The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-05-19

opposed to his election.
The Sun concludes rs article referred to
with the following passage:
at is the plain duty Of the Kansas City
platform makers. unless they mean TO
make Mr.. Mckinley present OF his re-
election before the campaign begins TO
turn their faces 10 the rising sun and their
hacks 10 the dead-and-done-for issue OF
1886, for which there certainly can be no
resurrection this year. Sufficient unto
every national election are the natural
issues thereof. The natural issues OF 1900
are so plainly in sight that there can be no
excuse for mistaking them Shall the re-
public live on under the Constitution the
fathers made for It, or shall it give place
to an empire with dependencies, colonies
and subject satrapies scattered over dis
tant seas and ruled on despotic principles,
without the consent of taelr peoples2 That
Is one OF the living Issues. And another is
this: Shall the thousand and one trusts
run the government TO suit themselves
and fill their. own pockets. robbins the
people at every turn by fixing extorionate
prices on all the necessities Of their daily
life and defying the people to find any
relief or redress. either by State laws or
Federal laws, or shall the people resume
control of their own government and COM
pei the trusts to be honest and just?
'These are the two living questionable
Republic rs. the Empire: the Monopoies
rs. the People All others are either dead
or of minor Importance"
1t is, of course. wise for the Democratic
party to frame its platform SO as to make
i: suit the living issues OF the day. but has
the Sun happily pnrased those issuesz We
do not think that the American people are
ptn3
they shall live on under the Constitution
the fathers made for them or shall 1t give
place to an empire with dependencies, colo
MES and subject satrapies scattered over
distant seas and ruled on despotic princi-
pies without the consent Of their peoples?
The case has not gone that far yet, but
Hannaism and McKinleyism have set up
sort OF theory and condition at wash
ington that the government OF this country
is 10 be administered in the interest and
for the benefit of certain petted and ia
yored= classes and individuals, and that
theory, unless promptly reprobated by tae
people. might lead on to such q state OF
affairs as the Sun suggests. But no SUCH
condition has yet arisen, and wnen the
people are appealed to TO condemn mat
condition. many will respond that they
would condemn 1t if it were before them,
but that they will not condemn the fhliip-
pine war Tor the restoration OF order
whether Mckinley may hereafter develop
dangerous tendencies of the sort pointed
GU: or not. TIE platform should therefore
confine itself to a denunciation OF The
sordid and corrupting tendencies that the
Mckinley administration has developed,
without undertaking to define these ten
denotes as the Sun defines them. for there
are many voters ready to denounce Nc
Ilinleyism who will by no means concede
that the present condition OF affairs neces-
sarly involves Imperialism.
Nor are we any better pleased with the
Suns programme in regard to trusts. I:le
Sun is as rampant upon that subject as
the widest Populist- 1t seems to US,
therefore, that the Sun should throw up
its hat over the amendment to the Consul
tuition which Republican congressman now
propose and that ii and all OF its fellow
Democrats who agree with it should in
sist in nlacing that amendment to the Con-
stitution in the Democratic platform, tor
that proposed amendment goes to the root
of the matter and will certainly place it
within the power of Congress to break up
and scatter TO the winds any organization
of capital which any wild-eyed Populst
may choose 10 designate as trust; and
If the business is TO be gone into in Tue
suns spirit then it should be gone into
effectively and in a way that will relieve
the country from the curse that the Sun
thinks the trust imposes upon it. But when
the Sun Becomes an advocate Of this
amendment to the Constitution we want
to hear what It has got to say for pre-
serving local rule and self-government to
our separated communities. Wien it can
show us how these can be preserved con-
s!stently with power in the central gov
eminent to do what the Sun wants to see
it do, we shall then be prepared TO offer
some new suggestions for the Suns con-
SideratiOn.