Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1900 — G. O. P. IN CONGRESS. [ARTICLE]

G. O. P. IN CONGRESS.

iSOME NEFARIOUS MEASURES HAVE BEEN PASSED. Brief Liat of Things Republicans Have Done and Other Thing* Which They Failed to Do—The Administration’s Philippine Policy. Washington correspondence: “We have done those things which we ought not to have done and have left undone the things we- ought to have done.” That is’’ the confession which the Republicans of th® Fiftyislxth Congress should make of the session just brought to an end. Here is a brief list of the things they Wive done: » They have passed the tingle gold standard bill, which repudiates lhe money of the Constitution xbd the Republican pledge of 189 G to wiltk for the rehabilitation of bimetallism. By the same bill the national bonder.’ debt was extended for thirty years ami the power of the national banks Indefinitely Increased. They have passed the Porto Rican tariff 1,111. It violates the honor and.pledged /aith of the United States to the Porte. Ricans. It st-zAHies the declared pol.cy of President McKinley and every 'eiuler of the itepublicatj party, and did violence to the sentiment of the people regardiesi' of party. They forced through Congress the armor plate grab whereby the armor plate trust will make a profit of £7.<»00.000, itnd whereby Mnffc Hanna’* campaign fund will be enriched to the extent of a ten per cent, rtke-off. They provided for the (spending of $50,000,000 on new naval vessels in face of a declaration not successfully contradicted, that one big shlp-bulldinff firm alone gave $400,000 io the Republican campaign fund with the expectation of being reimbursed by fat naval contracts under favorable terms, Th*/ hfi-e been guilty of the mo?t reckless extravagant e in appropriations !j every direction From a total of 8515. 000,000 for the fiscal year of 1890’97, the last on. affected by a Democrat® administration, the apprnpriat’ons havt been swollen to $709,000,000 ffiT the current fiscal year. These enormous fig ures do not include the usual approprl ation for river and harbor Work, for public buildings, or. for the $50,000,000 worth of naval work authorised, or cf any portion of the $140,000,000 whictl will be covered by the Nicaragua canfil bill, which still rests on the Senate calendar. But it does carry an increase of over $90,000,000 over ordinary arnry expenditures, an increase of over $31%000,000 in ordinary naval expenditure and an increase of over $32,900,000 *.n /sundry civil expenditures; and thft reckless extravagance in app“opriatict> can hardly"keep pace with the reefr less, prodigal and even criminal extravagance and corruption In expenditure. Like the daughter of the horse leech, the huge army of tax-eaterK corruptionists, favored contractors and sopil> anen cry, “More, more.” Things Left Undone. The Republicans have left undone nearly -everything of vital iirportancf to the people.’ They passed an antitrust bill through the Housb, which, with Democratic amendments forqed upon it, received the practically unanimous vote of all parties in that branch. But when it reached the Senate, despite the umost efforts of the Democrats to secure consideration, the bill was sett by a solid Republican vote Into committee, from which it will never emergn. The bill was proposed by thd IlepubV* cans solely for campaign purposes, attf without the slightest purpose of evßr letting it become a law. The Nicaragua canal bill pissed the House by an overwhelming non-parti-san vote, but In the Senatf the l‘r.cific railroad lobby tied up thff measure and it slumbers on the calendar. la both House and Senate resolutions eff sympathy with the Boer republics la their struggle for Independence Introduced, but In each body the retjolutlons were overwhelmed and suppressed under direct orders from tte White House. Efforts were made sh both bodies to secure the InvjstlgaHon of the numerous charges of fraud ufd misconduct of government officials ’n every branch of the service during t?e past three years, but In every Instance save one the resolutions were either fofeated or postponed of consideration until too late to be given effect. In one Instance aloue was ti thorough Investigation had. The arbitrary t’ke of the military In the Coeur d’Alet’es to suppress organized labor was investigated by the military affairs committee of the House, and the testimony given under oath was so damnatory In its character to the administration tint every effort was made on lhe part of the majority of the committee ns well as by the majority of the House to suppress the testimony and prevent its reaching the public. Representative Lentz of Ohio made a gallant struggle to secure the printing of 10,000 cqfles of this testimony, so that It could be distributed among the labor unions And other bodies which were equally Interested in the investigation and harf requested copies of the report, but his utmost efforts were unavailing. The Republicans have gathered In and destroyed or secreted nearly every fopy of the testimony which had to be printed for the use of the committee. Thousands of tons of trash are printed every year by the Government >.o find dls|>osltlon In junk shops, hot this vitally important report to every laboring man In the country could nd? b* permitted to see the Hg|it of day. Were on the Program. Certain other measurer stood Upou the Republican program, but failed to pass Congress for various reasons. Tho •I ministration sought by every mean*

