The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-02-12
TREASONABLE NEVERTHELESS.

TREASONABLE NEVERTHELESS.
AS vas to be expected, the demo-
cratic newspapers are rushing to the
defense Of Wilcox, elected delegate to
congress from the Hawaiian islands,
against whom the charge is made that
because of reasonable utterances he
should not be allowed to occupy his
seat, if a delegate can be said to have
a seat. Wilcox is an ad%venturer and
Of fortune who has drifted
about the world and attached himself
to any and everybody of influence or
power willing to tolerate him. TAX
ing advantage of their prejudicies
he managed to have himself elected on
the ticket of the natives. To still
further strengthen his hold on them
he openly and repeatedly expressed
himself as opposed to this govern
ment and went so far as to write a
letter to Aguinaldo in which he
pledged his services to him. But he
did not go any further, lacking the
physical courage to expose himself to
the danger incident to the service
performance of which he SO bluntly
announced himself prepared to under
take.
His democratic defenders claim
that because he did not actually go to
the Philippines and join the Tagal
army the charge of treason made
against him falls. They overlook the
fact that all men who have been
traitors have not grasped sword or
shouldered gun and fought against the
country or nation that was the object
of their treason. History records
many instances of that kind in this
country. For cases of that sort it is
not necessary to go back any further
than the civil war. Record exists
of individuals who were arrested and
imprisoned for the very thing that
Wilcox is guilty Of. One Of those was
a man intimately connected with the
early history of at least three northern
states bordering on the Mississippi.
He had been a friend of jeff Davis
when that individual was an officer
in the army. When the rebellion be-
gan and Davis, took side with the
south the man referred to, then still
living in the north, offered the SER
| vices, not of himself, but of his sons to
the ~Confederacy. For this and the
letters he wrote to Davis he was ar
rested and i~ncarcerated in a military
prison on the charge of giving aid to
the enemy. Because of his former
services to the country and the infu-
ence he possessed he was not further
punished. The simple fact, however,
that the government took c%ognizance
of his acts to the extent that it did
shows that it did not consider it nee
essary to postpone action in his case
until he had joined the southern army
before he would be app ehended fol
treason. His case and that of the hal
caste Hawaiian are identical and i
merely cited to show that Wilcox j
guilty of treason, even though he dit
not enlist in Aguinaldo's army ant
beal arms against the government.
The Gazette is willing to admit tina
it is not likely that the charge will b
pressed against him to the extent o
an effort to deprive him of his right
, as delegate. This government an
particularly the present administrator
! are noted for their clemency to fellow
Of his kind. We're it otherwise sue
! men as Pettigrew would not be a.
:, lowed to sit in the halls of congress
t and daily utter the reasonable sent:
: ments they express. Under any othe
: government or any other administrs
: ton of this government they woul
Q be held accountable and instead of b'
9 ing permitted to act a lawmakers the
would be treated as lawbreaker
e violates Of the highest law Of tt
e land, and punished accordingly. Col
tempt FOR the government is
thoroughly ~ingrained in the averat
d democratic editor that hesnever mis-
e an opportunity to show it himself
IS applaud it when manifested /
another. The present instance on
It affords example of the act.
~ .-.
is Custer county may be rightful