Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-11-03

of the United States under the command
of Andrew Jackson, before they were
finally subdued and compelled to submit
to be governed without their consent.
Does anyone want to pull down the flag
in Florida? And yet there were plenty
of nti-imperialists in those days who
did.
We paid no attention to the consent OF
the governed doctrine in 1845 when we
annexed Texas, but we do no hear OF
any one who wants to haul down the flag
in Texas because a very large number OF
ITS people were annexed and governed
without their consent.
We did not observe it in 1S4s when.
after having conquered Mexico, we took
from her the vast territory out of WHICH
has since been carved the states of Cali
fornia, Utah, most of the state of Colo
RADIO, and the territories of Arizona ard
New Mexico. We took the large mixed
population which came with this terri
tory. most of which did not speak our
and which was strongly an
taeonis.sic to us, and governed them for
wears according to our own notion OF
what was best for them. True they muir
dered the men we sent to govern them
and we were compelled to whip them.
but we never thought of skiing their
consent, and who is there today n
wants to haul down the flag on a single
inch of that territory which came to us
as a direct result of The splendid vic.
tories of the imperial army of the Cnitet
States under Zachary Taylor and VIM
field Scott? And yet the anti-imperialist
cry which goes up today is as the gentle
cooing of a dove compared to the roar
of protest which was heard at that times
In 1866 as a result of the foresight and
craftsmanship of William H. Seward we
acquired Alaska, and proceeded to govs
ern what people there We're there Wlth<
out their consent. We paid for Alaska
seven million two hundred thousand dol
lars, and the anti-expansionists of that
day said we had been cheated and
Seward was dertded and the republican
party accuse of squandering the peoples
money in the purchase of an iceberg.
Today Alaska is worth a thousand fold
more tina we paid for it. and we are
almost ready to declare war against
Canada because she is setting up a CLAIM.
to a few square miles which we do not
think belongs to her. Who is there to-
day that would undo the work of Seward
or haul down the flag now floating over
Alaska?
Only two years ago we annexed the
Hawaiian Islands. That event Is SO re-
cent that we can all remember t.. We
can all recall how flercely and with what
dire predictions of disasters to come our
democratic friends opposed that p)i.cy,
But the islands were annexed; a lot Of
people over there are being governed
without their consent, the flag wen. up
and who is there, let me ask, in this
country who wants to take it down:
Surely not our democratic friends for
they owe the Is to / declaration in their
platform to Hawaii and Oklahoma, with
out whose votes Mr.. Bryan would nave
been compelled to decline the democratic
nomination.
In 1861 II southern states tried to get
out of the union and set up a governments
of their oWn. But after four years of
the bloodicst strife that the world has
ever seen, they were compelled to remain
in the union, against their profess and
without their consent. This is probably
the most striking example of governing
people without their consent to be found
in the history of this or any other nation.
They denounced 1T as Imperialism AMI
miMtarism at the time. but it is a source
of infinite pleasure and deep satisfaction
to all of us to realize that after all the
hatred and sectional ill-will arising cat
OF that awful struggle we have at last
reached a point in our history where
every vestige of bitterness and sectional
ism has disappeared.
Even our own government does not
exist by the consent of the governed. In
the last presidential election somethine
over six million voters cast their ballots
for William ]. Bryan. who was defeated.
but seven million other voters cast theic
ballots for William Mckinley, who was
elected, SO that. as a matter Of fact, more
than seventy-five million Americans are
being governed by an administration
represented by seven million legal voters,
So it would appear that the Philippines
are not the only people who are being
governed without their consent. There
are Is, 900, 900 American women who are
a Thousand times over better qualified to
govern themselves than are 99-1OOths of
the Filipinos. but I nave not heard tina,
the democratic party is losing any sleep
on their account.
Thomas Jefferson. the author of the
doctrine of the Consent of the CIV
erned," was himself the owner of slaves,
whom he was governing without their
consent. at the very moment when he
wrote the Declaration of Independence.
So also were many others who signed
that .im~perishable document with him.
But they were not writing the Dec.ara-
ton cf Independence for savage tribes.
They We're writing it for civilized people.
AS intelligent men they knew that the
declaration that 'all governments de-
rived their just powers from the consent
of the governed" was to be construed in
the Light of reason and common sense.
They knew then as well as we know now.
that it's literal enforcement without re-
spect to circumstances or conditions
would place an impossible barrier across
the pathway of civilization and human