question? Because a law 
 would disclose the radical departure from history and 
 precedent contemplated by those who control the re- 
 publican party. The storm of protest which greeted 
 the Porto Rican bill was an indication of what may be 
 expected when the American people are brought face 
 to face with legislation upon this subject. 
 
 If the Porto Ricans, who welcomed annexation, 
 are to be denied the guarantees of our constitution, 
 what is to be the lot of the Filipinos, who resisted our 
 authority? If secret influences could compel a disre- 
 gard of our plain duty toward friendly people, living 
 near our shores, what treatment will those same influ- 
 ences provide for unfriendly people 7,000 miles away? 
 If, in this country where the people have a right to 
 vote, republican leaders dare not take the side of the 
 people against the great monopolies which have grown 
 up within the last few years, how can they be trusted 
 to protect the Filipinos from the corporations which 
 are waiting to exploit the islands? 
 
 Is the sunlight of full citizenship to be enjoyed by 
 the people of the United States, and the twilight of 
 semi-citizenship endured by the people of Porto Rico, 
 while the thick darkness of perpetual vassalage covers 
 the Philippines? The Porto Rico tariff law asserts the 
 doctrine that the operation of the constitution is con- 
 fined to the forty-five states. 
 
 The democratic party disputes this doctrine and 
 denounces it as repugnant to both the letter and spirit 
 of our organic law. There is no place in our system
 
 322 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 of government for the deposit of arbitrary and irre- 
 sponsible power. That the leaders of a great party 
 should claim for any president or congress the right to 
 treat millions of people as mere "possessions" and deal 
 with them unrestrained by the constitution or the bill 
 of rights shows how far we have already departed from 
 the ancient landmarks and indicates what may be ex- 
 pected if this nation deliberately enters upon a career 
 of empire. 
 
 The territorial form of government is temporary 
 and preparatory, and the chief security a citizen of a 
 territory has is found in the fact that he enjoys the 
 same constitutional guarantees and is subject to the 
 same general laws as the citizen of a state. Take away 
 this security and his rights will be violated and his 
 interests sacrificed at the demand of those who have 
 political influence. This is the evil of the colonial sys- 
 tem, no matter by what nation it is applied. 
 
 What is our title to the Philippine islands? Do 
 we hold them by treaty or by conquest? Did we buy 
 them or did we take them? Did we purchase the peo- 
 ple? If not, how did we secure title to them? Were 
 they thrown in with the land? Will the republicans 
 say that inanimate earth has value but that when that 
 earth is molded by the divine hand and stamped with 
 the likeness of the Creator it becomes a fixture and 
 passes with the soil? If governments derive their just 
 powers from the consent of the governed, it is impos- 
 sible to secure title to people, either by force or by 
 purchase.
 
 IMPERIALISM 323 
 
 We could extinguish Spain's title by treaty, but 
 if we hold title we must hold it by some method con- 
 sistent with our ideas of government. When we made 
 allies of the Filipinos and armed them to fight against 
 Spain, we disputed Spain's title. If we buy Spain's 
 title we are not innocent purchasers. 
 
 There can be no doubt that we accepted and util- 
 ized the services of the Filioinos, and that when we 
 did so we had full knowledge that they were fighting 
 for their own independence, and I submit that history 
 furnishes no example of turpitude baser than ours if 
 we now substitute our yoke for the Spanish yoke. 
 
 Let us consider briefly the reasons which have 
 been given in support of an imperialistic policy. Some 
 say that it is our duty to hold the Philippine islands. 
 But duty is not an argument; it is a conclusion. To 
 ascertain what our duty is, in any emergency, we must 
 apply well settled and generally accepted principles. It 
 is our duty to avoid stealing, no matter whether the 
 thing to be stolen is of great or little value. It is our 
 duty to avoid killing a human being, no matter where 
 the human being lives or to what race or class he 
 belongs. 
 
 Every one recognizes the obligation imposed upon 
 indivduals to observe both the human and the moral 
 law, but as some deny the application of those laws 
 to nations, it may not be out of place to quote the 
 opinions of others. JeflFerson, than whom there is no 
 higher political authority, said : 
 
 "I know of but one code of morality for men, 
 whether acting singly or collectively."
 
 324: UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Franklin, whose learning, wisdom and virtue are 
 a part of the priceless legacy bequeathed to use from 
 the revolutionary days, expressed the same idea in even 
 stronger language when he said: 
 
 "Justice is strictly due between neighbor nations 
 as between neighbor citizens. A highwayman is as 
 much a robber when he plunders in a gang as when 
 single ; and the nation that makes an unjust war is only 
 a great gang." 
 
 Many may dare to do ir. crowds what they would 
 not dare to do as individuals, but the moral character 
 of an act is not determined by the number of those who 
 join it. Force can defend a right, but force has never 
 yet created a right. If it was true, as declared in the 
 resolutions of intervention, that the Cubans "are and 
 of right ought to be free and independent" (language 
 taken from the Declaration of Independence), it is 
 equally true that the Filipinos "are and of right ought 
 to be free and independent." 
 
 The right of the Cubans to freedom was not based 
 upon their proximity to the United States, nor upon 
 the language which they spoke, nor yet upon the race 
 or races to which they belonged. Congress by a prac- 
 tically unanimous vote declared that the principles 
 enunciated at Philadelphia in 1776 were still alive and 
 applicable to the Cubans. Who will draw a line be- 
 tween the natural rights of <"he Cubans and the Fili- 
 pinos? Who will say that the former has a right to 
 liberty and that the latter has no rights which we are 
 bound to respect? And, if the Filipinos "are and of 
 right ought to be free and independent," what right
 
 IMPERIALISM 3211 
 
 have we to force our government upon them without 
 their consent? Before our duty can be ascertained 
 their rights must be determined, and when their rights 
 are once determined it is as much our duty to respect 
 those rights as it was the duty of Spain to respect the 
 rights of the people of Cuba or the duty of England to 
 respect the rights of the American colonists. Rights 
 never conflict ; duties never clash. Can it be our duty 
 to usurp political rights which belong to others? Can 
 it be our duty to kill those who, following the example 
 of our forefathers, love liberty well enough to fight 
 for it ? 
 
 A poet has described the terror which overcame a 
 soldier who in the midst of the battle discovered that 
 he had slain his brother. It is written "All ye are 
 brethren." Let us hope for the coming day when 
 human life — which when once destroyed cannot be 
 restored — will be so sacred that it will never be taken 
 except when necessary to punish a crime already com 
 mitted, or to prevent a crime about to be commtited! 
 
 It is said that we have assumed before the world 
 obligations which make it necessary for us to perma- 
 nently maintain a government in the Philippine islands, 
 I reply first, that the highest obligation of this nation 
 is to be true to itself. No obligation to any particulai 
 nations, or to all the nations combined, can require the 
 abandonment of our theory of government, and the 
 substitution of doctrines against which our whole na- 
 tional life has been a protest. And, second, that oui 
 obligation to the Filipinos, who inhabit the islands, is 
 greater than any obligation which we can owe to for-
 
 326 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 eigners who have a temporary residence in the Philip- 
 pines or desire to trade there. 
 
 It is argued by some that the Filipinos are incap- 
 able of self-government and that therefore, we owe it 
 to the world to take control of them. Admiral Dewey, 
 in an ofhcial report to the navy department, declared 
 the Filipinos more capable of self-government than the 
 Cubans and said that he based his opinion upon a 
 knowledge of both races. But I will not rest the case 
 upon the relative advancement of the Filipinos. Henry 
 Clay, in defending the right of the people of South 
 America to self-government, said: 
 
 "It is the doctrine of thrones that man is too ig- 
 norant to govern himself. Their partisans assert his 
 incapacity in reference to all nations; if they cannot 
 command universal assent to the proposition, it is then 
 demanded to particular nations ; and our pride and our 
 presumption too often make converts of us. I con- 
 tend that it is to arraign the disposition of Providence 
 himself to suppose that He has created beings incap- 
 able of governing themselves, and to be trampled on 
 by kings. Self-government is the natural government 
 of man." 
 
 Clay was right. There are degrees of proficiency 
 in the art of self-government, but it is a reflection upon 
 the Creator to say that he denied to any people the 
 capacity for self-government. Once admit that some 
 people are capable of self-government and that others 
 are not and that the capable people have a right to 
 seize upon and govern the incapable, and you make 
 force — brute force — the only foundation of govern-
 
 IMPERIALISM 327 
 
 ment and invite the reign of a despot. I am not willing 
 to believe that an all-wise and an all-loving God 
 created the Filipinos and then left them thousands ol 
 years helpless until the islands attracted the attention 
 of European nations. 
 
 Republicans ask, "Shall we haul down the flag 
 that floats over our dead in the Philippines?" The 
 same question might have been asked when the Amer- 
 ican flag floated over Chapultepec and waved over the 
 dead who fell there ; but the tourist who visits the City 
 of Mexico finds there a national cemetery owned by 
 the United States and cared for by an American citi- 
 zen. Our flag still floats ov^rr our dead, but when the 
 treaty with Mexico was signed American authority 
 withdrew to the Rio Grande, and I venture the opinion 
 that during the last fifty years the people of Mexico 
 have made more progress under the stimulus of inde- 
 pendence and self-government than they would have 
 made under a carpet-bag government held in place by 
 bayonets. The United States and Mexico, friendly 
 republics, are each stronger and happier than they 
 would have been had the former been cursed and the 
 latter crushed by an imperialistic policy disguised as 
 "benevolent assimilation." 
 
 "Can we not govern colonies?" we are asked. The 
 question is not what we can do, but what we ought to 
 do. This nation can do whatever it desires to do, but 
 it must accept responsibility for what it does. If the 
 constitution stands in the v/ay, the people can amend 
 the constitution. I repeat, the nation can do whatever 
 it desires to do, but it cannot avoid the natural and 
 legitimate results of its own conduct.
 
 328 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 The young man upon reaching his majority can 
 do what he pleases. He can disregard the teachings of 
 his parents ; he can trample upon all that he has been 
 taught to consider sacred ; he can disobey the laws of 
 the state, the laws of society and the laws of God. He 
 can stamp failure upon his life and make his very ex- 
 istence a curse to his fellow men and he can bring his 
 father and mother in sorrow to the grave ; but he can- 
 not annul the sentence, "The wages of sin is death." 
 
 And so with the nation. It is of age and it can do 
 what it pleases ; it can spurn the traditions of the past; 
 it can repudiate the principles upon which the nation 
 rests; it can employ force instead of reason; it can 
 substitute might for right ; it can conquer weaker peo- 
 ple; it can exploit their lands, appropriate their prop- 
 erty and kill their people ; but it cannot repeal the 
 moral law or escape the punishment decreed for the 
 violation of human rights, 
 
 "Would we tread in the paths of tyranny, 
 Nor reckon the tyrant's cost? 
 Who taketh another's liberty 
 His freedom is also lost. 
 
 Would we win as the strong have ever won. 
 Make ready to pay the debt, 
 For the God who reigned over Babylon 
 Is the God who is reigning yet." 
 
