Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1901-08-16

the antithesis OF free government. As
Mr.. Justice Harlan says: "The idea
that this country may acquire terri
tories anywhere upon the earth, by
conquest or treaty, and hold them as
mere colonies or provinces, and the
people inhabiting them to enjoy only
such rights as Congress chooses to &C.
cord them, is wholly inconsistent with
the spirit and genius as we'll as with
the words OF the Constitution"
In organized society there is no lib.
erty that is not constitutional liberty
Even in America, where we have only
to fear the abuse of power by our own
fellow-citizens, we all rely on constitu.
tions, national and State, to protect
our rights. We cannot conceive an
American community without these
safeguards. Do not the inhabitants OF
Luzon need against us the protection
that we need against ourselves? II
has ever been the American method to
incorporate acquired territory with
representations; it is now proposed to
revert to the Roman method and hold
conquered territory by force without
representation. This policy which we
oppose gives to the Filipinos and Porto
Ricans no constitutional rights, no
American citizenship, no hope of state.
hood, no voice in the Congress which
rules them; it leaves them without a
country, the subjects of republic.
To believers in free government this
policy is mOnstrOus.
"Let it be remembered" said the
Continental Congress, "that it has
ever been the pride and boast of Amer.
ica that the rights for which she con-
tended were the rights of human ma
ture." When this country denies to
millions Of men the rights which we
have ever claimed, not only for our
selves, but for all men. its policy is sui.
cidal. AZ Lincoln said: "Those who
deny liberty to others deserve it not
themselves, and under a just God can
not long retain it." Indifference to
liberty anywhere breeds indifference
to liberty everywhere. No man can
defend despotic methods abroad and
long retain his loyalty to democracy
at home. The common speech OF
those who support our new policy gives
us daily examples of this truth. We
cannot have citizens and subjects un-
der the came flag. "A house divided
itself cannot stand" For
" Laws of changeless justice bind oppressor
with oppressed,
And close as sin and suffering joined we march
to fate abreast"
We insist that constitutional liberty
shall be the inalienable right of every
man who owes allegiance to our flag !;
that freedom shall belong to man and
not to place; that our constitution
shall be no respector of persons, colors
or races; that it shall recognize the
equal rights Of all. Ours is the policy
of liberty. Ours is the cause for which
tho American revolution was fought
and which triumphed again in the
civil war. 1t is the cause of human
freedom now threatened in the house
OF its friends. 1t makes little differ
ence under what name We rally to its
support. Daniel Webster said:
Arbitrary governments may have
territories and distant possessions be-
cause arbitrary governments may rule
them by different laws and different
systems. We can do no such
thing. They must be OF us, part of us,
or else strangers"
With Benjamin Harrison, we are
" unable to rejoice in the acquisition
Of lands and mines and forests and
commerce, at the cost Of the abandon.
ment of the old American idea that q
government of absolute powers is an
intolerabls thing. and, under the Con.
stitution OF the United States, an i'm.
possible thing" We agree with him
that this view twill not limit the
power of territorial expansion; but it
will lead us to limit the use of that
power to regions that may safely be.
come part OF the United States, and to
peoples whose American citizenship
may be allowed"
We urge all lovers of freedom to Or
ganize in defense Of human rights now
threatened by the greatest free govern
ment in history. Even if our govern
ment may exercise arbitrary power
over millions of men in disregard. of
the Constitution-which we deny-it
can never be right for it to exercise
such power. Right is higher than
might. Let every citizen study the
facts and make his conclusion known,
combining with his neighbor to infiu.
ence Congress to stand true to the
principles of the Declaration by which
this government was founded and un-
der which it has grown 80 great. The
gravest danger our country has known
till now has come from q denisl of
those principles. The incoming Con-
gress is not yet committed to the pol
icy Of incorporating the island peoples
into our system without rights. Let
it resume its place in the government:
in defense OF the inalienable rights Of
man.
We appeal from those who for the
moment exercise the power of the ma