The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-10-17


| States than in those in which organized.
He expressed conviction that we are
approaching a period of indus trial despo-
tism, "where a few men will control each
great branch of industry, when every
person who buys finished products will
buy at a trust price, where every person
who furnishes raw material will furnish
it at a trust price, and where every man
who works for wages will work for the
wages fixed by the trust"
Such a condition as this meant he
said, serfdom for the people, for a gov
eminent of the people, by the people
and for the people was impossible under
the reign of the trust.
/ Dwelling upon his remedy for trusts he
said he would squeeze the water out of
the stock. There would be a flood for
while" he declared, "but there would
be honest corporations afterward'
THE INCREASE OF THE ARMY.
Colonel BRYAN then called attention to
the increase of the standing army and
when he asked if we should have a large
army in the United States there were
several responses of NO" NO." from
the audience. He declared that the Pres
ident had made his request for an in
crease of the standing army from $4,000
to 100000 two months before war broke
out in the Philippine Islands.
"Was it, he asked, because they
knew there was to be war? Was it be-
cause they knew Imperialism, war, and
bloodshed would come, or did they want
the army whether they had war or not?"
He declared that Republicans desired
the standing army for both foreign and
domestic reasons.
81 believe he said, repeating previous
utterances, that one of the reasons why
they want a large army is to build fort
in every large city and use the army to
suppress by force that discomfort that
ought to be cured by legislation" IF,
he continued, "the increase of the army
was intended to maintain an imperial
policy there could be no justification for
it on that ground, because the people
had never voted for an imperial policy
In substantiation of his assertion that
the Democrats were not raising scare
crow Colonel Bryan referred to the Porto
Rican legislation of the last session of
Congress as proof OF what people say. He
declared that this legislation was based
upon European ideas and not upon Ameri-
can principles. According to that docu-
ment, he said, President is bigger than
the Constitution. And then Colonel Bry
an exclaimed
Beware my friends, of a President
when he becomes greater than the Con-
stitution. There is no place where you
can draw the line: it will become all
President and no Constitution"
THE PHILIPPINE QUESTION.
Quoting the Republican platform as to
the disposition to be made of the Filipinos
he said:
''Who is to decide their welfare? We.
Who is to decide our duty? We What
has the Filipino to do with it? Nothing
at all. They do not dare to defend that
plank, and / am afraid before this cam
paign is over that they will try to prove
that it was not written by the Republic
can convention at all, but that it was put
in there BIZ someone who had no au-
thoritY'
He said his reason for expressing this
opinion was the fact that the ratification
of the peace treaty had been placed at
his door He then took up the question
of his connection with the ratification of
the treaty and said that the Republicans
could not find a Senator who would say
that he had voted for it because he (Mr.
Bryan had favored it. and continued;
But l can prove by Senator Wellington,
Republican, that without his vote it
would not have been ratified. that he
would not have voted for it. but for the
fact that the President promised him that
the Philippine Islands would not be held
permanently
Colonel Bryan then declared that he
was willing to assume the responsibilities
for the ratification CT the treaty if the
Republicans would take the responsibility
for the treaty themselves and for what
had happened since. "The President is
responsible for that he said, land if he
had given to the Filipinos the same as
surances of independence that he gave
to the Cubans not a gun would have been
fired IN Manila and those people would
have been our friends today
BRYAN AND THE TREATY.
Colonel Bryan then explained his reason
for supporting the ratification of the
treaty-saying that if it had been reject
ed the matter would still have been in
the hands of the President, so far as
this country was concerned, that he be-
lieved it better to ratify the treaty and
leave Americans to deal with the Filipinos
than to have the Spaniards deal with
them. He declared that the treaty had
not conferred upon the United States the
title to the Philippines and said
1--WE can now do what the Republican
party ought to have done, and our plat
form declares that we shall do. l have
said that the first act of my administra-
tion will be to call Congress together and
ask it to do now what it ought to have
done a year and half ago." This senti
ment was applauded
Colonel Bryan accused the Republican
party of desire to evade the Philip
pine question and said that that party
was SO sordid that it desired to put the
dollar above the man and make money
more precious than human life. If we
had any title to the Filipinos it was
title based on force and such a title was
not good according to American ideas.
The Filipinos were not desired by any
one as citizens and the Democrats did
not intend that they should be made sub
| jects. Therefore, he continued, we say
| let them stand under their own flag and
bouo thoir own oOvprnmont ho