 Some argue that American rule in the Philippine 
 islands will result in the better education of the Fili- 
 pinos. Be not deceived. If we expect to maintain a
 
 IMPERIALISM 329 
 
 colonial policy, we shall not <ind it to our advantage to 
 educate the people. The educated Filipinos are now in 
 revolt against us, and the most ignorant ones have 
 made the least resistance to our domination. If we are 
 to govern them without their consent and give them 
 no voice in determining the taxes which they must pay, 
 we dare not educate them, lest they learn to read the 
 Declaration of Independence and the constitution of 
 the United States and mock us for our inconsistency. 
 
 The principal arguments, however, advanced by 
 those who enter upon a defense of imperialism are: 
 
 First — That we must improve the present oppor- 
 tunity to become a world power and enter into inter- 
 national politics. 
 
 Second — That our commercial interests in the 
 Philippine islands and in the Orient make it necessary 
 for us to hold the islands permanently. 
 
 Third — That the spread of the Christian religion 
 will be facilitated by a colonial policy. 
 
 Fourth — ^That there is no honorable retreat from 
 the position which the nation has taken. 
 
 The first argument is addressed to the nation's 
 pride and the second to the nation's pocket-book. The 
 third is intended for the church member and the fourth 
 for the partisan. 
 
 It is sufficient answer to the first argument to say 
 that for more than a century this nation has been a 
 world power. For ten decades it has been the most 
 potent influence in the world. Not only has it been a 
 world power, but it has done more to affect the politics 
 of the human race than all the other nafions of the
 
 330 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 world combined. Because our Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence was promulgated others have been promul- 
 gated. Because the patriots of 1776 fought for liberty 
 others have fought for it. Because our constitution 
 was adopted other constitutions have been adopted. 
 
 The growth of the principle of self-government, 
 planted on American soil, has been the overshadowing 
 political fact of the nineteenth century. It has made 
 this nation conspicuous among the nations and given it 
 a place in history such as no other nation has ever en- 
 joyed. Nothing has been able to check the onward 
 march of this idea. I am not willing that this nation 
 shall cast aside the omnipotent weapons of truth to 
 seize again the weapons of physical warfare. I would 
 not exchange the glory of this republic for the glory oi 
 all the empires that have risen and fallen since time 
 began. 
 
 The permanent chairman of the last republican 
 national convention presented the pecuniary argument 
 in all its baldness when he said: 
 
 "We make no hypocritical pretense of being in- 
 terested in the Philippines solely on account of others. 
 While we regard the welfare of those people as a sa- 
 cred trust, we regard the welfare of the American peo- 
 ple first. We see our duty to ourselves as well as to 
 others. We believe in trade expansion. By every 
 legitimate means within the province of government 
 and constitution we mean to sitmulate the expansion 
 of our trade and open new markets." 
 
 This is the commercial argument. It is based 
 upon the theory that war can be rightly waged foi
 
 IMPERIALISM 331 
 
 pecuniary advantage, and that it is profitable to pur- 
 chase trade by force and violence. Franklin denied 
 both of these propositions. When Lord Howe asserted 
 that the acts of Parliament which brought on the Revo- 
 lution were necessary to prevent American trade from 
 passing into foreign channels, Franklin replied : 
 
 "To me it seems that neither the obtaining nor re- 
 taining of any trade, howsoever valuable, is an object 
 for which men may justly spill each other's blood ; that 
 the true and sure means of extending and securing 
 commerce are the goodness and cheapness of commod- 
 ities, and that the profits of no trade can ever be equal 
 to the expense of compelling it and holding it by fleets 
 and armies. I consider this war against us, therefore, 
 as both unjust and unwise." 
 
 I place the philosophy of Franklin against the 
 sordid doctrine of those who would put a price upon 
 the head of an American soldier and justify a war of 
 conquest upon the ground that it will pay. The demo- 
 cratic party is in favor of the expansion of trade. It 
 would extend our trade by every legitimate and peace- 
 ful means; but it is not willing to make merchandise 
 of human blood. 
 
 But a war of conquest is as unwise as it is un- 
 righteous. A harbor and coaling station in the Phil- 
 ippines would answer every trade and military neces- 
 sity and such a concession could have been secured at 
 any time without difficulty. 
 
 It is not necessary to own people in order to trade 
 with them. We carry on trade today with every part 
 of the world, and our commerce has expanded more 
 rapidly than the commerce of any European empire.
 
 332 UNDER OTHER I- LAGS 
 
 We do not own Japan or China, but we trade w'ith 
 their people. We have not absorbed the republics of 
 Central and South America, but we trade with them. 
 It has not been necessary to have any political con- 
 nection with Canada or the nations of Europe in order 
 to trade with them. Trade cannot be permanently 
 profitable unless it is voluntary. 
 
 When trade is secured by force, the cost of secur- 
 ing it and retaining it must be taken out of the profits, 
 and the profits are never large enough to cover the ex- 
 pense. Such a system wouM never be defended but 
 for the fact that the expense is borne by all the people, 
 while the profits are enjoyed by a few. 
 
 Imperialism would be profitable to the army con 
 tractors; it would be profitable to the ship owners, who 
 would carry live soldiers to the Philippines and bring 
 dead soldiers back ; it would be profitable to those who 
 would seize upon the franchises, and it would be 
 profitable to the officials whose salaries would be fixed 
 here and paid over there; but to the farmer, to the 
 laboring man and to the vast majority of those en- 
 gaged in other occupations it would bring expenditure 
 without return and risk witliout reward. 
 
 Farmers and laboring men have, as a rule, small 
 incomes and under systems which place the tax upon 
 consumption pay mtich more than their fair share of 
 the expenses of government. Thus the very people 
 who receive least benefit from imperialism will be in- 
 jured most by the military burdens which accompany 
 it. 
 
 In addition to the evils which he and the farmer 
 share in common, the laboring man will be the first to
 
 IMPERIALISM 333 
 
 suffer if oriental subjects <^eek work in the United 
 States; the first to suffer if American capital leaves 
 our shores to employ oriental labor in the Philippines 
 to supply the trade of China and Japan; the first to 
 suffer from the violence which the military spirit 
 arouses and the first to suff'er when the methods of 
 imperialism are applied to our own government. 
 
 It is not strange, therefore, that the labor organ- 
 izations have been quick to note the approach of these 
 dangers and prompt to protest against both militarism 
 and imperialism. 
 
 The pecuniary argument, though more effective 
 with certain classes, is not likely to be used so often or 
 presented with so much enthusiasm as the religious 
 argument. If what has been termed the "gun-powder 
 gospel" were urged against the Filipinos only it would 
 be a sufficient answer to say that a majority of the 
 Filipinos are now members of one branch of the 
 Christian church ; but the principle involved is one of 
 much wider application and challenges serious consid- 
 eration. 
 
 The religious argument varies in positiveness from 
 a passive belief that Providence delivered the Filipinos 
 into our hands for their good and our glory, to the 
 exultation of the minister who said that we ought to 
 "thrash the natives (Filipinos) until they understand 
 who we are," and that "every bullet sent, every cannon 
 shot and every flag waved means righteousness." 
 
 We cannot approve of this doctrine in one place 
 unless we are willing to apply it everywhere. If there 
 is poison in the blood of the hand it will ultimately
 
 334 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 reach the heart. It is equally true that forcible Christ- 
 ianity, if planted under the American flag in the far- 
 away Orient, will sooner or later be transplated upon 
 American soil. 
 
 If true Christianity consists in carrying out in out 
 daily lives the teachings of Christ, who will say that 
 we are commanded to civilize with dynamite and 
 proselyte with the sword? He who would declare the 
 divine will must prove his authority either by Holy 
 Writ or by evidence of special dispensation. 
 
 Imperialism finds no warrant in the Bible. The 
 command "Go ye into all the world and preach the 
 gospel to every creature" has no Gatling gun attach- 
 ment. When Jesus visited a village of Samaria and 
 the people refused to receive him, some of the dis- 
 ciples suggested that fire should be called down from 
 Heaven to avenge the insult; but the Master rebuked 
 them and said: "Ye know not what manner of spirit 
 ye are of; for the Son of Man is not come to destroy 
 men's lives, but to save them." Suppose he had said^ 
 "We will thrash them until they understand who we 
 are," how different would have been the history of 
 Christianity! Compare, if you will, the swaggering, 
 bullying, brutal doctrine of imperialism with the 
 golden rule and the commandment "Thou shalt love 
 thy neighbor as thyself." 
 
 Love, not force, was the weapon of the Nazarene ; 
 sacrifice for others, not the exploitation of them, was 
 His method of reaching the human heart. A mission- 
 ary recently told me that the stars and stripes once 
 saved his life because his assailant recognized our flag 
 as a flag that had no blood upon it.
 
 IMPERIALISM 335 
 
 Let is be known that our missionaries are seeking 
 souls instead of sovereignty ; let it be known that in- 
 stead of being the advance guard of conquering armies, 
 they are going forth to help and uplift, having their 
 loins girt about with truth and their feet shod with the 
 preparation of the gospel of peace, wearing the breast- 
 plate of righteousness and carrying the sword of the 
 spirit ; let it be known that they are citizens of a na- 
 tion which respects the rights of the citizens of other 
 nations as carefully as it protects the rights of its own 
 citizens, and the welcome given to our missionaries 
 will be more cordial than the welcome extended to the 
 missionaries of any other nation. 
 
 The argument made by some that it was unfortu- 
 nate for the nation that it had anything to do with the 
 Philippine islands, but that the naval victory at Ma- 
 nila made the permanent acquisition of those islands 
 necessary, is also unsound. We won a naval victory 
 at Santiago, but that did not compel us to hold Cuba. 
 
 The shedding of American blood in the Philippine 
 islands does not make it imperative that we should 
 retain possession forever; American blood was shed at 
 San Juan Hill and El Caney, and yet the president has 
 promised the Cubans independence. The fact that the 
 American flag floats over Manila does not compel us 
 to exercise perpetual sovereignty over the islands ; the 
 American flag waves over Havana today, but the 
 president has promised to haul it down when the flag 
 of the Cuban republic is ready to rise in its place. 
 Better a thousand times that our flag in the Orient 
 give way to a flag representing the idea of self-govern-
 
 336 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 ment than that flag of this republic should become 
 the flag of an empire. 
 
 There is an easy, honest, honorable solution of the 
 Philippine question. It is s?t forth in the democratic 
 platform and it is submitted with confidence to the 
 American people. This p!t.n I unreservedly indorse. 
 If elected, I will convene congress in extraordinary 
 session as soon as inaugurated and recommned an im- 
 mediate declaration of the nation's purpose, first, to 
 establish a stable form of go\'-emment in the Philippine 
 islands, just as we are now establishing a stable form 
 of government in Cuba ; second, to give independence 
 to the Cubans ; third, to protect the Filipinos from out- 
 side interference while they work out their destiny, 
 just as we have protected the republics of Central and 
 South America, and are, by the Monroe doctrine, 
 pledged to protect Cuba. 
 
