ta.j
Conservative.
the King of Spain. Wo have scattered
or destroyed the only organization
capable of undertaking government.
Wo have forced ourselves on thorn. Our
duty , therefore , is the very highest.
None but the best and wisest can dis
charge it for us. And if wo may judge
all by the one wo know , the president
could not have chosen bettor. It was no
defense of slavery that the slaves were
better off , but slavery was a double
wrong when they wore treated badly.
So giving these people good government
will at least save us from adding iujtiry
to wrong.
"Iain sure our friend hero realizes the
difficulties of the task before him. Ho
will have to deal with rights which have
vested under a mixed system of Spanish
and uativo laws and customs. Ho must
take into account strange ideas , preju
dices , and manners ; but perhaps these
may trouble him less than those of the
intelligent people who know our history
and professions , and who , we are as
sured , closely follow all that occurs here
to find , sometimes , encouragement in
their struggle to be free. Ho will en
counter difficulties which we can not
even imagine.
"But he is peculiarly fitted for this
work. If anybody could do it with
credit to himself and us , he can. There
is no branch of our laws , state and
federal , with which he is not familiar.
He has had both to enforce and to ex
pound them. He has youth , strength ,
courage , and liking for work. He
knows how to make use of the work of
others. Ho has always been a sturdy
foe to everybody and everything which
lead to bad government at homo , and
knows them wherever and however they
may appear.
"Above all , he has two qualifications
without which failure would be certain :
Firsthe cannot be brought by any politi
cal or other pressure to yield to any of
the heresies which this new departure is
bringing forth. One of them is the re
vival of the notion that the constitution
is a mere compact among the states and
operates only in them. Ho knows what
has been often decided : that all persons
everywhere , who own allegiance to the
United States , are citizens thereof
whether they are also citizens of the
states or not. Ho knows that the presi
dent and congress have no authority
anywhere except that conferred by the
constitution , that such authority ex
tends by its own vigor throughout the
entire national domain , and that with il
go the personal and civil rights the con
stitution guarantees to all alike , whether
political rights be given or withheld.
The provision of the treaty that the civil
rights ns well as the political status of
the native inhabitants shall bo deter
mined by congress , must bo taken to
apply only to rights outside of those
conferred by the constitution ; otherwise
it would be wholly void. Those people
would have no civil rights whatever
now ; and when congress acts , it might
gnoro the constitution and all its
amendments. Second , ho knows that
; ho sole object of all government is the
good of the governed , and the efforts
which will , no doubt , be made to pro
vide for securing benefits to others at
the expense of the governed will surely
fail.
4 'I believe he has felt grave concern
about the course of the government in
taking over these distant islands. That
concern has been for the effect on our
selves as well as for the effect on their
inhabitants. It is well that such a man
should be sent to deal with the present
problem. The supposed interests of some
commercial classes largely influenced
the government to do what it did. Signs
are multiplying that these may help at
last to work out the salvation of all con
cerned. It was well enough when all
was thought to be take ; there are doubt
and hesitation when it is found that
there must also be give. It is not a
question of doors open or doors shut
between the different parts of our ter
ritory. There are no doors. And if by
standing steadfastly by the principles of
our system of government our friend
here shall still further open the eyes of
those who have not fully seen and thus
bring interest to the aid of duty , he will
not be sorry to find he has another claim
to the title of wise and true lover of his
country , esteeming her honor above all
the islands of the seas.
' 'There is a shrewd suspicion that the
failure of congress to legislate for the
Philippines was not unintentional , and
that it would be glad to leave responsi
bility with the president indefinitely.
When it is realized that legislative pow
ers can not be thus or otherwise con
ferred on him , it is incredible that such
a course will be longer desired or that
public sentiment would permit it. But
it does not follow that the work of this
commission will be either useless or
temporary. If the people shall decide
to keep these islands , what this com
mission does will doubtless be the basis
of our rule there. If they decide to turn
them over to their own inhabitants ,
these , following our methods as well as
our ideas as all seekers after liberty do ,
and as they had already done when we
fell upon and crushed them , will be
glad to avail themselves of what the
knowledge and sagacity of these men
will have accomplished.
"In any event , we are sure our towns
man will win new honors as he has been
doing all these years. May God spare
him and his to come back to us again ,
and us to gather here to welcome him as
we have gathered here tonight to speed
him on his way. We have gotten used
to these goings and comings of his , and
if the future holds still greater honors
for him , as we all believe it does , he
must submit to new trials of his modesty
by the best of all his friends. "
STOCK MEN AND RAILROADS
CONFER.
A conference of the stockmen of Kan
sas and the traffic managers of the Santa
Fe was held recently relative to the new
schedule of rates adopted by the com
pany , whereby the carload rate was
abolished and a pound rate established.
B. H. Campbell says of the conference ,
in the Kansas City Star :
"Mr. Paul Morton was the principal
speaker for the traffic officials , and the
work could not have been in more skillful
hands. His methods are business like
and not oratorical ; his arguments per
suasive and not threatening.
"The cattlemen acceded to the plan of
paying freight by weight , but the weight
to be ascertained by the stock yards
scales , which will be our selling weights ,
deducting 500 pounds per carload for fill
after unloading. The feed in transit
rate to be restored , differing a little from
the old plan , but bettor for both the
railroads and the shipper. The com
plaint of bad service is one that cannot
be covered by contract , but the traffic
departments have made good promises
and we have urged upon them that here
after the road that gives the best service
shall got the most business , though we
have to drive out of our way to keep
this pledge. "
While in the
PUBLIC
PLUNDERING. show business in
1890 , Mr. Bryan ,
in one of his emotional paroxysms , said
with wonderful dramatic effect :
"Show me the head of a syndicate or
trust , and I will show you a man who ,
whenever his business interests are in
volved , becomes suddenly patriotic and
tells you that he loves his country too
much to let anybody make more money
out of legislation than he does. "
Is it wise to go to the other extreme
and place the government in the hands
of one who hasn't any business ? Might
he not make use of the opportunity to
acquire and build up a private business ?
Is it less to be condemned to aspire to
office for the money there is in it , or to
use candidature for office as a means of
making money , than to make money out
of legislation ?
The well-known
NOTICE.
publisherF.Bruck-
mann of Munich , Germany , has just is
sued an elegant work entitled "Das Lit-
terarisohe Mnenchen , " by the celebrated
author , Dr. Paul Heyse. It consists of
portraits with short biographical sketch
es of twenty-five of the most prominent
literary men residing in Munich. They
are all Germans except two , namely , the
American , E. P. Evans , and the Norwe
gian , Bjoernesgerno Bjoerson. The portraits
traits are drawn from life by Heyse him
self , and a genial poem by him serves as
an introduction to the volume.
