El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-15
Mr.. DEPEW'S
SPEECH
The Right To Take And 10
Hold The Philippines
ACADEMIC DISCUSSIONS

ACADEMIC DISCUSSIONS
Actual Conditions That Must Be
Faced-Expanslon In the Past
While the senate was considering
Joint resolution IS. 45) declaring the
purpose of the United States with re-
ference to the Philippine Islands, and
also the resolution introduced by Sen
ator Bacon of Georgia on the same
subj act, Mr.. Depew of New York spoke
1T length. Mr.. Depew said, in part:
"There are well-meaning and hon
London, and did last year in Boston, to
protest against the beheading OF
Charles the First. Charles the First
was be headed two hundred and fifty
years ago. By his death the chains
which bound free people were brok-
en-. Crom we'll, with all his mistakes,
all his errors, and all the injustice
created that reign of individual judg-
ment and conscience which has evOlut-
ed into civil and religious liberty.
which has created the commercial
spirit OF the English speaking peoples,
which has made them explorers,
travellers, masters upon the sea and
land, as settlers and colonizers,
hQu mas C6CElCu, Will UuSlE
influence, self-Rovernment and repre-
sentative institutions all over the
world. 1t is still an academic discus
sion whether President Lincoln had
the right to coerce q sovereign state,
but the exercise of that right saved
and recreated this repub bile, and made
it the foremost power OF the world.
There are constitutional lawyers and
writer's upon public questions who still
discuss the power of Abraham Lincoln
to issue decentralization proclaim alton,
but he did issue it. slavery was aool-
ished. and the blessings of the act are
enjoyed by owner and bondman equal
ly, by the free states, and by those
that we're once known as the slave
states.
1--WE are In the Philippines: we are
there to stay by conquest and by
treaty rights. All which precedes the
ratification of the treaty by the senate
of the United States is an academic
question. Still the presentation OF
this ancient history, for the rapid pro-
gress of events makes history speedily
ancient, has occupied so much of the
time of the senate that it Is well briefly
to review the situation"
Mr.. Depew rapidly sketched the cir
cumstances culmin sting in the estab-
lishmeut of American power in the
Philippines.
OUR TERRITORIALE EXPANSION
He continued:
Intentionally. constitutionally and
by the decisions of the supreme court
the United States have been expand
ing for nearly century. At the close
of the administration of Washington
our country was bounded by the Allan
tic ocean and the Ohio river. England
ON the north, and Spain and France
south and west, blocked the possibili-
ties OF development and commercial
power. Jefferson was the author of
the declaration OF independence, of
the strict construction theory of the
constitution and of the extreme doc
trine of state rights. He Is claimed by
the anti-expansion party today as their
example and guide. He saw that the
west must hsve an outlet or the fairest
portion OF our country remain wild
erness. He opened negotiations with
Napoleon for harbor at the mouth of
the Mississippi and transit over its
waters.
ssBouaparte had received the vast
territory called Louisiana from Spain
for a gift to a Bourbon prince of the
right to rule a petty principaltty. He
saw he could not hold his acquisition
against the power of Great Britain on
the ocesn and astonished the American
ENJOYS by Offering to sell the entire
territory. 1t extended from the gulf
TO the Rocky mountains and the
Pacific, and is the seat today of large
part of the wealth. population and
political strength of the republic.
Jefferson saw Immediately a meaning
and sovereignty in the constitution
which opened his mind almost as was
that of Paul on his journey to Damas-
Gus. He eagerly said, we will to the
remark of Talleyrand. Napoleon's
famous minister. Why not take 1t
alp and for S15, 900, 600 the inha bitants,
French, Spanish and Indian, and the
territory became ours.
Monroe followed Jefferson's ex-
ample, and in 1919 bought Florida from
Spain for s.. 900, 900, and Pierce Arizona
from Mexico for 10000, 900, while
Seward secured Alaska from Russia
for 81, 00O, 600. Texas came in by an
nexation, and we claimed and Great
Britain yielded Oregon to be ours by
right of discovery, because an ad-
venturous Yankee skipper had ex-
plored the Columbia river. Mexico
lay at our feet crushed and bleeding
after the war, but by the treaty of
peace we gave her S1o, DOC, 600 for Cal
ifornia and New Mexico, and assumed
the debt of So, 500. 600 which she owed
to American citizens. Under the
same broad, generous and wise policy
of dealing with defeated enemies, In
confirming the title We had by con
quest to the Philippines, we have
conceded to Spain for her rights and
sovereignty $40, 00O,O 900.
CONSTITUTIONAL OBJECTION.
Unconstitutional objection and indis-
criminate abuse preceded, attended
and followed each of these acquisitions.
The grim specter of the ruined repub-
lie was each time dragged out from
the stage properties of the spectacular
4 xNf he lon I'D