 A European protectorate often results in the 
 plundering of the ward by the guardian. An American 
 protectorate gives to the nation protected the advant- 
 age of our strength, without making it the victim of 
 our greed. For three-quarters of a century the Mon- 
 roe doctrine has been a shi?ld to neighboring republics 
 and yet it has imposed no pecuniary burden upon us. 
 After the Filipinos had aided us in the war against 
 Spain, we could not honorably turn them over to their 
 former masters; we could not leave them to be the 
 victims of the ambitious designs of European nations, 
 and since we do not desire to make them a part of us 
 or to hold them as subjects, we propose the only alter- 
 native, namely, to give them independence and guard 
 them against molestation from without.
 
 IMPERIALISM 331 
 
 When our opponents are unable to defend theii 
 position by argument they fill back upon the assertion 
 that it is destiny, and insist that we must submit to it, 
 no matter how much it violates our moral precepts 
 and our principles of government. This is a compla- 
 cent philosophy. It obliterates the distinction between 
 right and wrong and makes individuals and nations 
 the helpless victims of circumstance. 
 
 Destiny is the subterfuge of the invertebrate, who, 
 lacking the courage to oppose error, seeks some plaus- 
 ible excuse for supporting it. Washington said that 
 the destiny of the republican form of government was 
 deeply, if not finally, staked on the experiment en- 
 trusted to the American people. How different Wash- 
 ington's definition of destmy from the republican 
 definition ! 
 
 The Republicans say that this nation is in the 
 hands of destiny; Washington believed that not only 
 the destiny of our own nation but the destiny of the 
 republican form of government throughout the world 
 was intrusted to American hands. Immeasurable re- 
 sponsibility! The destiny of this Republic is in the 
 hands of its own people, and upon the success of the 
 experiment here rests the hope of humanity. No ex- 
 terior force can disturb this Republic, and no foreign 
 influence should be permitted to change its course. 
 What the future has in store for this nation no one 
 has authority to declare, but each individual has his 
 own idea of the nation's mission, and he owes it to his 
 country as well as to himself to contribute as best he 
 may to the fulfillment of that mission.
 
 338 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: 
 1 can never fully discharge the debt of gratitude 
 which I owe to my countrymen for the honors which 
 they have so generously bestowed upon me ; but, sirs, 
 whether it be my lot to occupy the high office for 
 which the convention has named me, or to 
 spend the remainder of my 'ays in private life, it shall 
 be my constant ambition and my controlling purpose 
 to aid in realizing the high ideals of those whose wis- 
 dom and courage and sacrifices brought this Republic 
 into existence, 
 
 I can conceive of a national destiny surpassing 
 the glories of the present and the past — a destiny 
 which meets the responsibility of today and measures 
 up to the possibilities of the future. Behold a 
 republic, resting securely upon the foundation stones 
 quarried by revolutionary patriots from the mountain 
 of eternal truth — a republic applying in practice and 
 proclaiming to the world the self-evident propositions 
 that all men are created equal; that they are endowed 
 with inalienable rights; that governments are insti- 
 tuted among men to secure these rights, and that gov- 
 ernments derive their just powers from the consent 
 of the governed. Behold a republic in which civil and 
 religion liberty stimulate all to earnest endeav- 
 or and in which the law restrains every hand 
 uplifted for a neighbor's injury — a republic in 
 which every citizen is a sovereign, but in which 
 no one cares to wear a crown. Behold a re- 
 public standing erect while empires all around are 
 bowed beneath the weight of their own armaments —
 
 IMPERIALISM 339 
 
 a republic whose flag is loved while other flags are 
 only feared. Behold a republic increasing in popula- 
 tion, in wealth, in strength and in influence, solving 
 the problems of civilization and hastening the coming 
 of an universal brotherhood — a republic which shakes 
 thrones and dissolves aristocracies by its silent ex- 
 ample and gives light and inspiration to those who 
 sit in darkness. Behold a republic gradually but surely 
 becoming the supreme moral factor in the world's 
 progress and the accepted arbiter of the world's dis- 
 putes — a republic whose history, like the path of the 
 just, "is as the shining light that shineth more and 
 more unto the perfect day."
 
 "I Have Kept the 
 Faith" 
 
 At the Democratic National Convention, St. Louis, Mr. Bryao in 
 
 SecoDding the Nomination of Senator F. M. Cocl<rell, 
 
 Spoke as Follows.
 
 ST. LOUIS CONVENTION SPEECH. 
 
 At the democratic national convention at St 
 Louis Mr. Bryan, in seconding the nomination of Sen 
 ator F. M. Cockrell, spoke as follows: 
 
 Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Conven- 
 tion : Two nights without sleep and a cold make ii 
 difficult for me to make myself heard. I trust that mj 
 voice will improve in a moment, but as I desire tc 
 speak to the delegates rath^^r than to the galleries, ] 
 hope that they at least will be able to hear. 
 
 Eight years ago a democratic national conven- 
 tion placed in my hand the standard of the party 
 and commissioned me as its candidate. Four years 
 later that commission was renewed. I come tonight 
 to this democratic national convention to return the 
 commission. You may dispute whether I have fought 
 a good fight, you may dispute whether I have finished 
 my course, but you cannot deny that I have kept the 
 ifaith. 
 
 As your candidate I did all that I could to bring 
 success to the party ; as a private citizen I feel more 
 interested in a democratic success today than I ever 
 did when I was a candidate. 
 
 The reasons that made the election of a democrat 
 desirable were stronger in 1900 than in 1896, and the 
 reasons that make the election of a democrat desirable 
 are stronger now than they were in 1900. 
 
 343
 
 344 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 The gentleman who presented New York's candi- 
 date dwelt upon the dangers of militarism, and he did 
 not overstate those dangers. Let me quote the most 
 remarkable passage ever found in a speech nominating 
 a candidate for the presidency. 
 
 Governor Black, of New York, in presenting the 
 name of Theodore Roosevelt to the republican con- 
 vention of this year used these words : 
 
 "The fate of nations is still decided by their wars. 
 You may talk of orderly tribunals and learned referees ; 
 you may sing in your schools the gentle praises of 
 the quiet life; you make strike from your books the 
 last note of every martial anthem, and yet out in the 
 smoke and thunder will always be the tramp of 
 horses and the silent, rigid, upturned face. Men may 
 prophesy and women pray, but peace will come here 
 to abide forever on this earth only when the dreams 
 of childhood are the accepted charts to guide the des- 
 tinies of men. 
 
 "Events are numberless and mighty, and no man 
 can tell which wire runs around the world. The na- 
 tion basking today in the quiet of contentment and re- 
 pose may still be on the deadly circuit and tomorrow 
 writhing in the toils of war. This is the time when 
 great figures must be kept in front. If the pressure is 
 great the material to resist it must be granite and 
 iron." 
 
 This is a eulogy of war. This is a declaration 
 that the hoped for, prayed for^ era of perpetual peace 
 will never come. This is an exalting of the doctrine 
 of brute force ; it darkens the hopes of the race.
 
 I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH 345 
 
 This republican president, a candidate for re-elec- 
 tion, is presented as the embodiment of the warlike 
 spirit as "the granite and iron" that represents modern 
 militarism. 
 
 Do you, men of the east, desire to defeat the 
 military idea? Friends of the south, are you anxious 
 to defeat the military idea? Let me assure you that 
 not one of you north, east, or south, fears more than I 
 do the triumph of that idea. If this is the doctrine 
 that our nation is to stand for, it is retrogression, not 
 progress. It is a lowering of the ideals of the na- 
 tion. It is a turning backward to the age of violence. 
 More than that, it is nothing less than a challenge to 
 the Christian civilization of the world. 
 
 Some twenty-six hundred years ago a prophet 
 foretold the coming of One who was to be called the 
 Prince of Peace. Nearly two thousand years ago He 
 came upon the earth, and the song that was sung 
 at His birth was "Peace on earth, good will toward 
 men." For almost twenty centuries this doctrine of 
 peace has been growing; it has been taking hold upon 
 the hearts of men. For this doctrine of peace, millions 
 have gladly given their lives ; for this doctrine of peace, 
 thousands have crossed oceans and labored in distant 
 lands, aye, even among savage tribes. This doctrine 
 of peace, the foundation of Christian civilization, has 
 been the growing hope and inspiration of the world. 
 And now, an ex-governor of the largest state in the 
 Union presents for the office of president of the great- 
 est republic of all history, a man who is described as 
 "granite and iron," as one who represents, not the doc- 
 trine of peace and arbitration, but the doctrme that the
 
 346 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 destinies of nations must still be settled by their wars. 
 
 Will you democrats of New York present a graver 
 indictment against President Roosevelt than that? 
 Can you of the south present a more serious accusa- 
 tion? I do not ask concerning the character of the 
 president. He may have every virtue ; his life may be 
 exemplary in every way; but if he shares the views 
 of the man who placed him in nomination, if he be- 
 lieves with his sponsor that wars must settle the des- 
 tinies of nations; that peace is but an idle, childish 
 dream ; that women may pray for it ; that men may 
 prophesy about it; but that all this talk of "orderly 
 tribunals and learned referees" is but an empty sound 
 — if he believes these things he is a dangerous man for 
 our country and for the world. I believe he ought to 
 be defeated ; I believe he can be defeated ; and if the 
 democratic party does what it ought to do, I believe 
 he will be defeated. 
 
 How can he be defeated? As your candidate I 
 tried to defeat the republican party. I failed, you say. 
 Yes, I failed. I received a million more votes than 
 any democrat had ever received before, and yet I 
 failed. Why did I fail? Because some who had affiliated 
 with the democratic party tnought my election would 
 be injurious to the country, and they left the party 
 and helped to elect my opponent. That is why I failed. 
 I have no words of criticism for them. I have always 
 believed, I believe tonight, I shall ever believe, I hope, 
 that a man's duty to his country is higher than his duty 
 to his party. I hope that men of all parties will have 
 the moral courage to leave their parties when they be- 
 lieve that to stay with their parties would injure their
 
 I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH 847 
 
 country. The success of our government depends 
 upon the independence and the moral courage of its 
 citizens. 
 
 But, my friends, if I, with six milHon and a half 
 votes, failed to defeat the republican party, can those 
 who defeated me succeed in defeating the republican 
 party? If under the leadership of those who were loyal 
 in 1896 we failed, shall we succeed under the leader- 
 ship of those who were not loyal in 1896? 
 
 If we are going to have some other god besides 
 this modern Mars, presented to us by Governor Black, 
 what kind of a god is it to be? Must we choose be- 
 tween a god of war and a god of gold. 
 
 If there is anything that compares in hatefulness 
 with militarism, it is plutocracy, and I insist that the 
 democratic party ought not to be compelled to choose 
 between militarism on the one side and plutocracy on 
 the other. 
 
 We have agreed upon a platform, after a session 
 of sixteen hours. We entered the committee room at 
 8 last evening and left it at 18 today. But I never em- 
 ployed sixteen hours to better advantage in my life, 
 helped to bring the party together. The report was 
 unanimous and we can go before the country with a 
 united party. 
 
 How did we reach an agreement? The platform 
 is not all that we of the wejir desired ; it is not all that 
 our eastern democrats desired. We had to consent to 
 the omission of some things that we wanted in the 
 platform. They had to consent to the omission of 
 some things that they wanted in the platorm. But by
 
 348 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 mutual concession we agreed upon a platform, and 
 we will stand on that platform in this campaign. 
 
