The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 10, 1898, Page 21

' FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JULY 10, 1898. 21 HE war excitement wkich is now absorbing the in. rest of the country has temporarily ob- scured another more peaceful struggle which has been going on for centuries—the conquest of the pole. So many have tried in vain to T h the goal that many people laugh at further attempts as usel or ask in undisguised contempt: pole, anyv " To them the best an- swer to their question i-, “Nothing.” To the scholar it is simply a mathe- matical point where the earth’s axis intersects the earth’s surface, a place where there are ninety degrees of lati- tude and three hundred and sixty de- es of longitude or no longitude at all st as one prefers to look at it. are not the impressive I am after the pole be- cause it is the pole, because it has a value as a test of intelligence, persist- ent endurance, determined will, and perhaps courage—qualities character- istic of the highest type of manhood— because I am confident that it can be reached, and because I regard it as a great prize which it is peculiarly fit and appropriate that an American should win. There is no reason whatever for as- suming any abnormal conditions at the pole, for supposing that it is the site of a immer sea or a paleo- cryst ally frozen) sea, ora g ac to the cente: the earth, or specially rounded mountain, a la Jules Verne, for the earth to whirl upon—none of these. AN There will be found simply or water at the pole, no ma say which until some & land, it will it s of which & those of other ! the same which we know, a few hurn south, and if it water, it Arctic sea, the characteri are lly the same other as with wh hundred mil L As to the objection that the pole can never be reached it is groundle certainly will be reached D within a comparatively shc distance which to-day seps highest north from the pole its 260 miles—about the tance between Alban Those who ridicule polar exy ask, “Of what use the pole than one answer could be giv question, but if there were no other reason than that during more than two centuries ten civilized natior f the carth have spent milli 1 and sent scores of sk of men to win the nc success, this alone is sufficient to make it a prize which we should strive to cure. The conquest of the north pole complete delineation of the Grees nd Archipelago (the last of the circum- polar island groups) and th elimina- tion from our maps of the -inknown area between the eighty-fourth pa lel and the pole are important geo- graphical desiderata. The present expedition is simply the second step of a determined campaign for the pole. The results of the various previous expeditions show that there remains but one practicable route by Arctic familiar, a few The the NEwWEy, WINWAPE n it, and that route is the t s come to be known as the n—through Smith Sound, Kane , Robeson Channel and along the st of Greenland. ditio starts, I think, auspi- The ship Windward is espe- suited to face the diffi~ulties of loaded with such s as experience luable. She nd this s picked fam- with their tents, veral kimos dogs, force a way through Channel to Sherard Os jord, or further, and land peop Then the ship will turn back. as the freezing of the ice of the fjords of the northwest coast s sledge travel the work of ad- suppl.es will ba commenced, g comparatively short stages and loads so that the trips can be mad s soon i n advanced the fir party itself will move forw. : a cacne behind. As they will be follow- imo customs and living in snow this can be done e ly. 1 the second stage of the advance will be taken up and the work carried on until the departure of the sun. Each of the brilliant winter moons of the polar night will afford opportunities for continuing the work, so that early i will find the party and the bulk yplies located at the northern term of the North Greenland Archipelago—probably not far from the eighty-fifth paraliel with caches behind 1t each prominent headland. From this point, when the proper time comes, with picked dogs, the lightest: possible equipment, and two of the best Eski- ORIN D G mos the last stage of the journey for the pole will be attempted with strong bilities . of a successful termina- n is unfavorable as e conditions, it can be devot- ed to a detailed survey of the archipel- ago itself and a reconnoissance of the east coast as far south as possible, the rn journey being reserved for the following . if necessar: until the mer the ship will attempt to communications with the part succeeding, probably, every other year at first, then, with increasing experi- ence. every year. and will keep up the supply of food, dogs and Eskimos until the objects of the expedition are ac- complished. If the ship should be suc- cessful in the passage of Robeson Channel the fi vear, the party will land at Haves Sound and devote the season to explorations of that unknown on. Retreat from the colony at herard Fjord will always be practic- ble across the inland ice to Whale Sourd. The programme is to secure every mile and advance just as far as there is land, then attempt to accomplish the remaining distance in one effort. In case the conditions are unfavorahle or impracticable the first season, I shall return to my Eskimo village, winter there and start again the next spring; and if the conditions are not favorable the second come back for the winter, and so on, trying again and again. 