The Appeal. [volume], July 19, 1902, Image 4

About The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
United States Senator Knute Nelson,
when introduced as temporary chairman
of the convention, made the following ad
dress, out! the issues now before the
people an- -attitude upon them of the
Republican party. He said
You have not forgotten, and all of you
well remember, the critical, hard, and un
promising times of 189b
The country was still suffering from the
industrial and financial stagnation and
depression which began and continued
undei Cleveland administration The
country was full of mechanics and labor
ing men of all classes, idle and without
woik Money, through want of confi
dence, was out of cnculation, and hard
to earn, to acquire or to borrow
The industrial, the financial and the
business world was stagnant, stood par
alyzed and in dread of the future And
the great masses oi tne people were suf
fering, restless and pining tor a way out
of the difficulties by which they were sur
rounded but with no clear purpose, and
in many cases, undecided as to the proper
road to take
It was at such a time and under such
conditions that the Democratic party
hoping that out of the stagnant chaos
and despair then prevailing they might
secure political success, and being willing
to secure victory and power at any cost
came before the American people with
their startling and dangerous program,
.declaring in favor of the free and unlim
ited coinage of silver, seeking to array la
bor againat capital, and depreciating the
protection, by the courts and the execu
tive of property against lawlessness and
disorder
And their program and policy was, as
you will remenber, emphasized and inten
sified by the declarations, promises and
animus of their standard bearer What
ever ambiguity there may have been in
any paragraph of tne platform was
cleared up and made plain by the candi
date
It was at this juncture, and under
these conditions that the Republican
partv, ever mindful of the welfaie and
best interests of the American people,
accepted the gauge of battle and took up
the defense of sound money, declared its
readiness to foster and protect, in har
mony, both capital and labor and to pre
serve and defend both against anarchy,
lawlessness and disorder
When tit is^ue was hrst joined In that
campaign the Democratic pa-ty felt con
fldent of success, for the outset it
seemed as though their new gospel had
captured tho masses of the people And
there were many good men in the coun
try who were alaimed at the prospect
and fearful of the result The very bold
ness and revolutionary character of the
Democratic platform and candidate were
paralyzing and awe-inspiring
But the Republican party, under the
leadership of one of its best and noblest
menWilliam McKinleyopened and car
ried on a campaign ot education, and ap
pealed with faith and energy to the con
fidence and good sense of the American
people Loyaltv to the trae interests of
the country and faith In the intelligence
and sober judgment of the masses were
the fountain and cornerstone of the Re
publican campaign
The efferv escence which existed imme
diitely after the Chicago convention
gradually disappeared as men began to
think to reason and to see the dangeis
of silver monometallism with incidental
contraction and the danger of arraying
labor against canital and thus paralj zing
ar' ieo "T*dj/in both
The tide was stemmed, the creed and
osepel of the Republican party bore fruit
and in November the American people
under the banner of the Republican party
gained a great and glorious victory and
tteio aved from one of the greatest
perils that had confronted the country
"SINCE THE DAYS or THE GREAT
REBELLION
The result ot the election was no soon
er known than the country seemed to
awakf to a new being and to a new life
The nightmare of Democracy was past,
and the reioicing was not alone confined
to the \ictini
W hen the ar of the great Rebellion
was over, and the fervor of battle had
ceased quite a namber of the vanquished
In their innermost hearts, were glad that
thp Union was saved
So when the great political struggle of
S9t was over, there were many men
who from the force of habit, or who
like drowning men grasping for a straw,
had oted the Democratic ticket who
were nevertheless when the heat of th
triit bad subsided, happy in the result
and silently rejoiced the success of the
Republican party
Time and more than five years of Re
publican rule have but served to em
phasize the great advantages and the
treat blessings that have come to the
country as a result of that \ictory
But the Republican party has not only
*tayed the hand of the destroyer, it has
also to a large extent and in a material
degree by judicious legislation and ad
ministration fostered and promoted the
industrial and economical life and de
velopment of the countrv
The Democratic tariff law of 1894,
which for lack of discriminating protec
tion, bred industrial stagnation, and was
sfulso insufficient as a revenue provider,
f897e
av way to the Republican tariff act of
passed at a special session called
by President McKinley for that purpose
Immediately after his inauguration
Whatever criticism may be pronounced
on some of the provisions of "this act
and no tariff act can escape or is above
all criticismit is certain that but for the
then unforseen Spanish war it would
have provided the country with ample
revenue for its current expenses, and it
is also certain, and amply demonstrated
by our experience, that under its flag our
country his enjojed the greatest and
mobt pronounced commercial, and indus
trial revival and continued prosperity in
Jill our history
Our total foreign commerceexports
an importsfrom 1893 to 1897 inclusive
a period of five yearsamounted to $8
278,765 020, with a balance of trade in
