Omaha daily bee., 1889-03-05

Men were made free and material things
became our better servant.
The sectional element has happily been
eliminated from the tariff discussion. We
have no longer states that are necessarily
only planting states. None are excluded
from achieving that dlversihcation of pursuit
among the people which brings wealth and
contentment. The cotton plantation will not
be less valuable when the product is spun
in the country town by operatives whose
necessities call for diversified crops and Gre
ate n home demand for garden and agricul-
tural products. Every new mine, furnace
and factory is an extension of the productive
capacity of the state more real and valuable
than added territory. Shall the prejudices
and paralysis of slavery continue to hang
upon the skirts of progress. How long will
those VINO rejoice that slavery no longer eX-
lists cherish and tolerate the incapacity it put
upon their communities / look hopefully to
the continuance of our Protective system and
TO the consequent development of manufac-
turing and mining enterprises in states hith-
crto wholly given to agriculture, as potent
influence in the perfect uniticaton of our
people. Men who have Invested their capital
IN these enterprises, Farmers who have
felt the benefit of their ueighborhood
and men who work in the shop or field, will
not fail to find and to defend the community
of interest. Is it not quite possible that the
farmers and promoters of the great mining
and manufacturing enterprises which have
been established in thef south may yet find
that the free ballot pf the workingman,
without distinction off race, is needed for
their defense. as well as for his own. do
not doubt that if those men in the south who
do not accept the tarf views of Clay and
the constitutional exriositions of Webster,
would courageously shbw and defend their
real convictions, they would not find 1t diff
tcult, by frank Instruction and CO.
operation, to makel the black man
their efficient and safe ally,
not only in establishing correct principles IN
national administration, but in preserving
for their local communities the benefits of
social order and economical and honest gov
ernment. At least until the good Offices of
kindness and education have been fairly
tried. the contrary conclusion cannot be
plausibly urged.
| have altogether rejected the suggestion
of special executive policy for any section
of the country. 1t is the duty of the eXecu-
tive to administer and enforce in methods
and by instrumentalities pointed out and
provided by the constitution, all the
laws enacted by congress. These laws are
general, and their administration should be
uniform and equal As citizen may not
elect what laws he will obey, neither may an
executive elect which he will enforce. The
duty to obey and to execute embraces the
constitution in its entirety and The whole
of laws enacted under it. The evil example
communities to nullify laws because they
cross some selfish or local cares or prejudices,
is full of danger, not only to the nation at
large but much more to those
escape their just obligations or to
obtain unjust advantage over others. They
will presently themselves be compelled to
appeal to the law for protection, and those
who would use the law as a defense must not
deny that use of it to others. If our great
corporations would more scrupuously OBJ
serve their legal limitations and duties, they
would have less cause TO complain of the un-
lawful limitations of their rights, of violent
interference with their operations. The
community that, by concert open or secret,
among Its citizens denies to portion of its
members their plain rights under the law, has
severed the only safe bond of social order
and prosperity.
1t demoralizes those who practice it and de-
stroys the faith of those who suffer by It,
The efficiency of law as a safe protector to q
man in whose breast that faith has been
darkened is naturally subject of dangerous
and uncanny suggestions Those who use
unlawful methods, if moved by no higher
motive than the selfshness that prompted
them, may well stop and inquire what
is to be the end of this. Unlaw-
full expedient cannot become permanent
Gated and influential classes in the commun-
ity either practice or connlve at systematic
violation of the laws tina; seem to them to
cross their conveniences, what can they ex-
pect when the lesson that convenience or
supposed class interest is a sufficient cause
for lawlessness, has been well learned by
the ignorant classes? The community where
law is the rule of conduct and where the
courts, not mobs, execute its penalties, is
the only attractive field for business invest
ments and honest labor,
Our naturalization laws should be so
amended as to make the inquiry into the
character and good disposition of persons APP
plying for citizenship more careful and
..t,t,
their administration in an unimpressive and
often unintelligble form. We accept a man
as a citizen without any knowledge of his
fitness and he assumes the duties of citi-
zen. He is without any knowledge as to
what they are The privileges of American
citizenship are so great and Its duties
so grave that we may well insist
upon the good knowledge of every
person applying for citizenship and good
knowledge by him of our institutions. We
grafton, but we should not be careless as to
the character of it. There are men of all
races, even the BEST whose coming is neces-
sarily burden upon our public revenues or
a threat to social order. These should pe
identified and excluded.
We have happily maintained a policy of
avoiding all Interference with European af-
fairs. We have been only interested specta-
tors of their contentious in Diplomacy and in
war, and ready to use our friendly Offices to
vice and never attempting unfairly to coin
the distress of other powers into commercial
advantage to ourselves. We have a Just
right to expect that our European policy will
be the American policy of European courts.
1t is so manfestly incompatible
with these precautions for our peace and
safety, which all great powers habitually
observe and enforce IN matters affecting
them, that shorter water way between our
eastern and western seaboards should be
dominated by any European government,
that we may confidently expect that such a
purpose will not he entertained by any
friendly power. We shall in the future as in
the past, use every endeavOr TO maintain and
enlarge our friendly relations with all the
great powers but they will not expect us to
look kindly upon any project that would
leave us subject TO the dangers of
hostile observation or environment.
We have not sought TO dominate or
absorb any OF our weaker neighbors, but
rather TO aid and encourage them 10 estab-
lish free and stable governments, resting
upon the consent of the people. We have
right 10 expect, therefore, that no European
government will seek TO establish colonial
dependencies upon the territory of these IN
dependent American states. That which the
sense of justice Restraints us from seeking,
they may be reasonably expected willingly to
forego.
1t must not be ASSUMED, however, that our
interests are SO exclusively American that
our entire inattentfon to any events
that may transpire elsewhere can be
taken for granted. Our citizens domcled
for purposes of trade in all countries and in
many OF the Islands of the sea, demand, and