1 believe that at any point in the Arctic regions, at one time or an- other, at one season or another, the door is open or can be opened and the man who is in readiness and waiting wants to. When north for one or ‘two 3 only, may not find the favorable opportunit exnec but if it can stay there four or five vears, which 1 am prepared to stay i nec me ti in that pe favorable occasion i re to come and the door will be opened or can be pushed open. For a practical attempt at the pole the utilization of the Eskimo is of ur questioned value. They are the people best fitted in the world for that par- ticular kind of work, men who, under the leadership of one whom they know to be their friend and in whom they have the utmost confidence, will follow to the end, faithful and loyal as their own magnificent dogs. What could be more practical than a party made up of the children of the north itself, a surgeon for emergencies and a leader nish wil: intelligence and direc- Eagerly as these people have looked forward during the past summers for the coming of ‘'Pear) Oomiak- soch” (ship), they will look forward to it with double interest this ses They have all the eagerne that is characteristic of hur the world over, and this year the ar- rival of the “Oomiaksoch” means that a considerable quota of the little com- munity will go to the White Ahvungah (north) to li: in lands which they have heard of in their forefathers’ leg- ends. repeated to them from their childhood up. Every one will agree with me that there could .e no human beings on the face of the earth better adapted for the rank and file of an Arctic party than - members of that people little tribe, the most in the world, whose dfathers and great- ore them have lived They know all the in that very re all th ibilities and all the of their home, and they know how to take care of themselv Ac- cording to the theory of r Clements Markham, precident of the Royal Geo- s Society, the forefathers of the , centuries ago, during the b of the tribe. in journe from Sib: nt home have crossed unknowingly the the earth. \7hat a striking c if their children should be the ments of finally wresting the se the poie! The party to reach the pole, things being equal, will be the containing the lest number, est equipment.and the fewest sities, a party which can trav and continuously. In the writer’ ion the pole will never be reached by a ship nor with any of the new fangled or unusual projects of which so ma have been proposed lately @ Andree’s balloon is an exa reply to the first part of this statement the past results and present advocacy by Nansen of the drift theory is cited it must be admitted by ev. person cognizant of Arctic matters that the voyage was in many respects a fortu- nate one and a successful termination could by no means be duplicated. It is a significant fact that while Nansen publicly advocating his drift method as the one best adapted for reaching the pole, his navigator, Sverd- run, who was with him on his last ex- pedition, abandons it altogether and adopts my plans and field of work. It is natural that a man should consider own plan the best, or else pre- sumably he would not adopt it. There is a certain class at present who take the stand that practically all T of the mnorth have been 2 matter of fact the prob- lems of the north have and we really do not know not been solved, absolutely what there is at and immediately about the pole any more than we did ten ve ago. It is e that the highest point north has been recently moved up a notch. 17 s ‘beyond previous record: the indications and probab that a deep sea ex- tends frc perhops to the p-le yet there a man with extended 1 - explorations ence of land v miles of that »r myself 1 believe in thing until it is ac- complished, and as long as there re- mains that plored area Hf millions of square mil bout the north pole I regard it as not only a promise but a reproach to our boasted civilization of to-day. My project contemplates a serious, determined, persistent attempt to win for the victorious Stars and Stripes the only remaining great geographical prize which the world has to offer; an at- tempt which may and likely will be- come a siege. It is an attempt in which knowledge and experience gained in work prosecuted during ten years on definite and consis to be directed on equally some ONDON, July 2.—The New Amer- ica, as I described in the first let- ter of this series, will be armed to defend against any national pelicy she m pursue. The next nemy the more important question exists at this moment. This nation, nearly 80,000,000 strong, with unapproached natural resources, enormous and marvelously organized industrial enterpris intelligent and ambitious.beyond the average, soon to be one of the great powers on the sea, has hitherto been content to think only of its own defense and to cast pitying looks, accempanied by moral di i tions, upon the nations of Europe puting with each other the lands of Asia and Africa. “Avoid foreign entan- glements,” the advice of the founder of the republic, has been written, one might s, across every American flag. Anybody who could have prophesied in the spring of the year that has not vet reached midsummer that the United States was about to embark upon a pol- fcy of oversea expansion, of coloniza- tion, of territorial aggrandizement, of “imperialism,” would havebeen laughed at for a fool. Admiral Dewey did it. With his dash into Manila Bay and his destruction