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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 1898)
\ 12 T3be Conservative. ANTI-IMI'KKIAMST M2AiUK. Declaration of Principles and Preliminary Organization. "A true republic of free men must , rest upon the principle that all its citi- /.ons are equal under the law ; that a government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed , and that there must he no taxation without representation. These principles aban doned , a republic exists but in name , and its people lose their rights as free men. * "Planting itself upon theses lasting truths , the people of the United States solemnly declared in their constitution that the citizens of each state should have the privilege and immunities of citizens of the several states ; that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its juris diction should be citizens of the United States and the several states , and that the rights of none should bo abridged on account of race , color or previous condi tion of servitude. "The constitution gives to the United States no more than to the individual the right to hold slaves or vassals , and recognizes no distinction between classes of citizens , one with full rights as free men , and another as subjects governed by military force. "We are in full sympathy with the heroic struggle for liberty of the people of the Spanish islands , and , therefore , wo protest against depriving them of their rights by an exchange of masters. "Expansion by natural growth in thinly settled contiguous territory , ac quired by purchase for the express pur pose of ultimate statehood , cannot bo confounded with nor made analogous to foreign territory conquered by war and wrested by force from a weak enemy. A beaten foe has no right to transfer a people whose consent has not been asked , ajid a free republic has no right to hold in subjection a people so trans ferred. "No American until today has dis puted these propositions ; it remains for the new imperialism to set tip the law of might , and to place commercial gain and a false philanthropy above the sound principles upon which the repub lic was based. In defence of its posi tion , it has already urged the fallacy of the Declaration of Independence and proclaimed a wisdom superior to that of the framers of the constitution. "As solemnly as a people could , we announced the war to be wholly for hu manity and freedom , without a thought , desire , or purpose of gain to ourselves ; all that wo sought has been accomplished in Cuba's liberation. Shall wo now prove false to our declaration and seize by force islands thousands of miles away whoso peoples have not desired our presence , and whoso will wo have not asked ? , "Whatever islands we take must bo annexed or held in vassalage to the re- ' public. Either course is dangerous to the physical and moral safety of the na tion , inconsistent with our professions , and must i-esult in foreign complications , which will imperil and delay the settle ment of pressing financial , labor and ad ministrative questions at home. "Impressed with the importance of these views , and recalling the declara tion of the president that the war with Spain could never degenerate into a war of conquest , wo have deferred ac tion until it has become apparent that pressure was being brought upon the president to convince him that public opinion demands the inclusion of alien territory and great masses of alien people ple into the territory of the United States. "We stand by the president's declara tion , and in order to give evidence of the opposition to a foreign expansion policy by a vast body of our people have organized an anti-imperialist league upon the following general plan : "Finit. The centre of the movement to be at Washington , with a local secre tary there for executive work. " . .SVtojHCommittees / of correspon dence to conduct the work in such a manner as to bring together the united efforts of men of repute throughout the country , without regard to party , to deal with the subject in all its aspects , as follows : 1. "The moral iniquity of converting a war for humanity into a war of con quest. 2. "The physical degeneration , the corruption of the blood , and all the evils of militarism which will ensue if the troops are to be kept in the Philippines and elsewhere longer than absolutely neces sary to enable a government to be es tablished which will protect life and property. ! } . "The political evils and the neces sity of preserving the Union upon the principles of its framers. 4. "The clear necessity of large in crease of taxes for the support of armies and navies , with a great probability that voluntary enlistment will have to be siappleuiented by drafts. "Committees of correspondence have begun work under the name of the An ti-Imperialist League , the first measure being to organize the moral forces of the country for the purpose of present ing the following protest to the presi dent and to the congress of the United States : "To the president and congress of the United States : "The undersigned citizens protest against any extension of the sovereignty of the United States over the Philip pine islands , in any event , or over other foreign territory , without the free con sent of the people thereof , believing that such action would bo dangerous to the republic , wasteful of its resources , in violation of constitutional principles , 'ys'"v ' 'ffjfl " I * ' ' ' . ' * fwf n j * $ 'Vi'T.r'XrfsV / ft.mtfgf * > \ and fraught with moral and physical evils to our people. "Every citizen believing in the above is iirged to copy it , obtain immediately as many signatures as possible , and send forward the signed protest to the secre tary of the Anti-Imperialist League , Washington , D. C. , where the names will be enrolled , without liability to as sessment , as members of the league , and the protest presented to the presi dent and congress. "Submitted on behalf of the execu tive committee , of the Anti-Imperial ist League , of which the Honorable George S. Boutwell is president. EKVING WINSLOW , Secretary. " "Boston , Nov. 19 , 1893. Mr. Paul Morton , of Chicago , head of the traffic department of the Atchison , Topelm and Santa Fe railway , is a guest of the Shoreham. He is tall and heav ily built and there is a good deal about him to remind one of his noted father , J. Sterling Morton , secretary of agricul ture in the cabinet of Mr. Cleveland. "Our system , " said Mr. Morton , speaking of his railroad , "has lately pur chased several hundred miles of road that puts the Atchison and Topeka into San Francisco and gives us a total of about 7,800 miles. We are doing a handsome business in all the country reached by us. The West and South west are in magnificent condition. Wo have 1,000 miles of track in Texas , and in that state we carried 100,000 more bales of cotton this year than in 1897. Texas has close on to 8,000,000 of people now , and it could easily sustain 30,000- 000 , being an empire in itself. Out West the people of Kansas and Nebraska are enjoying solid chunks of prosperity. They own more and owe less than at any period in their history. I think the prosperity of the Western country has come to stay , and unless there should bo a series of crop failures the material development of that region is going to bo on a scale of tremendous magnitude. " Washington Post. Word comes from New York that Paul Morton and his brothers , who han dle the sale of the Outer Belt line , Chicago cage , have realized a profit of from $500,000 to $1,000,000. Sunday World- Herald , December 11 , 1898. THE CONSERVATIVE considers the above story entirely unreliable. Its editor frequently belted those gentlemen on a long line of paternal discipline with out asking such fabulous profits , and in fact at bottom figures. Smallpox is reported as prevailing in sections of Pennsylvania , Ohio , Illinois , Iowa , Missouri , Kansas , Nebraska and Colorado , and being found on many in coming passenger boats. Besides the places mentioned as above in news papers , there are no doubt many others where the authorities are stamping out the disease by the ingenious process of calling it something else.
