The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-04-03

buster, the sentiments and ambitions.
II not the talents, of Diaz. To him,
a little thing like treating an admiral
OF tn, navy, wearing the laurel leaves
OF lmperishable renown, as if he were
a baby in arms, now to be dawtlled
and now to be spanked, is merely an
undress affair begun aud ended dur
ing o1f-moments between breakfast
anu luncheon. To him the reprimand-
ing OF the acknowledgement of the
army, grown gray in the fighting of the
battles of his country becomes an anus
| ing horse play, meant to relax his
muscles and illustrate his high might
iness, whilst warning lesser oflicsrs of
the army to obey orders and say moth
ing.
+" AS these things go forward, par
taxing somewhat OF the character of
1eats to divert and blinds to hoodwlnk
public opinion, bill of army re-
organization is prepared and urged
upon Congress, which, if it becomes q
law, will make the power of the Presi-
dent absolute, and which it is not too
much to say ought to be entitled An
act TO make the President of the United
States military Dictator Because
the reprimanded lieItenant-general,
answering the summons of committee
OF Congress--as was his duty-ex-
presses an opinion adverse to this bill.
1t is proposed to retire him from the
service. Taken in connection with
some other matters of more or less
sinister suggestion, these are menaces
OF most ominous import.
But, turn from the White House
to the capitol, and look at the Republi-
cans in Congress. The trail of the
trade mark is over them all. Old high
tariff dances the can-can IN the House.
whilst old ship subsidy does the regu-
iation cake walk in the Senate. Every
thing for the syndlcates. Nothing for
the people. And, not content with
their arbitrary power in the White
House and their mercenary power in
Congress, the leaders of this party of
Federalism and false pretension would
rip open Pandora's box to filch thence
the black, piratical flag of negro DOM
ination-the equally disreputable and
bloody shirt Of sectional agitation
and, In order to make sure of the next
House they are proposing to bring for
ward another Force bill to smite the
South, to blight the North, and to con-
vert land teeming with love and
peace into land reeklng with hate
and strife. Such is the banquet to
which the exit of Mckinley, the states
man, and the advent of Roosevelt, the
Rough Rider, has invited us.
am something of lingo myself.
L believe in the expanding greatness
and glory Of my country. l never see
the flag floating above the dome on
yonder capitol that my heart does not
throb with the proud, glad thought
that my eyes do not fill with happy ex-
ultant tears-that l, too, an am .Amerl-
can citizen.
God bless the flag, and God bless
the boys that fight beneath it. | would
carry it inviolate, and | would keep
them spotless. And with this in view,
Wadt to know what is going on away
out yonder across the multitudlnous.
the mysterious waves of the Pacific
sea. l want other witnesses than self
seeking politicians and self-exploiting
soldiers to come here and tell me. /
refuse to hold my tongue. l refuse to
rest content. And, if / am told by a
whippersnapper in shoulder straps
that, unlest do, / am traitor to nv
country, my reply TO him shall be a slap
in the face.
Friends, brothers, Democrats, let
us have done with dissension. Let us
turn our backs on the past our eyas to
the future, calling against 'these t.ings
ls my comrade, no matter what he
thinks or ever thought about silver or
gold. who would deny me place
by his side to fight them must be either
very perverse or very blind. Let us
cross no bridges till we come to thutn.
But already we can see far enough
ahead to take our reckoning.
There will be but one test of a
Democrat in 1904-toe the line--toe
the line, saying to arbitrary power and
absolutlsm, thou shalt go no further;
we, too, are in the expansion business,
but our expansion is for the religion
OF the constitution no less than for
tlie religion of Christ and Him cruel
lied; our expansion means peace, not
war; the honor, not the degradation of
The flag; aud just as surely as Jeffer-
son wrote the Declaration of Indepen-
dence and Jackson fought the battle of
New Orleans to resist despotism shall
we make new Fourth of July and
celebrate another Eighth of January,
in resisting this unrighteous scheme
/ to abolish the constitution and Mexi-
canize the government"
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