The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-01
CIRCULATION STATEMENT.
TUESDAY. MAY /. 1900.
stu the Porto Rican Terror.

stu the Porto Rican Terror.
A few glittering lingo generalities con
corning the Monroe Doctrine for which
the War Department wants to fight, anC
which the State Department and the Whit
House are trying to kill, will not diver
public attention from the trust and Porte
Rican dilemma in which the Administra
tion finds itself The American people are
perhaps, justly chargeable with a tend
ency to get mad over things and then for
get all about them; but it does not follow
that they invariably act in that way. II
was boldly stated by trust Senators and
Representatives, during the debate in Con
gress on the Porto Rican infamy, that
national objection TO the scheme would
not be heard from after two or three
weeks, and that Republicans everywhere
would endorse the plain duty stultifca-
uon of itself by the Administration in
their State conventions
For once the Congressional trust agents
have found themselves mistaken regarding
popular feeling. even in their own party.
Although the State conventions so far
held, with the single exception of that in
Pennsylvania. have been completely under
the domination of the Hanna machine. il
has not dared to force into any platform
a clear and unequivocal sentence APPROX
ing the course of Mr.. Mckinley and his
legislative majority in respect of Porto
Rico.
In every case the matter has been han
died with evasion and evident alarm. This
is not surprising in view OF the complete
enlightenment of the people everywhere
on the subject. There is not a hamlet in
America where the reading inhabitants do
not know that the political status of Porto
Eieo was carefully worked out in the light
of the Constitution and of an unbroken
lire of Supreme Court decisions covering
a period of eighty years for the berefit
of the President and his advisers; and
that the Administration and its adherents
in Congress accepted the doctrine that the
Constitution goes with the flag. started
TO act upon that undeniable principle. and
believe in it now.
When Mr. Mckinley sent his plain
duty message to Congress in December.
1899. he was fully convinced that free
trade could not be denied 10 Porto Rico
under the Constitution. His fugleman on
the floor of the House declared that it
could not because free trade had been
accorded TO every other State and Terri
tory, and to Alaska. not organized into
Territory The whole country is thor
oughIy advised on this point, as well as
on another Of sinister meaning. 1t is
aware that no change from plain duty to
fragrant perfdy' would have been thought
OF Il the trusts had not demanded it IN
der a threat of refusing subscriptions TO
the Presidential campaign corruption fund.
The people from one end Of the country to
the other know that Porto Rico was re-
dueed to the condition of a vassal colony
that il might be exploited and looted by
the trusts and monopolies and that this
deed of shame was accomplished in the
only way it could be. namely by violating
the plain letter of the Constitution.
In view of these facts of universal pub
lie knowledge, the Republican platforms of
the year. State and national, would only
render their makers and the party ride
ulous by any serious attempt to Justify
tlle Porto Rican iniquity or by pretending
TO view with alarm" the growth. meth
DDS. and offences OF the trusts. The Ad-
ministration and its masters and serfs
have created the Presidential issue of
the trusts against the Constitution"
which is to dominate the campaign of 1900.
They do not dare 10 meet 1t squsrely in
their platforms. and they Will not be able
to anywhere else Indeed, if a united
Democracy under competent leadership
,could be certainly assumed. the situation
~ which the Hanna Administration and
machine have placed themselves would de-
stroy the last hope of Republican success
In November