 But, my friends, we need more than a platform 
 We must nominate a ticket, and that is the work now 
 before this convention. Had a majority of you come 
 to this convention instructed for any man I not only 
 would not ask you to disregard your instructions; I 
 would not, if I could prevent it, permit you to disre- 
 gard your instructions. 
 
 I believe in the right of the people to rule. I be- 
 lieve in the right of the people to instruct their dele- 
 gates, and when a delegate 'S instructed, the instruc- 
 tion is binding upon him. But no candidate comes 
 with a majority instructed for him. That means that 
 you, the delegates, are left to select a candidate 
 upon your own responsibiliiv — and a grave responsi- 
 bility it is. Grave, indeed, is the responsibility resting 
 upon the delegates assembled in this convention 1 
 
 I have not come to ask anything of this conven- 
 tion. Nebraska asks nothing but to be permitted to 
 fight the battles of democracy; that is all. Some of 
 you call me a dictator. It is false. You know it is 
 false. How have I tried to dictate? I have said that 
 I thought certain things ought to be done. Have you 
 not exercised the same privilege? Why have I not a 
 right to suggest? Because I was your candidate, have 
 I forfeited forever the right to make suggestions ? Sirs, 
 if that condition was attached to a nomination for the 
 presidency, no man worthy to be president would ever 
 accept a nomination. For the right of a man to have 
 an opinion and to express it is more important and
 
 I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH 348 
 
 more sacred than the holding of any office however 
 high. 
 
 I expressed my opinion in regard to the plat- 
 form; I made my suggestions. Not all of them were 
 adopted. I should like to have seen the Kansas City 
 platform reaffirmed. I am not ashamed of that plat- 
 form. I believe in it now, as I believed in it when I 
 was running upon it as your candidate, but the 
 delegates do not agree with me, and their will is su- 
 preme in the making of the platform. When they veto 
 my suggestions, I must submit ; there is no other 
 court to which I can appeal. 
 
 Neither have I attem.pted to dictate in regard to 
 candidates. I have not asked the democrats of this na- 
 tion to nominate any partici^lar man. I have said and 
 repeat that there are men in every state qualified for 
 the presidency; I have also said and repeat that out 
 of the six and a half millions who voted for me in 
 both campaigns, we ought to be able to find at least 
 one man fit to be president. I have made these sug- 
 gestions, but they are only suggestions. I am here 
 tonight as a delegate from Nebraska. I have not 
 confidence enough in my own judgment to tell you that 
 I can pick out a man and say, "This man must be nom- 
 inated or we shall lose." I have, I think, a reasonable 
 faith in my own opinions; at least I would rather 
 stand by my opinion if I believe it right than to accept 
 the opinion of any one else if I believe that opinion to 
 be wrong. 
 
 But I am not asking for the nomination of any 
 particular man. We have a platform upon which we 
 all can stand. Now give us a ticket behind which all
 
 360 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 of us can stand. Go into any state you please for a 
 candidate. I have not as much faith as some have in 
 the value of locality. I have never believed much in 
 nominating candidates from doubtful states on the 
 theory that their personal popularity would elect them. 
 
 I have so much confidence in democratic princi- 
 ples that I think a democrat ought to vote for a good 
 man from any other state rather than vote for a 
 bad man from his own state. The state pride argu- 
 ment is often given too much weight. I have found 
 that when people come with a candidate and tell us, 
 first, that we must carry a certain state, and, second, 
 that their man is the only one who can carry that state, 
 they do not put up a bond to deliver the votes. And 
 then, anyhow, a state which is so uncertain that only 
 one democrat in the nation can carry it, cannot be 
 relied upon in a great crisis. 
 
 Select a candidate. If it is the wish of this con- 
 vention that the standard shall be placed in the hand 
 of the gentleman presented by California, a man who, 
 though he has money, pleads the cause of the poor; 
 the man who is best beloved, I think I can safely say, 
 among laboring men, of all the candidates proposed; 
 the man who more than any other represents opposi- 
 tion to the trusts — if you want to place the standard 
 in his hand and make Mr. Hearst the candidate of this 
 convention, Nebraska will be with you in the fight. 
 
 If you think that the nfentleman from Wisconsin 
 who, though faithful in both campaigns, was not with 
 us on the money question — if you think that Mr. Wall, 
 who agrees with the east on the gold question and 
 with the west on other questions, would draw the
 
 I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH 351 
 
 party together, place the standard in his hand, and 
 Nebraska will be with yon and contribute her part. 
 
 If you prefer an eastern man and can find some 
 one who will give both elements of the party some- 
 thing to believe in. something to trust in, something 
 to hope for, we are willing to join you in selecting him 
 as the standard-bearer. 
 
 Not all of the available men have been mentioned. 
 There is in the state of Pennsylvania a man whom I 
 desire to suggest, and I do it without consulting his 
 delegation and without the consent of the man him- 
 self. He is an eastern man, who voted with us in 
 both campaigns, although against us on the money 
 question, but, I believe, he is in sympathy with the 
 people ; a man twice governor of a great state : a man 
 who only two years ago when again a candidate car- 
 ried the state of Pennsylvania, outside of the two 
 great cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburg. 
 
 If you eastern democrats who insist that your 
 objection to me is that I believe in free silver — if you 
 are willing to take ex-Gove^-nor Pattison, a gold man, 
 I am willing to let you have your way on that ques- 
 tion, for I will trust his honesty on all questions. But 
 I only mention these candidates by way of illustration. 
 
 I desire to second the njm.ination of a man whose 
 name has already been presented, and I second his 
 nomination, not because I can assert to you that he is 
 more available than any other person who might be 
 named, but because I love the man and because on 
 the platform we have adopted there is no good reason 
 why any democrat in the east should vote against him.
 
 362 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 I second the nomination of Senator Cockrell of Mis- 
 souri. 
 
 He is the nestor of the senate ; he is experienced in 
 public affairs. He is known ; he has a record, and can 
 be measured by it. I would be willing to write my in- 
 dorsement on his back and guarantee everything he 
 did. 
 
 It is said that he comes from the south. What if 
 he does? I do not share the feeling that some have 
 that the democratic party cannot take a candidate from 
 the south. It is said he was in the confederate army. 
 What if he was? I do not share the belief of those 
 who say that we cannot afford to nominate an ex-con- 
 federate. That war, that cruel war, occurred forty 
 years ago. Its issues are settled; its wounds are 
 healed, and the participants are friends. We have an- 
 other war on now, and those who know what the war 
 between the democracy and plutocracy means, will 
 not ask where the candidate stood forty years ago; 
 they will ask where he stands today — on v/hich side he 
 is fighting in the present conflict. 
 
 The great issue in this rountry today is "democ- 
 racy versus plutocracy." I have been accused of having 
 but one idea — silver. A few years ago it was said that 
 I had only one, but then it was tariff reform. But there 
 is an issue greater than the silver issue, the tariff issue 
 or the trust issue. It is th.- issue between democracy 
 and plutocracy — whether this is to be a government of 
 the people, administered by officers chosen by the peo- 
 ple, and administered in behalf of the people, or a gov- 
 ernment by the moneyed element of the country in the 
 interest of predatory wealth. This issue is growing.
 
 I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH 863 
 
 I ask you to help us to meet this issue. You tell 
 mc that the republican candidate stands for militar- 
 ism. Yes, but he also stands for plutocracy. You tell 
 me that he delights in war. Yes, but there is another 
 objection to him, and that is that he does not enforce 
 the law against a big criminal as he does against a lit- 
 tle criminal. The laws are being violated today, and 
 those laws must be enforced. The government must be 
 administered according to the maxim: "Equal rights 
 to all and special privileges to none." 
 
 We Jiave seen our elections debauched. It was 
 stated the other day that into the little state of Dela- 
 ware, two hundred and fift\-six thousand dollars were 
 sent at one time just before the election of 1896. Some 
 say that our party must have a great campaign fund 
 and bid against the republicans. Let me warn you 
 that if the democratic party is to save this nation, it 
 must save it, not by purchase, but by principle. 
 That is the only way to save it. Every time we 
 resort to purchase, we encourage the spirit of bar- 
 ter. Under such a system the price will constantly in- 
 crease, and the elections will go to the highest bidder. 
 If the democratic party is to save this country, it must 
 appeal to the conscience of the country. It must point 
 out impending dangers; and if the party will 
 nominate a man, I care not from what part of the 
 country he comes, who is not the candidate of a fac- 
 tion, who is not the candidate of an element, but the 
 candidate of the party, the party will stand by him and 
 will drive the republican party from power. 
 
 You could, I believe, take a man from any south- 
 em state — a man who would appeal to all democrats 
 who love democratic principles, and to those repub-
 
 354 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 licans who begin to fear for ♦heir nation's welfare, and 
 he would poll a million more votes than the candidate 
 of any faction whose selectir n would be regarded as a 
 triumph of a part of the party over the rest of the 
 party. 
 
 I simply submit these suggestions for your con- 
 sideration. I am here to discharge a duty that I owe 
 to the party. I knew before coming to this con- 
 vention that a majority of the delegates would not 
 agree with me in regard to the financial plank. I knew 
 that there would be among the delegates many who 
 voted against me when I sorely needed their help. 
 I am not objecting to the majority against me, nor to 
 the presence of those who left us in 1896 and have 
 since returned ; I am here, not because I enjoy being 
 in the minority, but because I owe a duty to the more 
 than six million brave and loyal men who sacrificed 
 for the ticket in recent campaigns. I came to help to 
 get them as good a platform as I could ; I have helped 
 to get them a good platform. I came to help to get as 
 good a candidate as possible, and I hope that he will 
 be one who can draw the factions together — one who 
 will give to us who believe in positive, aggressive, 
 democratic reform, something to hope for, some- 
 thing to fight for — one who will also give to those who 
 have diflFered from us on the money question some- 
 thing to hope for, something to fight for. And I close 
 with an appeal from my heart to the hearts of those 
 who hear me : Give us a pilot who will guide the 
 democratic ship away from the Scylla of militarism 
 without wrecking her upon the Charybdis of commer- 
 cialism.
 
 Naboths Vineyard 
 
 Extract from a Speech Delivered by Mr. Bryan in Denver, January 
 
 17, 1899, at the Joint Invitation of the Chairman of the 
 
 Democratic, Populist and Silver, Republican State 
 
 Committees.
 
 NABOTH'S VINEYARD. 
 *Thc Bible tells us that Ahab, the king, wanted 
 the vineyard of Naboth and was sorely grieved because 
 the owner thereof refused to part with the inheritance 
 of his fathers. Then followed a plot, and false charges 
 were preferred against Naboth to furnish an excuse 
 for getting rid of him. 
 
 " 'Thou shalt not covet !* 'Thou shalt not bear 
 false witness !' 'Thou shalt not kill' — three command- 
 ments broken, and still a fourth, 'Thou shalt not steal,' 
 to be broken in order to get a little piece of ground! 
 And what was the result? When the king went forth 
 to take possession, Elijah, that brave old prophet of 
 the early days, met him ani pronounced against him 
 the sentence o the Almighty. 'In the place where 
 the dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs lick 
 thy blood, even thine.' 
 
