Potosi journal. (Potosi, Mo.) 1894-1929, 1900-05-02
More hnti-lmperialist Illusions.

More hnti-lmperialist Illusions.
Somebody OF other has been fool
ing one of our old ''anti-impcrial-
lists" friends some more. 1.-The
one hnmiliating fact confronting
the American Government and
people in this matter of dealing
with the Porto Ricans," says the
St. Louis Republic, sis that we
have deliberately broken our SOL
emn pledge to that people. When
Gen. Miles, commanding the army
Of invasion, landed in Porto Rico
he issued, in the name of the Unit
ed States Government, an official
proclamation formally promising
the Porto Ricans that they should
onjoy all the rights and privileges
of American citizenship
Whist would the guilcless Repub-
lie have said if it had been in St.
Louis nincty-six or nincty-scven
years ago when its party broke a
pledge to the people of this locality
which was made not merely by an
officer of its armies, but by the
treaty of session: Messrs. Chou
teau. Music, Provcnchere, Gratiot,
Caulk and the rest of the represcn-
tatives of St. Louis and of the
remainder of Upper Louisiana, or
the District of Louisiana, as it was
called at the time, set forth, in a
protest to Congress, that the third
article of the Franco-American
treaty Of ccssion of 1903 provided
that the inhabitants ''of the ceded
territory shall be incorporated in
the Union of the United States.
and admitted as soon as possible,
according to the principles of the
federal constitution, to the enjoy
ment of all the rights, advantages
and immunities of citizens of the
United States" The way that the
Republics party carried out this
pledge, which was made by treaty,
was, as the St. Louis protestants
set forth, by turning them over to
the care Of the government of a
territory Qndiana) on the east side
of the Mississippi, whose officials
neither knew or tried to learn any
thing about the needs of their St.
Louis subjects.
Here is where the bathos of our
anti-imperialist" friends lamen-
tations comes in. To the innocent
Republic this failure of Congress
to carry into immediate effect a
promise made by an Amer
lean army officer to the inhabitants
of Porto Rico is a crime which has
had no PARALLEL in this country.
1t forgets the violation of a treaty
pledge which Jefferson and the
Democratic party committed ia
this locality when they made its in
habitants dependency of terri
tory which did not want them and
never took any especial pains to
find out anything about them.
This is one Of the differences be-
tween the Porto Rican case and
that of the St. Louisans and other
Louisianians of 1904. Another
difference is that the st. Louisans
themselves we're doing the CON-
planning then, as they ought to
have done, while the Porto Ricans
know enough to be satisfied with
| the treatment which they are get
ting now, and which they know
will be improved before long. II
is the corporal's gaurd Of maleon-
tents of the United States who are
doing all the lamenting which is
made in this particular case. The
poor ''anti-imperialists" kno "
nothing of what took place in the
United States yesterday OF tbe
day before. They imagine every
thing which happens now is entire
ly without precedent, and consc
quently their Mysteries contribute
to the gayety of nations.-Globe
l nomrcrot