Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-12

part of the supreme law of the land Neither
in this nor in any other matter has there
been the slightest failure to live up to the
Constitution in letter and in spirit. But the
Constitution must be observed positively as
well as negatively. The Presidents duty Is
to serve the country in accordance with the
Constitution; and / should be derelict In my
duty If / used a false construction or the
Constitution as a shield for weakness ana
timidity, or as an excuse for governmental
impotence.
The Nations Foreign Policy.
Similar Misrepresentation Is the one
weapon of our opponents in regard TO our
foreign policy, and the way the navy mas
been made useful in carrying out this pol
ICY Here again all that we ask 1s that
they truthfully state what has been ooiie'
and then say whether or not they object
to it; for If continued in power we shall
continue our foreign policy and our hand
ling of the navy on exactly the same lines
In the future as in the past. 10 WHY
phase of our foreign policy, ana 10 VIVA.
use of the navy, do our opponents oDJect!
Do they object to the way In Whlcn inc
Monroe doctrine has been strengthened ana
uIheld? Never before has TINS uoc.line
been acuuiesced in abroad as 1t Is now
and yet, while UNFOLDING the rlghts OF .He
weaker American republics against rore'sn
aggression, the administration has lost no
opportunity to point out to these repupHcs
that those who seek equity should come
with clean hands, and that whoever claims
liberty as a right must accept the respon-
siblities that go with the exercise or the
right.
DO our opponents object to what was
done II, reference to the petition OF Ameri-
can citizens against the k'she,eV mas
sacre? or to the protest against the trea'-
m,rlt OF the Jews in Roumanla! OF 10 the
efforts that have been made in behaf OF
the Armenians IN Turkey? No other adj
roin!stration in our history, 10 other GOV
eminent in the world has more CONSISTENT
" stood for the broadcast spirit OF protheT,
hood in our common humanity, or has nelu
a more resolute attitude of protest against
every wrong that outraged the clVlhAd-
ton of the age, at nome or ABROAD. ~ Gul
opponents object to the fact that the IN
ternational tribunal at The Hague was
rescued from impotence, and turned lnto
a potent instrument for peace among ING
nations? This government has used tnae
tribunal and advocated it's use by others,
in pursuance of Its policy to promote inc
cause of international peace ana gooo VIII
by all honorable methods In carrying Uus
this policy 1t has settled dispute after dls-
mute by arbitration or by friendly agree
ment. 1t has behaved toward all nations,
strong and weak, with courtesy olgnlty
and justice, and it Is no" oh eAeeAieA'
terms with all. ..,.
no orr opponents object to the settlement
of the Alaska boundary line? Do they Cd
iect to the fact that after freeing CUBA we
gave her reciprocal trade advantages WIN
the United States while at the same time
keeping naval stations In the Island ana
providing against it's sinking into chaos OF
being conquered by any foreign power! DO
they object to the fact that our nag now
flies over Porto Rico? Do they object to
the ACQUISITION of Hawaii? Once they
hauled down our flag there; we nave
hoisted it again: do they intend once more
to haul it down? Do they object to the
part we played in China? Do they not
know that the voice of the United States
would now count for nothing in the far east
If we had abandoned the Phlnpplnes ana
refused to do what was done in China! DO
they object to the fact that this govern
ment secured a peaceful settlement Of the
troubles In Venezuela two years ago! DO
they object to the presence or the shlp-o1-
war off Colon when the revolution broke out
in Panama, and when only the presence OF
this ship saved the lives of American cit
liens and prevented insult to the flag? DO
they object to the fact that American war
ships appeared promptly at the port of
Beirut when an effort had been made to
assassinate American official and in the |
port of Tangier when an American cltlzen
had been abducted-and that in each case
the wrong complained of was righted and |
expia ted-and that within the last few days |
the visit of American squadron to |
Smyrna was followed by the long-delayed |
concession of their just rights to those |
Americans concerned in educational work |
In Turkey? Do they object to the trade |
treaty with China, SO full of advantage for |
the American people in the future? Do they |
the national flag now have a higher stand |
ard than ever before in craftsmanship and |
In seamanship, as individual units and as |
component parts of squadrons and fleets?
If they object to any or all of thtse things |
we Join issue with them. Our foreign policy |
has been not only highly advantageous to !
the United States. but hardly less advanta- |
geous to the world as a whole. Peace and |
good will have followed In It's footsteps. The |
government has shown itself no less anx-
ious to respect the rights of others than in !
sistent that the rights of Americans be re- |
spected in return. AS for the navy, 1t has |
Of peace; and it is such chiefly because it is |
formidable and ready for use.
Pensions for Veterans.
When our opponents speak of "encroach- |
by the executive upon the authority !
If Congress or the Judiciary, apparently |
The act they ordinarily have in view is |
pension order No. rs, issued under the au
hority of existing law This order di
'ected that hereafter any veteran of the |
,ivil war who had reached the age of |
;ixty-two should be presumptively entitled |
% the pension of SO a month, given under
he dependent pension law to those whose
to earn their livelihood by man
Ial labor has been decreased so per cent,
md that by the time the age of seventy
vas reached the presumption should be |
hat the physical disability complete;
he age being treated as an evidential fact
n each case. This order was made in the
of duty imposed upon the
President by act of Congress- which |
'equires the executive to make regulations
% govern the subordinates of the pension
office in determining who are entitled to
PENSIONS. President Cleveland had already
exercised this power by a regulation which
declared that seventy-five should be set |
1t the age at which total disability should
BE conclusively presumed Similarly Presi-
lent Mckinley established siXty-five as the
lge at which half stability should be con- |
lusively presumed. The regulation now in
question, in the exercise of the same power |
these regulations made I'M
Ter Presidents Cleveland and Mckinley
The men who fought for union and for |
liberty in the years from 1851 to 1865 not
'nly saved this nation from ruin but rem |
Tered an inestimable service to all man
lind. We of the United States owe the fact |
hat today we have country to what they !
lid; and the nation has decreed by law |
hat no one of them, If disabled from earn
ng his own living, shall lack the pension |
% which he is entitled. not only as a mat
er OF gratitude, but matter of Justice |
1t is the policy of the republican party, |
steadily continued through many years, to |
-reat the veterans of the civil war in a |
spirit of broad lberality. The order in |
question carried out this policy. and is
justified not merely on legal grounds but
also on grounds of public morality. 1t is
A matter of common knowledge that when
the average man who deDendS for biS |