in its power to secure the adoption of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty in the Senate, which would have given to Great Britain, with her enormous fleet, practical nayal control of the Nicaragua canal. But public sentiment came out so strongly against the surrender that the treaty was permitted to sleep. The ship subsidy bill failed for a similar reasoin. Its purpose was plain enough to enable a few’’wealthy shipbuilders and steamship owners to further increase their already enormous profits, and at the same time contribute the usual ten per cent rake-off to Mark Hauna's corruption fund. But the growl from the public was too ominous and consideration was postponed until next winter. The army reorganization bill was also abandoned, although the administration urged its adoption to the last, because Speaker Henderson bluntly told the President that its adoption would lose the Republicans twenty congressional seats In the middle West alone, the country not yet being prepared for militarism. It is safe to assert that every nefarious proposition which lias been postponed until next winter will be then adopted if McKinley wins at the polls In November. Should Bryan win they will be abandoned, as the Democrats of the Senate will hold them up If it takes until the fourth of March to do It. Our Philippine Policy. On the arrival of the Philippine com-, mission at Manila, Judge Taft, on behalf of the commission, proceeded to announce ti e Intentions of the administration (is to its future policy in dealing with tlti Islands. In effect Judge Taft announced that the administration has no definite Philippine policy, except to continue the war Indefinitely. The commission has no authority to make any material pledges to the insurgents. In fact. Judge Tfift stated the commission would have nothing to do with those Filipinos In arms. Nor would the Filipinos be justified In relying upon the commission should it make them pledges as to their future government. Any pledges made would need the sanction of the President and the possible concurrence of Congress. Gen. Miles pledged the people of Porto Rico that they would be given the same rights and privileges as held by our territories under the constitution, bv.t Mr. McKinley and the Republican majority in Congress brushed the pledges aside at the dictation of the sugar and tobacco trusts. Pledges and “fflain duty” counted for naught. As Lar as the Filipinos are concerned the administration has nothing definite to offer them. They are invited to surrender, with the understanding that they will get what it may please the administration to grant them. They may be ruled by a military dictator, or by carpetbaggers, or the Government may be turned over to a syndicate. And yet there are soma people who are unable to understaqri why the Filipinos decline to lay down their arms and accept that Indefinite measure of liberty that Mr. McKinley has in store for them.—Milwaukee News. ; McKinley’* War on Religion. Tie protest of Monsignor Sbarrettl against the decree of Gen. Brooke, declaring that civil marriages only should be recognized by law, will make an impression on everyone not animated by hatred of all religion. “Catholics and Protestants alike," he declared, “capiplaln because they were obliged to perform one ceremony to satisfy the law and another ceremony to satisfy their consciences. To this neither Cubans nor Americans were accustomed. What is now asked Is the marriage regulations generally obtaining in the United States, where. In this as In all things else, is allowed the greatest personjil freedom consistent with public sa f«ty.” The bigotry which would Inspire such a decree is inconceivable; the stupidity which would adopt the suggestion and formulate it Into enactment is equally amazing. It contravened not only the laws and immemorial customs of Cuba, but the laws and customs of the United States, where religious marriages are vaUd and sufficient, without any civil ceiwmony. It showed a deliberate and obitlnatfc purpose to goad and excite the. Cubans, and It is making enemies tot the United States throughout Spanish America, where we ought to have frUnds. The revelations of misgovernment, corruption and religious oppression in Cuba are being carefully noted by the Spanish-America ns, and are domijch to undo the excellent influence of American successes in the war with Spain. Even England has learned, of late years, not to meddle with the religtyus affair* of states and races subJeqj to her rule, and President McKinley, as an admirer of the English, profit by their example.- *-New York News. Where They Belong. it is reported that the Hawaiian planters class themselves with the llepnbllcan party of the United States in politics. Of course, that’s where they The Hawaiian planters have Ivcn accustomed on their plantations tj the form of slavery known as contract labor, whereby the worker Is to servitude for a certain number of years, and finds himself, ns a rule, compelled by circumstances to renew his contract when his term expires. This means a degraded form of labor, Irrespective of race or color, to which the Democratic party Is utterly opposed, but which is right In Hue with Republican policy, and the plans of tru*t and monopolies, fostered and protected by the Republican party. The degradation of American labor Is as much a principle of Republicanism as protection for the American M*onop-

