, 1888-10-21
HOME RULE.
A Caustic Letter from a Well Known
Lawyer.


meeting the delegate, enlarging zealously
upon the subject, alluded to the governor
as a tramp from Kansas. If the former
thought that the latter was open and the
occasion pertinent to criticism, it was his
right and duty to ~criticise with freedom
and edge. But the remark was not crit
cism-it was coarse and senseless con-
tumgty.- The delegate cannot have for
gotten that he entered the territory a
tramp in official toggery, and should re-
member that if he has slipped off the
gear no one else has forgotten that he
wore it.
In accordance with the constitution and
quite a century ago congress established
the present territorial system and under
it has nurtured twelve important terri
tories into twelve important states and
conferred permanent and incalculable ben
efts upon their citizens and upon the
country at large. The delegate has been
no small beneficiary of the system. The
commission of the governor is quite as re-
spectacle as was that of the United States
attorney, and, according to rule, ranks
considerably above it. Whoever will rep
resent the territory at Washington should
observe and inculcate respect for rightful
authority. The respect is a part of the
duty of the citizen and belongs to the
function of the official.
Why this ado just now about the merits
of home rule? Why is the delegate as
siduously pressing the subject upon the
attention of the territory? Why is he
heatedly presenting his views upon it be-
fore the eyes Of the electors as a claim for
reelection? His plan OF home rule for
the territory is the selection of officers for
its local government from itself. He
knows that the territory has no control
over the matter, not even a voice in it,
and that congress alone has Jurisdiction of
it. In his widest visions it cannot have
occurred to him that that body could be
induced to establish a system of such rule
in the territory, for to establish it in one,
it must establish it in all. Aside from
the inveterate congressional indifference
to territorial want, the old and exacting
practice of federal appointments to the
territories is quite too valuable in the pol
itics of the capital to be given away.
Home rule for a territorial jurisdiction is
impracticable short Of state organization.
The theory of home rule, then. is an idle
nhSfr a atInn tn IN lnaa1 ~ni,t,o, &c MT NJ
element in 1t, and can be made one only
by irrational infusion. In every territory
there is a deep seated and chronic dislike
to the sending of officers to its local gov
eminent. When a candidate OF sterling
sense and clear intelligence is diligently
and prominently impressing this idle alb
straction into the canvass as an argument
for his reelection he necessitates the con-
clusion that he is appealing for success,
not to intelligent Judgment, but to popu-
lar antipathy. If the delegate would re-
turn to Washington, he should find a bet
ter way than this for going.
The full sense of home rule, as applied
to the local government of a territory in
cludes the supply of officers from the ter
ritory by the territory. There have been
some startling instances of the exercise of
limited home rule in Wyoming. The
mention of several should be usefully sug-
gestive.
Not very long ago a governor, through
an obedlent council whom he ruled with a
whip, brought the territory to shame by
making an attorney general. This was an
abuse-at least not a use of home rule.
Quite recently a convention proposed
to the electors of a county for an Office,
attended always by grave and often by
difficult responsibilities, and requiring
special fitness in ability, information and
diligence, one whom the convention knew
to be incapable of filling it-so incapable,
that, elected, the Office must either be
closed or be administered by an assistant.
This seems to have been an abuse
clearly not a use of home rule.
A pronounced Republican and having
in mind this impudent and disgraceful
convention affair, | deem it proper to say
that In the matter of a representative Of
flee a citizen should vote according to par
tisanship, because the office is represen-
tative and therefore party primary to
candidate; but that, in the matter of an
administrative Office, the rule should be
reversed, as the reason is reversed, and
the citizen should vote according to fit
ness because the Office is administrative
and therefore the candidate primary to
party. l do not say that in the case of a
representative office the partisan rule
should lie invariably observed. | do say
hat no convention held IN cabin or court
house will rule me by its open, indecent
and intentional disregard of reasonable
public requirement.
Who, unless lost in Arcadian sim
plicity, does not know that there has ex-
listed in the territory from tie first and in
one and another form a practice of buying
Offices that would put a blush upon the
political corruption of the older communi-