A History of the Republican Party Part 20

NICARAGUA Ca.n.a.l.

We favor the immediate construction, ownership, and control of the Nicaraguan ca.n.a.l by the United States and we denounce the insincerity of the plank in the national Republican platform for an Isthmian ca.n.a.l in face of the failure of the Republican majority to pa.s.s the bill pending in Congress.

We condemn the Hay-Pauncefote treaty as a surrender of American rights and interests, not to be tolerated by the American people.

STATEHOOD FOR THE TERRITORIES.

We denounce the failure of the Republican party to carry out its pledges, to grant statehood to the territories of Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, and we promise the people of those territories immediate statehood and home rule during their condition as territories, and we favor home rule and a territorial form of government for Alaska and Porto Rico.

ARID LANDS.

We favor an intelligent system of improving the arid lands of the West, storing the waters for purposes of irrigation, and the holding of such lands for actual settlers.

CHINESE EXCLUSION LAW.

We favor the continuance and strict enforcement of the Chinese exclusion law and its application to the same cla.s.ses of all Asiatic races.

ALLIANCE WITH ENGLAND.

Jefferson said: "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none."

We approve this wholesome doctrine and earnestly protest against the Republican departure which has involved us in so-called politics, including the diplomacy of Europe and the intrigue and land-grabbing of Asia, and we especially condemn the ill-concealed Republican alliance with England, which must mean discrimination against other friendly nations, and which has already stifled the nation's voice while liberty is being strangled in Africa.

SYMPATHY FOR THE BOERS.

Believing in the principles of self-government, and rejecting, as did our forefathers, the claim of monarchy, we view with indignation the purpose of England to overwhelm with force the South African republics.

Speaking, as we do, for the entire American nation except its Republican officeholders, and for all free men everywhere, we extend our sympathy to the heroic burghers in their unequal struggle to maintain their liberty and independence.

REPUBLICAN APPROPRIATIONS.

We denounce the lavish appropriations of recent Republican Congresses, which have kept taxes high, and which threaten the perpetuation of the oppressive war levies.

SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.

We oppose the acc.u.mulation of a surplus to be squandered in such bare-faced frauds upon the taxpayers as the shipping subsidy bill, which under the false pretense of prospering American ship-building, would put unearned millions into the pockets of favorite contributors to the Republican campaign fund.

REPEAL OF THE WAR TAXES.

We favor the reduction and speedy repeal of the war taxes, and a return to the time-honored Democratic policy of strict economy in governmental expenditures.

CONCLUDING PLEA TO THE PEOPLE.

Believing that our most cherished inst.i.tutions are in great peril, that the very existence of our const.i.tutional republic is at stake, and that the decision now to be rendered will determine whether or not our children are to enjoy those blessed privileges of free government which have made the United States great, prosperous, and honored, we earnestly ask for the foregoing declaration of principles the hearty support of the liberty-loving American people, regardless of previous party affiliations.

William J. Bryan, of Nebraska, was again nominated for President, and Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, for Vice-President, both on the first ballots. While the Democratic Convention was in session, the Silver Republicans met in Convention in the same city. The Chairman _pro tem._ was Henry M. Teller, who had withdrawn from the Republican Convention in 1896. This Convention nominated William J. Bryan for President, and the National Committee was authorized to name the Vice-President, which they did on July 7th, by endorsing Adlai E. Stevenson.

The campaign of 1900 was as animated throughout as was that of 1896.

Imperialism was the issue raised by the Democrats, and the result in November was an overwhelming victory for the Republican candidates, McKinley and Roosevelt, who carried enough States to a.s.sure them of 292 electoral votes to 155 for Bryan and Stevenson. The popular vote for the leading candidates was as follows: McKinley (Rep.), 7,207,923; Bryan (Dem.), 6,358,133; Woolley (Prohib.), 208,914; Debs (Soc. Dem.), 87,814; Barker (M. R. Peop.), 50,373; Malloney (Soc. L.), 39,739.

William McKinley was inaugurated for his second term on March 4, 1901.