olist. Nothing would suit the Republican party better than to have the white workingman reduced to a condition of servitude similar to that of the yellow workingman tn Hawaii; and the planters in our Pacific possessions naturally link themselves with thepoUtical organization which favors the system they would like to maintain. A Reactionary Period. The student who tracgs the- history of Republicanism through the ages rill not fail to note the reactionary tendency at the close of the nineteenth century. He will look In vain for a sign that the old love of independence which was so conspicuous as the century was coming in was still burning. He will turn to the living and prosperous republics to gather from the official records some evidence that Republicanism was tjie common cause of all lib-, erty lovers. He will find no such evidence. He will read upon the records of the old and proud monarchies proof that in the courts of Europe the destruction of young republics caused unbounded delight. The black page will not be illuminated by any record that in nny republic anywhere there was any protest against the assassination of Republicanism. But the cause of human liberty is not lost because of a few reverses. Nations come and go. but the principles of equality and justice remain unchanged. That which was right in 1770 has not become wrong in 1900. The inalienable rights of man are not modified by the color of his skin or obliterated because he happens to live in a distant continent or on an isolated Island. The making and unmaking of nations is but an Incident In the onward march of civilization.—Sioux Falls Press. A Prodigal Congress. The Republican party once suffered an overwhelming defeat because a Republican Congress had expended a billion of dollars during the two years Tor wlilch It "made” annual TppfoprfiF’ tions. The Fifty-sixth Congress during is first session has set a pace in the matter of expenditures which makes the repudiated billion-dollar Qongress a model of economy in comparison. The appropriations made during the session just closed, and which do not include a river and harbor bill, reach over $700,000,000. If this rate is maintained during the final session the present Congress will earn the sobriquet of the bllllon-and-a-half Congress.— Philadelphia Times. Ammunition for the Democrat*. Will the ghosts of the murdered South African republics furnish a less “telling cry” than their living, struggling forms would have offered if the war had dragged on? We do not know how much capital the Democrats could have made out of the South African business if the brave fight for the independence of the Boers bad been prolonged, but, whatever its measurement might have been, we doubt if it will be reduced one iota by the fact that the fate of the republics no longer impends, but lias become a reality.—Washington Post. Brother Abner. As we draw nearer to the Presidential campaign it is to be observed that Brother Abuer, who has from time to time filled the public eye. modestly withdraws himself from publie observation and even declines to talk to the newspaper reporters. Yet Brother Abner is a great and good man. Why should not he continue to enlighten the public, even though carping critics might call attention to the circumstance that he is now wallowing in luxury while four years ago he couldn’t get credit for a 25-ceut meal?—Chicago Chronicle. Nothing New in the Situation. The administration organs are, making much ado over the statement that Kansas farmers canuot get help enough to harvest their crops and are ascribing the fact to McKinley prosperity. It is the same old story, however—nothing new. From time Immemorial thousands of people have been idle in cities, while the Western farmers could not get help enough to harvest their crops. “McKinley prosperity” has nothing to do with the case.’—Syracuse Telegram. Indiana’* Democratic Leader. In Mr. Kern the Democrats nominated probably their strongest man. He is a creditable candidate withal. He lias strength of character, a fine executive mind, is a lawyer of conceded ability, a popular speaker of force and a mau oCfedecislon. He has courage. He Is clean and upright. He is in the prime of life.—lmlanapolis News. If They Had Been Honest. Had the majority in Cougress been sincere they could easily have legislated against the trusts iu the early days of the session, when geuuine anti-trust legislation could have passed both houses and been signed by the President without delay. No effective antitrust legislation has been intended.— St. Ix>uls Post-Dispatch. Exterminating the Filipino*. Our scheme of benevolent assimilation Is proceeding in the Philippines. It is estimated that we have killed 15,000 of them since We began to try to subdue them. At this rate we could succeed in exterminating them in a few hundred years if they would only stop being born.—Atlanta Journal. Cannot Find What They Reek. Tho Republicans are looking in vain for the lack of harmony in the Democratic ranks which they are fain to believe exists. The party of McKinley and Hanna is basing all its hope* of success on a divided ene/ny. and it is disappointed already.—Peoria HeraldTraoscript