The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-02-03

made in good faith, but it locks a
bit like a game of blnff. What they
appear to want is to pay Spain that
$50, 0OO, 900 and then tell the people
we must get the worth of our
money BY annexing the Philippines.
Even the republicans themselves
concede that they cannot get the
treaty ratification on any such
broad basis by this congress. Sen
ator Hanna and the President and
the rest of them are losing sleep
over it. Will they pass the resolu-
ton putting themselves on record
against colonial expansion and get
the treaty ratified and save our hon
or among nations? Or will they
let national honor 20 to grass and
ratify it in their own way and with
their own personally conducted
extra session and thus leave the
grab game open to their friends?
They are doubtful just how much
the people will stand. Our pluto
cratic friends are often pleasant and
agreeable gentlemen, but they labor
under the disadvantage Of not know
ing how much the vulgar, common
herd will tolerate.
The aforesaid common herd have
votes, and they might defeat the
party If it carries things with too
high a hand. Just to think how
annoying to the capitalistic gentle
men to have to stop and con slider SO
impalpable a thing as pubic senti-
ment, when there is such a tempt
ing chance to get plumber Of all
sorts. There may not be such an
other chance as the Philippines in q
hundred years.
One of the peculiar things about
the debate on the peace treaty is
that the friends of the treaty show
that they know nothing about the
Philippines and have no good argu-
ment why we should keep them. In
fact the friends OF this treaty are
beginning to admit that perhaps we
had better pursue the same policy
with them as with Cuba.
So much for the present status
of the treaty. 1t is really getting
to be rather stale. There is no,
much that is new to be said about
it,.
The debate on the Hull army bill
is quite the most interesting thing
of the session. The galleries have
been crowded day and evening t.
hear the flow Of e%loquence.
The discussion has been merely
!. matter OF form. The administration
6 knew before hand that there was nj
hope of raising the army to thu
4 100, 900 limit. Representative Hui
made a very weak argument for hi!
bill. He admitted that the annexa
tioh Of the new territory, especially
the Philippines, was the only excuse
for increasing the army. He gave
up the fight before it began by say
ing that he was willing to accept al
amendment making the minimum
: SO, 900 men at the discretion of thu
president. The republicans we're ir
an embarrassing position. To ad'
vocate the bill they had to talk i'm
. perialism and expansion. And herr
was the senate trying to get thu
treaty ratitie! by keeping down any
such talk. Every republican speech
: for the Hull bill hurt the prospect:
of the treaty, and vice-versa. Tat
war department has been trying t
, show that the army under the HUI
bill would only cost 1872, 600, 900 pei
3 annum. Representative Hay ant
| others proved that it .would cost al
least $500, OO0, 900 a year. When
the pensions we're added it would
l mean that the expenses of govern
ment would be doubled.
Representative Lanham, of Texas
made a splendid argument agains'
Imperialism. He said we did not
want a shoulder strap government
What we needed was financial an!
commercial expansion terri
torial. He hit the nail on the head
How the minority did chew w
poor President Mckinley and his
policy, or rather lack of it! 1t re-
! minded one of tn scenes just. before