Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-08-31
Ex-senator Edmunds for McKipl,,.

Although sun Against Etpan,iop. II.
says the Democratic Position ia Ia
tensbIe, and IL Is Not a Tim. f,, ~.
Country 10 Take Any Chance. W,u,
BryRnism.
Ex-senator George f. Edmunds Vlot,
| passing few days at the Fabyan Uo..ai IN
/ the White Mountains, said in an interview
| there last Monday that while still oyuY.a3
| to expansion as a national policy. l4 IA.
| vored the reelection of Mckinley. uUbad
the Presidents course in sending an army
| to China without the authorization of Con.
| gress, on the ground that the emergency
demanded prompt action, and pronounced
the plank in the Democratic platform deal.
ing with imperialism inadequate and not
likely to be lived up to.
at is pretty well settled" he said
! speaking of the presidential candidates
THAT we will have either Mckinley or
Bryan, and would be unwilling to trust
the country to the men that Bryan has
around him."
81 do not think anybody can criticise
the President in regard to his course in
! China, but, on the contrary, he should be
commended" "While, strictly speaking
his act was unconstitutional, be had to face
an emergency, and there was no question
that in sending an army TO China be knew
that Congress would ratify his action The
American minister and other American
citizens were in peril and prompt ac-
ton was necessary; there was only one
thing to do. 1t was one of those occasions
when we must make departures, as. for in.
stance, in the case of a great calamity in
our own country-a fire OF flood, perhaps
the government has provided for the SUI
ferers from army stores. 1t has no legal
right to do this, but in such cases no OBJ.
lection could be raised, and there are moral
obligations to fulfil.
PERSONALLY, although against expansion,
l believe the good of the country demands
the reelection of President Mckinley. I
suppose expansiOnism is his greatest vice,
and | do not really know that be is an ex-
pansiOnst.
ION the other hand, take, for instance.
that despatch naming Altgeld for the SUI.
preme court. | suppose it is untrue, bu.
at the same thine ii sets one thinking Of
what is likely to happen. Altgeld may be
honest; Bryan may be honest; believe.
for that matter that the majority Of An
archists are honest, but it is the ideas they
have and which they may try to carry out
that makes them unsafe. They are too
visionary
"Do you think that in the event of Bry.
ans election he could carry out his ideas
in regard to silver?" '"That is something
on which no chances should be taken.
There are millions of dollars worth of out.
standing government bonds payable in sill
yer, and with one of Bryan's followers as
secretary of the treasury we do not know
what might happen.
I'm regard to trusts, the country will be
as well off under one party as another.
! Combinations of men cannot be broken
| We may harness them and in a measur,
control them, but men will continue to com
bine for mutual interests, and you cannot
stop them.
| mo, combinations of men for business
purposes is not party question. They
will all stay together, just as labor unions
vote one way when the interests of theil
members are involved. l believe, however
that trusts might be controlled in meas
ure by proper administration. 1t is mat
ter for the attorney-generars office. The
present law is a good one, and he should
see that it is enforced"
With regard to the Bryan issue of i'm
! perialism Mr.. Edmunds said he regarded
the declaration of the Democratic platform
as inadequate. 81 do not believe that il
Mr.. Bryan is elected he will throw over the
Philippines The platform offers protec
ton 10 the Filipino, but that is not enough
THE Philippine Islands belong to the
| United States by all rules of international
/ law; they are ours; We bought and paid
| for them, and the inhabitants of those isl
/ ands are citizens or subjects of the United
States just as surely as you and | are. Ny
| idea is that year ago We might have sale
to the Filipinos; You stop fighting and
we will stop; you set up a government
and we will see that you are protected, but
on condition that you shall not make a
treaty with any other power, except it has
first been submitted to and approved by the
United States. l believe the Filipnos
would have accepted a proposition of that
kind. As for throwing them over as the
Democratic platform proposes, l am op.
posed to any such proposition. If we should
do that l firmly believe that within at most
three years the islands would be in the pos
session of England, Germany or Spain,
and should not like to see that.
"With Cuba it would be different, for
the island is near to us, and in case of any
trouble we could easily assert ourselves"
Our Next Step In China.
Z ", 7 n