ating all we incorporate. In a word we increase by accretion, and not through conquest by the addition of masses held together by the cohesion. of force." Indeed, all the territory gained before the Treaty of Paris, with the exception of Alaska, has become an integral portion of the nation; and Alaska may hardly be taken into consideration as a disapproval of the rule, for prior to the discovery of gold, it was looked upon as a sort of no man's land. It has been seen that every effort made to annex non-contiguous territory has been doomed to failure. Men of tremendous force like Webster and Marcy nourished dreams of extending the territory of the United States over-seas, but they were never realized, and the chagrin of President Grant over the failure of his effort to force the annexation of San Domingo upon Congress is a matter of record. These facts all go to show the deep-rooted disinclination on the part of the American people to encourage movements tending towards the establishment of a colonial system, and had it not been for the necessities arising from the SpanishAmerican war, that spirit would be no less active today.

As was the case with Hawaii,* the annexation of Porto Rico was rendered easier than otherwise by the fact that the better class of citizens welcomed the change. Again, Porto Rico, unlike the Philippines, had a large population of whites, in the

*For a full account of the events leading up to the annexation of Hawaii, see pp. 79-86.

proportion of 600,000 to 360,000 "mestizos" and negroes. It was

soon seen that the military régimé inaugurated at the close of the war was needless, SO President McKinley recommended, in the message on the convening of the Fifty-sixth Congress (December 3, 1899), that legislation should be enacted establishing a civil government in Porto Rico. The status of the island, and the tremendous issues involved by its inclusion into the Union, precipitated a long and acrimonious debate, which closed by the passage of the so-called Foraker Act on April 11, 1900. This bill not only defined the relation of the island to the United States, by placing it on a status outside of the Constitution, but also outlined a scheme for the government of dependencies that obligated the nation to a wholly new and untried policy. As might have been anticipated, it was not long before the anomalous situation of Porto Rico was brought to the Supreme Court for adjudication. Was it in the Union or not? was the question that became acute. As a mere theory the constitutional status of Porto Rico might have remained indefinitely as an interesting and subtle problem for distinguished publicists to discuss, but as a practical issue involving the payment of money, it was necessary to determine the validity of the law, particularly with regard to the status of the citizens of the island, and the constitutionality of an intra-national revenue tax. The result was a series of cases, known as the Insular cases,

which concerned themselves with the question of the right to demand duty for articles of commerce imported. into the United States from Porto Rico. On appeal to the Supreme Court it was determined that the insular possessions were obtained under the clause regulating the making of treaties, and "that the power to acquire territory by treaty implies not only the power to govern such territory, but to prescribe upon what terms the United States will receive its inhabitants, and what their status shall be."*

The law, thus sustained by the Supreme Court, was bitterly assailed, both in the United States and in Porto Rico, and accusations were made that the Sugar Trust and other interests dealing in tropical products had a hand in its formulation. This of course was only gossip and surmise, but that the outcome was a disappointment to President McKinley there is no question. Nevertheless, he set to work, under the provision of the law, to organize the new " possession." Accordingly on May 1, the following officers were installed at San Juan, the designated capital:

Governor, Charles H. Allen, salary, $8,000; Secretary, W. H. Hunt, $4,000; Attorney-General, J. A. Russell, $4,000; Treasurer, J. H. Hollander, $5,000; Auditor, J. R. Garrison, $4,000; Commissioner of Interior, W. E. Elliott, $4,000; Commissioner of Education, M. G. Brumbaugh, $3,000; Executive Council or "Upper House," J. C. Barbosa, R. M. Cintron, J. G. Benitez, J. G. Brioso, and A. Crosas.

The House of Delegates, or "Lower House "

*Justice Brown: Downes vs. Bidwell; Dooley vs. United States.

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consisted of 35 members, who were elected by the people at the election in 1900.

The Judiciary for the island was as follows: Supreme Court of Porto Rico, Chief Justice, J. S. Quinones, salary, $5,000; Associate Justices, L. Sulzbecher, J. C. Hernandez, J. M. Figuerar, R. M. Abcille, salaries, $4,500; Marshal, S. C. Bothwell, salary, $3,000.

United States District Court Justice, W. H. Holt, salary, $5,000; United States District Attorney, N. B. K. Pettingill, salary, $4,000; United States District Marshal, E. S. Wilson, salary, $3,500.

