The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-10


acquisition OF sovereignty by the American
people over the Philippine islands, which
have been or may be proposed. l am speaking
tooay only the theory of the constitutional
interpretation propounded by the senator from
Connecticut tMr- Plattl. If at any time here
after the senator shall seek to put his
theories into practice by reducing to sub,
lection distant people, dwelling in the
tropics, aliens in blood, most of them Moslem
In faith. incapable to speak or comprehend
our language or to read or write any Ian
guage. to whom the traditions and the doc
trtnes of civil liberty are unknown, 1t will
be time to point out what terrible results
and penalties this departure from our con-
sututionad principles will bring upon US.
DANGERS OF EMPIRE.
Mr.. Hoar said that our fathers. who
framed the constitution. were the wis
est builders of states the world had yet
ssen. They had studied ancient his
tory and had learned that while there
Is little else that a democracy can
not accomplish, it cannot rule over
vassal states or subject peoples with
out bringing the elements of death into
lt3 own constitution. Our fathers, he
said, learned two lessons from the his
tory OF Greece-the danger of 'disunion
ana domestic strife, and an indulgence
In the greed and lust of empire, and he
hoped we might avert the latter danger
as we had averted the former In this
connection he quoted Prof Greasy, as
saying In his Fifteen Decisive Battles
OF the World" there has never been
a republic yet in history that acquired
dominion over another nation that did
not rule it selishly and oppressively.
There is no single exception to this
rule, either in ancient or modern
times"
MI. Hoar believed, he said, this coun-
try to be a nation-a sovereign nation.
he believed congress possessed all the
powers necessary to accomplish the
great objects the trainers of the con-
stitution intended should be accom-
pished. But he denied that it possess
Ell the astonishing and "extrava-
CANT powers under the constitution,
Which the senator from Connecticut
CMr PlatO attributed to It. Mr.. Hoar
then quoted Mr. Platt as saying:
AS to every matter the United States
as nation possesses sovereign power,
except only where sovereignty has been
reserved to the states and the people.
AS nation it possesses every sovereign
power not reserved in it's constitution
10 the states or to the people. The
right to acquire territory was not re-
served, and is therefore an inherent.
sovereign right In the right to ac-
quire territory is found the right to
govern 1t, and as the right to ACQUIRE
Is a sovereign, inherent right, the right
10 govern is sovereign right, not linn
tied in the constitution.
These propositions of Mr.. PIatt. Mr..
ttoar expressly denied He affirmed
that every constitutional power is
limited to the one supreme and con-
trolling purpose declared In the constf-
tuition itself, in order to form more
perfect union, establish justice, insure
domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general
Welfare and secure the blessings of lib
eFty 70 ourselves and to our posteritv',
When the senator from Connecticut
undertakes to declare" said Mr.. Hoar
that we may do such things. not for
the perfect union, the common defense.
the general welfare of the peopla or
the securing of liberty to ourselves and
cur children, but for any fancied or
real oblga ton to take care of distant
peoples beyond our bound aries. not
pecple OF the United States. then
oeny MS proposition and tell him he
car ind nothing in either the text of
the constitution or in the exposition of
the fathers. or the Judgment of the
courts from that day to this, to war
or 1t
DEsPOTISM WITHOUT RELIEF
we have heard of limited monarcf,-
les, constitutional monarchies. desnot-
lfnns tempered by aSSa ssinatfon. but
the logic OF the senator from Connec-
ticul makes pure, unlimited. untem-
Pefed despotism without anv relief
from assassins'
Mr.. Hoar maintained that the nron
ositfons advanced by Mr.. Platt wara
not sustained by a single one of bic
authorities. He held, in the course or
MS argument, that "the powers of
the United States must be affirmative
ly delegated or they do not exist, in
other words, that the implied power''
referred to by Mr.. Platt-the mower
to govern territory acquired through
war, did not exist. The power which
Mr.. Platt maintained this government
possessed, was one, Mr. Hoar said
that our fathers and their descend
ants have ever loathed and abhorred
and they believed that no sovereign
on earth could rightfully exercise it,
He said, while Mr.. Platt had admit
ted that governments derived their
T10y fl.a,, h.
| of the governed" he did not under
stand that in subjugating and gov
erning the F'ilipinos, Mr. Platt propos-
ed to get the consent of any Of them.
Mr.. Hoar was inclined to ridicule
those who favor expansion and the
ratification of the treaty of Paris with
out amendments. Their arguments
he said, were: Three cheers for the
flag. Who will dare to haul it down;
Hold onto everything you can get
America has outgrown Americanism y
I'm general, the friends of what is
! called Imperialism or expansion cor
tent themselves with declaring that
| the flag, which is taken down every
night and put up again every morn
ing over the roof of this senate cham
+ Der, Where IL IS In It's r1ghtful place
must never be taken down where il
i has once doated, whether that be It's
| rightful place or not-a doctrine which
! is not only without justification in in
| ternational law, but, if it were i'm
| planted there, would make of every
war between civilized and powerful
nations a war of determination or q
war Of dishonor to one party or the
other"
Mr.. Hoar then entered unon a criti.