Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-12-14
WILL VISIT COLONIES.
The Chief Executive Expects to &C
to Porto Rico and Perhaps
to Havana.

Washington, D. c., Dec. 1O-A report
that the President intends to visit Cuba
and Porto Rico at the first favorable op-
portunity has been known in the state
war and navy departments for some time
and was quickly made the subject of Sc
rious speculation among various officials
on account of the exceedingly interesting
questions it raised. Among other things
there was a spontaneous revival of the
fiction that the chief executive could not
pass the boundaries of the United States
without FORGETTING his office
1t is peculiar how persistent is the no.
ton, even among higher Officials, thai
some constitutional or statutory restric
ton confines the executive to American
SOIL, when, as d matter of fact, although
none of President McKinley's predeces
sOrS have ever left the country during
their terms of office, their actions were
alone affected by considerations Of pro
priety or precedent which no one could
hold to apply III the present instance.
1t was generally recognized that the
President might naturally wish to make
a personal tour of inspection in those isl
ands as soon as he could spare time from
pressing public business in Washington
and that no valid objection could stand
dSdluSl Sucn Il tour as ne was UNDERSTOOD
to contemplate.
1t is pointed out, however that it would
be practically impossible for him to spare
the time requisite for such an extended
voyage as that to Porto Rico before Con
gress adjourns on March 4, which is, for
tunately, about the best time of the yeal
to make a short stay in the tropics. Dur
ing the first six weeks of the new year. il
addition to the continuous executive rou
tine business, the social obligations in
volved in the programme of public recep
lions and state dinners would restrict the
President closely to Washington, and aft
er next weeks Southern tour he will hard
ly find it possible to leave the white house
for mere than two days at time before
the beginning or Lent, in the middle OF
February. For the ensuing two weeks
with the rush of legislation which marks
the closing days of a short session of Con.
gress, there will be no leisure for the eX
Ccutiye and therefore his pennant coulC
hardly fly in the harbOrS of Porto Rice
before the middle of March.
With Havana only single nights run
from the dispatch boat Dolphin from
Tampa, there might be chance for the
President to spend two whole days there
in Il weeks absence from Washington
and still remain in close Geographic com
munication with the executive depart
ments, so that if a critical emergency
OtcuIIcCl ne cOulC DC III Il runway JtaII
speeding toward the capital within
twelve hours. No thought is entertained
however, of a presidential trip to Haya-
ma before the Spanish flag is hauled
down On January 1.
Practical unanimity of opinion pre-
walls among officials that the contem-
plated visit Of the President to Havana
has as full warrant as his prospective
trip to Porto Rico so long as the Ameri-
can flag flies over Cuba, although Il few
Quibblers may hold that Porto Rico it
self is not actually part of United
States territory until Congress has made
a declaration to that effect either in Sc
many words or by ratifying the peace
treaty of Paris This fine point is not
raised seriously except to show that Por-
to Rico and Cuba must be considered
identical in view Of the fact that they
are governed precisely alike, by military
officers under the immediate direction Of
the President as cOmmander-in-chief. The
belief is expressed that the President
would not care to set foot in Cuba if it
were held to be foreign territory, much
as he might wish to see the country, for
that might be q perilous precedent to es-
tabllSh. But no one appears to cOntrO-
vert the right as well as the ACCESSIBILITY
of an executive visit to the new Ameri-
can possessions, provided it does not III
vOlve too long an enforced absence from
Washington.
When the President visits Porto Rico
and Cuba he will undoubtedly be accom-
panied by Mrs. Mckinley and several
members of the cabinet with their wives,
and although the stay of the party in each
port visited will not be longer than sin
Gle day, an absence of two weeks from
Washington will be necessary. 1t is prob
able that Secretary Alger and several
army officers will so to San Juan, Santi-
ago, Havana and other points in the isl
and before the President visits those
nlocaS