On the other hand the Cuban situation was complicated by the Teller amendment to the resolution for intervention, which guaranteed Cuban independence when the island was sufficiently prepared for it. In this, as in many other facts growing out of the war, public opinion seemed strangely at variance. It was even proposed that the nation should ignore its promise and annex the island without more ado. The reports brought from Cuba by the soldiers tended to encourage this feeling, for the Cubans were portrayed by them in no very complimentary light. Just why the raggedness and lack of energy on the part of the soldiers of Garcia should be an argument in favor of breaking a solemn promise is not clear, yet it was nevertheless advanced with all seriousness.

President McKinley, however, had no intention of yielding to a temptation for national aggrandizement at the sacrifice of national honor, hence he proposed to establish a Cuban sovereignty as soon as certain reforms had been accomplished. The most important of these from the standpoint

of the United States was the urgent necessity for a transformation of Cuban sanitary conditions. The island had long been recognized as a distributing centre of yellow fever, which appeared with disastrous results from time to time in the Southern States. This work was begun under General Brooke, who was appointed military governor at the end of hostilities, but was most energetically promoted under his successor, General Wood,* who who was was splendidly equipped for such work. Associated with him was Colonel Waring, whose labors in a similar cause in the city of New York were so successful, and as the result of their campaign of cleanliness, Cuba became transformed. This fact, joined with the recent knowledge of the causation of yellow fever and malaria, leads us to believe that the last visitation of the yellow scourge in the South has occurred.

The other reforms considered particularly desirable related to local and municipal government and to education. These were carried out as adequately as conditions would permit,

Appointed December 21, 1899. His advisory cabinet consisted of Diego Tamayo, Secretary of State; Luis Esterez, Secretary of Education; Juan B. Hernandez, Secretary of Finance; Enrique Verona, Secretary of Public Works; Jose R. Villaton, Secretary of Agriculture.

Transmission by bites of mosquitoes. To prove this Surgeon Walter Reed, U. S. A., made

and in furthering the last named, many young Cuban men and women were sent to the United States, where they were given the advantages of the schools and universities. It was conceived that by this means they would gain an insight into American educational methods which might be applied later to their own schools.

These reforms being well under way, President McKinley, in his message of December 3, 1900, directed that a call be issued for the election in Cuba of delegates to a constitutional convention. This was proclaimed to the citizens of Cuba by Governor Wood, the date of the election being September 15, the convention to be held November 5, in Ha

vana.

Cuba is divided into six provinces, and the representation according to population at the time of the election was as follows: Havana, 8; Matanzas, 4; Pinas del Rio, 3; Puerto Principe, 2; Santa Clara, 7; Santiago de Cuba, 7. Three political parties were represented in the election of delegates, the Nationalists, Republicans, and Democrats, whose representation was 17, 12 and 2 respectively. The constitutional convention met according to their mandate in Havana, November 5, and on January 22, 1901, the draft of the proposed constitution was submitted. This was modeled primarily upon the constitution of the United

mankind. In the course of these one of his assistants, Dr. Lazear, lost his life, and another, Dr. Carroll, narrowly escaped meeting the same fate martyrs to the cause of science.

rious modification.

On February 27, 1901, the convention adopted a series of five declara

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tions defining the relations of Cuba with the United States. These were as follows:

First.- The Government of Cuba will not make a treaty or agreement with any foreign power which may compromise or limit the independence of Cuba, or which may permit or authorize any power to obtain by means of colonization or for military or naval purpose, or in any other manner, any foothold or authority or right over any portion of Cuba.

Second. The Government will not permit its territory to be used as a base of operations for war against the United States or against any foreign nation.

Third. The Government of Cuba accepts in its entirety the Treaty of Paris, in which are affirmed the rights of Cuba to the extent of the obligations which are explicitly indicated, and especially those which the international law imposes for the protection of life and property, substituting itself for the United States in the pledge, which they assume in that sense according to Articles 12 and 193 of the Treaty of Paris. Fourth. Cuba recognizes as legally valid all acts of the Military Government during the period of occupation, also the rights arising out of them in conformity with the joint resolution and the Foraker amendment and the existing laws of the country.

