Washington sentinel., 1900-02-24

AT Boston the vessels were boarded
and the tea emptied into the har
Dor. AT Annapolis the vessel tina
brought the tea, the Peggy Stew
art, was burned with her cargo.
Then followed in rapid success
sion the retaliatory and punitive
measures of the British ministry
the Boston Port bill, closing thai
port, the arrival OF troops IRON
Great Britain, and the meeting oi
the First Continental Congress, in
September, I774, in Philadelphia
On the roth Of April, I775, the hrst
blood OF the Revolution was shed
at Lexington. Thus the attempt
of the British Parliament TO enforce
a duty upon the single article OF
tea may be said to have been the
exciting and moving cause Of the
Revolution--so dear to the hearts
OF all Americans II that time was
the principle that there could be no
Just or lawful taxation without
representation, and that taxation
without representation was no bet-
ter than robbery.
What the Republicans propose
that the American Congress shall
do is to impose a cruel and oppres'
sive tax upon everything that the
people Of Puerto Rico cannot pro
duce for themselves and are COM
PEELED to import from abroad,
including the necessaries of life.
The protected trusts, fostered and
enriched by the Dingley tariff, are
content TO extort money from the
American people to the extent OF
profits amounting to 100 or 100 per
cent. per annum. But from the
unhappy people of Puerto Rico,
who have no money, the trusts
would wiring the very lifeblood. It
is the American ShYlock, clamor-
ing for his pound of flesh, that is
insisting upon the extension OF
one-iourth Dingley rates to the
Island OF Puerto Rico before he
will consent to contribute his
money for the denomination or re-
election OF Mr.. Mckinley. No
wonder that a Republican journal,
the Portland OrEgoniaH, is moved
to exclaim: SIS this Spain or the
United States2 Is this the seven.
teenth century or the nineteenth1
Are we going to treat Puerto Rico
and the Philippines and promise to
treat Cuba as crown colonies, to
be oppressed and despoiled, or as
provinces to be aide i and built up1
II we are going to deal worse with
these islands than Spain dealt with
them, it will be money in our
pockets and luster to our name to
get rid OF them" Meanwhile,
what has become of the principal
OF mo taxation without represen-
tation," so dear to our forefathers
that in its defense they "staked
sheir lives, their fortunes and their
sacred honor" Another voice
from the Pacific Coast is that of the
San Francisco Chronicle, also Re-
publican journal, which appeals to
the leaders OF its own party to con-
slider in legislating for our island
possessions the question Of Gus
tice to weak peoples within our
power, and for whom we propose
to legislate without giving them
any voice. Because they cannot
help themselves it would be in-
famous to oppress them. They
have not asked to come to
us, but we have seized them.
Therefore, if for no other reason,
we must deal with them as we
would deal with our own" But
one might as well appeal to the
Constitution and the Declaration
oi Independence as to principles OF
justice and humanity when the in
terests OF the vampire trusts and
their protector, the Republican
party, are involved.