The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-21

! tory Of Porto Rico as foreign commerce 10
! treated exactly as We would have wished.
! The Lincoln platform says:
I've condemn the Porto Waau tariff bill. re-
craty passed by a Republican House Of Repre-
s-ytst.1cs. as a bold and open violation Of the
nation, organic lau. and a hagtant breach Of
good faith.
I've assert that the Constitution follows the
Tag. and denounce the doctrine that an ENecu-
tive or tauCrcss. created and limited hy 500"
Constitution, can exercise lawful authority be-
scrd that Constitution or in violation OF it,
It would be difficult to put the Demo
cratic position in regard to this attempted
Republican crime against humanity. our
fundamental law and our public honor
more clearly or tOrcibly It is time that
the issue should be taken up with stern de-
termination and settled. It is so. all the
more because the course Of tho Admins
tyajicn in the Porto Rican iniquity has
been VIGOROUSLY forced upon it by the
trusts against which the Lincoln platform
pledges its adherents TO wage unceasing
war" Neither the President nor any Of his
followers in Congress entertained the re-
hottest idea of breaking faith with the peo
PIE Of Porto Rico. or Of defyng the Con-
stitution, until they were ordered to do
both by the protected trusts interested in
eEtorting uEsarned and cruel tribute from
starving American community Mr.. Nc
kinley Sdmonishcd Congress. in his an
nual message, that our plain duty was to
give Porto Rico free trade; and his party
leader on the floor OF the House declared
a faq+ lao VIII
as il had been accorded to every other
State and Territory and to Alaska not Or
ganizsd into a Territory" Before the trust
magGates descended upon him and made
him swallow his convictions and eat his
Official words, President Mckinley would
have been the last man in America to as
sert that the Constitution does not follow
the flag,
Whatever he may choose to say on the
point now, ii does follow It. but not as fast
as the trusts follow the Constitution. and
under Republican national control. root it
up and trample upon it. We have wit
messed the abased seryility of the Admins
tration and the Republican Congress to the
trusts in matters other than the attempted
Porto Rican crime What would our
fathers. or what would even the next pr
ceding generation Of Americans, have
thought OF a Treasury official who should
place himself in intimate relations with
the most oppressive and obnoxious mOnOp-
oily in the country and give it the free use
CT the public revenues for gain, TO the
amount Of more than hundred million
dollars But the people are forced to real
ize that an Administration and a party
owned. controlled. and operated by an
olgarehy of trusts and monopolies will not.
and perhaps could not stop at any offence
against Constitution. law. honor honesty.
or decency which their masters might de-
mand at their hands. The only possible
way to reach the trusts is through the de-
struction Of the great political machine
they have built up.
As the Lincoln platform well states it.
We welcome the opportunity offered this
year to take the Federal Government out
Of the hands CT the Republican party,
which has abandoned American ideas and
Americans ideals" Upon such a decllra-
ton of principles and purposes as we can
assume that the platform of the National
Convention will be. a united Democracy
can 20 before the American people with
confidence. and ought to achieve a sweep
ing victory.