The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-08-29
IMPERIALISM A WAR POWER.

IL does not seem 10 occur 10 the organizes
that in ~denouncing President McKinley's
action in the Philippines as Imperialism
they are condemning the action of more
than one Democratic President. Mr.. Nc
Kinley is simply exercising his constitu-
tional power as President and performing
his duty in prosecuting a war forced upon
the United States and suppressing a re-
b. llion against its rightful authority. The
Constitution says: 1.-THE President shall
take care that the laws be faithfully exc
cuted," and it also says: "All treaties made.
or which shall be made, under the authority
of the United States shall be the supreme
law of the land" Under these provisions
it is as much the duty of President Nc
Kinley to make the treaty with Spain eff
fective by establishing the authority of the
United States in the Philippines as it is to
see that the laws of the United States are
enforced in any part of the country.
AS already stated, more than one Demo-
cratic President has exercised powers much
more akin to imperialism than anything
President Mckinley has done, and with
the hearty approval of the party. Take. for
example, President Folks action in the
Mexican war. After having provoked the
war by a series of aggressions which made
1t inevitable. as they were intended to do.
he prosecuted it without regard to con-
stitutional authority, trusting to a Demo-
cratic Congress to approve his acts, as it
did. He openly admitted that ii was a war
OF onquest and territorial indemnity. With
out waiting for the authority of Congress
he conferred upon General Taylor. '.pursu-
ant to authority vested in him by my direc-
tion,'' to call on the Governors of Texas
and of Louisiana for four regiments of
troops from each State. No other President
has ever authorized a general of the army
to call directly on the Governors of States
for troops. In his annual message of lSi7
President Polk said:
1t is well known that the only indemnity
which it is in the power of Mexico to make.
and the only means by which she can
reimburse the United States for the ex-
penses of the war Is a ceSsion TO the United
States of a portion of her territory. " . :
To reject indemnity by refusing to accept
a ceSsion OF territory would be to abandon
all our just demands and TO wage the war,
- lie III 10 tABtICtSs III Il DuT-
pose or definite object. . . The doctrine
OF no territory is the doctrine of no in
demnity, and If sanctioned would be a pub
lie acknowledgment that our country was
wrong and that the war declared by Con-
gress with extraordinary unanimity was
unjust and should be abandoned-an ad-
mission unfounded in fact and degrading
TO the national character.
No other President ever openly avowed
territorial indemnity as the inevitable re-
suit of a war. Finally. after Mexico had
been practically conquered. it's ports seized.
the custom houses held and forced contri-
buttons levied on it's people. President Polk
negotiated a treaty by which the United
States acquired new territory of immense
extent and enormous value, and a Demo-
cratic Congress ratified the treaty without
a word as to expansion or Imperialism.
Pending further action of Congress Presi-
dent Polk established military government
IN New Mexico and California. In his an
nual message of 1s4S he said:
Upon the ratification of the treaty of
| peace with Mexico on the 30th of May last
the temporary governments which had
been established over New Mexico and
| California by our military and naval COM
manders. by virtue of the rights of war,
ceased TO derive any obligatory force from
that source of authority. and having been
coded to the United States all government
and control over them by the authority
Of Mexico had ceased TO exist. > : :
The only government which remained was
that established by the military authority
| during the war. Regarding this to be a
dc facto government. and that by the pre-
sEmed consent of the inhabitants IL might
be continued temporarily. they were as-
vised TO conform and submit TO IL for the
short intervening period before Congress
/ would again assemble and could leEislate
! oil the subject. 49, The small military