The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1904-12-09

| q curse to our government; and 1t is the
| affair Of every honest voter, wherever born,
] to see that no fraudulent voting is allowed,
that no fraud in connection with natural
| izatfon is permitted.
| Naturalization Laws Need Revision.
There should be comprehensive revi-
| sion of the naturalization laws. The courts
| having power to naturalize should be
| definitely named by national authority; the
| testimony upon which naturalization may
| be conferred should be definitely prescribed;
| publication OF impending naturalization
| applications should be required in advance
| of their hearing in court; the form and
wording of all certificates issued should be
uniform throughout the country, and the
courts should be required to make returns
to the secretary of state at stated periods
of all naturalizations conferred.
Not only are the laws relating to
naturalization now defective, but those
relating to citizenship of the United
States ought also to be made the subject
of scientific inquiry with view to prob
able further legislation. By what acts
expatriation may be assumed to have
been accomplished, how long an Amer
lean citizen may reside abroad and re-
ceive the protection of our passport,
whether any degree of protection should
be extended to one who has made the
declaration of intention to become a citi-
zen of the United States but has not Sc
cured naturalization, are questions of
serious import, involving personal rights
and often producing friction between this
government and foreign governments
Yet upon these questions our laws are
silent. l recommend that an examina-
ton be made into the subjects of citizen
ship, expatriation and protection of
Americans abroad, with a view to ap-
propriate legislation.
Protection Of Elections.
The power of the government to pro-
tect the integrity of the elections of its
| own officials is inherent and has been
recognized and affirmed by repeated
declarations of the supreme court. There
is no enemy of free government more
! dangerous and none SO insidious as the
corruption of the electorate. No one de-
tends or excuses corruption, and it would
seem to follow that none would oppose
vigorous measures to eradicate it.
recommend the enactment of a law d.
rected against bribery and corruption in
federal elections. The details of such a
: law may be safely left to the wise dis
5 erection of the congress, but 1T should GO
| as far as under the constitution 1t is pos
4 sible to CO. and should include severe
t penalties against him who gives or re-
| ceives a bride intended to influence his
0 act opinion as an elector; and pro-
: visions for the publication not only oil
|
: elections of all candidates but also OF
e all contributions received and expendi
n lures made by political committees
t Our Foreign Policy.
+ In treating of our foreign policy and Of
i, | the attitude that this great nation SHOULD
n assume in the world at large, it is abb
n solutely necessary to consider the arm!
: and the navy, and the congress, through
: which the thought of the nation finds it,
q mind the fundamental fact that It is i'm
o possible to treat our foreign policy
, whether this policy takes shape in tn
: effort to secure justice for others o
, justice for ourselves, save as conditioned
s upon the attitude we are willing to TAX
f toward our army, and especially towar'
a our navy. 1t is not merely unwise, 1t !
), contemplate, for a nation, as for an in
" dividual, to use high-sounding languag
g to proclaim it's purposes, or to take posi-
n tons which are ridiculous if unsupporte
by potential force, and then to refuse t
provide this force. If there is no inten
ton of providing and of keeping tn
e force necessary to back up strong al
is titude then it is far better not to assum
L such an attitude.
g Striving for World Peace.
20 The steady aim of this nation, as of a
q enlightened nations, should be to striv
70 to bring ever nearer the day when ther
- shall prevail throughout the world tn
= peace of Justice There are kinds c
- peace which are highly undesirable
a which are in the long run as destructiV
- as any war. Tyrants and oppressors hav
=, many times made wilderness an
- called it peace. Many times peoples VIII
~ -. were slothful or timid or shortsighte'
-. who had been enervated by ease or b
% luxury, or misled by false teaching
-, have shrunk in unmanly fashion frol
% doing duty that was stern and that neet
hox- fn
u from their own minds their shortcon
&c ings, their ignoble motives by calm
them love of peace. The peace Of tyra1
>. nous terror, the peace of craven veal
AZ ness, the peace of injustice, all thes
i, should be Stunned as we shun unrigh
al eous war The goal to set before us as
ne nation the goal which should be set b.
ne fore all mankind is the attainment
ai the peace of justice, of the peace whic
We comes when each nation is not mere
III safe-guarded in its own rights, 81
ne scrupulously recognizes and performs i
So duty toward others. Generally peace tel
IN for righteousness; but if there is confii
90 between the two then our fealty is d.
'oo first to the cause of righteousness. VI
Is righteous wars are common, and u
er righteous peace is rare; but both shou
d. be Stunned. The right of freedom al
n the responsibility for the exercise of tn
right cannot be divorced. One of o.
great poets has we'll and finely said tn
,a1 freedom is not a gift that tarries lol
- in the hands of towards. Neither do
,,o il tarry long in the hands of those {
~ slothful. too dishonest or too unintel
"a gent to exercise it. The eternal vigilan
~ which is the price of liberty must be e
~ ercised sometimes to guard against OF
he side foes; although of course far mo
.aI often to guard against our own selh
10. or thoughtless shortcomings.
- Not Ready for Disarmament.
TT these self-evident truths are kept /
:. fore us, and only if they are SO kept befo
NC us. we shall have a clear idea Of what o
~, foreign policy in its larger aspects shor
nc he It is our duty to remember that n
nc ton has no more right to do injustice
~ another nation, strong or weak, than
e. individual has to do injustice to anoth
- individual; that the same moral law appli
in one case as in the other. But we m,
- also remember that 1t Is as much the du
en- of the nation to guard its own rights a
i.y its own interests as it is the duty of t
Yer Individual SO to do Within the nation
VAC individual has now delegated this RIG
to the state, that is, to the representa-
of all the individuals, and 1t is a max
ate Of the law that for every wrong there l:
err remedy But in international law we ha
not advanced by any means as far as
have advanced in municipal law. Tit
al. is as yet no judicial way of enforcing a RIG
i'A in international law. When one matt
wrongs another or wrongs many othe
. there is no tribunal before which the wror
my doer can be brought Either it is necessa
no supinely to acquiesce in the wrong, a