of the Spanish squadron—a finer naval ex- ploit than is yet admitted abroad—he sowed the seed which will never be up- rooted. The inconceivable was accom- plished, as in the salvation of Faus the problem whether America could, sheuld or would seize alien countries became obsolete in one morning. The fortune of war gaye her the Philip- Dines, on the farthest side of the globe. Public opinion accommodated itself to the change, as automatically and as quickly as the governor of an engine te a sudden increase of steam pressure. Between April 30 and May 1 the weather vane which shows the public breath swung clear around. The prac- tical American read the news, asked himself, “Well, why not?”’ and hung another flag out of his window. All this Is not a figure of speech—it is a literal fact. Never was there such a lightning change of national sentiment. The administration had nothing to do with it. They had not foreseen it; they had not contributed to it; they were powe! to prevent it; they have not Yet quite recovered from the shock. That little sentence in the Congres- sional resolution aboutdisclaiming “any disposition or intention to exercise sov- ereignty, jurisdiction or control,” is a pea in the official shoe. But the force of events, linked one to one by the great Chainmaker, has continued to pull, and the policy of expansion has marched on with as little regard for American tradition or administrative convenience as John Brown's body had for the in- stitutions of the South. Hawali, Cuba, Porto Rico, the Phil- ippines, the Ladrones, the Carolines, present to the American people to-day (ONOXOROXOXOXOXONOXOROROXORORORORONOOROXORONONOROXOXO] ® ® ® ®© CNORCROJOROROXONOX®] (OXO} e as clear an issue as has ever divided opinion, and more important than any except the Revolution and the Rebell- lion. It is obvious that this issue is hard- ly of less import to Europe than to America herself. Every European, ar- guing from the procedure of his own country, will naturally ask this ques- tion: What is the policy of President *Kinley and his Cabinet in this mat- re 1 leave facts to fall back upon my own opinion, and it is this: The American Government has no pol- icy in the matter. How could it have one? To begin with, the war itself is a sufficient issue for the present. It will be time enough tc discuss the dis- position of all these plac when the United States is in possession of them. Again, circumstances may greatly al- ter the case. For example, if Spain surrendered unconditionally to-mor- row, asking only the Philippines and yielding all the rest, it might be diffi- cult to say her nay. If she fights on, and stubborn battles at Santiago, San Juan, Havana and Manila cost thou- sands of American lives, the ultimate #ituation will present a totally different aspect. Finally, nobody can be sure that public opinfon, which has changed s0 quickly once, may not veer again, sick of bloodshed and expenditure. President McKinley, whose skill in es- timating the resultant direction of the varying currents of political feeling amounts to positive genius, is the last man in the United States to bulld a policy upon a foundation not yet solid- ified. I have had, I think, as good an opportunity as anybody for gaining in- formation upon this point, and I am confident that, upon the greater issues involved, there is in this country at the present time no official policy whatever. Spain’s failure to take advantage of this is an act of sheer insanity. By the “greater issue” I mean sim- ply the Philippines. All the rest is as fixed as fate. There is no doubt that Hawali will be annexed. Cuba will be given an opportunity—not an opportunity, by the way, unlimited either in time or scope—to govern her- self, the idea being that so great an influx of Americans, especlally from % foJoJoXoXcoJoRoooRoKoJoJoXoJoXoKoXoJoJoRoJoXoJoJoXoKoJoRoXoXoXoJoRooKoXoJORO RO RO ROROROJOROROROXOXORONORORORORORORONO) GHE NEW PMERIGA—IBS POLIRY AND EXPANSION. By Henry Norman, Commissioner of the London Chronicle. the South, and of American capital will take place that the elements of dis- order and corruption left by Spanish misrule will speedily be ‘“‘snowed un- der,’ Cuba will bear the same relation United States as the Transvaal would have borne to Great Britain if the Jameson raid had suc- ceeded. One West Indian ‘‘republic” is administered to-day by a syndicate of New York capitalists, and there are plenty ready to “run” Cuba. If these calculations, however, prove erroneous Cuba will be annexed out and out. Porto Rico will be annexed in any case, and a strong naval base formed there. With the West Indies thus practically di- vided between the United States and Great Britain, the American Govern- ment considers that a safe and satis- factory situation in that part of the world will have been reached. These coming events constitute, of course, a vast change from anything America has hitherto done. But of thomselves thcy do not of necessity imply any sweeping change of policy. “‘Cuba libre” means an act of human- ity, while Hawaii and Porto. Rico are the naval basis in a new scheme of na- tional defense. Obedience to the teach- ings of Washington's farewell address may remain intact though Porto Rico comes under the same principles of government (with a different practice) as Cuba on tlLe one side and Hay*i on the other, and though the chorus of “Hiki mai neiika ha lia pua kea” (if my memory serves me) is sung by fair, frail Hawaiians