our favor for the entire period of $683,-
221,830 while our total foreign commerce
from 1897 to April, 1902, a period of four
ears and nine months, was $10,086,749,-
n, wth a balance of trade in our favor
pon the same, of the enormous sum of
f2,756 730 8bl, or an annual average of
580, iOl u91
It is this rapid and immense growth of
our foreign tradeespecially the great
balance in our favorthat has alarmed
and frightened so many countries of Eu
rope 'they fear and see in itand well
they maya loss of their industrial and
commercial supremacy, and its deoarture
to and vesture in the great republic of
the West
American products of the farm and fac
tory, under the momentum of enlarged
production, resulting from a good ho*ne
market, are invading with irresistible
force all countries of the civilized world
And this is merely the oveiflow of our
production over the home demand
The domestic trade of our country since
1897, resulting from our great industrial
revival and increased productive capacity-,
has more than kept pace with our foreign
commerce, and his increased with even
greater force and volume Capital has
been and stHl is abundant, and labor
finds no lack of employment at fair
wages. And in many industries the de
mand for the output is in excess of and
outruns the productive capacity Many
mills and factories have received orders
for months in advance of the time in
which they can be filled And there have
been many instances and localities where
there has been a scarcity of labor
This high degree of prosperity among
04jr own people is all the more remark-
*61e because it occurs at a time when
ananv of the countries of the Old World
are suffering from industrial stagnation,
which is attested by the fact that immi
-BTation is pouring to our shores from
those countries in greater volume than
ever
All this shows the solid basis and foun
dation on which our industrial Jife rests,
and also shows the great value of
OUR PROTECTIVE SYSTEM
to Its entirety And as a whole The im-
?807
Jr
ortant and needed tariff legislation for
was supplemented and given new
vigor by the currency act of March, 19C\,
making gold the standard unit of value,
providing for the refunding of our bond
ed debt in new 2 per cent bonds, and pro
viding for the increase of our national
bank ^currency by allowing circulation up
^s^I
SENATOR NELSON'S ADDRESS
Opening Gun of the State Campaign Fired by the
Senior Senator.
to the par value of the bonds deposited,
and by permitting the estaDlishment of
banks with only $25,000 capital in the
smaller towns, thereby decentralizing the
system, and bringing banking facilities
near to the homes of the people
Ihis act extinguished the silver heresy,
and put us once for ait on a gold basi
The reiunding of the debt provided for
in the act has proved a gieat success
On the dlst of Mav lyoi, our bonded
debt amounted to $931 07o.3-t0, and of this
$455,940,750 was in the new bonds, thus
reducing our interest cnarge by several
millions
On the Wth of March, 1900 when this
act was passed there were in existence
3 617 national banks With a capital of
$bl6 308,095 and with an outstanding cn
culation of *.r 402 730, and on the 19th
of May this yeai there were 4,494 banks,
with a capital of $i70,92b,093 and a circu
lation of $337,113 386, of which banks 670
were of th smaller class provided for in
the act It thus appears that'there has
been an increase ot 877 banks, $60 019,600
in capital and $102,712,656 in circulation
since March 1900
Our treasury is in the most orosperoua
conditionthe envy and wonder of other
nations
The fiscal vear ending yesterday closed
with a surplus of revenue over expendi
tures of $80 000,000, round numbers,
ad on the 30th day of June, 1902, there
was in the treasury over and above all
current liabilities, and over and above
the $150 000 000 gold redemption fund, a.
balance of nearly "5200,000 00
During Cleveland administrat on we
were a debtor nation suffering with gold
withdrawals to Europe, and had gieat
difficulty and had to borrow to maintain
the gold redemption reserve
Since those dav under Republican aus
pices we have become a creditor nation,
the large balance of trade has turned the
tide of gold to our shores in great abun
dance, and we have become Ine financial
center of the world Money is plentier
and interest lowei here than in any other
countrv, and to-day our country domi
nates the financial and industrial world
Under the leadership of Washington we
gained our political independence and un
der the-leadership of McKinley and
Roosevelt we have gaind our industrial
and financial independence
One of the important and engrossing
ouestions pressing th* American people
in recent veirs and at the present time
is that of trusts and monopolies, and how
to regulate and control them so as not to
become oppressive and our masters We
are living the midst of an economic
and industrial revolution Old methods,
on a numerous but each case limited,
scale have given way to new methods
on an enlarged and more concentrated
scale
The tendency of the age is combination
and concentration, and where the chief
object of this is to lessen the cost of pro
duction so as to cheapen the most to the
consumer and not to obtain a monopoly,
suppress competition or check the reduc
tion ot price to the consumer, the public
will not be injured and has no fair
ground for complaint
But a combination which becomes in
one form or another an absolute mono
poly, or nearly such, shutting off all sub
stantial competition is in its very es
sence a menace and a danger, because of
human selfishness and human greed com
mon to all as it places the public at the"
mercy and under the heels of a single
concern None of us would like to be
the subject ot an absolute monarch,
however gentle, kind and humane he
might be, because we would be in his
