Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1900-03-05
.y JO1oE CHARLES "a. o.A~r.

PS'S' W eV'NAh ar4hhNo 'NiiiApiv ~
suits from the right to acquire. ~
That Congress has power to govern
acquired territory independent of the
limitations Of the constitution, but In
cases where territory has been ac-
quired for tho purposes Of statehood
Congress would be subject TO those
fundamental limitations In favor Of
personal rights which are formulated
in the constitution and it's amend.
ments; but these limitations exist
rather by Inference and the general
spirit of the constitution from which
Congress derives all its powers, than
by any express and direct application
of its provisions And that Congress
has power to govern Porto Rico and
the Philippines independent OF tho
limitations OF the constitution"
These two deliverances, emanoting
from the two coordinate branches Of
the government respectively charged
with the duty Of framing and cxecut
ing its policy, are SO dovetailed and
fitted to each other as to preclude
any hypothesis other than that the
authors of them worked from COM
mon plan TO a common end. SO far
then, as the legislative and executive
parts of our nation are concerned, we
have right TO look upon the policy
thus formulated as fixed.
Here we have Joint decree, which
by it's single stroke places some mil
lions of men ''hors de la loi," aud then
declares that the constitutional rights
Of the Inhabitants Of every state which
has been formed since the original 10
coven9nted to become union, exist
by Interpretation and Inference" only,
instead Of by the solemn and defined
expressions OF our organic law.--to
be, perhaps. reversed aud denied to
those who shall come after US, by the
''lnference" Of some future "assimil'
ating' Congress or executive who may,
for their little day and by some deft
manipulation Of the political wheel Of
fortune, bo clothed with the requisite
power,
notice also that Cuba is not In.
cluded In this edict Of outlawry. The
reason is that Congress In declaring
war against Spain expressly disclaim.
ed all intenilon Of interfering with thu
right Of the people Of that island to
govern themselves when once freed
from Spanish control. Whether a
government like ours, when entering
upon warfare for the avowed pur.
pose only Of delivering the oppressed
from bondage, Is any more solcmnly
bound by Its expressed abnegation Of
motives of sclf.nggraudizemeut than
It would he from like denial to be
implied from the professions and ira
dltlons OF it's whole history, II Is no
worth while TO discuss. To skulk be-
hlnd the alleged dlstlpoton that one
promise Is " writing and the othe,
| ot,--that one disclaimer takes the
form of legislative enactment, while
the other Is to be gathered from
century and more OF cffusiyc prostes
tations 10 tho snme end, IL quite un'
worthy Of tho American people.
That the policy thus mapped out,
and to which we seem to be commit
ted is strictly revolutionary, Is at vari-
ance with all our pnst, destructive OF
the accepted axioms Of the Dcclara.
ton of Independence, repudiatio-
of the last counsel Of Washington to
his people, and at cross.purposes
with the only spirit which could have
inspired our constitution, is. to my
apprehension, too clear for dispute.
The power thus claimed for our
government Of ruling over peopl'
within It's jurisdiction. would, we're =
new, bc sufficiently alarming; for us
ot the close os the 10Th century. II is
not less startling because 1t is very
old. Unlike those Inventions tor which
letters patent are granted. II Is devoid
of the merit of novelty,
Eighty years ago died Napoleon Bon.
apartc. He who had clutched ut world
Vide dominion, aud who, too, denied
to men constitutional guarantees, fret,
ted away Ills few miserable years re,
maining,ou q narrow island In the rainy
Atlantic, aud passed from earth amid
warfare OF the elements which APP
peared to him as II "the noise OF bat,
tie hurtled In the air."
At the very same time the sovereigns
Of Russia. Prussia, and Aus
tria, constituting tho so-called
holy Alliance were holding In
the recesscs Of the Styriau Alps
the Congress Of Laybach, The purpose
Of that conclave was to find out how
| the powers which had nut down thu ir-