under the Stars and Stripes. But the Philippines are a very different matter. ‘With Admiral Dewey’s victory sealed and General Merritt installed as Military Governor, the United States becomes a nation with colonies, reaping all the advan- tages and incurring all the responsi- bilities that colonies, like children, bring with them. Then, in truth, the farewell address ceases to be the com- pass of the statesman and becomes the curio of the historian, - This is destined to be the new issue in American politics. When the House of Representatives voted the annexation of Hawall several days ago, a number of Republicans voted with the Demo- cratic minority, and thirty Democrats, Silverites and Populists with the Re- publican majority. When it was an- nounced from tre chair that Speaker Reed, the R publican, would have vot- ed no if he had been present, the Dem- ocrats applauded loudly—an incident without parallel. Thus the great new issue is crossing and confusing the old party lines. The Democratic party, which has added almost all the terri- tory to the Union, is as a whole against the colonial policy. Mr. Bryan de- nounced it on the same day that thirty of his former followers voted for it, and one of the leaders of the Demo- cratic party assured me a few days ago that if ever the nation were committed to it he would retire from public life. Mr. Cleveland was justly described by a friend who returned from visiting him, as passing his time in “fishing and growling.” The newspapers are similarly divided, without the usual party allegiance. New York, I should say, is divided in opinion. Boston, of course, is against it, but the Boston line of argument is calculated rather to help it along, For example, at a meet- ing of protest the other day, the follow- ing resolution was passed. “Resolved, That our first duty is to cure the evils in our own country, the corrupt government, of which New York and Pennsylvania afford only conspicuous examples; the disturbed relations between capital and labor, our disordered currency, our unjust system of taxation, the debasing influence of money at elections and on legislation, and the use of offices as spoils, and when we have shown that we can pro- tect the rights of men within our own borders, like the colored race in the South and the Indians in the West, and that we can govern great cities like New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, it will be time to consider whether we can wisely invite distan® population of alien race and language and of tra- ditions unlike our own either to become our subjects and accept our rule or our fellow citizens and to take part in gov- erning us.” The Independent, the leading religi- ous weekly, is of the opinion that “a nation which woull give back the Phil- ippines to Spain would hand back to a tiger the little lamb wrested from its grasp.” This, remarks the New York Henry Norman is one of the best known newspaper men of the world. He deals exclusively with national topics and party questions. articles to the London Chranicle at avital moment in the Venezuela question that swung English opinion completely around and led to an amicable settlement of that important matter. Since then he has been devoting much time and study to the politics of the world's government. He has just completed a careful investigation of what he terms the New Americc—the new policy of the Goverpment that has arisen since the war. interest by people who have at heart the world's progress. [CXSXOJOXOXOROROXOROXOXOJOROROJOROXOROXOROROROJOROJOROXOROMOXOXOOXOXOROXOROXOXOROOROXOROXOROXOJOROXOXOROJOROROROXOROXOROROROROXOXOROXOXOROROROXOROROROXORONOROIO] Evening Post, is sickening. But the New York Times declares that annexa- tion is the true path to popular confi- dence and national greatness, and the New York Tribune turns Lieutenant Hobson's heroi-m to account as fol- lows: It was the spirit of the heroes of the Merrimac that made the thirteen colo- nies an independent nation and stretched its limits from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and it is the same spirit that to-day seeks to extend our domin- ion to its natural and logical fullness in the Pacific seas.” Annexation, adds the Tribune, is no experiment. It is the repetition of things done. Tt Is no leap in the dark. It is a safe step onward on firm, true ground, in the light of noon. If it be imperialism, the first imperialist was Jefferson. If it be jingoism, the first jingo was Adams. With them, and with the great un- broken line that followed them, Ameri- cans of to-day may well keep step to the forward march of national destiny. “The opponents of imperialism,” cries the New York Evening Post, in alarm, “should waste no time in opening their fight against it.” And the New Ycrk ‘World prints in heavy type as its motto this sentence from President McKin- ley’s inaugural address: “We want no wars of conquest; we must avoid the temptation of territorial aggression.” “There is no danger,” says the Sun, ‘“that the United States will not hold on to what Spanish possessicns they may win by their arms and deem necessary and useful.” And General Merritt him- self, on his way to command the Amer- ican army in the Philippines, said at a public dinner in‘San Francisco: “I be- lieve in the new national policy of the United States, which looks to the ac- quisition of additional territory, repre- sented in outlying islands that are re- quisite for the develcpment of