power subject to his whims and his" ca
price at all times
Charles Bonaparte, the eminent law
5 er of Baltimore," at the great confer
ence of trusts held Chicago Sep
tember 1899, clearly stated the case, and
the distinction in the following lan
guage
If therefore thf combination- of
producing agencies doth not affect the
freedom of competition, the consumer
will benefit bv the reduction in the cost
of production thereby caused if the com
bination creates a virtual monopoly the
consumer will not ordinarily benefit by
the decrease of cost, on the contrary,
the tendency of such a combination is to
increase the price whilst reducing the
cost of the product
The Republican party has not been un
mindful of its duty
TO PROTECT THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE
from the dangerous consequences of
monopolies so rar as the same can be
done by legislation In 1890 during the
administration of President Harrison
congiess was Republican both
branches the so-calld Sherman anti
trust law was enacted prohibiting monop
olies and combinations restraint ot
trade, in interstate commerce which law
is substantially the only anti-monopoly
legislatioan i-J-P-
on our federals statute books
ssin S
Po case brought under
this law, the supreme court of the Unit
ed States has substance, held that un
der the Federal Constitution congress has
no power to legulate combinations or
monopolies in manufacture as distin
guished from combination or monopoly in
traffic, and no power to regulate or con
trol combination or monopoly other
than interstate traffic, and that the pow
er pr regulating combinations or1
ntir
mon
opoly in manufacture and local traffic
rests with the several states and not in
tfie federal "government
ITOT^'I
1 IS apparent that the act of
1890 has substantially exnausted the pow
er of congress the premises and it is
far from affording adequate relief There
are fortj-five states in the mon no two
pi them with similar anti-monopoly lee s
lation, and some of them with none at all
A combination or monopoly production
and manufacture
affectingthuseexist
th welfare
country, can un
checked and untrammeled in any one of
the states from wfc'cn the people of the
other states suffer and against which they
can obtain no protection Besides n- is
oftentimes difficult to separate the con
sequences and effect of local traffic from
interstate traffic If the injuries which a
monopoly can inflict were limited to the
state under which it exists and has its
seat, then there would be no harm in
leaving it to the exclusive control of such
state but where such a monopoly extends
its operations throughout the entire coun
try, then it is evident that the scope of
the relief and protection ought to be co
extensive with the injury and harm that
can be done
A monopolv, national in its scope and
consequences should for the protection of
the entire people be subject to national
control Wncever seeks to emov national
protectionn and natiohalnactvn
s,
Jec
a
United States
Sec 2 Congress shall have power to
define, regulate, control, piohibit. or dis
solve trusts, monopolies or otherwise.
The several states may continue to "ex-
ercise such power in any manner not in
conflict with, the laws of the United
Sec 3 Congress shall have power to
enforce the provisions of this article bv
appropriate legislation.
When this resolution was put on Its
passage on May 31, 1900, nearly every
Republican voted for it and nearly every
Democrat voted against it. It failed to
pass for want of two-thirds majority
which was lacking because of the united
opposition of the Democratic party.
Our state legislature, when the Repub
licans were in a majority and under a
Republican executive, for the purpose of
preventing a monopoly hx railroad trans
portation, in 1874, passed the following
law
"No railroad corporation, or the les
sees, purchaser or managers of -any rail
road corporation, shall consolidate the
stock, property or franchise of suchcor
poration with, or lease or purchase, the
'*Jr-
'V-
h/A '^^f-ia^
^kf^^
and most deci3T
antages should
als submit to national inspection and
rtguo
Protectio i such cases
should be mutual
In the light of these facts that these
necessities clear to those who have stud
ied the subject, and with a view of giving
rress ampler power to control mon
opolies and hostile combinations, the ju
ci iir^ committee of the house of repre
sentatives, in the Firry-sixth congress
reported a joint resolution proposing the
following amendment to the Constitution
ot the United States
Section 1 All powers conferred by this
article shallt extendetojurisdiction the several statese
the territories, th District of Columbia
and allubterritoriese under the sovereignty
to th of th
4t
works or franchise of, or in any way con
trol any other railroad corporation own
ing or having under its control a para del
or competing line, nor shall any officer
of such railroad corporation, act as an
officer of any railroad cvrporation owning
or having the control of a parallel or
competing line and the question whether
railroads are paralleled or competing lines
shall, when demanded by the complain
ant, be decided by a jury as in other
civil issues" And in 18S1 the following
"No railroad corporation shall consoli
date with lease or purchase or in any way
become the owner of or control any other
railroad corporation or stock, franchise
rights or property thereof which owrs or
controls a parallel or competing line
These laws, which I have quoted and
referred to, clearly express the public
will and the public demand, and you are
all familiar with the factand it is now a
matter of nublic histotythat President
Roosevelt has not suffered the federal
law, nor Gov Van Sant the state laws,
to remain obsolete or a dead letter
I am confident however, and feel full*
justified in saying to you that neither of
