The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-08-18

but the outward sign. BE that cldlin
pretense or sincerity, we found 10 ou'
establishment. that 'the door OF OPP
portunity and hope in the way OF OF
flee holding and voting had been
closed to Lo! the poor Indian. lie
was not invited in by the Select Men
| ir Connecticut, nor by the electors or
| the self-goyerning towns in MaSsacnu-
setts, to help govern our ancestors ana
| the country which they had committed
to their charge, nor did our ancestors
promise to assimilate him. This first
violation in America of the divine
right Of manhood suffrage and of the
cherished fundamental dogma that
all men of all races are aQually ca
pacitated to govern themselves, and
especially to govern others. has
doubtless been the "Iliad of all our
woes" Plainly it was what the Bos-
ton Transcript so eloquently calls
count for it. except perhaps upon a
line of thought suggested by sen
tence in the notification address of the
Permanent Chairman OF the Chicago
Convention Informing the President
of his nomintion by the Republican
party to succeed himself Mr.. Cannon
said: "By blood. by inheritance. by
education and practice, we are a self
governing people" Are we to believe
that Mr.. Cannon meant to intimate. is
converse. that nobody was of self-gOv-
erning capacity unless by blood, cdu I
cation or successful practice? If 50,
it is feared that he is getting back to
our ancestors blunder and may incur
the danger OF receiving the approba
ton of some of those beknighted crea-
lures known as Southern Democrats.
We wonder if our ancestors in New
England, New York and Virginia had
been stupid enough to have some no.
ton the converse OF Mr.. Cannon's ut
terance i'll their heads. and if they had
based their action OH the fact that the
"noble red man" had none OF "the
blood" of self-governing races i'll mis-
veins. none of that subtle force OF
"heredity," which accounts for SO
much and which is 50 hard to be 3.c
counted for itself. if they thought that
he had not for any sufficient length of
time been educated" for the task Of
governing white men. or had had no
practice" in it. except such as seemed
to lead to the conclusion that he was
not capable of it.
Benevolent Assimilation.
The next great blunder in our early
history consisted in their taking UP
arms against King George and his
forces, when the latter were actuated.
as they themselves confessed, only by
the kindest designs of "benevolently
assimilating' to themselves our re-
sources and our opportunities. You.
sir, who have a Republican son-ln-
law, and, therefore, possess culture by
affinity at least, will hardly believe
that our ancestors were stupid enough
to fight against the principle. which
we 50 frankly recognize in the Phil
ippines, viz: that il is perfectly right,
self-evidently proper for a flag to
cover and emblemiZe two entirely diff
ferent sorts of government, one for
ourselves at home" protecting indi-
vidual, civil and political liberty and
pretending to furnish full and equal
opportunities for industrial develop
ment, and another for others I'm the
colonies and discretionary
il it's character and avowedly limiting
industrial development there by the
necessities of commercial exploitation
for the benefit of the home" mer-
chant and the home manufacturers
We know, now. OF course, that all our
ancestors talk about "inalienable
rights of self government, mo taxa
ton without representation, naDeaS
corpus and right of trial by jury, free-
dom of the press, freedom or speech
and freedom of asse mbly, were only
preteXt resorted to by ranting 'insur-
gents in order to throw off the civil
izing Influences of the best govern
ment, which the world had that far
witnessed. We have not been stupid
enough to confine to mere words or
apology for this mistake in our his
tory; we have apolOgized by deeds or
confession; it seems strange thai we
could, as a people, have prospered in
dustrially and otherwise, as we have
prospered, so marVelously, sir, in all
our history, both as Colonies and as
States, in spite Of the monStrouS err
ror-this unholy rebellion.
a Bit of Popular Mysteries.
Coming on down the current of
time, we find another period of popu
lar Mysteries, that is incomprehensible
to us of wiser generation, in view of
some enlightening facts in our recent
history. Some men in the troublesome
little town of Boston, masqueradng
as Indians, seized and threw into the
sea, certain cases of tea belonging TO
certain merchants of the Esat India
Company. That this was violation of
law, no man in England or America
had any doubt; that the violators of
the law were amenable to punishment
under the law, through it's usual pro-
ceSSes, amongst which were indict-
ment by a grand jury and trial by a
petit jury, none doubted. With a dis
dom, however, equalled only by that OF
the present occupant of the Chief
Executives chair in these United
States, these unusual remedies by law,
against law-breakers, were ignored by
that sapient statesman, King George.
as being reeds too weak to depend
upon in an extreme like that. The
consequence was that the entire pOpu-
lation of Boston. men. women and
children. observers of the law as Wen
as law breakers were punished and
the Boston port bill was passed. thus
in fashion royalty communicating
the little town, commercially and in
dustrially. Then came that strange
and unaccountable outbreak of popu-
lar hysteria to which / have referred
Not only all New England rose in
wrath. but distant Virginia and re-
mote South Carolina caught the frenzy
and said in effect this foolish thing:
IF government can disregard the
forms of law, whenever In govern
ments opinion, the forces of law are
too weak and can punish the innocent
without trial. because of the deeds OF
violators of the law then are we none
of us safe. even to the remote confines
of Carolina or within the depths of the
woods of Maine-Safe neither in our
persons nor our properties, nor in the