St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-04-18

Kinley's Secretary Resigned-Candi
date for Vice PresIdent-Easter-In
dian Appropriation Bill-Death o
Major Ball.
(From our regular correspondent.
, The Porto Rican bill has passed
the House and been signed by thu
President and has become a law af
ter one of the hardest fought battles
for years. 1t is considered the great
est question, that has comeup before
Congress and the country since the
civil war, on account OF the great
issue at stake. 1t has brought out
the strongest debates on both sides
from the two parties in both Houses
for the past five or six weeks. Con.
gressmen have turned on the calcium
light in their study of United States
history, in order to understand the
precedent of the past and to learn
what power the constitution gives
Congress in such matters, while the
constitutional lawyers have studied
the legal points at issue, weighed
every argument and authority, pro
and con, analysed all cases and deci-
sions in civil and United States
courts and formed their opinions.
|
The committees have sought early
and late to bring out the most prac-
teal bearing of the question on the
Porto Ricans and the best way to
help them under the circumstances,
this has been very arduous task,
since the democrats insisted on max
ing it matter of party issue. The
matter would have been settled long
ago, If it had not been the presiden-
tial year, and if they had not decided
to make the great issue free trade,
against the protective tariff, in order
to have more popular and palata-
BILE doctrine to advocate in the COM
ing campaign.
President Mckinley is acknowl-
edged to be good president and an
excellent christian man; the country
is in an unusually prosperous condi-
ton; the laboring classes are en-
ployed and wages have been ad-
vanced, so that Organism and the
old silver issue is not much OF an issue
for a new platform and great many
democrats north, south, and west
have become convinced of it's fallacy;
what new and startling theories
must be evolved to enlist "the foreign
population ?"
The democrats decided to revive
the old Calhoun doctrine, that su-
gar-coated pill" the constitution
follows the flag, and have fought
this bill on that doctrine. They have
been very fertile in expedients in try
ing to split the republican party, ex-
aggerating every little difference of
opinion in the Senate and openly de-
clared that "they had got the re-
publcans into hole" and they could
not get out of it. They have repeat
eddy asserted that the President had
declared for free trade and that the
republicans in Congress were going
contrary to his wishes and opinions
and challenged them ITO get out Of
their hole" 1t has been a campaign
OF abuse and personal invective.
This should be followed by a cam
paign of education, after the smoke
of battle has subsidized and people can
examine carefully both sides for
themselves dispassionately and I'M
derstand the national issues. There
are doubtless many earnest christian
men who are honest in their convic-
tons on both sides but the party
issues have seemed for the time to
overshadow almost everything else.
Wednesday, April II, will be a
memorable day hereafter in United
States history, as the one which de-
clded the bill in the House. 1t was
introduced by Representative Dalzell
and the adoption of the resolution
gave 20 minutes to each side to de-
eide whether it should be followed by
debate until s p. M, when a vote
was to be taken on the bill and
which finally prevailed. The time
was then equally divided by Repre-
sentative Payne, New York, and
Representative Richardson, of Ten.
uessee. The latter devoted much
time to quoting republican authori.
ties and newspapers who were Cd.
posed to the bill and closed with the
! declaration that some republican had
;, told some newspaper that a large
= sum OF money had been paid by some
/, trust for campaign purposes to help
he al