these high executive officials have been
actuated by an* feeling of ill will or
hostility to our railroads or their able and
public spirited managers but only by the
sense of public duty to execute the laws
on om statute, books which laws they
have tak*n ai oath to support
The buildeis and managers of our vast
railroad \btems in the Northwest n.v
pe formed a tjrcal task and rendered a
most noble and
IMPORTANT SERVICE
in settling and developing our great
dinnip They have followed with swift
pac in thp wake o ihe homestead set
tlor ana often pic^od-d him They hav
born many burden*, and encountered great
difficulties Thev have brought good or
fai- tr importation xaci .ties within th=
easy reach ot nearly all, in the farthest
cortu.r ot tht stau and whatever nay
lacking in tins iexpect 'h^j. are fa-t
suppljnifr in fcners:* e^severance a~d
abditv oir steat i usicad men of Mimi-
AJta stind s*cnid re. of then ki"* in
the entire countrv and as such we are
proud of them We cherish no" hostilitv
to them and wish them no harm, but wish
to live in harmonv and in co-operatnn
with them at all times
We aie opposed to the consolidation
not so much because we fear that they
would make a burdensome or hostile use
of it as because we know that they are
well along in years and may before a
great while pass from our midst and that
then we would be at the mercy of a non
resident corporate body composed of *m
army of non-resident stockholders who
will be more concerned about high divi
dends than low lates Complete consoli
dation, whatever its purpose nnv be be
comes nevertheless^, in its essence a
monopoly, and a complete monopoly
necessarily involves aosolutism and tnii
IS repulsive to the great bodv of the peo
ple and is dreaded by them in the realm
of traffic no less than in the political
i wofld
ANOTHER GREAT CHAPTER
of Republican history remains to be told
When President McKinley entered upon
the duties of his high office, the oppressed
and downtrodden people of Cuba had been
for many years with varying success,
struggling to shake the yoke of Spain ana
to secure their independence Cleveland's1
administration had turned aMeif ear to
their appeals for assistance and had given
them no material or moral aid But
President McKinley faithfully represent
ing the feeling and sympathy of thi
\merican people for the poor Cubans
without delav proceeded tnrough diplo
matic channels, to energetically mteivene
in behalf of their independence, and I
have no doubt but what such intervention
would ultimately have been successful
v/itnoat war had not the sad and revolt
ing catastropheexplosion of the Mairp
occurred in Havana harbor in February,
189S That cruel and unprovoked act,
ttith irresistible force, brought on t"e
Spanish war for which we were but poor
ly prepared
But the patriotism of our people and tne
energy and resouices of our government
were such that a few weeks we w^ie
full batde array, both on land and or
sea
And the war, begun at Manila on the 1st
day of May, was ended at Santiago on the
3d of July It was a
warrelinquished
SENATOR KNU^TE NELSON.
glorious short
Soa her
lights to Cuba and ceded to us tne Pniu J
pine islands and Porto Rico The peop'e
of these islands .vere forever relieved of
Spanish bondage, tyianny and oppression
More than two years ago we estab
lished a free and stable legislative gov
ernment in Porto Rico, giving the
people of the island the blessings of a
free government akin to our own, and
such as they had never enjoyed or
dreamed of before Courts untrampeled
and open to all, bringing speedy justice
within the easy reach of all have been
established and are in operation A sys
tem of free schools with school houses
and comnetent teacheis has bepn or
ganized and established all over the isl
ands Roads have been graded and built
in the interior and remote portions of the
island, where only precarious bridle
paths ex'sted before The people have le
covered from the effects .of the tornado
and storms which devastated their island
in 1899, and under a good government
and free trade with the States, have en
tered upon an era of prosperity most
promising and encouraging for both
them and ourselves A million of peo
ple, oppressed and a state of tutelage,
have been regenerated and born to a new
life under the Stars and Stripes The
very thought of it fills every patriotic
American heart with thankfulness and
pride
And what have we not done for poor,
bleeding Cuba. The ten-year insurrec
tion had been suppressed with treachery
and blood. A calm, born of despair, had
supervened for a few years Then,
goaded beyond endurance, the poor peo
ple had again taken up arms for their
independence and had bravely struggled
against greats odds with but slight pros
pects of success. And it was then that
our nation came to their relief and smote
their oppressor, a blow swift, sure and
decisive, which forever extinguished the
rule of Spain in the Western Hemisphere.
But the people of Cuba stood In great
need of our further assistance before
they could fairly come to their own, be
fore theycouW secure a stable government
and all the blessings which flow from it.
And this assistance we have given them
with a most intelligent and generous
hand They had not means, no stable
government, or law or order Their lands'
and their farms were devastated, dis
mantled and a waste, and their cities
mere reeking with poverty, filth and
pestilence. The mass of the people were
pauperized, helpless, aimless and many
of them mourners for the dead of their
S -it
war First of all we had to clothe and
feed them, -then establish a law and
order then aid them to embark in self
susta'ning existence, then cleanse, purify
-and render immune from pestilence their
cities and towns, and then, last of all,
aid them to establish a safe and stable
republican form of government.
