The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-09

use coeTclVe means 10 make men vote
against their will? Mr.. Bryan would not
accept the Presidency If it came to him
that way. Why, should the election of any
patriotic citizen endanger the prosperity of
the nation? Is not Bryan as great in the
essentials Of greatness as Mckinley? In
his home life he is pure. He is an honest
man. he is brave man. he is an intelli-
gent man; he is a patriotic man.
There lives no honest man who can say
with truth that Bryan would not do his
duty well. YOU cannot make of Bryan a
bull In china shop. He Is broad gauged
He is big hearted. He is big brained."
Governor Stone referred to the newspa-
per story that Hanna had sought to levy
upon the national banks Of Baltimore.
When Hannas name was mentioned the
audience broke forth in Kisses that sound
ed like the exhaust from dozen steam
engines His concluding observation was
that any man who debauched the ballot
ought to be hanged
When Governor Stone made his final
bow after having held the platform for
more than an hour he was rewarded with
cheering. clapping of hands. and stamping
of feet that shook the hall and must have
been heard many squares away. The au-
dience rose and waved hats and umbrellas
and the band played Maryland, My Mary
land
John Prentiss Poe's Speech.
John Prentiss Poe, an elector at large.
of the State of Maryland on the Democratic
ticket, and prominent representative OF
the Baltimore bar, was the last speske
Mr.. Poe discussed the question of imperial
ISM He reviewed the causes and course
| oil the war with Spain. and spoke on the
policy OF the Administration in the Philip
pines.
He said in part:
IF the people of the island of Cuba were
of right not only entitled to be free and
( independent of Spain, but were actually
free, surely it can be claimed with conf
dence that the people of the Philippines,
if not then actually free, were OF right
| entitled to be free and Independent of
| Spain. as much as their fellow victims of
Spain's protracted misgovernment in Cuba
were entitled to have the same blessing
/ Their territory was vastly larger--their
population eras four times as great.
They had asserted their right to free
dom from Spain with equal courage and
/ persistency and with as much probability
of success as the Cubans and ii is clear
/ that all the difficulties of the present pol
itical situation upon this great question
could be easily settled by applying this
declaration of war to the Philippine ISL
ands as We insist that 1t shall be arplied
| to Cuba.
'The right to acquire by conquest, treaty,
or purchase foreign territory and to hold
| 1t indefinitely as a subject colony with no
| purpose of admitting such territory into
our Federal Union is nowhere, either by
| express words or strained implication.
granted by the Constitution.
NO court of this country has ever held
| that such right exists.
mo public man has ever asserted such
doctrine. g-as
"On the other hand all the doctrines of
the Supreme Court. where the question
| has arisen; all the utterances of oui
/ statesmen who have spoken on the sub
ieet are in clear and distinct denial Of the
monstrous claim
'our Government is an indissoIuble
union of indestr3ctible States. we may
acquire territory .a9iSsd aSfs'e We may expand We
nave acquired territory and we have enor-
Iaously expanded, but until now IL has
never been contsnded that the power to
acquire TERRITORY and the power conferred
upon Congress 70 pass peedfuI rules and
regulations for tl'e government OF such
territory means tiiat We can acquire by
conquest remote is lands OF the seas and
that Congress can govern as it pleases
foreign and conquered colony. beyond
the safeguards and limitations of the Con-
stitution. ~ 49,,
Should cyclone or tornado desolate our
coasts and carry ruin and havoc in their
path energy, and courage stimulated BY
the lavish outpourings of brotherly sym
pathy and affection may soon repair the
waste places and rebuild in increased peau-
ty and power our submerged cities
Should disastrous war sweep our eon-
merce from the ocean, fresh enterprise
may restore 1t. II 1t exhaust our treausury.
future industry may repienish it. II it
desoIate and lay waste our fields still, un-
d.zr Inn hav tri11 an
again and ripen to future harvests.
Should vast combinations of capital sue
ceed in concentrating in their relentless
hands, ownership and control OF all the
great mechanical and manufacturing en-
terprises of our conntry and by their gi-
gantic trusts crush competition and ex-
tinguish individual energy and indepen-
dence. the people at the ballot box will
surely find a far-reaehing and adequate
remedy.
When we shall have shattered in the
face OF the whole world the bedrock Of
American institutions. where shall we ind
a foundation for a new structure OF polit-
ical freedom and political equality OF right
before the law?
What noble brain. what gifted pen, shall
appear to frame for US a new Declaration
OF independence?
When we shall have ignored the let
ter and spirit OF the Constitution and
in our own mad quest after the ignus
fatuus cf manifest destiny and a new
glory in the pathway of empire shall
have cerided and cast aside its salutary
restraints, where shall we gather an
assembly OF patriots and Statesmen who
shall frame for US its fellow?
I'm the impressive and glowing Ian
guage of Daniel Webster. Who shall re-
construct the fabric sof demolished gov
ernment? Who shall rear again the |
well proportiorsd columns OF constitu-
tional liberty? Who shall frame to-
gether the sk:llful architecture which !
unites national sovereignty with State |
rights, individual security, and public |
prosperity? No, IL these columns fall |
they will be raised not again
Like the Parthenon and the Colise-
um, they will be destined mournful. a d
melancholy Immortality. Btterer tears. !
however, will flow over them than were |
ever shed over the monuments of |
Grecian or Rom art; for they VIII be !
the remnants OF more glorious edifice |
than Greece or Rome ever saw, the !
edifce of constitutional American lib !
erty'"
Many of the poirts made by Mr.. Poe |
were vigorously cheered and applauded At /
the conclusion OF his speech the meeting
adjourned. Then there was more music !
and more cheering. while handshaking and |
kind words were indulged in by the prom
inent peopleion the platform. stand had |
been erected in front of the hail and it |
was the expectation that an overflow meet |
ing would be held there, but this was pre- |
vented by the rain. Representative Liv- |
ingston of Georgia, who has been cam
paigning in New Jersey, was to have |
spoken at this outdoor meeting
When the mass meeting was over there !