On September 6, 1901, the almost unbelievable news was telegraphed over the country that President McKinley, while in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, had been shot twice by an a.s.sa.s.sin, an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz. But it proved only too true, and for a week the people of the country watched the bulletins and prayed for the President, who fought bravely against death. The wound in the stomach was fatal, and William McKinley, the third martyred President of the Republican Party, pa.s.sed away on September 14, 1901, at the home of John G. Milburn in Buffalo. The great purity and simplicity of his life, his devotion to his wife, his courageous struggle for the great economical principles which had brought the country to the highest degree of prosperity ever known, and the splendid record of his administration made his loss deeply felt by the nation, and he was enshrined beside Lincoln in American history. The last words of William McKinley exhibited the Christian character of a great life: "It is G.o.d's way; His will be done."

[Ill.u.s.tration: By special permission of C. M. Bell Photo Co., Washington D. C.

Theodore Roosevelt.]

CHAPTER XX.

ROOSEVELT.

"I feel that we have a right to appeal not merely to Republicans, but to all good citizens, no matter what may have been their party affiliations in the past, and to ask them, on the strength of the record ... to stand shoulder to shoulder with us, perpetuating the conditions under which we have reached a degree of prosperity never before attained in the Nation's history and under which, abroad, we have put the American Flag on a level which it never before in the history of the country has been placed."

_Theodore Roosevelt_, _to the Notification Committee_, _Sagamore Hill_, _L. I._, _July_, 1900.

Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as President at Buffalo, New York, on September 14, 1901, and became the twenty-sixth President of the United States, and the third to succeed a martyred Republican President. He was born in New York City, October 27, 1858. He graduated from Harvard and spent some years in traveling; served in the New York Legislature in 1882, 1883 and 1884, and was prominent as a champion of Civil Service Reform. Was Chairman of the New York delegation to the Convention in 1884, and ran for Mayor of New York in 1886, as the Independent candidate, endorsed by the Republicans, but was defeated; was appointed Civil Service Commissioner in May, 1889, by President Harrison, and served till 1895, exhibiting great energy and establishing Civil Service principles in all Executive Departments, acquiring a splendid reputation throughout the country for fearlessness and honesty.

He resigned from the Civil Service Commission to accept the appointment of Police Commissioner of New York City in May, 1895, and displayed his usual energy in the suppression of corruption and in the establishment of law and order in New York City. He was appointed a.s.sistant Secretary of the Navy by President McKinley, and worked with great vigor to place the Navy on a proper footing, and the success of the Navy in the Spanish-American war was due in no small degree to his preliminary work.

When the war broke out in April, 1898, he resigned his position in the Navy Department and organized a volunteer cavalry regiment, recruited mainly from the Western plains, the members of which were called the "Rough Riders." They were commanded at first by Col. Leonard Wood, and Mr. Roosevelt was made Lieutenant-Colonel. His previous military experience had been several years' service in the New York National Guard. For his gallant conduct at San Juan Hill and in the Cuban campaign he was commissioned Colonel July 11, 1898, though many of the officers at Washington were opposed to him. He was elected Governor of New York in the Fall of 1898. In all of these positions he devoted himself to his work with energy and enthusiasm amazing to all. His published works on American History rank him as one of the great historians of the country, and his interests in out-door sports and his delightful home life have endeared him to the people as a typical American. The nomination for Vice-President came to him unsought and undesired, but in response to the demands of the people he fell in line promptly. Coming to the Presidential Chair under trying circ.u.mstances he immediately displayed the highest ability and tact in taking charge of the administration of the national affairs. The policies of President McKinley were pursued without deviation, and President Roosevelt conducted the domestic and foreign affairs in a way that has marked him as a great statesman, and the country and its new possessions are eminently in a condition of prosperity and satisfaction.

On May 20, 1902, the United States partially redeemed its pledge in regard to Cuba by hauling down its flag at the Government Palace, Havana, after which the flag of the new Republic of Cuba was raised.

This pledge fulfilled, the Republican Party rounded it out with the approval of the Cuban Reciprocity Treaty, ratified in the Senate March 19, 1903.

