c:-s-
r
mm
I M. H
Who Would
Haul Down
The Flag?
.Those Visiting On another page -will be found
Financiers. extracts from a letter -written
'by Hon. Dudley G. Wootcn
in refutation of the slanders uttered against
Texas laws by the eastern financiers who vIb
ited the state recently. The letter first ap
peared in thd New Orleans Times-Democrat
and was republished in the Houston Post.
Texas has an excellent system of laws for the
regulation of corporations, perhaps, the best in
the Union, and Mr. Wooten makes an able de
fense of them.
By What A "Washington dispatch says
Authority? that the Piatt amendment re
specting Cuba is "the law of
the land" and cannot be ignored or violated by
the president in dealing with the would be re
public to pur south. The law of what land?
The Supreme Court has already decided that
Cuba is foreign territory, and in another case
the Supreme Court has pointed out that a coun
try can not be both foreign and domestic at
the same time. . By what authority then does
congress seek to legislate for a foreign country?
The American flag has been
hauled down in China. Tho
young soldier who was the
first to plant that flag upon
the walls of Pekin was honored by an appoint
ment by the President to be cadet at larcjOi to
West Point , Immense sums of money were
Bpent and considerable suffering was entailed
in the effort to raise the flag in China., and yet
after all this the flag has been hauled down.
We remember that not long ago a distin
tinguished republican, in discussing the Phil
ippine question, wanted to know who would
haul down the flag, as though tho hauling down
of that flag meant dishonor. Tho hauling
down of the flag in China did not in the least
dishonor it, because there it was not tho repre
sentative of rightfully and honestly acquired
iovereignty. Neither will there bo dishonor
in hauling- down tho flag in tho Philippines
where it now .represents government without
the consent of the governed and taxation with
out representation.
Not Willing In a newspaper interview Di
to Redeem. rector of the Mint, Roberts,
referring to a proposition that
tho American silver dollar be substituted for
the Mexican dollar now in general use in the
Philippines, said: "There is considerable op
position to this proposition, as it is certain
that any attempt to push tho American dollar
and redeem it in gold would precipitate com
mercial 'disturbances thatmight -result in dis
aster." How can this be true if wo are on tho
single-gold standard, -and the single gold stand--ard
is the system in which the "intelligence of
the world" has sublime confidence ?
Can it bo possible that the "enlightened
financial system" of this administration and its
politicians have so long and so loudly boasted
as the best system for the American people,
the ono adopted by all "enlightened nations,"
Washington's
Advice.
1 The Commoner,
is not the best system for the people of tho
Philippines whose "destiny" 'is placed in our
custody?
George Washington warned
his countrymen against love
of power and pronencss to
abuse it. He warned them that to prcservo
our institutions was as necessary as to institute
them. "If in the opinion of tho people," said
Washington, "th,e distribution or modification
of the constitutional powers be in any particu
lar wrong, let it be corrected by an amend
ment in the way which the constitution desig
nates, but let there bo no change by usurpa
tion; for, though this in one instance may bo
the instrument of good, it is the customary
weapon by which free governments are de
stroyed. The precedent must always greatly
overbalance in permanent evil any partial or
transient benefit which the use can at any time
yield'."
The Justices of the Supreme Court who
would overturn tho constitution evidently do
not believe that the preservation of American
institutions is as essential as the establishment
of thoso institutions. They imagine that "ex
pediency" requires an amendment to tho con
stitution of so gravo a character as to wholly
chango our system of government, and they
would amend the constitution by judicial in
terpretation. Washington's warning on this point, as on
others, was sound. 'In'liis day and generation
Washington was a great man. But reference
to his advice or reminder of his warnings in
this day of imperialism may expose one to the
charge of old-fogyism.
Not Afraid A Georgia paper is responsi-
of Silver. ' ble for the circulation of a
story to the effect that Mr.
Bryan, when in the array, refused to accept
two dollars and a half in silver as change, and
demanded paper. The statement is not true,
for he prefers to carry a few dollars in silver
rather than in paper, but the fact that he or
any one else does not care to carry many dol
lars in silver is no argument against silver.
Because one prefers to carry one, two, three or
four dollarp in silver to a like value in paper is
no reason why he should prefer twenty-five or
fifty dollars in silver to a like value in paper.
Neither gold nor silver is convenient to carry in
large quantities; that is why silver certificates
and gold certificates are issued. An advocate of
the gold standard would rather carry a thousand
dollar silver certificate than a thousand dollars
in gold. More people carry and use silver every
day than carry or use gold, and the most rabid
gold bug would haTdly Tefuse tho payment of
a debt because it was tendered in uilvcr. The
complaint which republicans make, about the
weight'of silver recalls -a -story -told on a Bos
ton man who was arguing against the white
metal. He said: "No one likes to carry sil
ver, it is too heavy. Now suppose I gave my
wife . fifty dollars to go down town and buy
something, say a spool of thread or any" article
of small value, and the clerk gave her back
forty-nine dollars and the change in silver,
she wouldn't want to carry that much," and
turning to his wife for confirmation ho in
quired "would you?" She replied with a good
deal of feeling "Oh, my, if I could only get
fifty dollars to spend I would be willing to
carry the chango in any kind of money." If
any gold bug doubts tho truth of this story let
him try the experiment on his wife.
Brown Mr. Justice Brown who dc-
vs. -Michigan. livercd tho opinion in the
Porto Rico case is a resi
dent of Michigan. It will be interesting to
take a glance at tho constitution framed for
the state of Michigan. This inspection will
show that the opinions of the men who made
Michigan's constitution differed materially
from the opinion oxprcssed by Mr. Justico
Brown in the Porto Iiico case.
In tho preamble to this constitution, tho
men of Michigan said they bolievcd "the time
had arrived when our p'roscnt political condi
tion ought to cease and the right of self-go v
ernment bo asserted." Mr. Justice Brown evi
dently does not believe that the right of sclf
govcrnmont is a'right to be "asserted." It is
a privilege to bo bestowed, according to Mr.
Justice Brown, by the men of ono section up
on tho men of another section at the pleasure
of tho former.
"All political power is inherent in the peo
ple" said the men of Michigan. But Michi
gan'sdiHtinguishcd representative 'on tho'TJnitcd
States Supremo bench has not learned this les
son well.
"No men or set of men are entitled to ex
clusive or separate privileges" said the men of
Michigan. How different is this from the
opinion delivered by Mr. Justice Brown in
which he gives to one set of men exclusive and
separate privileges over and above another set
of men. " ' .... s
The New York Engineering
and Mining Journal points
out that the British Board of
Trade report for the period from January 1st
to April 30, 1901 shows that London shipped
to India and the Straits $14,478,580 in silver.
During the similar period in 1900 these ship
ments amounted to $9,094,397 an increase of
59.2 per cent. The engineering and Mining
Journal says:
"The Increase in Indian shipments of silver
was due almost entirely to the purchases which
the India council was compelled to make to main-:
tain the circulation of the rupee. The attempt to
force gold coinage has heen practically abandoned,
ani the coinage of a large amount in silver rupees
was found necessary to maintain the circulation in
India and avoid grave currency difficulties. The
high price maintained for tin and the resulting
large shipments of silver to the Straits also helped
to increase the demand for silver'
According to Director of the Mint Roberta,
the attempt to establish ' the single gold stand-'
ard in the Philippines would result in "gravo
financial difficulties," and now we are told by
this New York authority that the only way to
avoid "grave currency difficulties" is to resort
to silver coinage.
Can it be possible that after all the single
gold standard is not infallible?
More Silver
In India.
., ,",