All this we have done and accom
plished with patience and great skill, in
full measure, and we have launched
among the republics of the world a sis
ter republic, hopeful, buoyant and full of
life Three years of tutelage under the
Stars and Stripes have given tne people
of Cuba a training in self-government
most valuable and blissful Never was
mother kinder to her daughter than
America has been to Cuba Who can
now doubt the wisdom, the unselfishness
and the magnanimity of the great re
public
Cuba and Porto Rico are both most
happy in a new existence and a new life
And what we have accomplished for them
we shall in some form though less rapid
ly, because the conditions are different,
accomplish for the Philippine Islands
We entered unon the Spanish war to
free Cuba, but when it was over we tound
ourselves in occupation of Porto Rico
and the Philiopme islands, our sense of
duty and our sense of justice forbade us
to return them to the clutches of Spanish
tyranny and oppression
The problem was even more pressing
and unavoidable in the case of the Pnilip
pme islands than Porto Rico, more brutal
and cruel because the people were net of
the same race, were only In part civil
ized, were composed of several races and
manv tribesfrom the savage Moros and
imbecile and dwarfish Negntees to the
Tagals and cunning Chinese Mistaztfes
a very babel of humanity lacking all
cohesion, all the elements of nationality
and all experience in self-government or
indeed any government at all, save the
despotism of Spam
To abandon these untutored and hetero
eneous masses to the further rule of
parish brutality seemed rather cruel
and shock.ng to our sense of right and
justice To abandon them absolutely in
their then condition and helplessness to
themselves seemed even more leckless
and unjust both to them and to us for it
would have led them irresistibly into dire
confusion chaos and self-destruction and
ultimately and swiftly to their seizure and
exploitation by one or more of the great
powers of Europe Strong fleets of for
eign powers were tnere ready to move in
the moment we moved out
A great nation can no more afford to
evade or shiik a great moral lesponsibil
lty than an individual And the con
science of a republic such as ours is but
the counterpart of the conscience of the
people incarnate and untarnished There
was but one honorable, manly and just
course, under the stress of the facts, to
take And that was to accept a cession
TJf the islands, pacify them, civilize them
&nd establish law ana order and a good
government for them
President McKinley was at fiist loath
to insist on a cession, but when the great
jpoial problem in all its length and
comprehended it, the path of justice and
breadth, dawned upon nim and he fully
duty seemed plain to him He was no
moral coward no evader or responsibil
ity, and he represented a people who
never falter npver shirk and never trim
We owed it to ourselves to the people
of the Philippine islands and to the en
tire civilized world to do just what we
did do To have dono otherwise would
have rendered our nation a moral imbecile
among the enlightened nations of the
world
At the time Dewev entered Manila Bay
Spam was in undisputed possession and
contiol of the islands The insurrection
which Aguinaldo and some of his asso
ciates had started in 1896 they had com
promised and abandoned for money con
sideration in 1897 and nad taken them
selves to China, wheie they were living
when Dewev* steamed into the Bav of
Manila There was at that time no Phil
ippine insurrection and no semblance of
a Philippine armv or Philippine govern
ment ot any kind Under the piomise,
which turned out to be a meie pretense,
of helping our forces to expel the Span
iards, Aguinaldo and some of his asso
ciates with the permission of Dewey re
turned to Luzon and were furnished with
arms and ammunition But no sooner
had they landed and secured arms than
they proceeded to organize an army and
set up a military government, all in hos
tilitv to our government ratheri than
Spain They were even ready at one time
to join and co-operate with the Spaniards
This insurrection, thus started, and fed
bv the ignorant and savage lawlessness
of the people, we have suppressed Most
of it, except in a few isolated parts and
in the case of a few barbarous and sav
age tribes, and bands of ladrones or roa.
bers, we suppressed mote than a year
ago
A year ago our army in the islands
numbered 50 000 we have but 32 000 tnere
now, and by next fall expect to reduce
our force to 12 000 men A year ago th?
number of towns in which troops were
stationed was 4fa0 at this time the num
ber is only ,245 and deducting from this
the stations in Samar and Batangas,
there are but 100 left, and these would be
greatly reduced if more extensive quar
ters were found for the troops in the
larger towns In the meantime, under the
Taft commission, we have successfully
established civil government, with law
and order, in most of the provinces In
thirtj five provinces civil governments
are established and working most success
fully, chiefly under native officials, while
nine provinces civil government is suc
cessfully carried on under military au
thority
In thirty-five of the provinces a svstem
of public schools has been establish-^,
with nearly 1,000 Americans and 4,000 na
tive teachers, thus affording the people
an opportunity for education such as they
have never enjoyed *before They are
eager to attend the schools and to learn
English, and they learn with quickness
and avidity There are to-day American
teachers 200 towns and villages whr
there is not a single American soldier
With the exception of a few isolated and
barbarious tribes and bands, and the La-,
^drones, the islands are to-day pacified,
and law and order and civil government
prevails A civil government more just
and liberal than ever enjoyed under Spnn
lsh rule
Under a liberal tariff law, enacted by
the Philippine commission and ratified
and supplemented by an act of congress
at this session, which eliminates the
harsh features of Spanish taxation, ample
revenues will be received to cover all ex
penses of the government of the islands,
including: the maintenance of a liberal
system of public schools, the improve
ment of the highways and harbors and
the neccjessary sanitation of the country.