Fifth. The Governments of the United States and Cuba ought to regulate their commercial relations by means of a treaty based on reciprocity, and with tendencies toward free trade in natural and manufactured products, mutually assuming ample special advantages in their respective markets.

This declaration, however, was not acceptable to Congress, and as a result on March 8 an amendment to the army appropriation bill was adopted,* providing for the independence of the island on the following terms:

First. That the Government of Cuba shall not enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba, nor in any manner authorize or permit any power or

* Proposed by Senator Platt of Connecticut.

powers to obtain by colonization or for military or naval purposes or otherwise lodgment in or control over any portion of said island.

Second. That the Government shall not assume or contract any public debt, to pay the interest upon which and to make reasonable sinking fund provision for the ultimate discharge of which the ordinary revenues of the island, after defraying the current expenses of government, shall be inadequate.

Third. That the Government of Cuba contends that the United States may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property and individual liberty, and for discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris, on the United States, now to be assumed and undertaken by the Government of Cuba.

Fourth. That all acts of the United States in Cuba during its military occupation thereof are ratified and validated, and all lawful rights acquired thereunder shall be maintained and protected.

Fifth. That the Government of Cuba will execute, and, so far as necessary, extend the plans already devised or other plans to be mutually agreed upon, for the sanitation of the cities of the island, to the end that a recurrence of epidemic and infectious diseases may be prevented, thereby assuming protection to the people and commerce of Cuba, as well as to the commerce of the southern parts of the United States and the people residing therein.

Sixth. That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries of Cuba, the title thereto left to future adjustment and treaty.

ground that it was not a substantial compliance with the resolution of Congress. Accordingly, the terms of the first Platt amendment were accepted by the Cuban convention on June 12, by a vote of 16 to 11. The constitution was accordingly signed and proclaimed and an electoral law was drawn up, which provided for a general election on December 31, 1901, for the selection of presidential and senatorial electors who were to cast their ballots for president, vice-president and senators on February 24, 1902.

Two other steps in America's march toward a colonial empire was the accession of Guam and Tutuila. The former was gained by occupation, the cruiser Charleston, which was convoying the transport of the first military expedition to Manila, taking possession of the island, much to the surprise of the Spanish garrison, who were unaware that hostilities were in progress. This island* is only 32 miles long and intrinsically of small worth to the United States, but the possession of the Philippines necessitated the securing of coaling and strategic points in the vast distances

*The island of Guam, the largest of the Marianne or Ladrone Archipelago, lies in a direct line from San Francisco to the southern part of the Philippines, and is 5,200 miles from San Francisco and 900 miles from Manila. It is about 32 miles long and 100 miles in circumference, and has a population of about 8,661, of whom 5,249 are in Agana, the capital. The prevailing language is Spanish. Commander Taussig, of the United States gunboat Bennington, took possession of the island and raised the United States flag over Fort Santa Cruz on February 1, 1899.

of the Pacific. Hawaii was one, Guam the second, and Samoa the third. The last had been under protection of the United States, Great Britain and Germany by virtue of a tripartite treaty signed at Berlin June 14, 1889. On September 7, 1899, Secretary Hay informed Ambassador Choate at London that Germany desired a partition of the islands, the United States to retain Tutuila and adjacent islands, Great Britain and Germany to divide the rest. Accordingly, by a treaty concluded December 2, 1899, the United States became possessed of one of the most beautiful bits of territory in the world, with Pago-Pago,t the finest harbor in the Pacific. Wake Island, a tiny speck of land mid-way between Hawaii and the Philippines, was also annexed on January, 1899, by Commander Taussig, on his way to Guam. This of course is of no importance save from a strategical standpoint.‡

Thus suddenly did the victory of Dewey transform the relations of America to the Far East. While all of these readjustments were being made to insure defence of the Philippines, the nation itself was not sure that it desired to keep them. Imperialism and expansion became the is

* Moore, Digest of International Law, vol. 1, pp. 536-554.

Ex-Chief Justice Chambers, of Samoa, says of Pago-Pago that "The harbor could hold the entire naval force of the United States, and is so perfectly arranged that only two vessels can enter at the same time. The coaling station, being surrounded by high bluffs, cannot be reached by shells from outside.

See pp. 78-79.