 "Neither his own exalted position nor the lowly 
 station of his victim could save him from the avenging 
 hand of outraged justice His case was tried in a courl 
 where neither wealth, nor rank, nor power can shield 
 the transgressor 
 
 "Wars of conquest have their origin in covetous- 
 ness, and the history of the human race has been writ- 
 ten in characters of blood because rulers have looked 
 with longing eyes upon the lands of others.
 
 360 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 "Covetousness is prone to seek the aid of false 
 pretense to carry out its plans, but what it cannot se- 
 cure by persuasion it takes by the sword. 
 
 "Senator Teler's amendment to the intervention 
 resolution saved the Cubans from the covetousness of 
 those who are so anxious to secure possession of the 
 island, that they are willing to deny the truth of the 
 declaration of our own congress, that 'the people of 
 Cuba are, and of right ought to be free.' 
 
 "Imperialism might expand the nation's territory, 
 but it would contract the nation's purpose. It is not a 
 step forward toward a broader destiny ; it is a step 
 backward, toward the narrow views of kings and em- 
 perors. 
 
 "Dr. Taylor has aptly expressed it in his 'Creed of 
 the Flag,' when he asks : 
 
 'Shall we turn to the old world again 
 With the penitent prodigal's cry?' 
 
 "I answer, never. This republic is not a prodigal 
 son ; it has not spent its substance in riotous living. It 
 is not ready to retrace its steps and, with shamed face 
 and trembling voice, solicit an humble place among 
 the servants of royalty. It has not sinned against 
 Heaven, and God grant that the crowned heads of 
 Europe may never have occasion to kill the fatted calf 
 to commemorate its return from reliance upon the will 
 of the people to dependence upon the authority which 
 flows from regal birth or superior force! 
 
 "We cannot afford to enter upon a colonial policy. 
 The theory upon which a government is built is a mat- 
 ter of vital importance. The national idea has a con-
 
 NABOTH'S VINEYARD 361 
 
 trolling influence upon the thought and character of 
 the people. Our national idea is self-government, and 
 unless we are ready to abandon that idea forever we 
 cannot ignore it in dealing with the Filipinos. 
 
 "That idea is entwined with our traditions ; it per- 
 meates our history ; it is a part of our literature. 
 
 "That idea has given eloquence to the orator and 
 inspiration to the poet. Take from our national hymns 
 the three words, free, freedom and liberty, and they 
 would be as meaningless as would be our flag if robbed 
 of its red, white and blue. 
 
 "Other nations may dream of wars of conquest 
 and of distant dependencies governed by external 
 force ; not so with the United States. 
 
 "The fruits of imperialism, be they bitter or sweet, 
 must be left to the subjects of monarchy. This is the 
 one tree of which the citizens of a republic may not 
 partake. It is the voice of the serpent, not the voice of 
 "^od, that bids us eat."
 
 British Rule in India 
 
 Written for and copyrighted by the New York Journal, and repro- 
 duced by courtesy of that newspaper.
 
 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA: 
 
 In the discussion of a colonial policy for the United 
 States frequent references v/ill be made to England's 
 government of India. The imperialists are already 
 declaring that Great Britain's policy has resulted in 
 profit to herself and benefit to her Asiatic subjects. 
 
 Th€ opponents of imperialism, on the other hand, 
 find in India's experience a warning against a policy 
 which places one nation under the control of another 
 and distant nation. 
 
 In 1600 the first East India company was organ- 
 ized. Its charter was for fifteen years, but a new and 
 perpetual charter was granted in 1609. Under the 
 reign of Charles II. the company obtained another 
 charter which continued former privileges and added 
 authority "to make peace or war with any prince or 
 people (in India) not being Christian." 
 
 The aflfairs of the company were managed with 
 an eye single to gain, and intervention in the quarrels 
 of native princes resulted in the gradual extension of 
 its influence. Money was the object, and the means 
 employed would not always bear scrutiny. There was» 
 however, no hypocritical mingling of an imaginary 
 "philanthropy" with an actual "five per cent." 
 
 In 1757 Lord Clive, by the battle of Plassey, mad€> 
 the company the dominant power in Indian politics, 
 
 885
 
 366 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 and under Clive and Hastings the income of the East 
 India Company reached enormous proportions. 
 
 The history of the century, beginning with the 
 battle of Plassey and ending with the Sepoy mutiny in 
 1857, was written under headlines like the following: 
 "The First War with Hyder Ali," "The Rohilla War," 
 "The Second War with Hyder Ali," "The War with 
 Tippoo Saib," "The War with the Mahrattas," "Sup- 
 pression of the Pindaris," "The Last of the Peshwas," 
 "The First Burmese War," "The First Afghan W^ar," 
 "The Conquest of Scinde," "The Sekh Wars," "The 
 Conquest of Punjab," "The Annexation of Pegu," "The 
 Annexation of Oudh," "The Outbreak of Meerut," 
 "The Seizure of Delhi." "The Siege of Lucknow," etc. 
 
 This brief review is not given because it is inter- 
 esting, but to acquaint the reader with the imperialistic 
 plan of solving the problem of civilization by the elim- 
 ination of unruly factors. 
 
 In 1858 Parliament, by an act entitled an act "for 
 the better government of India," confessed that the 
 management of Indian affairs could be improved and 
 placed the control in the hands of a Secretary of State 
 for India and a Council. 
 
 In 1877 Queen Victoria assumed the title, Em- 
 press of India. 
 
 Even if it could be shown that England's sover- 
 eignty over India had brought blessings to the Indian 
 people and advantage to the inhabitants of Great Brit- 
 ain, we could not afford to ?dopt the policy. A mon- 
 archy can engage in work which a republic dare not 
 undertake. A monarch/ is constructed upon the
 
 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 36'J 
 
 theory that authority descends from the king and that 
 privileges are granted by the crown to the subjects. 
 Of course the ruHng power recognizes that it owes a 
 duty to the people, but while the obligation is binding 
 upon the conscience of the sovereign it cannot be en- 
 forced by the subject. 
 
 Webster presented this idea with great force in 
 his speech on the Greek revolution. After setting 
 forth the agreement between the Allied Powers, he 
 said : "The first of these principles is, that all popular 
 or constitutional rights are holden not otherwise than 
 as grants from the crown. Society, upon this prin- 
 ciple, has no rights of its own ; it takes good govern- 
 ment, when it gets it, as a boon and a concession, but 
 can demand nothing. It is to live in that favor which 
 emanates from royal authority and if it have the mis- 
 fortune to lose that favor, there is nothing to protect 
 it against any degree of injustice and oppression. 
 can rightfully make no endeavor for a change, by itself ; 
 its whole privilege is to receive the favors that may 
 be dispensed by the sovereign power, and all its duty 
 ts described in the single word submission. This is 
 the plain result of the principal continental state pa- 
 pers ; indeed, it is nearly the identical text of some of 
 them." 
 
 The English people have from time to time forced 
 the crown to recognize certain rights, but the prio-; 
 ::iple of monarchy still exists. The sovereign has ai 
 veto upon all legislation; the fact that this veto has: 
 not been used of late does not change the govern- 
 mental theory, and, in India, the application of the
 
 368 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 theory has deprived the Indian people of participation 
 in the control of their own affairs. 
 
 A nation which denies the principle that govern- 
 ments derive their just powers from the consent of the 
 governed can give self-government to one colony and 
 deny it to another; it can give it to colonies strong 
 enough to exact it by force and deny it to weaker ones ; 
 but a nation which recognizes the people as the only 
 sovereigns, and regards those temporarily in authority 
 merely as public servants, is not at liberty to apply 
 the principle to one section of the country and refuse 
 it to another. 
 
 But, so far from supporting the contention of the 
 imperialists, British rule in India really enforces every 
 argument that can be made against a colonial system 
 of government. In the first place, to authorize a com- 
 mercial company "to make peace or war with any 
 prince or people (not Christian)," according to its 
 pleasure, was to place the pecuniary interests of a few 
 stockholders above the rights of those with whom they 
 had dealings. Clive and Hastings seem to have acted 
 upon this authority. When the former was called to 
 account he confessed that he had forged a treaty, and 
 his conduct was such that Parliament was compelled 
 lo vote that he "had abused his powers and set an evil 
 example to the servants of the public," but, as he had 
 increased the power of England in India, his con- 
 demnation was accompanied by the declaration that 
 he had, "at the same time, rendered great and meri- 
 torious services to his country." 
 
 The prosecution of Hastings for wrongs inflicted 
 iq>on the people of India occupies a conspicuous plac«
 
 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 369 
 
 among the political trials of history. The speeches 
 made against him recall the orations of Cicero against 
 Verres, who, by the way, was also charged with plund- 
 ering a colony. 
 
 Cicero said that Verres relied for his hope of 
 escape upon his ability to corrupt the judges of his 
 day, and it appears that the East India Company was 
 also accused of polluting the stream of justice only a 
 century ago. 
 
 In his speech on the Nabob of Arcot's debts, 
 Burke, said : "Let no man hereafter talk of the de- 
 caying energies of nature. All the acts and monu- 
 ments in the records of peculation; the consolidated 
 corruption of ages ; the pattern of exemplary plunder 
 in the heroic times of Roman iniquity, never equaled 
 the gigantic corruption of this single act. Never did 
 Nero, in all his insolent prodigality of despotism, deal 
 out to his praetorian guards a donation fit to be named 
 with the largess showered down by the bounty of our 
 chancellor of the exchequer on the faithful band of 
 Indian sepoys." 
 
 How little human nature changes from age to age ! 
 How weak is the boasted strength of the arm of the 
 law when the defendant possesses the influence pur- 
 chased by great wealth, however obtained, and the 
 accusation comes from a far-off victim of oppression ! 
 
 Those who expect justice to be exercised by offi- 
 cials far removed from the source of power — officials 
 who do not receive their commissions from, and cannot 
 be removed by, the people whom they govern — should 
 read Sheridan's great speech portraying the effect of 
 the Hastings policy upon the people of India.
 
 870 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 Below will be found an extract : 
 
 "If, my lords, a stranger had at this time entered 
 the province of Oude, ignorant of what had happened 
 since the death of Sujah Dowlah, that prince who, 
 with a savage heart, had still great lines of character, 
 and who, with all his ferocity in war, had with a culti- 
 vating hand preserved to his country the wealth which 
 it derived from benignant skies, and a prolific soil; if 
 observing the wide and general devastation of fields 
 unclothed and brown ; of vegetation burnt up and ex- 
 tinguished; of villages depopulated and in ruin; of 
 temples unroofed and perishing; of reservoirs broken 
 down and dry, this stranger would ask, 'What has 
 thus laid waste this beautiful and opulent land; what 
 monstrous madness has ravaged with widespread war; 
 what desolating foreign foe ; what civil discords ; what 
 disputed succession ; what religious zeal ; what fabled 
 monster has stalked abroad, and, with malice and 
 mortal enmity to man, withered by the grasp of death 
 every growth of nature and humanity, all means of 
 delight, and each original, simple principle of bare 
 existence ?' The answer would have been : Not one of 
 these causes! No wars have ravaged these lands and 
 depopulated these villages! No desolating foreign 
 foe, no domestic broils, no disputed succession, no 
 religious superserviceable zeal, no poisonous monster, 
 no affliction of Providence, which, while it scourges 
 us, cut off the sources of resuscitation ! 
 
