The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-02-16
The rlcEnery Resolution.


gree the country is benefited by the
passage of Senator McEnery's resolu-
ton in the senate on Tuesday profess
ing to declare it not to be the inten-
ton of this government, through the
ratification of the peace treaty, ever
TO permanently annex the Philippines.
The proper course would have been
to reject the treaty, or to so amend
it that this point might have been
elucidated in the original instrument.
The passage of the resolution is sim
ply In the nature of so much sop
thrown to Senator McEnery for his
vote on ratification.
The treaty itself was an International
paper. binding upon the signatory
powers interested therein. The Nc
Emery resolution is waste paper, upon
which is expressed a mere opinion of
body of legislators, toying with
great subject and engaged in the occu-
patton of distributing balm for wounds
or setting one of it's members square
with his constituency after he had
temporarily lapsed from the path of
duty. 1t carries with it no legal au
thoritysSf a staying quality.
This action is the first demonstration
of the unwisdom of those who, while
opposed to ratification, yielded at
the last moment and voted to make up
the necessary two-thirds. When two
stanch Republicans like Senators
Hoar and Hale remained true to their
convictions to the last, no reasonable
excuse can be found for those who,
while opposed to the principle UNDER
lying the treaty. voted with the ma
jority for the sake Of expediency.
Just how far the influence Of Col.
Bryan may have extended in bringing
about this result is not made clear
1t is true, however, that he did early
express the view that the treaty should
be ratified, and that the question in
volving the disposition of the Philip
pines should be treated afterward The
G o b e, at the time that announce
ment was made, pointed to the i'm
portance Of perfecting the treaty in
all its details, in the first place, mas
much as it was obvious that, if hur-
riedly adopted, 1t must naturally be
esteemed only as makeshift, and that
trouble must inevitably follow and
great controversy enSue in undoing the
mischief that might have been avoided
by firm, courageous, initial action.
This was the position taken by Sena-
tor German and other Democrats, as
well as by the two Republicans named.
These men have had the advantage of
a score and more of years of expert
ence in the senate and have been
10 0iU hoi {,,
ton with several treaties of more or
less Importance, during that period.
There can be no doubt that, had GER
tain amendments been permitted-and
the fact that they were permissible is
established by precedent, as heretofore
noted in The G o b e-even the votes
of Senator'S Hoar and Hale might have
been secured and the whole treatment
of the subject been rendered practical
ly unanimous; for the opposition to the
treaty, as peace treaty, was in no
sense fact1OuS or technical, inasmuch
as 1t was manifest to all that some
treaty must be ratified in order that
permanent peace should ensue The
original error was in the attempt Of
the administration to make it a party
ihSootiC anu III every 6lo-
ment that sought further light on and
information respecting it's purposes.
When that fact became apparent it
was the duty of every Democrat to
insist that ratification should not be
permitted until the minority should
have an opportunity to seek by amend
ment to have the real purposes of the
government declared in the document
itself. On this point there should have
been no division among Democrats to
whom it is now made clear, doubtless
that, if the experienced leadership Of
Mr. German had been strictly follow
ed, the treaty, as ratified would have
left open no room for future contro-
versy.
The lack of Importance attaching to
the McEnery resolution is reflected in
the yea and nay vote recorded AS
Joseph H. Choate said of the famous
Di Cesnola "bric-a -brac" collection
in New York several years ago, 1T Is
an aggregation of unrelated parts"