The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-05-30

The Boston Herald, referring to the in
ability Of the Philippine commission to
make anything more than conditional
promise to the insurgents because OF lack
of power on the part of the President to
determine what sort of government
shall be set up in Luzon,. declares that
our changed relations to foreign nations
resulting from the Spanish war and the
assumption:of sovereignty over:tte Philip.
pines will necessitate change in our
government. 1t says:
The form of control that we now have,
which makes the President, as chief az
ecutive. merely the instrument through
which Congress carries out Its will, and
yet makes Congress entirely independent
of the President. Is one which may have
suited a term in our national history
when 1t was recognized that those people
who were least governed were best gov
erned. and that thers was no present need
of arriving at prompt decisions on nation
al questions. But that time has passed.
We have come, by this growth of the
nation and the force of circumstances,
into relations with the other nations OF
the world which must often bring about
in their adjustment. We must hereafter
make treaties with foreigners, perhaps of
trade possibly of war, or for the mainte
nance of peace. 10 do this with any de.
gree OF efficiency the head Of the gov
eminent Of the United States must be
prepared to speak with as much cerainty
and as much authority as the chancellor
of Germany or the prime minister of
Great Britain. III he cannot do this he
must be placed perpetually at a disad-
vantage in all great negotiations whioh
he is called upon to undertake.
We have no doubt that the Herald's
point is we'll taken. The trainers of our
government designed a plan for self
government solely, and plan fitted for
self government would not be likely to be
adaptable to any other kind.without radi-
cal changes Senator Hoar long ago
pointed ont the trouble we should have If
we put ourselves in relations to foreign
powers that would require quick and
secret action. Under our present system
nothing can be done without publicity.
Congress must be consulted at.every step
of every important action. If a treaty Is
made 1t must be submitted to the Senate
where it may be unde- discussion for
weeks. AS under our constitution the
recognized rulers are the people, they
must be consulted at every step. 1t Is Oh
vious that this places the United States
at an immense disadvantage with govern
ments that are empowered to act without
consulting the people, either directly or
indirectly, like Russia and Germany, in
negotiations with other nations. While
we confined ourselves to home matters
this was of little moment, but II we aIe
going to become a world power Iand mix
up in the worlds strifes we shall have to
modify our governmental machinery to
s,Iit the new conditions. or course every
modification in this direction will dimin-
ish the control of the people and make the
government less responsible to them, but
as the conditions that make these modi-
tications necessary can only arise through
the action of the people themselves it will
be fair presumption, if they come, that
the people are ready to surrender some
of their control over the government for
the sake of making the nation a world
DOVER