Defective Page
Congress has passed at this session an
act- giving an ampler and broader power
to the ommission for the establishment
-of civil government and the development
pf the islands This act among other
things,v provides for the 3tirvcv, settlement
and entry of the public lands and the
opening and development of the mines
and forests There are in round num
bers 72,000 000 acres of land in the islands,
most of it rich and arable, with an
abundance of timber Of this amount 67,-
000,000 acres are public lands and only 5
000,000 are private property most'y
church and friar land, farmed bv natives,
PS laborers, or as tenants, at low w%'ts
or high and exorbitant rents This syfe^
tem ol church and -friar ownership and
farming* is and has been most burden
some and odious to the natives, and was
one of their greatest sources of com
plaint against the Spaniards
Besides, under Spanish rule, few of the
natives had secured titles to the lands
they occupied Most of them were meie
naked squatters With a view of reliev
ing the people of the burdens of friar and
church lands the act referred to makes
provision for securing by purchase or
condemnation these lands and the disposal
of them in fortj-acre farms at cost pri'e
to the natives who occupy them The a~t
further provides that the natives may
secure from the public lands without cost,
title in fee to the extent of forty acr^s
in each case of the lands they occupied
and tilled before we became possessed
the country, and fortv acres of that soil
in that climate and with then productions
makes a good and ample farm In this
way every family can secure a home of
its own
This free distribution of land fee,
among thp nativesa thing unknown un
der Spanish lawwill do more than am
thmg else to make the mass of the peopie
happy, contented and law abiding The
sense of ownership, begets a love of peace
and a taste for law and order With land
ownership, a good system of public
schools, and improved means of communi
cation, the people will be in a position to
become prosperous and fitted tor local
self-government
Such brief is what we have done,
and in the immediate future aim to do,
for the people who came to us as a legacy
fiom Spam
In our eftorts to pacify, to civilize and
to uplift them and especially in our re
cent efforts of legislation in their beh-11^-
we have as you all knov encountertd
the bitter prolonged and most unreason
able opposition of the Democratic party in
congress
lhey would havaus lay down our task
of justice and duty and would have us
abandon the islands and their people to a
hard and hopeless fate while they are
still helnless and in a state of economic
and political childhood
Those islands which some of the Dem
ocracy, by their /otes, for both treaty
and compensation helped us in secur
ing those island whci o\" brave aid
valorous irmv inJ na have occupied
and been engaged in pacifying tor the
last three years, now that the hard
drudgery has been done and peace with
law and order, has been restored and the
people are about to be regenerated and
born to a newer and better life now,
when all this gieat and necessary pre
liminary work has been done they
preach the gospel of scuttle and abandon
ment louder and fiercer than ever, thus
belittling as far as they can, the great
results that have been accomplished and
declaring it all fruitless and a failure,
as they declared the war for the pres
ervation of the Union a failure in 1864
After acquiring the islands by as valid
and just a method as we ever acquired
any of our territorial acquisitions, after
pouring out our blood and our treasure
for them without stint, voluntarily and
with well-nigh one accord we are to
treat them as a stranded wreck, as
though we ourselves had been wrecked in
them and aie to cast them adrift as an
abandoned derelict at sea This is the
latest gospel of the milnant Democracy
What the American people have in be
half of humanity and justice, by their
valor, their treasure and their blood, ac
quired and held, they will never permit
to be wrecked, scuttled or aoandoned
The task which under a high sense of
justice and duty they assumed in 1898
they will faithtully carry out for the
good of our entire country and for the
good of helpless and downtrodden hu
manity the world over
In advocating their scheme of abandon
ment the Democracy have taken special
delight and found a luxury in traducing
our army by hunting for and proclaim
ing with intense zeal and satisfaction,
isolated cases and instances wheie son*e
ot our officers and soldiers goaded by the
cruelty and savagery of the enemy, have
transcended the methods of civ llized war
fare The fact that a few of our officers
and soldiers have transgressed on the
rules of war can have no valid bearing
on the justice or wisdom of the policy of
retaining the islands Such transgres
sions occur and are liable to occur in any
wai in fact occurred in the Civil war
and yet no one ever undertook to measure
the justice of that war by isolated cases
of cruelty on the part of a few men in our
great army Neither has it appeared or
been shown that the president or the war
depaitment has been negligent in bring
ing before mil'tary courts tor investiga
tion trial and punishment all cases of
crueltv and uncivilized warfare brought
to their attention
These Democratic efforts to besmarch
our army to exploit a few of the short
comings without giving it credit for its
patience its valor and its manifold acts
of generosity -and kindness manifest a
spirit of sheer partisan wantonness ur
provoked and unpatriotic ior they have
no bearing on the policy of detention nor
are thev justified by any negligence of
the president or the war department in
the premises
President McKinley had himself partici
