9 propose to consider in this section, the second question: Are the declarations of the government at Washington sincere? Is its aim conquest, the seizure of lands by cunning or by force?
Was the speech of Root in South America a loyal and reliable promise on the part of the United States Government? Will the successors of Secretary Root keep the pledge given by him?
At the outset, it must be stated that politicians can promise nothing, unless they possess absolute knowledge of the laws of evolution and proceed in accordance with those laws. Social forces may within a decade deride the promises of mep, unless those promises were uttered at a time when the eye was watchful and the judgment calm.
It is for this reason that revolutionary programmes, and revolutions themselves, often fail, the people not being prepared for the change.
Nevertheless, the form of evolution visible in the United States of America, stamps the words of Root with the impress of truth, and through the operation and development of present forces and currents, Root successors will find themselves obliged to uphold his doctrine, somewhat in the same way as the Monroe doctrine had to be maintained.
For, if the declarations of the American Government be insincere, its political plan must necessarily involve the conversion of the United States into a centralized empire similar to that of Rome. The building of the Panama Canal would mean the laying down of the