Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1905-05-04
A SIGNIFICANT 3
R~oosevelt's Conduct of the Santo Do
mingo Affair Called Into
Question.

Unusual interest attaches to the utter.
anees of the Indianapolis News, because
it is in part owned by Vice President
Fairbanks and has been, for years past,
his warm advocate and supporter in his
public life and relations. 1t may, says
the Albany Argus, be that an undue pre-
sumption of inspiration grows out of
these facts; the Hartford Courant, for
Instance, was compelled, again and again,
to disavow spokemanship for Senator
Hawley, who had been its editor and part
owner. Nevertheless. it is not to be be-
lieved that the Indianapolis News would
publish editorial utterances at variance
with the opinions of its distinguished
part owner, on a matter so important as
the Santo Domingo incident; as to which,
entirely without heat" our Indianapo-
lis contemporary wants to know what
could the people do, at the present time,
to check the presidents policy in the
island republic? Congress is not in ses-
sion, the senate having declined to ratify
the treaty, It is nonexistent, and there
is no way to get the matter before the
courts; and yet-but let the Indianapolis
News tell the story:
And yet, without authority of law, the
president has managed to put this gov
eminent in control of the custom houses
of Satno Domingo.
What the president has done is not
to maintain a status quo, but to put and
keep in force a treaty which the senate
failed to ratify. And there is nothing
the people can do about it. It is to this
phase of the case that we desire to call
attention. Whether we have a legal and
constitutional government may. as we
have seen, depend wholly on the willing
ness OF the president to be bound by con-
stltutional Limitations. Even if congress
were in session, it might find it difficult
to prevent the carrying out OF the pres
ent arrangement.
IF war should result from the rela.
tons between the United States and the
island, congress would hardly refuse to
provide for the carrying on the war.
There is another peril. For an attack
on the Morales government would be an
attack on his American-manned custom
houses, and we should find it necessary
to support the government. Thus we
may find ourselves committed to a war
by an act of the president, a wal not de-
clared by congress-"
Clearly. this is no overstatement of the
existing situation and it's inherent possi.
o%llltles; 1t is another illustration of the
presidents love of power. which. ac-
companied as it is by a sincere and OBJ
sessing belief that his purposes are right
and his plans essential to the public well
fare, is at all times liable to carry him
TO the ragged edge of usurpation. to in
volve him in clearly unconstitutional
and un%warranted use of authority, and
10 lead hin to commit acts morally tan
tamount to making war, on his own ini-
tlative. The weak government of Santo
Domingo is glad enough to accept the
virtual over-lordship or p]rotectorate of
he United States. The feeble W of
was in no case to resent. by
show of arms, the act of the United
states government in helping to dis
member that republic. But internation-
al law takes no account of the size or
t%eebleness of the government which
may be subjected to processes equiva-
lent to war-making, simply because
actual warfare does not chance to fol,
low.