The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-08-03
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., July 30th.

MIR. EDITOR:-FOr the flrSt time pfonl- |
ncnt officials are willing to admit the prob
ability of an extra session of Congress |
having to be called to deal with the Chi |
nese situation With all his assumptions
of imperial authority Mr.. Mckinley will !
not dare to declare war, and Il declaration
of war upon China 10y the other powers
whose citizens have been killed may be
expected any day. 1t has been limited that |
Mr. Mckinley would withdraw American |
troops if the other powers declare war
against China and let the foreigners do all
the fighting, but the American people will
have something to say about that. The
murder of number OF American mission
aries has been fully authenticated, and the
people are only waiting for authentic news
of the fate of the American minister and
other Americans in Pekin who are be-
lieved also to have been murdered. When
they know that the people will let MIR. Nc
Kinley know their will as they did about
the war with Spain and he and Congi css
will obey as they did then.
The fact that an officer of the Cuban
Military Government-Majo r E. I. Laid,
Treasurer, should have given out an in
terview in Washington against the with
drawal OF the United States troops from
Cuba and the fitness of the Cuhans for
sclf-government, with the usual rot about
the "bettcr classes" being in favor of per-
manent American control of the island,
strengthens the suspicion that the an
nourced withdrawal of the United States
from Cuba was made for effect in the
political campaign in this country rather
than with the intention of being carrie q
out in good faith. 1t is not cun' eIvablc
that a subordinate army officer would have
allowed himself to be publicly quoted, as
Major Ladd has done, if he had not known
that his sentiments were those held by his
official superiors.
The tendency of this administration to
follow the imperialistic policy of govern
meut without Congressional authority W.
again emphasized by the ann ouncemenl
cabled from Manufacturing news of what
our government is doing from foreign
| capitals is not pleasing to the average
American, although it has become quite
prominent under the Mckinley regime
that this government had offered Spain
| 800, 900 for the two islands of the Philip
| pine group which were not covered by the
| boundary line named in the treaty of peace
| with Spain. 1t is the theory of this gov
eminent that the Executive branch can
pay out 10 money that has not been spe
| officially appropriated by Congress for
particular purpose but that theory has
been departed from several times under
the present administration, beginning
with the lump sum of $50,000,000 placed
at Mr.. McKinley's disposal to prepare for
the war with Spain. That departure was
| justitiabe under the circumstances an
was authorized by the unanimous vote o!
Goa gress, but there have been other de-
partures which were neither justitiable nor
authorized, and this offer to purchase
more islands is one Of them. 1t was known
last winter that Spain had laid claim to
those two islands, but instead of referring
the matter to Congress the administration
announced that Spain had been notified
that its claim would not be recognized.
That was supposed to have ended the
matter, until the Spanish government in
formed the world that this government
had offered to pay $500, 900 for the islands
If Congress was not republican in both
branches and thoroughly dominated by
the imperial administration it would call
down this unconstitutional usurpation of
authority and demand to know from what
fund this 800, 000 is to be taken. There
is an emergency fund at the disposal of
the administration, but it is certain that
those who voted TO appropriate it never
contemplated the use of any portion of it
for the purchase Of islands If this re-
public is to be preserved a. established
government must be put in power that
will follow the prccepts laid down by the
Constitution, which the democratic plat
form pledges Bryan and Stevenson to do.
Senator Vest was right when he declared
that the great issue of this campaign was
republic or empire, with the democratic
party standing for the republic and the
republican party standing for the empire.
lone of the results of Hanna's survey
of the situation" said one republican to
another, has been an urgent request from
him to the trust magnates and other large
employers of labor, who are under obliga-
tions to him for legislative favors, to keep
down labor troubles and to prevent strikes
| e., ~ ,,1,
H0O.;HVELT'S ACCEp
Governor Roosevelt, in ACCEPTING the
Republican nomination for the vice pres
idency, said: This is very much more
than Il mere party contest. We have
reached thc parting Of the ways
That is true, and the American people
have reason to thank Governor Roose-
welt for his words. The contest is, in
deed, much more than il mere parry one
1t is Il contest of the constitution against
uSurpation, of the people against oil
garcEv, If true repub.iclniSm against i'm,
peri ,i>m Of prri 'ti>m a. ii Il policy
that wou | wr.cN our Institutions
Indee |, also, have we reached the part
ing of the ways We mus. decide wheth
er the country is to continue as republic
and be re environcd with the safeguards
to peace, prosperity, stnl freedom the
| founders of oar systc n crecte |, or is 1t to
become an empire, DRIFT into the whirlpool
of foreign jealousies, and from then on be
cast hither and thither III the storm and
stress of eltanglins alliances 'iclmond
O. y Di>ptH
Tnerc is more Catarrh in this section of
the country than all other diseases put
| tOrcther and until the last few wears was