Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1903-11-26
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 26, 1903.
NEeAyloN AND OBSTRUCTION.

N@1fN@ sON fNiNS wv ~ tN'N'
Occasionally Southern Democratic ouru.
as become aroused TO the fact that their
party Is one OF negeuon and obstructi l.;
and then they raise q cly that 1t must he.
COM initiative and constructive fl ever
expec.s,to win the confidence and support
of The people. But as soon as the Repub-
lican party or Republican Admin
slrsiioa springs some new question or
introduces any new policy which is calcu.
lated 10 advance the commercial and
political interests Of The nation there IL a
return TO The practice Of negation and Oh
s.luction. We have recently had stink
Ing illustration Of dis in the attitude Which
certain Of our Democratic exchanges haye
occupied toward President Roosevelt for
his treatment of the Panama Canal
question and the new republic of the
I.thmus. Among these We find our es.
teemed contemporaries tine Norfolk Yir-
ginlau-Piot aod tbe Richmond News
Leader. Both of them claim to be simon
pure Jeffersonian Democratic journals.
And both of them. If we mistake not, are
advocates Of tie joctriue of expansion,
which doctrine Mr. Bryan and many Of
the leaders have called imperialism Ony
contemporaries have been criticising the
conduct Of the President very severely;
and it is amusing to see how they dih,r in
their conclusions as to the part PLAYED by
Mr.. Roosevelt in connection with the
secession Of Panama from the Uni ed
States Of Colombia. 1t seems that before
Panama seeded the President had pre-.
pared a message to be sent to Congress 10
which he expressed the opinion that it
was the duty Of our Government TO OBJ
tain from Colombia the privilege Of build
ing a canal across the Isthmus by paving
fairly f,r it, and that if the offer was re-
jected We ought - take possession Of the
Isthmus and construct the canal by force,
ifnec .ssary.
Before CongrCs. met, however, Panama
seeded from Colombia and SCI no a
governmen. Of its own; and the President
had to change or re-Grite bis message to
suit situation. The Democrats then
charged that the Administration had been
guilty of gross misconduct in secretly aid
ing and encouraging Panama to secede
from Colombia. In reiutatiOn of these
charges parts of the original message that
was intended to be sent to Congress were
given TO the public.
Speaking of this the News Leader Of the
1Cth inst said:
This seems to scquit President Noose-
welt Of having stirred up or secretly aided
the secession.o of the State of Panama. 1t
indicates that if anybody in our govern.
ment had anything to do with the se, sion
it was somebody who had more sense and
more regard for the decencies Of iuterI
nationa intercourse than the president"
We pu5lisl in another column ting en-
tire editorial, Roosevelt Supplies An
Is ue, of The News Leader to let ouf read
ers se3 what our contemporary thinks is
trueT regard for the decencies of inter-
national intercourse.
The Virginian-PIot of the 18th inst,
wiring about the same matter, says:
And so it appears that Mr.. Roosevelt
in his message to the regular session Of
Congress was going to boldly advocate tine
seizure of the Isthmus of Panama by force
and the construction of the canal despite |
Colombia's protest. We commend that
valOrons and highly moral announcement
TO those of our contemporaries who have
been asserting that Mr.. Roosevelt had no
finger in the secession of PaLama and has |
~1orne himself throughout meek and /
benevolent statesman should"
See how these two Democratic papers
diger in their deductions as to what a
certain fact proves. One says it scquits
the President Of the charge Of cOnniying
at the secession Of Panama; the other de.
clares that 1t proves his guilt. They both,
however, condemn him for SUGGESTING that
the United States ought to take possession
Of the Isthmus by force, if the concession
for constructing the canal could not be
secured by purchase. la condemnlng and
denouncing President Roosevelt for the
position he has taken our Democratic con-
femporAies have laid themselves open to
the charge of condemniDg and derouncing
Democratic precedent, even the precedent
set by the father Of Democracy, by
Thomas Jefferson.
There is a striking similarity in the
motive and manner with which Mr.. Jefer-
son managed the Louisiana acquisition
question aad that of MIR. Roosevelt in his
treatment of the Panama matter. Each
OF them was anxious to secure desired
object BY peaceable means, if possible, but
each WAS also emnhaficallv IN favor of