The long continued agitation for the construction of a ca.n.a.l, by the United States, connecting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, resulted in the Isthmian Ca.n.a.l Act, approved June 28, 1902, in which the President was authorized to acquire the rights of the new Panama Ca.n.a.l Company of France, and if the t.i.tle proved satisfactory, and a treaty could be obtained from the Republic of Colombia for the necessary territory, the President was authorized to pay the Ca.n.a.l Company $40,000,000 for this property, but if this could not be done within a reasonable time then the Nicaraguan route was to be considered. An Isthmian Ca.n.a.l Commission was created. Attorney General P. C. Knox reported to the President (October 26, 1902) that the t.i.tle to the ca.n.a.l was valid, and on January 22, 1903, a treaty between the United States and Colombia for the construction of the ca.n.a.l was signed at Washington and was ratified by the United States Senate March 17, 1903, but was rejected by the Colombian Senate September 14, 1903, who suggested the negotiation of a new treaty. But early in November, 1903, Panama declared its independence, and was recognized as a Republic by the United States on November 6th. A new Ca.n.a.l Treaty was signed at Washington by Secretary of State John Hay, representing the United States, and Philippe Bunau-Varilla representing Panama, and the treaty was ratified by the Government of Panama on December 2, 1903, and is now under consideration in the United States Senate. These various events, all justified by the laws of nations, brought Colombia to terms, and late in November, 1903, she offered the United States a free ca.n.a.l concession if the latter would permit the subjugation of Panama, but the matter had gone too far, and it is now probable that the Panama Ca.n.a.l will be built by this Government, acting with the new Republic of Panama.

The legislation and the course of events in the Philippines has been equally satisfactory. On July 1, 1902, Congress provided for the termination of military rule in these islands and the establishment of civil government. William H. Taft, of Ohio, who had been President of the Commission, was appointed Governor, and in that capacity continued the splendid work which had been begun by the Commission. In December, 1903, Governor Taft was appointed Secretary of War by President Roosevelt, taking the place of Elihu Root, resigned, and his successor in the Philippines is Luke E. Wright, of Tennessee. On July 4, 1902, the insurrection in the Philippines against the authority of the United States having ended in all parts of the Islands except in the part inhabited by the Moro Tribes, President Roosevelt issued a Proclamation of pardon and amnesty to all political offenders on their taking the oath of allegiance to the United States.

The great combinations of capital called Trusts, in so far as they concentrate the industries of the country in the hands of a few, stifling compet.i.ton and dictating wages and prices, have received the emphatic condemnation of the Republican Party, and President Roosevelt and Attorney General Knox have done their utmost, under the existing laws, to suppress these combinations when unlawful. The Republican Party has done more than any other party to curb the evils of the Trusts, and it is probable that the question can only be adequately handled by an amendment to the United States Const.i.tution giving Congress direct supervision over their organization. The settlement of the coal strike in the United States by President Roosevelt is remembered gratefully, and was to the satisfaction of both sides, and was in keeping with his record of direct and fearless action in emergencies. His administration saw the dedication of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition buildings at St.

Louis on April 30, 1903, and on July 4, 1903, the completion of the Pacific Cable, the first message having been sent by the President to Governor Taft. The report of the Alaskan Boundary Commission on October 7, 1903, gave to the United States all points, except one, in dispute.

This called attention to the work of the Department of State, but we are too close to the splendid diplomacy of John Hay to fully appreciate its far-reaching effect for the advancement of the interests of this country.

Such is a brief record of recent events that will close this history of the splendid achievements of the Republican Party. The history of the administrations of the eight Republican Presidents, Lincoln, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, McKinley and Roosevelt, may be read at least with interest by every citizen of the United States, regardless of his party affiliations, and a.s.suredly with pride and satisfaction by those who count themselves as members of the Grand Old Party.

APPENDIX

THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE.

The Republican National Committee is composed of one member from each State and Territory. The Committee is chosen by the several State delegations at the National Conventions of the party.

The Committee is the national executive head of the Republican Party.

It decides the time and place, and issues the calls for the National Conventions. The call states the number of delegates to be chosen for each district, and sometimes prescribes the manner of their selection.

The National Committee also selects the temporary officers of the convention, subject to its ratification, and after the nominations have been made takes general charge of the campaign. The Chairmen of the Republican National Committee have been as follows: