The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-10-09
COOLEY DEFINES IMPERIALISM

1851 did not resolve themselves into
an Empire, but they became the vic
Tins of Imperialism all the same
Porto Rico and the Philippines are
governed today by an imperial policy.
Againt Mark Hanna's idea of imperial
ism let us place Cooley's in his work on
Constitutional Law" He says:
when territory is acquired the
right of sovereign States to be formed
therefrom and to receive them into
the Union must follow of course, not
only because the Constitution confers
the power to admit new States with
out restriction, but because it would
be inconsistent with institutions
founded on the fundamental idea of
that the Federal Gov
eminent should retain territory under
its imperial rule and deny the people
the customary local institutions.
If this is a correct definition, we
have already entered upon policy of
imperialism and militarism. The Sun,
after making the above quotation
from Cooley, shows clearly that inn
perialism is practical and living
question. We quote:
"Unhappily since the discussion in Con-
gress over the Porto Rican Tariff bill
and President McKinley's remarkable
gyrations when from declaring it our
plain uty' to give Porto Rico free trade
he Topped over, at the bidding of the
trusts, to the advocacy of 10 per cent
tariff, too little attention has been be-
slowed by the general public upon the
affairs of that island. This neglect is
felt keenly by the people of Porto Rico,
and an article in the Diario de Porto
Rico, published on the anniversary of the
supposed union of the island with the
United States, gives expression to the
poDular feeling The article is entitled
why We Abstained from Joining in the
Celebration'-that is, of the anniversary
in question The American officials and
hangers-on of the carpetbag government
set up by Mr.. Mckinley appear to have
celebrated The Porto Ricans did not
and could not because, as the Diario
plainly puts it, their condition is worse
today, physically, morally and politically,
than at any time under Spanish rule.
Then they were comparatively happy and
free; now they are very far from happy
and feel that they have been despoiled
of what liberty they had, instead of
having liberty bestowed upon them.
Formerly the people of Porto Rico elected
three Senators and fifteen Representa-
tives to the Spanish Cortes in Madrid;
now they have taxation, but without rep
resentation in the American Congress
ri
local council whose resolutions, says the
Diario, were always sanctioned by the
Governor now they have an Executive
Council, appointed at Washington, ma
iority of whom are not natives of the
island, but baggers-'persons, says
the Diario, not born here, who enjoy
no standing whatever in the island, and
will naturally interest themselves more
for the country appointing them than for
the region meeting their salaries. The
Government offices of Porto Rico, says
the same journal, were formerly occu
pied by Porto Ricans; now the offices
are occupied by the favorites of the Re-
public Administration at Washington.
Thus the money paid these officers for
salaries leaves the island. Not only"
is this the case, but these officers are
drawing comparatively very large salaries,
which they themselves practically fix
what Russia has done in Poland and
is now doing in Finland our Republican
Administration, from sheer desire, per-
haps, to initiate that imperial model, is
doing in Porto Rico. Formerly says the
Dario, we had an official language under
the Government of Spain by which we
could make ourselves understood by the
homo Government; now we have an of
fetal language which we neither know nor
can ever learn. The Spanish courts did
not enjoy the best reputation in the world,
but, says the Diario, we had no courts
which were so despotic in their opera
tion that they are today called by the
people of Porto Rico Holy Inquisitional
courts After a long list of grievances
not known under Spanish rule, which we
have not space to republish her Ca trans
lation of the Diario's article appeared in
the Sun of August 80 our contemporary
concludes with a reference to the noto
rious and disgraceful fact that the Porto
Ricans are denied the privileges of citi
Zens of the United States. They are a
people without a country They do not
form part of the nation to which they
belong We have been granted nothing,
says the Diario, of which we were prom
ised, and our condition is that of slaves
adscript to the SOIL And yet, the Hon.
Mark Hanna, and a chorus of ignorance
blind partisanship and folly repeats after
him, imperialism is a bugaboo.
A special correspondent of the Bal