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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1901)
pWMWFIffl) WffPP'iitniiiii, pppHwpwiw purposes are to be achieved. Planting himself on the written Constitution, Chief Justice Marshall defined the fundamental principle of liberty in declaring void all arbitrary acts of the enacting power. Tlio administration represented by these re publican orators has arrayed itself against Mar shall the jurist. Their party insists that the government is liigher than the law, and that the whims of president and congress are capable of setting at defiance the fundamental law and the first principles of the land. Could any one imagine John Marshall admit ting the war-making power to bo with the Presi dent? Could any one imagine John Marshall giving sanction to a tax on exports in the face of a plain constitutional prohibition? Could any one imagine John Marshall giving his approval to tariff laws that violated the ex press constitutional requirements of uniformity and equality? Could any one imagine John Marshall giving approval to "purchase" as the method of emanci pation in territory subject to United States juris diction, in the face of an explicit constitutional provision that slavery or involuntary servitude shall not be tolerated "within the United States or in any place subject to their jurisdiction?" Could any one imagine John Marshall giving approval to a president who assumed the power and authority to appoint a commission of men and send them to an American "colony" en dowed with the privilege of collecting and spend ing the revenue, of making the laws, of exercis ing all the powers delegated to Congress and many powers which the people would not even delegate to Congress? Could any one imagine John Marshall giving approval to an administration that had deliber ately set the Constitution into the background and had assumed to say that it would be governed by the Constitution only when the constitutional government best suited its whims and best sub served its imperialistic purposes. W General MacArthur's Report. The annual report of Maj or General MacArthur, U. S. V., commanding, Division of the Philip pines, Military Governor of the Philippine Islands, is very interesting. It makes two large volumes and is full of statistics and other information. It presents a number of facts heretofore carefully concealed and just as strenuously denied by the authorities at Washington. It is not possible within the limits of an editorial review to mention even a small portion of tho interesting matters discussed and the valuable information furnished by General MacArthur's report. The report is dated "Manila, P. I., October 1, 1900," and is, therefore, well down to date. Among other interesting facts furnished is one concerning the number of summary courts martial held in the Division of the Philippines. The report shows' that about 20 per cent of the soldiers serving in the Philippines have been tried by sum mary court martial and about 18 per cent con victed. It is also shown that 9 per cent of tho soldiers are in the hospital from one month's end to another. Of the hospital cases 23 per cent are due to the malarial fever. The death rate is 28 per 1,000 per annum. This is rather large when Hie Commoner. it is remembered that the soldiers were selected with a view to their physical fitness. Here is a very interesting paragraph interest ing to those" who have loved ones in tho Philip pines: Tho number of deaths in tho army has steadily increased and diminution of the death list can scarcely be expected. The number of men shot from ambush by small guerilla bands now exceeds those killed at any previous time, and as timo pro gresses AND THE MEN BECOME MORE AND MORE DEBILI TATED by tropical service, tue more marked will be THE RATIO OF DEATUS. This is the country that is to offer such wonder ful opportunities for American settlement! Another very interesting fact is sot forth by General MacArthur in tho following words: Wherever, throughout the archipelago, there is a group of the insurgent army, it is a fact, beyond dis pute, that all contiguous towns contribute to the main tenance thereof. In other words, the towns, regardless of tho fact of American occupation and town organ ization, are the actual bases of all insurgent military activities; and not only in the sense of furnishing supplies for tho so-called "flying columns of geurillas, but as affording secure places of refuge. There is something humorous about this. Tho idea of a town garrisoned by American troops "affording secure refuge" for insurgents is likely to produce a smile. General MacArthur has been in tho Philippines something like two years. After eighteen months service and observation there ho wrote, under date of October 1, 1900, tho following words: The Filipinos are not a warlike or ferocious peo ple. Left to themselves a large number (pephaps a considerable majority) would gladly accept American supremacy, which they are gradually coming to under stand means individual liberty and absolute security in their lives and property. It seems that General MacArthur made another guess between October 1 and December 25, 1900, for on the latter date he wrote to the adjutant general in Washington as follows: Expectations, based on result