pated in war was familiar with all iih
hardships and drawbacks and was a
most humane and kina-hearted man The
same is true of President Roosevelt and
neither of them woid for a moment tol
erate or permit to go unpunished any acts
of cruelty contraiy to the rules and cus
toms of civilized warfare
The American army is a part of our
own people, of the same race, training
and blood The rank and file are a fair
representative of the average of our cul
ture, the intelligence and the moral status
of the American people, and as a whole
supei ior these respects to the rank and
file of any other army They are all, in a
certain sense, volunteers, for we have no
conscription or enforced military service
in this country as they have the oia
world They are as humane and as kind
hearted as any troops ever marshaled in
battle array Their reeoid in Cuba and
in China bear undisputed witness to this
fact, and in the Philippine islands bar
ring a few instances of cruelty provoked
by the savage and barbarous methods of
the enemy, their conduct has been, on
the whole, brave, patient, kind and for
bearing The savage enemy has often
mistaken this forbearance for fear or
want of courage and they have often en
cduntered great perils and suffered maim
ing and slaughter because of their klnrV
ness, generosity and forbearance
The Democrats have shifted their spleen
against the policy of retention to a spleen
against our little army in the islands A
true friend never takes pains to hunt for
our short-comings or finds delight therein,
but is ever readj to see and proclaim our
good qualities No Democratic orator
congress has found occasion to see or
laud7
or make known ary of the good and
noble qualities of that army He has ut
tered no kind or sympathetic word in its
behalf Such conduct is
WORSE THAN UNPATRIOTIC,
it is positivelv cruel to our army The^ot
of the soldier in war is most hard, dreary
and trying His scanty pay Is no stimu
lant It is the fact that he carries the
flag and upholds the sovereignty and au
thority of our country places where
without him neither would exist that
gives Mm heart to Drave trial, hunger
and danger As our soldiers cluster around
their bivouac at night after a long, weary
march through .swamp and jungle in pur
suit of a treacherous and elusive enemj,
with a scant supper, footsore and too tired
to sleep, the one thing above all that
cheers and comforts them is the thought
that their country upholds them,
cherishes and loves them, and takes a
pride in them, in short, that the countrv's
heart Is wholly theirs for weal or woe
To deprive the soldier of this cheer and
comfort is heartless and brutal in the ex
treme, and the American people will
never, for one moment, approve or toler
ate it He who assails our army assails
our flag, and both are sacred and dear to
every lover of his country
"Brave boys are they, gone at their coun
try's call
And we shall never cease to cherish
their patriotism, their*bravery, their for
bearance and their faithfulness
The glory, the honor and the prpsperity
of our country at home and abroad under
the leadership of President Roosevelt is
safe in the keepin_ and charge. o_ the Re
puolicaa party. We shall inert and, sue- I pllw wherever practicabla.
cessfully solve the Philippine problem as
we have met and successfully solved ev
ery other great problem we have ben
confronted with since 1896 We shall in
time plant the flag of libertv, order and
good government as firmly in the distant
Orient as here at home and millions of
oppressed and downtrodden humanity will
worship and forever bless tne great re
public of the West
The Platform.
The following is the platform In full:
The Republicans of Minnesota assembled ia
state convention reaffirm the platform adopted
by the Republican national convention at
Philadelphia in 1900 and pledge anew their
loyal support to its principles
We mourn the tragic death of our late presi
dent William McKinley As a citizen soldier
and statesman he yielded his best service to
his countrj won a place among the great
leaders of the world and is enshrmed in the
hearts of his countrymen
We cordially indorse the able and patriotic
administration of President Roosevelt W
are proud of his manly courage his purity and
his devotion to the interests of the entire
country and pledge him the earnest support
of the Republicans, of Minnesota in all his
efforts to continue and advance the prosperity
of the people at home and the glory of the
republic abroad It is therefore the sense of
this convention that President Roosevelt suc
ceed himself as president of the United States
The Republicans of Minnesota lament th
death of their peeiles leader and statesman
Cushman Davis since the last convention
of our party in this state He was a braie
soldier one of the purest wisest and most
trusted statesman beloved by the people anj
had won an enduring fame by his illustrious
service We revere his memory and deeply
mourn his loss
We congratu'ate the people of Minnesota
upon the patriotic and businesslike aairinib
tration of Gov Samuel Van Sant and other
officials of the state We especially commend
the conscientious and faithful supervision by
the governor of the state institutions His
official efforts have been continually directed
to an earnest and upright administration or
state matters
Merge r.
It has been the settled policy, as declared
In the laws of thii state for a quarter of 3
century that competing lines of railway shall
not be merged We believe that the protection
of the citizen and property as well as ths
safety of the state rests in obedience to law
and we therefore heartily commend Gov Van
Sant in his efforts to enforce the laws of this
stite against the consolidation of competing
lines of railway
Taxation.
