The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-16
Senator Vest Says the Vital Prin-
ciples of Our Government
Are at Stake.
REPUBLICANS FOR ABS0LUTISM
Propose TO Give Mckinley Greater
Power Than Russia's Gar Pos
sesses-WatchwOrd, NO
Colonies

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE
Sweet Springs No.. July H-Discussins
the present political campaign. the issues
ard the watchwcrd for Democracy. Senator
Georse G. Vest to-day said:
| since the war of 1851 to 1865 no issue has
| been before the American people IF such
1 Importance as that Of Imperialism now
| advocated by the Republican party. II sue
| cessfuI IL will change our form of govern
| ment from Republic. based upon the
| great principles that all just Governments
| derive their powers from the consent of the
| governed. TO a centralized despotlsm. main
| tanned By an immense army and navy.
in their platform, recently adopted at
| Philadelphia. the Republican party declared
| its purpose TO give self-Government to the
| Philippines and Porto Rico when the peo-
pie of those islands should be prepared for
such a result. and Senator Hosr declares
| that he will support Mckinley because he
believes this declaration to be sincere. This
| was not Senator Hoars opinion when he
delivered his able speech in the Senate and
! declared that the policy of the adIninistra-
ton in the Philippines was In violation Of
the Declaration of Independence and sub
versive OF our free institutions.
when Congress met on the first Mon
day in December 1895 Mr.. Mckinley sent
TO the Senate the Paris treaty by which We
wrested the Philippines from Spain and pre-
scented to that WORKOUT Monarchy se0.00. 900
rs a gratuity. On Tuesday. the second day
of the session, i offered a resolution in the
Senate. asserting that the colonial system
of Europe was In violation of the Federal
Constitution. and that large areas of ter
ritory inhabited by millions OF people could
not be held by the United States with the
ultimate purpose of admitting such terri
tory as States Of the Union. Five days az
forwards l opened the debate by speaking
In advocacy Of the resolution. citing the
declarations of eni:rent statesmen and de-
cisions OF the Supreme Court from the time
of Chief Justice Marshall to that of the
present court. which unanimously decided
through Justice Gray Of Massachusetts
some six years ago. that territory acquired
by the United States through treaty, pur-
chase or conquest must be held by the Fed
eral Government for the purpose Of being
formed into States when fitted. in the
opinion of Congress. for admission into the
Union.
Senators Plat OF Connecticut. Foraker
of Ohio and other Republicans replied to my
speech and asserted that this Government
had all the powers of any other Govern
ment. and that it could hold colonies as un-
der the European system. the Constitution
of the United States having no application
TO such territory unless made to do SO by
act OF Congress. The debate upon this
resolution continued until the Paris treaty
was ratified near the end OF the session.
and the congressional record will show that
the position of the Republican party In the
Senate was as I have stated.
Senator Hoar says that seventeen OF
Bryan's supporters In the Senate voted for
the treaty. but he is mistaken. The treaty
was ratified by the votes of eight Demo-
crats-includ.ng Lindsay and Gray. who
supported Palmer and Buckner in lses-one
Silver Republican and three Popu!ists. All
the Republican Senators voted for II ex-
cept Hoar and Hall.
Every Senator who voted for the treaty
knew at the time that he was voting for
n war of indefinite duration in the Philip
pines. a battle having been fought before
Manila between the Flipinos and cur
forces three days before we voted In the
Senate. II was prophesied then that the
insurrection, as they termed 1t. would be
suppressed in thirty days. but eighteen
months have elapsed and we have now co.
90 American soldiers shooting the doctrines
of cur Declaration Of Independence into an
unwilling people who persist In believing
with Mr.. Mckinley that 'forcible annexa-
ton is criminal aggression" Instead of
the insurrection being suppressed. Judge
Taft. president Of the Philippine Commits
sion, informs the President that large re-
endorsements to our army must be sent to
the archipelago.
when the Peace Commissioners left
Washington for Paris at the close of the
Spanish war, the President instructed them
TO insist upon taking from Spain only a
a. IL af..
under no circumstances to take more than
the island of Luzon., The congressional
record shows that Senator Fry, one of the
Commissioners. admitted in a colloPuy with
me on the floor Of the Senate that these
were the Presidents instructions. The
friends Of the administration now affect
great indignation at the idea of abandoning
the Philippines to anarchy or TO be divided
up among European Powers. and Mr.. Nc
kinney has announced that we have been
chosen by providence 10 protect the FIJI
pinos from themselves. 1t is curious in
quiry as TO why providence changed its In
tention between the date OF the Presidents
instructions and signing the treaty at
Paris. II IT was cruel and inhuman to
abandon the Filipinos to anarchy on forci-
bic partition, why was the President will
Ing to do this as to all the archipelago ex-
cspt LUzon?
THAT the Republican party favors the alb
solutism advocated by its political ancestors.
the old Federalists. is put beyond question
by the provisions of the Spooner bill. now
pending in the Senate and reported favor
ably from the Philippines Committee, which
gives to the President. so long as the yestige
Of opposition to our authority exists in the
Philippines, power 10 appoint all officials In |
the islands, with such powers-military
civic and judicial-as he may deem neces-
sary. The Car of Russia has no more |
despotic power than this and the pretense |
that Mr.. jefferson was invested with such |
powers In 1903 by Congress IS absolutely |
false. There is not the slightest similarity |
between the annexation of the Louisiana |
Territory, with a sparse population. which |
soon became loyal to the United States !
without the application OF force. and the |
seizing of the Philippine Archipelago on the |
other side of the world. with its 10.Oo0.oo0 OF |
people who can never become citizens of the |
United States Their habits. religion and |
racial proclivities make 1t absurd to suppose |
that they can ever be admitted into the |
Union.
For these reasons believe the watch /
word In the pending canvass should be. |