Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1907-03-29

but Not of the Roosevelt Stripe-A Scath
ing Arraisnment Of the Law Defyinf Chic
Executive.
Denouncing the official acts of Pres
ident Roosevelt as high-handeC
usurpatiOn, revolutionary and uncOn
stitutiOnal, Jerome A. Hart, author
and for fifteen years editor-in-chie
of the San Francisco Argonaut, anC
whose home is now in San Jose, has
quit journalism rather than own anC
edit Republican paper and remain
silent upon the policy of the Admin
istration which he declares he can.
not consistently support. Hart has
been Republican all his life. He is
still a Republican, but he refuses tc
accept the views of President ROose
welt. Hart is particularly offended
at the attitude of the President to-
ward California on the question ol
admitting Japanese to the public
schools of San Francisco. In ex.
planning why he sold the Argonau,
to Alfred Holman, Hart in an open
letter to the San Jose Mercury says:
Why am laying aside the edito
rial charge, if it has been so agree.
able? Well, one reason is that ]
would like little more leisure to de.
vote to literary work. have writ
ten several books and hope to write
more. But the main reason for my
REIMBURSEMENT of my task is that |
am not in sympathy with the Roose-
velt administration, more particu-
larly in its attitude toward the Pa
cific Coast.
"All my life I have been a stanch
Republican. have conducted Re-
publican newspaper for many years.
But now l find an administration
which is called Republican advocat-
ing all sorts of things which l con-
slider not only unrepublican, but also
unconstitutional. The whole ten
dency of Mr.. Roosevelt's administra-
tion seems to me in opposition to the
principles of the Republican party
and in opposition to the principles on
which our Republic is founded.
AS illustration of Secretary Root,
in which he recently declared in pub
lie that State lines were practically
becoming effaced, and that con-
structions of the Constitution could
be found which would enable the
Federal Government to deprive the
States of what powers still remained
to them-this seems to me revOlu-
tionary. 1t would once have been
called reasonable.
Another instance of what I mean
is the Presidents overweening desire
for power, even when he has to over
ride the Constitution. He has prac-
tically taken possession of the ports
of Santa Domingo, and is collecting
the revenues of that republic through
the United States Treasury officials,
protected by United States men-of-
war. He has no authority for this
action, for the Senate has as yet re-
fused to approve of o so-called Do
minican treaty, which cannot be q
treaty under the Constitution, for it
has not been ratified by the Senate.
In short, Mr.. Roosevelt has practi-
cally declared war upon and con-
quered Santo Domingo without any
warrant for this act in law.
In his recent message he casually
requested two constitutional amend
ments giving him more power. One
of these would enable him to dis
charge army and navy officers at his
will, just as he would discharge his
coachman or his gardener. Instances
of usurpation of power by the execu-
tivea numerous. But the action
of the Administration which has
moved me most strongly is the Pres
ident's recent attack on California.
He has attempted to override the
Federal Constitution aud force into
our public schools Japanese adult
students against the school laws of
California. He has no more to do
with the management of the schools
of California, in my opinion, than he
has with the management of any
other purely State affair. When the
school officials demur, as they are re-
quired by their oath to administer
the laws, he denounces their act as q
wicked absurdity and stigmatizes
California as having q low civiliza-
tion' and low state of morality
And he follows this up by recon-
mending that Congress pass law
permitting the naturalization of ia
panese, of whom there are many
thousands in this State and more
thousands coming. He closes by
threatening us with all the military
and civil powers of the Government
if we resist his will. All this may be
good Republican doctrine. do not
think so.
II have been trained from youth
to believe that the Federal Govern
ment possesses only the powers dele
gated to it by the States. To at
tempt to seize these rights of the
States, rights over such purely do
mestic matters as the public schools,
seems to me high-handed usurpation.
I cannot bring myself to print that
it is right when I think it is wrong.
Yet Mr.. Roosevelt is the official head
of the Republican party. If oppose
him and his Administration I thereby
cease to be q member of the Republi-
can party. Whether my fellow-Re-
publicans in the Eastern States agree
with him or not I do not know.
Possibly they do. On the Pacific
Coast know they do not.
But there lie before me these
various courses: To accept and ap-
prove Mr.. Roosevelt's unconstitu-
tional usurpation of power. This I
cannot conscientiously do. Another
course is to remain silent. This in
the editor of Republican newspaper
would be cowardly. A third is to
leave the Republican ranks and to
oppose what believe to be wicked
and unconstitutional. But that
would place me in the ranks of some
other party, where I do not belong.