Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-04-25
A COLONIAL SECRETARY.
Promoters and Syndicates "Fixingss
to Get Things Under Their
Control.

! The reports which are proceeding
from Washington regarding the flu
ture of government in the Philippine.
plainly carry with them the earmark.
of their administration origin. Reat
between the lines they reveal pos
/ sib1e changes of far-reaching signifi
canoe in the prevailing notions as tt
the division of powers among the
several departments of the fedora
government.
From time to time we have heard
suggestions offered of new depart
ments to be added to those existing
and represented in the cabinet coun'
ellis of the president. But the only
addition made to the established di'
visions since the foundation of the
tary of agriculture. The elaboration
of the statements of the administra.
ton officials involved in ~so-called
press dispatches as to the needs OF
the government of the Philippines
leave little doubt that there is in
process of incubation a scheme to
| spring a new federal secretary on the
country and establish a new depart
ment of federal government.
The var department has now sole
control of the details of administra-
ton at Manila. There is the Taft
commission, of course; but up to
within a few days nobody paid the
slightest attention to that admins
tration tender. Since Gen. Funston
brought the Philippine instruction to
a virtual close the Taft commission
looms up into prominence, and with
it the question of the enduring basis
on which the conduct of the Philip
pine affairs shall be handled from
Washington. If there is no war there
can be no use for the war depart
ment in connection with the affairs
of the Tagalogs and the other of our
political brethren in the east.
What then can be more rational than
the creation of a colonial secretary?
They have one in England, you know,
and he is by no means a small admin
istrative potato. If we have to indulge
ourselves in the possession of colonies,
we will necessarily need a colonial
secretary in our business. This is evil
IDENTIFY the covert reasoning of our
rulers. They are plainly not yet in a
position to show their hands; and so,
the enormity of having the business of
such a vast aggregation of new lands
as the Philippines managed from the
war department after peace a been
declared is forcing itself on the official
mind with terrible pressure.
While the plans are being laid for
this new evolution in American consti-
tutional government it might be worth
the while of our great men at Wash
ington to reflect that the little opera
tions carried on some time in the di-
rection of fixing" the supreme court
by the appointment of those in whom
the members of that court have a
natural interest, may not prove as sue
cessful as some are disposed to antici-
pate. It is still among the possibilities
hat in spite of the promoters and
their s~yndicates the Philippines and
Porto Rico may be found to be in pre-
cisely the same constitutional classif-
cation as the Hawaiian islands, and
entitled to have their governors ap-
pointed otherwise than under the ex-
ercise of the dictatorial powers con-
ferred on the president in connection
with the government of those places.
st. Paul Globe.