 "No. This damp of death is the mere effusion of 
 British amity! We sink under the pressure of their 
 support! We writhe under their perfidious gripe I
 
 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 871 
 
 They have embraced us with their protecting arms. 
 and lo ! these are the fruits of their alliance I" 
 
 No clearer case was ever made against a prisonei 
 at the bar, and yet after a seven years' trial before th< 
 House of Lords Hastings was acquitted, not becaus< 
 he was guiltless, but because England had acquirec 
 territory by his policy. 
 
 Lord Macaulay, in describing the crimes perpe 
 trated at that time against a helpless people, give; 
 expression to a truth which has lost none of ;i;s ^orcc 
 with the lapse of years. He says: "And then was 
 seen what we believe to be the most frightful of all 
 spectacles, the strength of civilization without its 
 mercy. To all other despotism there is a check, im- 
 perfect indeed, and liable to gross abuse, but still suffi- 
 cient to preserve society from the last extreme of 
 misery. A time comes when the evils of submission 
 are obviously greater than those of resistance, when 
 fear itself begets a sort of courage, when a convulsive 
 burst of popular rage and despair warns tyrants not 
 to presume too far on the patience of mankind. But 
 against misgovernment such as then afflicted Bengal, 
 it is impossible to struggle. The superior intelligence 
 and energy of the dominant class made their power 
 irresistible. A war of Bengalees against Englishmen 
 was like a war of sheep against wolves, of men against 
 demons." 
 
 "The strength of civilization without its mercy!" 
 
 The American people are capable of governing 
 
 themselves, but what reason have we to believe that 
 
 they can wisely administer the affairs of distant races?
 
 37:5 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 It is difficult enough to curb corporate power in this 
 country, where the people who suffer have in their 
 own hands the means of redress ; how much more 
 difficult it would be to protect the interests of the peo- 
 ple where the people who do the governing do not 
 feel the suffering and where the people who do the 
 suffering must rely upon the mercy of alien rulers ! 
 
 True, Macaulay argues that English morality, 
 tardily but finally, followed English authority into the 
 Orient, but, as a matter of fact, the bleeding of India 
 has continued systematically during the present cen- 
 tury. Polite and refined methods have been substi- 
 tuted for the rude and harsh ones formerly employed, 
 and the money received is distributed among a larger 
 number, but the total sum annually drawn from India 
 is greater now than it was when England's foremost 
 orators and statesmen were demanding the impeach- 
 ment of notorious malefactors. 
 
 Sir J. Strachey, an Englishman, in a history re- 
 cently published, is quoted as saying that "the confis- 
 cation of the rights of the ryots (in Bengal) has 
 ireached vast proportions." He then shows that 
 through the action of the English government the 
 Zemindars, or middle men, have been able to enor- 
 mously increase their income at the expense of the 
 tillers of the soil, the increase being from four hun- 
 dred thousand pounds in the last century to thirteen 
 million pounds at the present time. 
 
 On the 28th of December, 1897 — only a year ago 
 — a meeting of the London Indian Society was held 
 at Montague Mansions and strong resolutions adopted. 
 Below will be found an extract from the resolutions:
 
 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 373 
 
 "That this conference of Indians, resident in the 
 United Kingdom, is of opinion — 
 
 "That of all the evils and 'terrible misery' that 
 India has been suffering for a century and a half, and 
 of which the latest developments are the most deplor- 
 able, famine and plague, arising from ever-increasing 
 poverty, the stupid and suicidal Frontier War and its 
 savagery, of the wholesale destruction of villages, 
 unworthy of any people, but far more so of English} 
 civilization ; the unwise and suicidal prosecutions for. 
 sedition ; the absurd and ignorant cry of the disloyalty 
 of the educated Indians, and for the curtailment of the! 
 liberty of tlie Indian press ; the despotism — like that oi 
 the imprisonment of the Natus, and the general iii-| 
 sufficiency and inefficiency of the administration — of: 
 all these and many other minor evils the main cause is, 
 the unrighteous and un-Eritish system of government 
 which produces an unceasing and ever-increasing 
 bleeding of the country, and which is maintained by a 
 political hypocrisy and continuous subterfuge? un- 
 worthy of the British honor and name, and entirely in 
 opposition to the wishes of the British people, and 
 utterly in violation of acts and resolutions of Parlia- 
 ment, and of the most solemn and repeated pledges of 
 the British nation and sovereign. 
 
 "That unless the present unrighteous and un- 
 British system of government is thoroughly reformed 
 into a righteous and truly British system destruction 
 to India and disaster to the British empire must be the 
 inevitable result." 
 
 Mr. Naoroji, an Indian residing in England, in 
 supporting the resolution, pointed out the continuous
 
 374 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 drain of money from India and argued that the people 
 were compelled "to make brick, not only without 
 straw, but even without clay." He insisted that Eng- 
 land's trade with India would be greater if she would 
 allow the people of India a larger participation in the 
 afifairs of their own government, and protested against 
 the policy of sending Englishmen to India to hold the 
 offices and draw their support from taxes levied upon 
 the inhabitants. He complained that British justice 
 is one thing in England and quite another thing in 
 India, and said : "There (In India) it is only the busi- 
 ness of the people to pay taxes and to slave; and the 
 business of the government to spend those taxes to 
 their own benefit. Whenever any question arises be- 
 tween Great Britain and India there is a demoralized 
 mfnd. The principles of politics, of commerce, of 
 equality which are applied to Great Britain are not 
 applied to India. As if it were not inhabited by 
 human beings!" 
 
 Does any one doubt that if we annex the Philip- 
 pines and govern them by agents sent from here, ques- 
 tions between them and the people of the United 
 States will be settled by the people of the United 
 States and for the benefit of the people of the United 
 States? If we make subjects of them against their 
 will and for our own benefit are we likely to govern 
 them with any more benevolence? 
 
 The resolutions quoted mention efforts for the 
 curtailment of the liberty of the press. Is that not a 
 necessary result of governmental injustice? Are we 
 likely to allow the Filipinos freedom of the press, if
 
 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 375 
 
 we enter upon a system that is I-idefensible according 
 to our theory of government? 
 
 Mr. Hyndman, an English writer, in a pamphlet 
 issued in 1S97, calls attention to English indifference 
 to India's wrongs, and, as an illustration of this indif- 
 ference, cites the fact that during the preceding year 
 the India budget affecting the welfare of nearly three 
 hundred millions of people was brought before Par- 
 liament on the last day of the session when only a few 
 members were present. He asserts that "matters are 
 far worse now than they were in the days of the old 
 East India Company," and that "nothing short of a 
 great famine, a terrible pestilence, or a revolt on a 
 large scale, will induce the mass of Englishmen to 
 devote any attention whatever to the affairs of India." 
 
 To show how, in the government of India, the 
 interests of English office-holders outweigh the in- 
 terests of the natives, I give an extract from the 
 pamphlet already referred to: 
 
 "First, under the East India Company, and then, 
 and far more completely, under the direct rule of the 
 Crown of the English people, the natives have been 
 shut out from all the principal positions of trust over 
 five-sixths of Hindostan, and have been prevented 
 from gaining any experience in the higher administra- 
 tion, or in military affairs. 
 
 "Wherever it was possible to put in an English- 
 man to oust a native an Englishman has been put in, 
 and has been paid from four times to twenty times as 
 much for his services as would have sufficed for the 
 salary of an equally capable Hindo or Mohammedan 
 official. * * * At the present time, out of 39,000
 
 376 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 officials who draw a salary of more than 1,000 rupees 
 a year, 28,000 are Englishmen and only 11,000 natives. 
 Moreover, the 11,000 natives receive as salaries only 
 three million pounds a year; the 28,000 Englishmen 
 receive fifteen million pounds a year. Out of the 960 
 important civil offices which really control the civil 
 administration of India 900 are filled with English- 
 men and only sixty with natives. Still worse, if pos- 
 sible, the natives of India have no control whatsoever 
 in any shape or way over their own taxation, or any 
 voice at all in the expenditure of their own revenues. 
 Their entire government — I speak, of course, of the 
 250,000,000 under our direct control — is carried on and 
 administered by foreigners, who not only do not settle 
 in the country, but who live lives quite remote from 
 those of the people, and return home at about forty- 
 five or fifty years of age with large pensions. 
 
 "As I have often said in public, India is, in fact, 
 now governed by successive relays of English carpet- 
 baggers, who have as little sympathy with the natives 
 as they have any real knowledge of their habits and 
 customs." 
 
 The Statesman's Year Book of 1897, published by 
 Macmillan & Co., London, contains some interesting 
 statistics in regard to India. 
 
 It seems that there are but two and a quarter mil- 
 lions of Christians in India — less than one per cent-r- 
 after so many years of English control. 
 
 It appears, also, that in 1891 only a little more 
 than three millions out of three hundred millions were 
 under instruction; a little more than twelve millions 
 were not under instruction, but able to read and write.
 
 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 377 
 
 while two hundred and forty-six millions were neither 
 under instruction nor able to read or write. Twenty- 
 five millions appear under the head "not returned." 
 
 The European army in India amounts to seventy- 
 four thousand and the native army to one hundred and 
 forty-five thousand. In the army the European officers 
 number five thousand and the native officers twenty- 
 seven hundred. One-fourth of the national expendi- 
 ture in India goes to the support of the army. Nearly 
 one-third of India's annual revenue is expended ia 
 Great Britain. The salary of the governor-general is 
 250,000 rupees per annum. 
 
 The Year Book above mentioned is also respon- 
 sible for the statement that the act of 1893, closing the 
 Indian mints to the free coinage of silver, was enacted 
 by the Governor-General and Council upon the same 
 day that it was introduced. Mr. Leech, former direc- 
 tor of the United States mint, in an article in the 
 Forum, declared that the closing of the mints in India 
 on that occasion was the most momentous event in the 
 monetary history of the present century. It will be 
 remembered that this act was made the excuse for an 
 extra session of our Congress and for the uncondi- 
 tional repeal of the Sherman law. 
 
 One can obtain some idea of the evils of irrespon- 
 sible alien government when he reflects that an Eng- 
 lish Governor-General and an English Council changed 
 the financial system of nearly three hundred millions 
 of people by an act introduced and passed in the course 
 of a single day. 
 
 No matter what views one may hold upon the 
 money question, he cannot defend such a system of
 
 3TS UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 fovernment without abandoning every principle re- 
 vered by the founders of the republic. Senator Wol- 
 cott of Colorado, one of the president's commissioners, 
 upon his return from Europe, made a speech in the 
 senate in which he declared that the last Indian fam- 
 ine was a money famine rather than a food famine. In 
 that speech Mr. Wolcott also asserted that the closing 
 of the India mints reduced by five hundred millions of 
 dollars, the value of the silver accumulated in the 
 hands of the people. If Mr. Wolcott's statement con- 
 tains the smallest fraction of truth the injury done by 
 the East India Company during its entire existence 
 was less than the injury done by that one act of the 
 Governor and his Council. If the famine was, in fact, 
 a money famine, created by an act of the Governor and 
 his Council, then indeed is English rule as cruel and 
 merciless in India today as was the rule of the East 
 India Company's agents a century ago. English rule 
 in India is not bad because it is English, but because 
 no race has yet appeared sufficiently strong in char- 
 acter to resist the temptations which come with irre- 
 sponsible power. 
 