national strength and growth.” There are thus all elements of a great controversy. On the one hand, again, it is alleged that the United States cannotf, under the constitution, take any territory which is not capable of becoming a State. “All men are created equal,” is in the national charter, and if the Sand- wich Islands or the Philippines are an- nexed, “the gentleman from Honolulu” What Mr. Norman thinks of the situation will be read with lively ® It was Henry Norman's OXONONONONORQRORORONOXOJOXO} and “the gentleman frem Manila” will claim the floor in Congress. On the other hand, it is urged that under mili- tary occupation a remote island may receive an exceptional treatment, ex- actly as Mexico did under military rule; that nobody expects Alaska to become a State, and that the United States Cir- cuit Court of Appeals has just decided that “in a territory all the functions of gevernment are within the legislative Jjurisdiction of Congress.” This decis- ion forces the most determined oppo- nent of expansion to adrit that “the question whether Congress can legally govern territory so remote and pecpled by a race so different from our men is not a matter of dispute.” Two other facts are full of signifi- cance. First, a moderate tariff, not at all the Dingley one, has been framed for Maniia. Second, Mr. Day, the Secretary cf State, has applied to Congress for $20,000 to pay the expenses of a com- mercial mission to China, and has drawn special attention to the fact that American manufacturing productivity “has reached the point of large excess above the demand of home consump- tion.” These facts signify that Amer- ica, with her astounding growth of ex- ports, Is turning toward the markets of the far East. Which policy will prevail? In exact language, will America retain the Phil- ippines? It is rash, and possibly reck- less, to answer such a question now, but so far as I can see, I think she will. Some of the grounds for this opin- ion may be easilv given. First, what else can America do with them? Cede them to England, to Japan? Neither would take them at such a critical mo- ment. Put them up to auction among the Eurcpean powers, to secure a cash indemnity from Spain? Inconceivable. Hand them back to Spain? Public opinion would never tolerate it. Retain a coaling station and cede the rest piecemeal among the powers? Such a course has been hinted at, but it would be a fatal course, the worst mistake possible, a policy fraught with every kind of peril. Allow the insurgents, un- der ‘“‘General” Aguinaldo, to set up a republican government under American protection? The idea is laughable to anybody who knows the Philippine na- tive, and has seen for himself how East is East and West is West. There seems for America no safe and sensible ept the oid and simple one of rgument, there the same effect. re metaphs 1, such as the ar- gument that the Western course of em- pire is inherent with the nature of things. . Some are sentimental, such as the strange magnetism of the Orient, that has now begun to draw Americans. to and will never let them go. This is my favorite argument, for I know how the East can— al ! hite as wool, Draws all the strong seas following. Some arguments are economical,such as the necessity of securing for Amer- ica’s superabundant manufactures mar- ets not to be lost by any action of other nations. Some, again, are politi- cal, ch as the desirabil in Ameri- can commercial interests, of having a strong foothold from which to help England, with both right and might, to keep China open to trade, against the ambitions of Russia, Germany and France to close her markets in their own protectionist interests. Some ar- guments are severely practical, such as the inquiry why America should throw away a good thing. Finally, all these argumen metaphysical, senti- mental, economical, political and prac- tical, are summed up and swallowed in one view, which I have heard from every side expressed colloquially in these words: “I'm for keeping all that we've got.” Therefore, so far as my visit has en- abled me to judge, I think that the isl- ands of Magellan, with their orchids and hemp, their tobacco and flame flowers, their unexplored forests and untouched mines, where tropical nature hides her wealth as ineffectually under a growth of gorgeous colors as the olive skinned Mestiza, her cataract of jet- black hair pouring from her uncovered head, conceals her beauty beneath the transparent woven fibers of the pine, will stand ere long as a monument over the erave of the Monroe doctrine. The Philippines may not be annexed at a single blow, but to hold them as secu- rity for an indemnity which will never be paid will be annexation in all but name, and the disquieting authority of Congress over them. Copyright, 1898, by Henry Norman. ———————— Priceless treasures of all sorts are still hidden away in the old convents and mon- asteries of Venice. Not the least inter- esting among these are the ancient manu- seripts. One of these, which has just come to light, is of especial interest. In it an envoy from Candia, who came to Venige in 1542, describes day-by-day life under the Venetian republic, and one of the most interesting parts of this historie document is an account of the life of the Moor of Venice, who was known to the writer. Othello arriving in the town of the doges, his military career, his marriage, his departure for Cyprus, and his end are all set down, with many de- tails. ic 1N