of election, have not been realized. Progress of pacification apparent to me, but still very slow. Condition very inflexible, likely to become chronic. I have -therefore initiated a more rigid policy, etc., etc. When the commanding officer of tho Philip pines docs not know from one month to another what the conditions are in the Philippine Islands it is too much to expect that the administration organs will be implicitly believed every time they say the insurrection is ended and the Filipinos happy under American rule. An Expert Opinion. What is the purpose of a railroad in giving a pass? If it is given by the freight department to a shipper it is probably given for business reasons, but suppose it is given to a legislator, is it given for business reasons also? Some say that it is a courtesy extended without any reason in particu lar. In order that the readers of Tue Commoner may have the Highest expert testimony on this subject the following letter is reproduced: Your letter of the twenty-second to President Ripley requesting an annual over the railroad of this company has been referred to me. A couple of years ago, after you had been furnished with an annual over this line, you voted against a bill which you knew this company was directly interested in. Do you know of any particular reason, therefore, why we should favor you with an annual this year? This letter was written to a member of the Illinois legislature by tho attorney of tho Santa Fo railroad, of which Mr. E. P. Ripley is president. It is of recent date and was read on tho floor of tho house of representatives. It states as plainly as language can that a railroad gives passes to legislators as a matter of business, expecting to receive a valuable consideration in return, and it shows further that tho legislator who refuses to recognize tho pass as a bribe must not expoct to get any more passes. A similar caso occurred in Nebraska a few years ago when a pass issued to a member of tho legislature was recalled because ho voted for a maximum rate bill which the railroad objected to. Unless a legislator can produce bet ter ovidonco of tho railroad's purposo than tho railroad's own admission, ho cannot accept a pass without admitting cither that ho intends to repay the railroad in service or that ho secures tho pass under false pretenses. Delightful Uncertainty. There seems to bo a movement toward tho es tablishment of oivil government in tho Philip pines. Tho Spoonor resolution which receives most favor in administration circles is as follows: Be it enacted, etc., That when all insurrection acrainst tho sovereignty and authority of the United States in the Philippine Islands, acquired from Spain by the treaty concluded at Paris on the 10th day of December, 1808, shall have been completely .sup pressed by the military and naval forces of the United States, all militar3 civil and judicial powers neces sary to govern tho said islands shall, until otherwise provided by congress, be vested in such person and persons and shall bo exercised in such manner as tho president of the United States shall direct for main taining and protecting the inhabitants of said islands in tho free enjoyment of their liberty, property and religion. This is an innocent looking resolution, but only a few explanatory words are necessary to make it fully understood. Translated into plain English it would read about as follows: Resolved, That when the war is over (nobody knows when that will be) the President shall es tablish somo kind of a government (nobody knows what kind) and maintain it (nobody knows how long) until Congress does something (nobody knows what). It is now more than two years since the'trcaty was ratified and this is the nearest approach that the republicans have made toward a definite plan. They are not willing to give the .Filipinos their independence and they are not yet willing to openly repudiate the doctrine of self-government. Therefore they find cover behind commissions and delegations of authority which conceal, so far as possible, their imperialistic purposes. W The Cause Grows. Mr. Glapp, the newly elected United States Senator from Minnesota, a republican, is on record in favor of tho popular election of sena tors. His position having been questioned by a member of the legislature, he replied: Having for years advocated an amendment to the Federal Constitution which shall provide for the elec tion of United States senators by direct vote of the people, I supposed that a statement to that effect was a sufficient answer to the question as to my views on the subject. But to put the matter at rest, I desire to say that I have not changed the position I have long held on the question, and that in ray off hand, impromptu re marks to the caucus I wish to be understood as pledg ing myself, and, that there may be no room for cavil, I do heartily pledge myself to use my best efforts to aid in securing an amendment to the Federal Consti tution which shall provide for the election of United States senators by the direct vote of the people. There is no formal assurance to that effect to which I am not more than willing to subscribe. It is gratifying to see the cause grow. Every legislature should commit the legislative candi dates to this reform before a selection is made. o 4 i A l til