The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1898-09-01
THE PHILIPPINE QUESTION.


bers of the commission to settle the
terms of peace with Spain: William
r. Day, of Ohio, the successor of Sena-
tor Sherman as secretary of state; Sena-
tor Cushman X. Davis, of Minnesota,
chairman of the senate committee on
foreign affairs; Senator William P.
Frye. of Maine; Whitelaw Reid, of
New York, editor and principal owner
of the New York Tribune and minister
to France under the Harrison admins
tration; and Judge Edward D. White,
Of Louisiana, one of the ablest men,
beers of the United States supreme
court. John Moore, of Massachusetts,,
assistant secretary Of state. has been
chosen as secretary of the commission,
and J. w. Macarthur, of New York,
also of the state department and form
erly secretary of the United States
legation at Madrid, is assistant sccre-
tary. The commission expects to sail
for Paris on or about September II
and it is hoped that the peace treaty
may be ready for presentation to the
senate soon after it convenes in De-
cember.
The Philippine question is the most
serious one that confronts the commits
sion, and the one in which the people
Of the United States are most inter-
ested. If it were not for the fact that
Spanish rule in the Philippines has
been of such cruel and despotic char
Acter as to arouse the lasting enemity
of the natives and render it doubtful
whether Spanish sovereignty could be
re-established and successfully main
tanned in any part of the great archi-
pelagc, the question might perhaps be
settled for the time being by the reten.
ton by the United States of Manila
and the entire island of Luzon, to-
gether with the small islands immedi-
ately contiguous, allowing Spain to re-
tain her sovereignty over the remain
der of the group, under certain needful
guarantees as to administration and
commercial privileges. Such solu-
ton would give the United States
nearly if not quite all the advantages
that could possibly result from the pos
session of the entire archipelago, with
out imposing upon us the by no means
easy task of governing the savage
tribes of Mindanao and other islands
which have quite successfully defied
the authority of Spain. The press dis
patches report that the mercantile in
terests Of Manila are united In favor of
American occupation and also that it
il only upon the condition of American
or British possession and government
that the insurgents will consent to lay
down their arms.
These are only few of the questions
that will engage the attention of the
commission. Conditions will concern
them far more than theories, especially
the theories of the old Democratic
school of politics which find expression
nowadays in the resolutions of Demo
cratic conventions against what they
are pleased to term policy of Sim
perialism." It is the same old cry of
this same old party of obstruction
winch has been raised every time the
more progressive element in American
politics has taken q step toward the
requirement of new territory. the ex-
tension of protection of our commercial
interests abroad, or the encouragement
Of domestic industries by tariff legisla-
ton. The party leaders who are cast
ing about for issues for the next cam
paign may imagine that anti-expan-
sion combined with free silver makes
fine pair to draw to, but when ii
comes to the showdown at the polls
they are pretty likely to find that the
Republican party has q hand that will
hesat IL