The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-02-17
WIN ,hc President surrender,

An apt. albeit rather an unpleasant AZ
lustration OF Republican political meth
DDS is afforded In the means taken by the
trust agents Of the party in Congress 70
lam the PAYNE Porto Rican Tarin bill
through ;he House Of Representatives
The situation in connection with this
measure up 10 Thursday wss thu num-
Der OF Republicans, in addition TO Mr..
Mccall. who has been Outspoken on me
subject, were suspected of CONSCIENTIOUS
scruples. and more or less fixed deter
mination to vote against a bill which
every lawyer in the House Knows TO be
in fat defiance and violation OF the Con-
stitutioi..
The trust managers agreed that the
strength of this tendency 10 revolt against
the party purpose was due TO knowledge
that the President was hostile to the Payne
bill both on constitutional and human
itarian grounds II that hostility could
be removed even in appearance they be-
Iieved the recalcitrants could be whipped
into line.
So a committee laboied with Mr.. Nc
Kinley, and now the sugar, tobacco, and
rum lobbyists are swarmiSg all over
Capitol HILL declaring that the White
House has been fixed and opposition
to the Payne infamy will be followed
by Presidential frost and eternal exclu-
sion from the bargain counter. Never
theiess and notwithstanding there are not
a few members among the House Repuo-
licans who hesitate to go on record as
being in favor of bill which VIGOROUSLY
cannot fail of being declared unconstitu-
tional when the first case under it
comes before the Supreme Court. Es-
pecially do they dislike TO promote such
a measure, when added 10 its illegally. 1t
proposes the ruin and starvation of mil
lion American colonists.
The trust representatives and their lob
byists have been too coarsely and brutally
frank in explaining their designs against
Porto Rico TO please large number OF
Republican members, VINO are the least
bit squean,ish about committing treason
against the Constitution and the crime OF
wholesale murder, merely TO enable Mr..
Hanna to fill the party campaign box With
subscriptions from the monopolies which
will benefit by the starvation and death OF
the helpless. pleading Porto Ricans. There
are men in Congress who, although Re-
publicsns and sinners in politics. have not
yet parted with all human impulses. and
who, II they were to vote for the Payne
bill. would feel uncomfortable on seeing
its necessary consequence OF a general
famine in Porto Rico.
Such people will be hard to coerce, and
some of them will not believe that The
President has surrendered to the sugar.
tobacco. and rum monopolists and lobbyists
as completely as they are asserting. We
also have doubts, The attitude of Mr.. Nc
Kinley with regard to trade with Porto
Rico has been the proper and the popular
one. lie has been widely praised for
adopting and adhering to II. We cannot
believe that be would commit the political
mistake OF leading the country to thinl;
that he had faced about, In the interest
of his psrty's corruption fund. The propo-
sition TO devastate Porto Rico is just as
fiendish today as 1t was when Mr.. McKin-
ley first heard OF il and denounced it. In
stead OF washing his hands OF the mat
ter and saying 10 the Congressional Wey-
iers: THE blood OF these doomed Porto
Ricans be on your heads and not minei'
he would do The righteous thing in warn
ing them that b.. will certainly interpose
the veto power TO avert an act of combined
illegality and villainy.