We are in favor of such legislation as will
equalize as far as possible the burdens of
taxation and require all persons corporations
and property to bear their just proportion cf
such taxation The legislative branch of our
governne*u havir-g decided that certain con
stitutional 'n ldments are n*ces=an be'ore
sut-h legislation can be aaopted we p'edge our
partv to support these constitutional amend
Trent* Vie also pledge our party to support
the proposed amendment increasing the gross
earnings tax of railroals to 4 per cent
Tlie Philippines.
We indorse the couise of the administration
in the establishment of peace and order and
of civil goverrment in the Philippine islands
We favor the policy of encouraging the par
ticipation of the inhabitants of the Philip
pine islands in their domestic government to
the largest extent practicable whenever peace
and order are restored and thev demonstrate
ntelligerce capacity and a desire for sush
lesponsrbiiitv
The Army and Navy.
We condemn tnose who continue to resist
the authority of the United States either open
ly the Philippines or secretly at home,
end we condemn strongly the malignant at
tacks' upon our army and navy which have
won for the people of the t/nited States,
whether upen foreign or domestic soil or s.a
imperishable fame
Protection
We adhere to the policy of protection Un
der It our industries have developed, the op
portuniti"s for labor have bfp inc-eased and
our country ha3 passed from a state of busi
ness depressio-i rtnd teirible suffering to the
most lemarkable activity and prosperity
the History of the world We beUeve that
pro cction and recipro ltv are twin mea ures
of Republican policy anl success or in other
words the correct application of reciproci
is protection
Under this doctrine we favor such modifica
tion in our tariff schedules as is fluw or may
from time to time be required by changing con
ditions to remove any burdens from our peo
ple and to hold and extend our trade among
the rations
Reciprocity.
We heartily favor the wider extension of our
ma-kets for the sale of all American products
To this end we endorse the policy of reciprocity
as denned by President Roosevelt in his n
nual message to the Fifty seventh congres*
when he said
Our first duty is to see that the protection
granted by the taiiff in every case when* it is
needed is maintained and that reciprocity b
sought for so far as it can be done without
injury to our home industries
And as defined by our late lamented presi
dent William McKinley in his last utterance
to the ppepople at Buffalo when he said,
By sensible trade arrangements which will
not interrupt our home production we should
extend the outlet for our increasing surplus
W should take from our customers such of
their products as we can IJ^P without harm to
our own industriP3 and labor
Tlie New Republic of Cuba.
We congratulate the new republic of Cuba
upon its entrance among the nations of the
earth We wish for it peace prosperity and
a lomj and successful national career
Wt favor reciprocity with Cuba urged by
President Roosevelt by a plan which shall pn
sure th profitable interchange of commodities
insure to the advantage of both nations help
the Cuban people needing assistance but the
chief benefits of which shall not enrich trusts,,
monopolies or foreign speculators or which
shall not Interrupt our home production
Trust*.
We recognize the necessity of co ope-ation in
order to meet new conditions in the industrial
world, and to compete successfully for the
world markets but the combinations wh'ch
stifle competition limit production control
prices or unduly increase profits or dues,
and especially when they raise the prices of
the necessaries of life, are opposed to public
policy and should be repressed
We favor legislation national and state to
prevent such abuses We approve of the sin
cere and determined efforts of President Roose.
velt and Gov Van Sant to enforce the laws
and demand that all administrative officers
shall enforce the law in the most vigorous
manner, so that legitimate competition shall
not be embarrassed or destroyed
'Finance.
Our faith in the gold standard and the flnan
cial legislation of the Republican party has
been amply Justified by the wonderful stride*
of American Industry and commerce, and in
the universal confidence of the people In th
ability of the government to meet every ex
isting of future financial obligation
Pensions.
We recognize as a continuing obligation of
debt and gratitude due from the Republic to
the soldiers and sailors whose valor saved th
life of the nation and those who won glory
for its flag in the recent war with Spain in
the Philippines and in China A proper recog
nition of this sacred obligation demands that
liberal provision be made by pensions for th#
disabled survivors of these veterans, and ths
widows and orphans of those who are dead
We favor the most stringent national and
state legislation to suppress anarchy
We favor the election of United States sen
ators by the people
Minnesota Delegation.
The Republican party of Minnesota for years
past has had a Just prids in its representation
in the senate of the United States, and strong
ly indorses our present senators. Honorabls
Knute Nelson and Honorable Moses E Clapp
for their conspicuous and efficient service for
our state and nation and believe that our wel
fare Is best subserved by a continuance of
their eminence and ability in their present high
station
The Republican party ot Minnesota, Indorses
its representatives from this state in congress,
is proud of their ability, courage. Inde
pendence and experience in shaping legislation,
caring for the interests of our commonwealth.
Insisting upon the rights of its members and
maintaining the interests of the producing
classes of the West, bringing added glory and.
honor to the state they so ably represent.
Labor.
The Republican party of Minnesota recom
mends that eight hours should be considered
a day's work on all works controlled by publlo
authority We favor the abolishment of Sun
day labor where practicable We earnestly
solicit a better understanding between capital
and labor and heartily indorse the approaching
convention in Minneapolis where employers and
employed will meet in friendly conference W
-f favor the use of the union label on state snp-