The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-01
DO WE WANT THE PHILIPPINEss

task. the settlement of the Philippine
question. Cuba and Porto Rico were pro
vided for in the peace protocol, what
should be done respecting the Philippines
was left open Al the time the protocol
was drawn and signed neither the Ameri-
| can people nor the President had deter
mined what should be done under the cir
cumstances. Recently the President made
somewhat extended trip through the
West, To Judge from recent public ut
terances by himself and certain Of his col
leagues in the administration. what the
! President saw and heard during his trip
ana the information he has otherwise had
conveyed to him has convinced him that
public opinion favors the retention of the
whole Philippine archipelago by the Unit
ed States. 1t is understood that the Amer
can commissioners have made that de-
mand upon the Spanish Commissioners.
Indeed IN some quarters it has been sug
! gested that the United States want the
! Philippines so badly that they would be
willing to pay Spain $4,000 900 for those
| besides Luzon, which it is proposed to
hold by right of conquest. The correct
! ness Of this report however, may be
doubted. The idea of the victor paying
an indemnity to the vanquished is alto
gether too foreign to precedents of war.
But do we really want all of the Phil
ippines, either as a spoil of war or as
purchased territory? There isn't any
doubt that the President has heard
great deal of noisy demand that all of
| them be held Who has bean making the
noise? Has it been made by the safe, con-
! sentative. tax-paying element of the pop
ulauon? Has it been really the voice of
the people, or the voice of such newspa-
pers and persons as were anxious to get
on the right side of and support what gave
promise of being a popular movement?
| Have not many of the so-caled expan-
sionists been such for the reason that
they thought the President himself inclin-
| ed that way. and because they were anx-
ious to keep in touch with him?
We believe that the President has made
an honest effort to interpret the public
sentiment in this matter, but fear he has
not gone deep enough. The froth always
comes to the top; that which has body
and strength must be sought below the
surface. The President has hardly had
time to reach deeply into the best public
opinion The question, one of the greatest
! this government has ever had to face, Is
new. It was unknown on the first of
May of the present year, when Dewey won
his great battle. Involving as il does a
radical departure from our time-honored
public policy-a policy which has made
| this nation one OF the greatest on earth
in less than a century and a quarter
the matter should have the cool, deliber-
ate, methodioal study or the best minds
Of the country for so long a time as might
I be necessary to its solution. Years might
well be spent where months have elapsed
since unexpected events precipitated the
problem. The public discussion Of the
proposition to annex the Philippines has
been limited to the newspapers, to inter-
ested politicians and to a few college pro-
fessors. The general public have not yet
grasped the question. How, then, can the
public mind be already made up respecting
It?
Trade follows the flag" is first-rate
slogan but there is something more than
trade to be considered in connection with
the Philippine islands. And then again.. it
is by no means certain that trade would
| follow the flag In this instance in such
volume as has been claimed would be the
/ case. There are several hundred of the
islands. They would have to be governed
How would that be done? Gen. Woodford
served notice on his party, and the public
the other day that they could not be gov
erned as the spofls of politics. The ISL
ands are populated by people differing
from US radically in every detail of life.
They would have to be governed by force.
Have the United States ever made a
success of government by force? They
| tried It once on the Southern states of
their own territory They tried it upon
people whom they knew Familiarity;
whose habits and customs they understood
perfectly. They set up governors and leg
islatures and courts at the point Of the
bayonet in the Southern states. They
made carpet-baggers from the victorious
states the rulers of the people, and tried
to keep them in office by force of arms.
Was the attempt success?
The probabilities are that carpet-bag-
gers would be the Office holders in the
| Philippines. as it seems they are to be in
Hawaii. Is there reasonable ground for
thinking they would be more successful
governors in territory 5000 miles away
across the seas, and over an alien, semi
barbarous and ignorant people than were
those other carpet-baggers within United
States territory over people who were
civilized, enlightened and in favor of law
and order?
1t would require craftsmanship of the
highest order to govern the Philippines
successfully, even with the aid Of a strong
army. A man of the caliber of Mckinley,
or Cleveland, or Roosevelt, or George
Grey, or John T. Morgan, would be need
ed to achieve the best possible results.
Would either of the gentlemen named ac-
cept the office of governor of the Phil
ippines? If he did what would be the
4 II 3,