the cession of the islands our
combined import to and export from the Philippines amounted to only
$51,246,128, or less than 1/75 of our entire foreign commerce. Our
commerce with China, which was to have been opened by our possession of
the Philippines was less than one-half of that with Brazil and less
than one-twelfth of that with Great Britain.

[6] "At the beginning of the war (with Spain) there was perhaps not a
soul in the whole Republic who so much as thought of the possibility of
this nation becoming a sovereign power in the Orient."--"World
Politics," by Prof. Paul I. Reinsch, New York, 1913, p. 64.

{55}

CHAPTER V

FACING OUTWARD

While the imperialistic venture of 1898 was premature and did not lead,
as had been expected, to a conscious participation of America in the
international scramble for colonies, it affected our national thinking
and forced us to re-consider the position of America in relation to the
ambitions and plans of other great nations. Our acquisition of new
dependencies led us to recognise that we were at last a world power,
with the responsibilities of a world power. We were obliged to learn
from England and other imperialistic nations the lessons of colonial
administration. Year by year we were drawn into closer relations with
the West Indies and the Caribbean countries, and were compelled to
assume financial control of Hayti and San Domingo in the interest both
of foreign capital and of the countries themselves. The completion of
the Panama Canal increased our sense of international danger and
international responsibility. Finally the revolution in Mexico proved
to us that whatever our positive action we could not remain passive.

Our Monroe Doctrine also, which had always seemed our charter of
independence of Europe, forces us in the end to come to an
understanding with Europe. We had set our faces against European
conquest in the Americas, and therefore against any punitive
expedition, likely to lead to permanent occupation. But if we
protected Hayti and San Domingo from Europe, we assumed a certain {56}
responsibility for the actions of these countries. In the existing
state of international law, a nation assumes the right to protect its
citizens from spoliation and to compel debtor countries to meet their
obligations. In this right to collect debts by force of arms, which
has been the excuse for innumerable imperialistic extensions, all the
great creditor nati