Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-09-12

| Do they object to the fact that after
| freeing Cuba we gave her reciprocal
| trade advantages with the United
| States, while at the same time keep
| ing naval stations in the island and
providing against it's sinking into chaos
or being conquered by any foreign
power? Do they object to the fact that
our flag now flies over Porto Rico? Do
they object to the acquisition of Ha-
wall? Once they hauled down our
flag there. We have holsted 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 Phil
| ippines and refused to do what was
done in China? Do they object to
the fact that this government secured
q peaceful settlement Of the troubles
in Venezuela two years ago?
Do they object to the fact that
American warships appeared promptly
at the port of Beirut when an effort
had been made to assassinate an Amer
lean official, and in the port of Tangier
| when an American citizen had been
abducted, and that in each case the
wrong complained of was righted and
eXpiated, and that within the last few
| DAYS the visit of an American squad
ron 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 object to the fact that the ships
carrying the national flag now have a
higher standard than ever before in
craftsmanship and in seamanship as
individual units and as component
parts of squadrons and fleets?
Executive "Encroachments."
| When our opponents speak of ZEN
croachmentS" by the executive upon
the authority of congress or the judi
ciary, apparently the act they ordina
rily have in view is pension order No.
rs, issued under the authority of exist
ing law. This order directed that here
after any veteran of the civil war who
! had reached the age of SiXty-twO
should be presumptively entitled TO the
pension of Sc q month, given under the
dependent pension law TO those whose
capacity TO earn their livelihood by
manual labor has been decreased 80 per
cent and that by the time the age of
seventy was reached the presumption
should be that the physical disability
was complete, the age being treated as
an evidential fact in each case. This
order was made in the performance of
u duty imposed upon the president by
an act of congress which requires the
executive to make regulations to gov
ern the subOrdinates of the pension Of
flee in determining who are entitled to
pensions. President Cleveland had al
ready exercised this power by regu-
latiOn which declared that seventytive
should be set as the age at which total
disability should be conclusivcly pre-
sumed. Similarly President Mckinley
established siXty-fve as the age at
which half disability should be con-
clusively presumed. The regulation
now in question In the exercise of the
same power supplemented these regu-
lations made under Presidents Cleve-
| land and Mckinley.
1t is easy to test our opponents Sin
cerity in this matter. The order in
question is revocable at the pleasure
of the executive. If our opponents
come into power they can revoke this
order and announce that they will treat
the veterans of sixty-two to seventy as
presumably in full bodily vigor and
not entitled TO pensions. Will they
now authoritatively state that they in
tend to do this? If so. we accept the
issue.
The Currency.
| So much for what our opponents
openly or Covertly advance in the way
! of an attack on the acts of the admin
! istration. When we come to consider
! the policies for which they profess to
stand we are met with the difficulty
always arising when statements of pol
: icy arc 50 made that they can he inter
prcted in different ways. on some of
/ the vital questions that have confront
| ed the American people in the last
| decade our opponents take the posi-
| ton that silence is the best possible
way to convey their views. They CON
| tend that their lukewarm attitude of
partial acquiescence in what others
/ have accomplished entities them to be
made the custOdians of the financial
honor and commercial interests which
! they have but recently sought to ruin.
| Being unable TO agree among them
| selves as to whether the gold standard
| is Il curse or a blessing and as TO
whether we ought or ought not TO have
| free and unlimited coinage of silver,
| they have apparently thought it ex-
pedient to avoid any committal on
/ these subjects and individually each to
/ follow his particular bent. Their near
est approach to n majority judgment
! seems to be that it is now inexpedient
/ TO assert their convictions one way or
/ the other and that the establishment
! of the gold standard by the Republic
an party should not he disturbed I'M
! less there is an alteration in the rela-
/ tive quantity OF production of silver
/ and gold.
! We, on the contrary. believe IN the