The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-18
THOU SHALT NOT COvET
Bryan States the Case Against
the 1mperialists.
CONQUEST is CRIMINAL
Wrong in Principle and as Harmful to
the People of the United States
as to Those OF the
Philippines.

Denver Jan. 17.-Colonel William j
Bryan delivered two speeches here to-
day, one this afternoon before the leg
| islature and the other before thou
sands Of people tonight at the Colise-
UNI. After his afternoon address Mr..
| and Mrs. Bryan repaired to the resi-
! dence of Governor Thomas, where they
We're entertained at dinner, to which
half dozen of the leading democrats
of the state, including ex-Governors
Grant and Adams and a number of la
dies were guests. The crowd which
greeted Mr.. Bryan at the Coliseum to-
night began gathering at o'clock, four
hours before the time set for the meet
ing. At o'clock. when Hon. Milton
Smith, chairman of the state central
committee, called for order there were
5000 persons in the hall and as many
more on the outside, pushing for adj
mission. Governor Charles S. Thomas
was presented as chairman of the meet
ing, and in an eulogistic speech he
introduced Colonel Bryan who was re-
celved with prolonged applause. Mr..
Bryan spoke in part as follows:
THE bible tells us that Ahab, the
king, wanted the vineyard of Naboth
and was sorely grieved because the
owner thereof refused to part with the
inheritance of his fathers. Then fol-
lowed plot and false charges We're
preferred against Naboth to furnish an
excuse for getting rid of him.
Thou shalt not covet; thou shalt
not bear false witness; thou shalt not
kill'-three commandments broken. and
CT tFNt,
to be broken, in order to get a little
piece of ground And what was the
result? When the king went forth
to take possession. Elijah, that brave
old prophet of the early days, met
him and pronounced against him the
sentence of the Almighty: In the place
where the dogs licked the blood of Ma
both shall dogs lick thy blood even
thine
Neither his own exalted position
nor the lowly station of his victim
could save him from the avenging hand
of outraged justice. His case was
tried in court where neither wealth
nor rank nor power can shield the
transgressor.
Wars of conquest have their orr
gin in covetousness and the history
of the human race has been written
in characters of blood because rulers
have looked with longing eyes upon
the lands of others. Covetousness is
prone to seek the aid of false pretense
to carry out it's plan, but what it, can
not secure by persuasion it takes by
the sword Senator Teller's amend
ment to the intervention resolutions
saved the Cubans from the cuvetous-
ness of those who are so anxious to
secure possession of the island that
they are willing to deny the truth of
the declaration of our own congress
that the people of Cuba are and of
right ought to be free"
Mr.. Bryan then proceeded to apply
the story of Naboth to the Philippine
question and argued that a war of
conquest would be wrong in principle
as we'll as expensive and as harmful
to the people of the United States as
to the Filipinos. He spoke at consider
able length and concluded as follows:
imperialism might expand the ma
tons territory, but it would contract
the nations purpose. 1t is not step
forward to a broader destiny-it is a
step backward toward the narrow
views of kings and emperors. DR.. Tay-
lor has aptly expressed it in his Greed
of the Flag when he asks: Shall we
turn to the old world again, when the
penitent prodigals cry? I answer
never This republic is not a hayward
son: it has not spent its substance in
rlOtOuS living. 1t is not ready to re-
trace its steps, and with shamed face
and trembling voice solicit an humble
place among the servants of royalty.
1t has not sinned against heaven and
God grant that the crowned heads of
Europe may never have occasion to
Kill the fatted calf to commemorate its
return from reliance upon the will of
the people to dependence upon the au-
thority which flows from regal birth or
force.
I'VE cannot afford to enter upon n
colonial policy. The theory upon which
a government is built is a matter of
vital Importance. The national idea
has controlling influence upon the
thought and character of the people
Our national idea is lf-gOvernment
and unless We are ready to abandon
that idea forever we cannot ignore it
in dealing with the Flipinos. That
idea is entWined with our traditions;
1t permeates our history: it is a part
of our literature. That idea has given
eloquence to the orator and inspiration
to the poet. Take from our national
hymns the three words, free freedom
and liberty, and they would be as
meaningless as would our flag if robbed
of it's red. white and blue.
Other nations may dream of wars of
conquest and distant dependencies
governed by exterior force: not so with
the United States. The fruits of i'm
perialism, be they bittersweet, must be
left to the subjects of monarchs. This
is the one tree of which the citizens of
republic may not partake. 1t is the
voice of the serpent, not the voice of
the Lord, that bids us eat"