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 314 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

interests of humanity. But this religious belief, this elementary confidence in God, is something completely different from basing our politics on a distinct Christian motive of neighbor-love and the extension of the kingdom of God. As soon as we enter upon the details of the policy of expansion we discover so much oppression of other peoples, so much destruction of lower cul- tures, so great annihilation of innocent and happy human life, that we should really be compelled to despair of justifying this policy if we did not regard our own national self-interest as the supreme moral norm for our political conduct.

With this, indeed, it is not suggested that brutality toward the lower peoples finds in this thought its moral justification. The danger is terribly great that the representative of a superior nation in the moment of contest with less civilized persons may forget all the consideration which we have accustomed ourselves to show, even to the enemy among peoples who are our equals. Here Professor Rathgen in his speech spoke good words in rela- tion to the danger of a domineering spirit, of a frivolous, reck- less brutality which has been so often the morally reprehensible consequence of a great colonial policy. We must entirely agree with him when he says that the morally righteous treatment of persons of lower culture is not their destruction, but their edu- cation. The commercial company which gets possession of land in any way for purely capitalistic interest will exploit this land and its inhabitants as quickly as possible in order to obtain interest and replacement of its capital as rapidly as may be. An example is found in the shocking administration of the Congo State, in respect to which of late some details have been pub- lished. A nation, however, which desires to found a permanent dominion on foreign soil, and to widen its territorial basis, will be compelled by its own self-interest to introduce a protective treatment of the natives. Its colonial policy will therefore cor- respond to that which we have attained at home of respect for human life and worth. In such a colonial policy the moral means of influencing foreign peoples industrial education, mis- sions, schools, care of spiritual-social agencies, influence of woman in colonial administrations win ascendency over a purely