The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-04
WHAT is THE MARKET vALUEs


| William Jennings Bryan is chargeable
from time to time with getting off some
very clever things regarding his political
| opponents and their policy In one direction
or another. The G o b doubts whether
he has ever said a more -pungent thing or
asked more entirely relevant question
concerning the other side than recently.
when, being asked his opinion of our
treaty with the sultan of Sulu. permit
ting the purchase of their. freedom by the
slaves of that potentate. he replied
Yank e-wise by asking: And how long
would it take a slave working for moth
ing to acquire money. enough to buy his
own freedom?'
While President Mckinley has used his
magnificent allotment of stock political
and patriotic phrases to the point of ex
haustion in his politico7 military campaign
this fall, he has never q word to say on
the subject of our worthy suzerain pow
ers, the sultan of Stfiu, the Dato Rajah
MUda the Dato Attik, the Dato Dalki,
the Dato Joakanain, the Hadji Butar, the
Habib Mura and the Serif Saguin Nor
has his cabinet body guard ventured to
make verbal tread on the sanctlfied
ground. Brother Hanna may apologize
| for the trusts. and Brother Hay make
plain the difference between conquest of
peoples liberties and their purchase; but
there is never a one of them willing to
! 20 z oJ,,{e+ ,1IoD 81
| potentiary to the court OF the sultan,
Brig Gen. John c. Bates And yet there
! Is no further possibility of effective con-
cealment. 1t was in the protection of 1.-The
rights and dignities of his highness the
sultan and his datos" that We decided
to deal so considerably with this partic-
ular domestic institution. OF course we
had already provided adequately for the
royal revenues of the sultan and his datos
by scientifically proportional scale of
| monthly stipends, thus protecting our
suzerain powers against poor returns from
the freedom-p purchasing industry by rea-
son of the contingency which Mr.. Bryan
| so unfeelingly directs attention to.
Somebody has suggested that in our
zeal for the protection of the religious
and domestic institutions of the sultan s
| subjects and of the Moro warriors we
simply chose to overlook the little diff
Guilty pointed out by Mr.. Bryan in tina
way of anything like a speedy and uni
versal manumission of the slaves of the
Philippines: The text of the great treaty
| leaves little doubt on this score. Section
TO- for instance. is quite explicit Here it
is in its naked simplicity:
Sec. TO- Any slave in the archipelago
| shall have the right to purchase freedom
! by paying to the master the usual mar
| ket value.
! The usual market value! How does Mr.
Bryan know, anyway, but that the
market value is realizable in kind Might
not a native seriously intent on awaiting
himself of the grand avenue of relief from
slavery opened to him by our beneficent
government, make contribution, for in
stance, to the grand harem of his high
ness, the sultan. or of one of his datos
from the bosom of an overlooking family
circle?
AS a witticism there can be no doubt
| that the inquiry of Mr.. Bryan is a sue
cess. But if the question is to be taken
at all seriously it is undeniable that be-
| fore asking 1t he ought to have taken
some pains to find out just what the pre-
vailing market price is in the dominions
of his highness. Fifty dollars per capita
are the only figures thus far quoted. If
| they are correct, 1t passes without saying
/ that the inquiry Of the Nebraska gentle
man has a degree of significance which
extends far beyond the limits of a mere
! joke or witticism.