The Anaconda standard., 1899-05-08
MONDAY, MAY 8, 1899.
TWELVE PAGES.
Advertising Atkinson.

y IDAAS IuV al <hthiHSoii -
going to have the testimony OF
his own pocket book in proof
of the theory that there's no loss with
out some gain. He is the author of
three pamphlets that have suddenly
gained worldwide notorety as the re-
suit of the action taken by Postmas-
ter General Smith in excluding them
from the Philippine mail.
After all is said and done, these pam
phlets certainly are harmless things.
The one known as number three is the
principal offender, and 1t may we'll be
believed that the criticism of the ad-
Tninistration's Philippine policy there
DIN contained is far short of the bitter
ness and the severity recorded in thou
sends of copies of newspapers which
have been permitted to go unhindered
to the soldiers in the Philippines. This
pamphlet number three imputes the
phrase criminal aggression" to Mr..
Mckinley himself. and he did use the
like of it when in his message to con-
gress he dealt with the proposition,
which had advocates in congress at
that time, to begin the war with Spain
by annexing Cuba to the United
States.
Then, too. this pamphlet number three
quotes the testimony sent to the gov
ernment at Washington by men in our
consular service in the Orient who
alave asserted that there was grow
ing feeling among American sailors
and soldiers against Philippine annex
ation.' Unquestionably, it was a
blunder on the administrations part,
to interfere with the sending of these
Atkinson pamphlets and thus give
them effective advertisement 1t trans
pires that of pamphlet number three
six thousand were sent out and that
six of them were in the mall bound
for Manila which Postmaster General
Smith held up.
AS interesting as any part of the in
lcident is the New York Evening Posts
reference to former times when the
contents of United States mails fur
11ished occasion for complaint in Ger
tain quarters. In slavery days des-
perate efforts were made to prevent the
delivery in the South of what the slave
holding contingent denounced as Gin
cendiary'' matter. AS long ago as 1880,
North Carolina made it felony to
publish or disseminate anything cal
culated to arouse dissatisfaction among
the slaves or to incte them to insurrec-
tion.'' Other states followed North
Carolina's lead in this sort of legisla-
tion; the punishment prescribed rang
ed from whipping to hanging. Com
unittees of safety took the matter in
charge. In instances the offending
mail was not delivered, in other in
stances it was destroyed.
At one time Amos Kendall, then
postmaster-general. had the question
thus raised to deal with. He compro-
snised with his official duty-those were
the days OF compromise. His reply
to certain South Carolinans who ad-
dressed him ON the subject was a mass
of words concluding with this conve-
1lient straddle: I'VE owe an obiga-
tion to the laws but higher one to
the communities in which we live, and
if the former be prevented TO destroy
the latter it is patriotism to disre-
gard them. Entertaining these views,
I cannot sanction, but will not con-
denim the step you have taken on de-
raining the papers in question. Your
justification must be looked for in the
character of the papers detained and
the circumstances by which you are
sur.ounded That straddle is worthy
of President Mckinley himself.