Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-07
THE PORTO RicAN BILL.

In taking issue with the Inter Mount !
ain on the Porto Rican question. the
Anaconda Standard this morning de-
votes half a column to an exploitation
of the alleged ignorance displayed in
these columns, only to finally concede
the very point which we made. 1t says:
When it is said that they are American
citizens, it does not follow that they
must necessarily be admitted into the
union as a state, or even at once given
a territorial organization. Those are
matters strictly within the control of
congress, and neither status will be given
until the conditions are deemed to JUS
tify it.
Very true. That is the precise ground
taken by the Inter Mountain in touching
upon the Porto Rican bill on the 9Th in
slant. 1t has required forty-eight hours
of hard thinking for the Standard to find
out that the following statement made
in these columns is correct:
The privileges conferred upon our citi-
zens by act of congress can be conferred
on the inhabitants Of newly acquired ter
ritory only by a similar act of congress.
When the laws defining citizenship We're
enacted they had reference to conditions
existing or current, not to situations of a
foreign character.
The republicans insist that it lies with
in the purview Of congress to regulate
commercial and other questions in which
the United States and it's acquired terri
tory are Jointly interested: the demo-
Gratis claim that under the treaty of
peace which gave us the ownership Of
such territory, the Inhabitants naturally
fall into all the rights and privileges
guaranteed under existing federal laws.
But when the Standard admits that the
acquisition of territory does not neces-
sarily imply either admission into the
union or even a territorial organization,
adjusting matters as it may deem proper
under the circumstances it comedies the
contention made by the republican party.
If it lies within the power of congress
to regulate the status of acquired terri
tory, it follows that congress must de-
fine it's relations to the United States.
Because free trade exists between the
several "states'' Of the union. it does not
necessarily follow that acquired terri
tory, that has not been admitted as a
state or given a territorial form of gov
eminent, is entitled to commercial regu-
lations of that character, either from a
business or Humanitarian standpoint.
Hence, the contention against the Porto
Rican bill falls to the ground, except as to
any question of morals that may be in
volved. Such a question. however, is
barred by the fact that the commercial
relations between Porto Rico n the
United States will be vastly more adj
vantageous to the Porto Ricans than the
regulations which existed before the
transfer of their territory from the own
ership of Spain. The inhabitants of that
island have lost nothing and have gain
ed much through the fortunes of war.
The revenues provided for in the new bill
will come out of the tobacco trust chiefly,
anu are devoted to the upbuilding of the
schools in Porto Rico n to the internal
improvements of the island. The bill is
prefaced by the following, which settles
the questions of it's morals:
Whereas, The people of Porto Rico
have been deprived of markets for a
large portion Of their products. and have
lest property and crops py severe and
unusual storms, whereby they are i'm
poverished, and are unable to pay inter-
nal revenue and direct taxes; and,
Whereas, Temporary revenue is neces>
sary for their schools. their roads and
their internal improvements, and the adj
ministration of their government, now,
therefore," etc.
From any standpoint the democratic
contention against the bill falls to the
ground of it's own weight. The Standard
objects to the illustration used by the
Inter Mountain relative to the freeing OF
the slaves, affirming that the cases are
not parallels This paper did not cite the
emancipation Of the slaves as a parallel
case, but as an illustration of the gen.
eral fact hat legislation is required tc
define the status of people coming within
the. SOVEREIGNTY Of the government unde,
Observation-Disclosures to which laws
already enacted do not apply. e
that papers learned exhibit of what II
doe not know about the emancino+;o