Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-09-07
"IMPERIALISM."
A Strong Letter from Senator
Ross.

Inc DemOCTallc party put lIIIu lulpt-
ralism as the paramount issue in the pend.
ing presidential campaign. 1t fails to de-
fine what it means by the use of this UNI
common word. The leaders of the party
evidently imported it into the platform and
| left it there Underlined as a scare word with
which to conjure and mislead.
The term imperialism" is somewhat
striking and has been seized upon l think
in the hope of terrifying honest-minded
citizen voters into voting the Democratic
party into power again. This must be
their secret purpose in declaring imperial
ism to be the paramount ISSUE They
must know full well that the most cherish
ed leaders and founders of the Democratic
party in the early history of the nation es-
tablished forms of government for terrific
ries much more radical than anything yet
done by President Mckinley or by the Re-
publican party. They denounce the Porto
Rican civil government act as imperialistic.
1t is much less so than the territorial act
for the government of Lousi ana, passed in
1903, when Jefferson, the acknowledged
founder of Democracy, was president, and
which was administered by him and Madi
son, another apostle of Democracy, for
nine years, until Louisiana was admitted as
a state.
The Porto Rican civil government act
allows the inhabitants of the island TO
elect all the members of the House, and half
OF those of the Senate of the island. They
thus participate in legislation. 1t empow
ers the President, with the approval of the
Senate, TO appoint the governor, half the
Senate and the chief justice. 1t has been
a fundamental principle, running through
all territorial acts from the beginning of
the government, that the national govern
ment should control the heads Of the three
departments, the executive, judicial and
legislative. This is necessary when the
territory eventually is to become state.
Otherwise the government might not be-
come republican in form as required by
the constitution. Latterly it has some
times retained control over the legislative
department only by reserving the right to
repeal any law enacted by the territorial
legislature. The president has always
appointed the heads Of the executive and
judicial departments. Under the con-
stitution he appoints the judges of the SUI
preme courts.
BY the act of 1903 for the government of
Louisiana, the executive, legislative and
judicial departments were given wholly TO
the control of appointees of the President
The governors and councillors appointed
by him were given authority to make and
execute all the laws Of the territory. The
inhabitants of the territory, who were of
French origin, under the code Napoleon,
did not participate in the government Of
the territory and urgently protested against
this act. They memorialized Congress
against it. This memorial was referred to
committee whose chairman, John Ran
dolph, reported adversely TO it. The com
mittee found nothing imperialistic in the
act. No empire, no overthrow of Re-
publican form Of government, grew out of
it. There was loud cutlery, as now, that
such would be the result.
Again, in 1922, when James Monroe was
president, a territorial act for the govern
ment of Florida was enacted. The inhab-
itants were not given any voice in the
management of any of the three depart
menls. All who controlled the executive,
legislative and judicial departments were
appointed by the President This was
continued for % years, while Monroe,
Jackson, Van Buren, and Tyler were pres
: idents. Jackson and Van Buren, are
5 among the eminent leaders of Democracy.
Yet the country survived this act also. So
did the government of the people, by the
people and for the people.
These were the earliest territories which
had a government and system of laws I'M
| like those which obtain in this country,
The white inhabitants of Louisiana were
mostly of French origin, and of Florida, OF
' Spanish origin. The character of the in
= habitants, and the laws and customs of these
territories when acquired, were not greatly
! dissimilar from those of Porto Rico. Many
of the territories when organized had no
/ system of law except those received from
Congress and their inhabitants came large
5 ly from the states. None of them could
participate in the national government
! while territories. The national govern.
ment has not been endangered nor have
' the citizen voters become corrupt by hold
r ing these territories for time in state OF
tutelage.
. By the constitution all power regarding
the government of territories as we'll as OF
, the islands acquired under the recent treaty
e with Spain vests in Congress. The citi-
zen voters make Congress according to
o their will. Is there any more danger that
) they will, for governing Porto Rico, Guam
or the Philippine islands, elect Congress
. less imbued with the fundamental princi,
pies of the government now than in the
days of Jefferson and Madison, of Jackson
/ and Van Buren,? In nothing which Presi-
dent Mckinley or the Republican Congress
has done have they gone beyond what was
done and approved by the leaders of the
Democratic party from 1903 to 1912 in the
d case of Louisiana, and from 1927 to 1916
in the government of Florida.
> The only difference in the relations OF