The San Francisco call., 1899-07-19
DYER LOYALTY.

+ N.
ton and Immediately induged in expression
~ of opinion and belief to the effect that all anti
imperaIiss are traitors and that the time has arrived
by his watch to suppress them. The captain lays
down the law to the effect that citizens who do not
support national administration are dlsloyal lie
punges into print up where he parts his name and
lectures the American people, who pay his salary, as
they were Filipinos adjudged incapable OF self
government.
His idea of our institutions has the trent of SIM
pcity The people owe loyalty to the President and
must support whatever the President is doing When
the President says that acquisition OF territory by con-
quest is criminal aggression and opposed to Our ma
tional morality the people must say 'amen! When
the President changes and spends eight hundred
thousand dollars day in an attempt to acquire the
Philippines by conquest and the facts kept from
the people whose money is being spent in that ad-
venture, Captain Dyer insists that any opposing cit
zen is traitor and this horse marine desires to sup
press him.
The logic of Captain Dyer is twin to that OF Dip
lomat John Barrett According to it. when the Pres-
dent said that conquest OF territory was criminal ag
gression all the imperialsts traitors and should
have been suppressed and the ant-imperialsts were
loyalsts Then the President suddenly said Wig
wag" and Thumbs down." and the imperlalists,
purged OF treason, made faces at the disloyal anti
mperialists.
Captain Dyer has perhaps grown rusty on salt water
in respect to the nature OF Our Government and the
citizens duty toward it When he entered the navy
he took an oath to support the constitution OF the
United States and defend its principles and to obey
the orders of his superiors The President OF the
United States, commander-in-chief OF the army and
navy is Captain Dyers superior officer, whose orders
he must obey But the captain to think that he
is the superior OF the plain taxpaying citizens, and
that they must obey him as he obeys the President
This Nickel Neptune is in error He may be sur
prised to learn that the American people do not take
an oath OF loyalty and obedience to him the Pres-
dent. He seems to fancy that at some stage in the
proceedings every citizen takes oath something like
this:
do solemnly swear that will true allegiance
and obedience render to Captain n. Mayo Dyer and
in all matters relating to the policy of the National
Government forsakng all others, will cleave to his
opinion until he changes it,
But this seadog is on the wrong trail. The only
oath of allegiance taken by the people CT this country
is to support the constitution. When they hear a
major general in Our army declare that the Constitu
ton is obsolete and that imperialism has for 1t
nor the Declaration OF independence, they naturally
protest against policy which requires reputation of
every foundation principle OF our Government. For
making and publishing this protest Captain Dyer
stitution nor to the Government, but to the Pres-
dentl
Now while it is true that piOus person over IN
Oakland has announced that President Mckinley de
rives his authority not from the people but from God
direct, and proves by texts running from early in
Genesis to late in Revelation, that the wholesale
slaughter OF the Fpinos was being divinely planned
while the universe was chewing prehistoric peanuts at
the first matinee, and when the morning stars sang
together and that Major Mckinley really non-
mated in a celestial caucus and sprung on the Ameri-
can people as a miracle there be those who are
skeptical The Kaiser and Captain Dyer are sufi-
cient for talking partners in the scheme for running
the world by divine right.
The captain should be informed that our institutions
are like water. You may draw your hand edgewise
through it and there seems to be resistance, but
hit it fiat blow and it is unyielding steel He
and few other military and civil fools playing
with the principles OF our Government. They seem
to be having all the fun, but when they get ready to
deal blow the unyieldng work OF the fathers will
stand and those who would destroy it will be shat
tered.