os must be accorded the largest possible
measure of self-government. In this tone was perceived some
sensitiveness to the anti-imperialist cry. Though Republican campaign
writers and speakers affected to ignore this issue, some of them denying
its existence, imperialism was more and more discussed.

After the Spanish War the question whether the United States should, the
inhabitants agreeing, keep any of the territory obtained from Spain,
divided the Democratic as well as the Republican ranks. So long as
expansion meant merely addition to United States territory and
population after the time-honored fashion, and this was at first all
that anyone meant by expansion, no end of prominent Democrats were
expansionists. But for their devotion to the policy of protection and
their determination to continue high protection at all costs, the
Republicans might have kept in existence this Democratic schism over
expansion.

According to the Constitution as almost unanimously interpreted (the
"insular cases" referred to in the last chapter had not yet been
decided), customs duties must be uniform at all United States ports. If
Luzon was part of the United States in the usual sense of the words,
rates of duty on given articles must be the same at Manila as at New
York. If the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico were parts of the United
States in the full sense, tariff rates at their ports could not be low
unless low in New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, and elsewhere.

[Illustration]
The Republican National Convention, held in Philadelphia, June 1, 1900.

No considerable or general tariff reduction for the United States proper
was to be thought of by the Republicans. But it would not do to maintain
in the ports of the new possessions the high duties established by law
in the United States proper. Were this done, the United States would in
effect be forcing its colonies to buy and sell in the suzerain country
alone, as was done by George III. through those Navigation Acts which
occasioned the Revolutionary War. Such a system was certain to be
condemned. If the expansion policy was to succeed in pleasing our people
a plan had to be devised by which duties at the new ports could be
reduced to approximate a revenue level while remaining rigidly
protective in the old ports.

Out of this dilemma was gradually excogitated the theory, which had been
rejected by nearly all interpreters of the Constitution, that the United
States ca