 We may well turn from the contemplation of an 
 Imperial policy and its necessary vices to the words of 
 Jefferson in his first inaugural message: "Sometimes 
 It is said that man cannot be trusted with the govern- 
 ment of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the 
 government of others? Or have we found angels in 
 the form of kings to govern him ? Let history answer 
 this question." — New York Journal, Jan. 22, 1899.
 
 Philo Sherman Bennett 
 
 Delivered at Mr. Bennett's Funeral, August 19» 1903
 
 Philo Sherman Bennett. 
 
 "At another time I shall take occasion to speak 
 of the life of Philo Sherman Bennett and to draw 
 some lessons from his career; today I must content 
 myself with offering a word of comfort to those who 
 knew him as husband, brother, relative or friend — and 
 as a friend I need a share of this comfort for myself. 
 It is sad enough to consign to the dust the body of 
 one we love — how infinitely more sad if we were 
 compelled to part with the spirit that animated this 
 tenement of clay. But the best of man does not 
 perish. We bury the brain that planned for others as 
 well as for its master, the tongue that spoke words of 
 love and encouragement, the hands that were ex- 
 tended to those who needed help and the feet that ran 
 where duty directed, but the spirit that dominated and 
 controlled all rises triumphant over the grave. We lay 
 away the implements with which he wrought, but the 
 gentle, modest, patient, sympathetic, loyal, brave and 
 manly man whom we knew is not dead, and cannot 
 die. It would be unfair to count the loss of his de- 
 parture without counting the gain of his existence. 
 The gift of his life we have and of this the tomb can- 
 not deprive us. Separation, sudden and distressing as 
 it is, cannot take from the companion of his life the 
 recollection of forty years of affection, tenderness and 
 confidence nor from others the memory of helpful as- 
 sociation with him. If the sunshine which a baby
 
 382 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 brings into a home, even if its sojourn is brief, cannot 
 be dimmed by its death ; if a child growing to man- 
 hood or womanhood brings to the parents a develop- 
 ment of heart and head that outweighs any grief that 
 its demise can cause, how much more does a long life 
 full of kindly deeds leave us indebted to the Father 
 who both gives and takes away. The night of death 
 makes us remember with gratitude the light of the 
 day that has gone while we look forward to the 
 morning. 
 
 "The impress made by the life is lasting. We 
 think it wonderful that we can by means of the 
 telephone or the telegraph talk to those who are many 
 miles away, but the achievements of the heart are 
 even more wonderful, for the heart that gives inspira- 
 tion to another heart influences all the generations 
 yet to come. What finite mind, then, can measure 
 the influence of a life that touched so many lives as did 
 our friend's? 
 
 "To the young, death is an appalling thing, but it 
 ought not to be to those whose advancing years warn 
 them of its certain approach. As we journey along 
 life's road we must pause again and again to bid fare- 
 well to some fellow traveler. In the course of na- 
 ture the father and the mother die, then brothers 
 and sisters follow, and finally the children and the 
 children's children cross to the unknown world be- 
 yond — one by one 'from love's shining circle the gems 
 drop away' until the 'king of terrors' loses his power 
 to affright us and the increasing company on the 
 farther shore make us first willing and then anxious to 
 join them. It is God's way. It is God's way.
 
 Wonders of the West 
 
 Written for The Commoner
 
 THE WONDERS OF THE WEST. 
 
 A summer trip to the Rocky Mountain region 
 answers a three-fold purpose ; it gives rest and recrea- 
 tion to those who are weary ; it repays the tourist who 
 is in search of the rare, the beautiful and the sublime 
 in nature, and it furnishes an inspiration and a moral 
 stimulus that the fertile prairies, the growing cities 
 and even the boundless ocean can not supply. 
 
 A fourth reason for a mountain trip can be found 
 in the altitude, if one needs the tonic furnished by the 
 rarer air, for to those who suffer from any sort of pul- 
 monary trouble the breezes of the mountains bear 
 bealing in their wings. During the past seven years I 
 have spent three brief vacations in the Rockies and 
 they have not only been invigorating but they have 
 furnished to my family and to myself an opportunity 
 to vkw the wonders of the west. 
 
 Yellowstone Park. 
 
 In 1897 we made a tour of Yellowstone park. 
 Leaving the Union Pacific in eastern Idaho at a little 
 station near Beaver Canon, we spent seventeen days 
 in making the trip to and through the government 
 reservation known as Yellowstone park. About half 
 way between the railroad and the park we found the 
 hospitable home of Hon. A. S. Trude, the eminent 
 Chicago lawyer, and made a brief stop there. His 
 commodious cottage is on the bank of Snake river 
 
 885
 
 88« UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 which at that point is a beautiful, transparent stream, 
 about waist deep. The fishing is excellent there, and 
 the same may be said of the hunting. In one day de- 
 voted to sport we secured a number of wild ducks, and 
 about thirty sage chickens and a good string of trout. 
 I say we, but my shooting was really not very satis- 
 factory as Mr. Trude's father, a man past eighty and 
 bereft of one eye, killed about two-thirds of the 
 chickens. 
 
 We made our next stop at Dwelle's ranch, which 
 is located near the edge of the park. Here, too, fish 
 and game were abundant. In the park itself no hunt- 
 ing is allowed but fishing is permitted, and I never 
 saw trout caught with such ease and rapidity as in the 
 Yellowstone river, just as it leaves the lake. 
 
 Yellowstone lake is itself an object of interest, 
 being one of the largest of the mountain lakes. A 
 small steamboat takes the tourist a picturesque trip 
 around its shores. It is in the edge of this lake that 
 the famous hot spring is located. The spring is en- 
 cased in a wall that seems to have been formed by a 
 deposit of lime and is surrounded by the water of the 
 lake. Here, the guide books tell us, one can catch a 
 trout and without moving from the spot cook the fish 
 in the water of this spring. 
 
 Not far from the edge of the lake there is a mud 
 geyser, as it is commonly called. It is a funnel shaped 
 hole and contains several feet of thin mud. Every few 
 moments a pufT of gas coming up from below spatters 
 the mud against the sides of the hole and by the time 
 the mud has fallen back Into the pit, it is again blown 
 out. When I visited the mud geyser the campaign of
 
 WONDERS OF THE WEST b87 
 
 1896 was fresh in my mind, and the working plan of 
 the mud geyser recalled the editorial policy of some of 
 the opposition papers, especially the New York Trib- 
 une. 
 
 The hot water geysers of the Yellowstone are to 
 many the chief attraction. Of these Old Faithful is 
 the most constant though not the largest. One can 
 not visit this section of the park, look upon these in- 
 termittent pillars of boiling water and thread his way 
 among the smoking hot pools, without feeling that in 
 spite of the altitude he is close to the infernal regions, 
 and this impression is strengthened by the names that 
 have been given to various localities and objects of 
 interest. One place is called Hell's Half Acre, and it 
 has earned the appellation for it not only contains a 
 number of hot pools and geysers, but it is encrusted 
 with a sediment from the hot springs that gives forth 
 a hollow sound and makes one feel that there is but a 
 thin crust between him and raging fires beneath. A 
 cave in this vicinity is called the Devil's Kitchen, while 
 a small spring which flows at intervals is called the 
 Devil's Inkstand. The Devil is also the recognized 
 owner of a frying pan, some paint pots and other 
 articles of ornament and utility. Some of the pools of 
 hot water are strikingly beautiful, reflecting from their 
 depths all the colors of the rainbow, the principal of 
 these being called the Morning Glory. In some in- 
 stances the springs issuing from the hillside have 
 formed terraces covering acres of ground. These ter- 
 races are richly colored by the various mineral de- 
 posits.
 
 388 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 The canyon of the Yellowstone is one of the prin- 
 cipal features of the park. The deep gorge with its 
 brilliantly colored, sloping walls, the falls with dash- 
 ing spray, the stream which in the distance looks like 
 a tiny thread of green or white according to the rap- 
 idity of the current, and the fringe of verdure at the 
 top of the canyon — all these combine to impress the 
 view upon one's memory. 
 
 There are hotels at the principal points of interest, 
 so that the tourist can find lodging and food at con- 
 venient hours. The animals in the park, protected 
 from danger, have become very tame, so that it is not 
 unusual to see both deer and bear. From a window of 
 one of the hotels we saw a large black bear and two 
 cubs eating the scraps from the table. They were 
 frightened away by some horses and after waiting 
 awhile for the danger to pass, the old bear arose upon 
 her hind feet to take a survey of the field. The cubs 
 followed her example and the three presented a pic- 
 ture that made me wish for a kodak. While we en- 
 tered the park from the west in a private conveyance, 
 the most convenient entrance is from the north. The 
 Northern Pacific has a branch from Livingston to 
 Cinnabar, from which point coaches make a tour of 
 the park at rates fixed by the government. 
 
 Yosemite. 
 
 In 1899 we made our summer vacation include a 
 trip to Yosemite valley. While it is difficult to com- 
 pare two things as dissimilar as Yellowstone park and 
 Yosemite, it may be said of them that the former con-
 
 WONDERS OF THE WEST 389 
 
 tains more places of interest while the latter is built 
 upon a more stupendous scale. 
 
 The Yosemite is in central California and is 
 reached by the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific. 
 Leaving the main lines of these roads at Merced, the 
 traveler takes a branch road to Raymond and from 
 that point reaches the valley by stage. The ride is 
 an interesting one, and one is constantly wondering at 
 the magnitude of the trees. Enormous sugar pines, 
 some of them eight or ten feet in diameter, line the 
 way and prepare one for the giant red woods of the 
 Mariposa group, which are but a short distance from 
 the Yosemite road. These are the big trees of Cali- 
 fornia, but they are so symmetrical that one can hardly 
 believe his eyes or credit the measurements which he 
 himself takes. The largest of these trees is more than 
 thirty feet in diameter — nearly one hundred feet in 
 circumference. Some idea of the size of the trees can 
 be formed when one knows that a roadway has been 
 cut through the base of one of the trees and that when 
 a four horse, three-seated, coach is driven through, the 
 coach and the wheel horses are concealed within the 
 tree. 
 
 The road to the valley leads through a mining 
 camp which bears the euphonious title of Grub Gulch. 
 When we arrived here we found a rope stretched 
 across the road and the citizens drawn up in line. 
 They bore a banner which certified to the fact that I 
 had carried the precinct by a large majority three 
 years before and they insisted that they were entitled 
 to a speech from the candidate, as a return for their 
 partiality. At Wawona, the half-way house, we
 
 b90 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 stopped for the night. The hotel nestles in a little 
 valley by the side of a fertile meadow and the pine- 
 clad hills which hem it in make the spot so picturesque 
 that we were sorry to resume our journey. About 
 noon on the second day we reached the point where 
 the trail leading to the rim of the canyon leaves the 
 wagon road. While the stage carried our baggage to 
 the valley, we mounted the mules and horses and fol- 
 lowed the path to Glacier Point, where the nigtit was 
 spent. From this point the view of the valley is en- 
 chanting. Looking down the walls of the canyon to 
 the bottom of the valley, more than three thousand 
 feet below, one sees a picture so beautiful that it 
 hardly seems real. Five streams pour their waters, 
 or rather their spray, into the valley, for the distance 
 is so great that the water does not fall en masse. The 
 Bridal Veil Falls greet one as he enters the valley and 
 the name is not inappropriate, for the wind swaying 
 the falling spray gives it the appearance of a flutter- 
 ing veil. The falls of the Yosemite, the stream which 
 has impressed its name upon the valley, were a dis- 
 appointment, the water at that time being exceedingly 
 low. These falls are at their best during the early 
 jsummer months, when the snow is melting. 
 
 The most striking feature of the valley is the 
 famous promontory known as El Capitan. It is a 
 massive piece of granite a little more than half a mile 
 high and considerably more than half a mile in width, 
 without a crack or seam. It is the most stupeodous 
 piece of masonry that I have seen, and one stands 
 before it in awe and reverence. 
 
 Visitors to the Yosemite are sometimes enter- 
 tained by the explosion of dynamite cartridges within
 
 WONDERS OF THE WEST 391 
 
 the walls of the canyon, the echo from the various 
 parts reminding one of reverberating thunder. Glacier 
 Point is the best place for the production of this efiFect. 
 The beauty of the valley is much enhanced by the 
 verdure, everything excepting the bare rocks respond- 
 ing to the moisture and the warmth. 
 
 In returning from Yosemite we stopped a day at 
 Lake Tahoe, which lies up in the mountains on the 
 borderline between Nevada and California, fifteen 
 miles by rail from Truckee, a station on the Southern 
 Pacific between Ogden and San Francisco. The lake 
 is called the Pearl of the Sierras and has a depth of 
 two thousand feet and an area of two hundred and 
 fifty square miles. Its elevation above the sea is some- 
 thing over six thousand feet and, owing to the varying 
 depths, the water takes on many shades of blue and 
 green. 
 
 In the northern portion of the Rockies there are 
 innumerable fishing and hunting resorts, such as the 
 Jackson Hole country, just south of the Yellowstone, 
 the Big Horn Basin near Sheridan, Wyoming, the 
 North Platte headwaters in the neighborhood of Sara- 
 toga, just south of Rawlins, Wyoming, the Black Hill 
 streams near Custer and Spearfish, not to speak of the 
 Gunnison country and many other places in Colorado. 
 
 The Petrified Forest. 
 
 This year we took most of our summer vacation 
 in New Mexico and Arizona, the principal places vis- 
 ited being the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon. 
 
 The Petrified Forests are in eastern Arizona and
 
 392 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 near the line of the Santa Fe. The two smaller for- 
 ests are near Adamana ; the largest of the three is near 
 Holbrook, We visited the Holbrook forest, sixteen 
 miles southeast of that town, and found it a place of 
 surpassing interest. No one who has formed an opin- 
 ion of the petrified wood from the few pieces seen at 
 the various expositions can realize the immensity of 
 the force, the size of the logs or the variety of color- 
 ing. In some places it looks like a logging camp and 
 many of the trees seem to have been sawed into sec- 
 tions, the lengths proportioned somewhat to the diam- 
 eter of the log. Thousands of pieces can be found 
 sho\ving the entire circumference of the tree, and vary- 
 ing in diameter from eight inches to two feet and in 
 length from a foot to three feet — pieces convenient for 
 shipping. Every institution of learning in the land 
 ought to supply itself with one of these specimens for 
 the benefit of the students. If the government, which 
 has made a reservation of the forest, does not now 
 permit such use of the specimens, it ought to do so, for 
 these fragments of logs record a wondrous story of 
 the earth's convulsions before man was born. Geolo- 
 gists tell us that this portion of the earth's surface was 
 once submerged, probably by water from the Gulf of 
 California, and that after the work of petrifaction was 
 completed another convulsion converted this section 
 into the arid plateau which we find there today. It is 
 evident that these trees were at one time covered with 
 a deposit of soil which is now being gradually washed 
 away exposing the logs to view. As the washing con- 
 tinues new trees are disentombed and new acres added 
 to the thousand or more now included in the largest 
 forest.
 
 WONDERS OF THE WEST 302 
 
 One of the petrified trees is nearly nine feet in 
 diameter and some show a length of two or three hun- 
 dred feet. One tree, or what seems to be one tree, 
 must have been more than four hundred feet high, but 
 as the center of the tree is still covered by a deposit of 
 soil the identity of the two sections is not clearly 
 established. A section of one tree shows five branches 
 and there is a stump which shows where the roots 
 have been broken oflF. In what appears to have been a 
 hollow in a stump there is something which looks like 
 driftwood, petrified with the tree. 
 
 At the Chicago exposition in 1893 a visitor, after 
 inspecting some of the specimens of petrified wood, 
 innocently asked whether they were petrified by hand. 
 The question brought a smile to the face of the man in 
 charge of the exhibit and I smiled, too, when he re- 
 lated the incident to me, but I recently heard Captain 
 Jack Crawford, the poet scout, recite some verses 
 which make the inquiry seem less ludicrous. Captain 
 Crawford, after a visit to the cities of the east, wrote 
 a poem contrasting the rugged natural beauty of the 
 western mountains with the handiwork of man and 
 concluded each verse with the follov/ing: 
 
 "Like it? No. I love to wander 
 'Mid the vales an' mountains green, 
 In the borderland out yonder. 
 Where the hand o' God is seen." 
 
 I have thought often during the last few weeks of 
 his description of the mountain country. "Where the 
 hand o' God is seen—!" In the canyon of the Yellow- 
 stone, in the valley of the Yosemite, in the brilliantly
 
 394 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 colored logs of the Petrified Forest and more dis- 
 tinctly still in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado iu 
 northern Arizona "the hand o' God is seen." 
 
 Of all the wonders of the west, the Grand Canyon, 
 the mightiest and most impressive, is now the most 
 accessible of them all to tourists. The Santa Fe rail- 
 road has a branch which runs from Williams to the 
 very edge of the canyon. Here the Bright Angel hotel 
 and others of less capacity supply the wants of the 
 traveler and furnish outfits for a visit to the various 
 points of interest. The Santa Fe is building at this 
 place a hotel of one hundred rooms with all modem 
 conveniences, which is to be run by the Harveys who 
 have made the Harvey eating houses famous in the 
 southwest. As the canyon is far enoui;jh south to be 
 visited during all the months of the year it is destined 
 to become a popular resort. The Bright Angel hotel 
 takes its name from the beautiful stream which enters 
 the canyou from the opposite side of the Colorado. 
 
 How can one describe this awful chasm? More 
 than eight miles wide at the top, nearly three hundred 
 miles long and almost a mile deep — its immensity, its 
 beauty and its grandeur are inexpressible. The ad- 
 jectives which one is accustomed to employ at the 
 sight of other wonders seem feeble and insufficient. 
 There are various points from which different views 
 of the csr.yon can be obtained, the most extensive 
 being Grand View, some sixteen miles distant, but the 
 views from O'Neill's Point, only a few miles east of 
 the Bright Angel hotel, and Rowe's Point, a like dis- 
 tance west of the hotel, answer every purpose. From 
 the rim of the canyon at any of these points one looks
 
 WONDERS OF THE WEST 395 
 
 upon a changing scene so modified by sun and cloud 
 and shadow that it presents a different picture each 
 time it is seen. The canyon is made up of a great 
 many smaller canyons and of countless piles and peaks 
 and pinnacles of rock. Some of the rocks look like 
 frowning forts, some like castles and others like slender 
 spires. The different strata of rock from the granite 
 at the base, the limestone above it, the red sandstone 
 surmounting this, the light sandstone still higher and 
 the softer stone at the top — these rent by earthquake, 
 raised by volcanic action and worn by erosion, assume 
 an infinite number of shapes, of figures and of hues. 
 
 There is an excellent trail leading from the rim of 
 the canyon to the muddy waters of the raging Colo- 
 rado. During two-thirds of the descent, one is near 
 the walls of the canyon and can measure the depth of 
 each stratum of rock and note the seams where the 
 strata meet. About thirteen hundred feet above the 
 river a spring of pure, cold water breaks forth and the 
 vegetation about it has given the place the name of the 
 Indian gardens. The trail from this point leads over 
 a sloping plateau to the edge of the walls of the river 
 where a descent of some six hundred feet is made by 
 a picturesque route down the precipitous sides of a 
 granite cliflf. 
 
 There are "sermons in stones" and the stones of 
 this canyon preach many impressive ones. They not 
 only testify to the omnipotence of the Creator but they 
 record the story of a stream which both moulds, and is 
 moulded by, its environment. It can not escape from 
 the walls of its prison and yet it has made its imorrss 
 upon the granite as, in obedience to the law of gravi-
 
 896 UNDER OTHER FLAGS 
 
 tation, it has gone dashing and foaming on its path to 
 the sea. 
 
 How like a human life! Man, flung into existence 
 without his volition, bearing the race-mark of his 
 parents, carrying the impress of their lives to the day 
 of his death, hedged about by an environment that 
 shapes and moulds him before he is old enough to plan 
 or choose, how these constrain and hem him in ! And 
 yet, he too, leaves his mark upon all that he touches 
 as he travels, in obedience to his sense of duty, the 
 path that leads from the cradle to the grave. But here 
 the likeness ends. The Colorado, pure and clear in the 
 mountains, becomes a dark and muddy flood before it 
 reaches the ocean, so contaminated is it by the soil 
 through which it passes ; but man, if controlled by a 
 noble purpose and inspired by high ideals, may purify, 
 rather than be polluted by, his surroundings, and by 
 resistance to temptation make the latter end of his life 
 more beautiful even than the beginning. 
 
 The river also teaches a sublime lesson of patience. 
 It has taken ages for it to do its work and in that 
 work every drop of water has played its part. It takes 
 time for individuals or groups of individuals to ac- 
 complish a great work and because time is required 
 those who labor in behalf of their fellows sometimes 
 become discouraged. Nature teaches us to labor and 
 to wait. Viewed from day to day the progress of the 
 race is imperceptible ; viewed from year to year, it can 
 scarcely be noted, but viewed by decades or centuries 
 the upward trend is apparent, and every good work 
 and word and thought contributes toward the final 
 result. As nothing is lost in the economy of nature,
 
 WONDERS OF THE WEST 397 
 
 so nothing is lost in the social and moral world. As 
 the stream is composed of an innumerable number of 
 rivulets, each making its little offering and each nec- 
 essary to make up the whole, so the innumerable num- 
 ber of men and women who recognize their duty to 
 society and their obligations to their fellows are con- 
 tributing according to their strength to the sum total 
 of the forces that make for righteousness and progress.
 
 b'y
 
 mill III III iiii 
 3 1205 02531 3766 
 
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