Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-12-09
DAVY CROCKETT'S
MOTTO SUGGESTS THE PHILIP
PINE POLICY.

PINE POLICY.
BE Sure You are Right. Then Go Ahead" =
Hope for the Cubans - Doubt as to the
Phlppinos-Very Little Prospect of Finan.
cial Legislation the Closing Term of Con.
sress.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 1898.
Mr.. Mckinley has made it plain to
Senators and Representatives who
have called upon him since Spain
agreed to our terms for the surrender
of the Philippines to us that he has
not made up his mind what we ought
to do with the Philippines and will not
DO so until we have had them under
military control long enough to get
the information necessary to form an
intelligent opinion. That sort of talk
has strengthened the chances of the
treaty OF peace for ratification a, this
session of Congress, as it comedies
with the opinion of three-fourths OF
the Senators regardless OF party. The
opinion is practically unanimous that
the taking of the islands away from
Spain was the right thing to do, but
there the unanimity ends. What sort
of a government will follow our mill
tary rule OF the islands nobody can say
at this time. 1t will depend largely
upon public sentiment in this country,
and that will be governed by circum-
stances.
By putting in Il vigorous protest
Senator Jones, of Arkansas, succeeded
in getting the War Department to
change the orders assigning the Tween
ty-fifth Infantry (negroes) to garrison
duty at Fort Logan III. Root, near Lit.
tie Rock, and having Il white regiment,
the Twelfth Infantry, ordered there
instead
Maj Gen. NJ. c. Butler, who was or
dered from Havana, where he was
serving as one of our Military Com
missioners, to Washington, to confer
with the authorities in regard to the
military occupation of Cuba, has gone
to South Carolina to spend few days
with his family before returning to
Cuba. While in Washington, Gen.
Butler spoke freely to his friends of
mis- experience in Cuba. He says the
Spanish soldiers are orderly and we'll
behaved as a rule, and that the Cubans
are bright and many of them well-ed-
ucated and fully capable of administer
ing the government Of the island. He
thinks the Spaniards who will remain
in Cuba will get along amicably with
the Cubans. Gen. Butler declined to
express an opinion as to how long it
would be before the government OF
Cuba was turned over to the Cuhans,
because it will be largely dependent
upon circumstances.
The two Democratic Governors
elect-Sayers, OF Texas, and Mcmillan,
Of Tennessee, who are members of the
House will be missed when they retire.
Mr. Mcmillan, the date of whose inau-
guration will be fixed by the legisla.
ture which meets the first Monday in
January, will retain his seat in the
House until after the adjournment for
the holiday recess, and Mr.. Ssyers, who
is the leading Democrat on the Com
mittee on Appropriations, and whose
Inauguration as governor will take
place January 17th, will keep his seat
up to the last minute. so as TO have a
hand in shaping as many of the regu-
lar appropriation hills as possible be-
fore retiring. Gov. Savers is conserva-
tive on the expansion question. He
did not favor the acquisition of the
Philippines by the United States, and
when asked to express his opinion what
We should do with them now, that the
treaty of peace has given them to Us,
he said: "The problem OF occupation
OF this territory is no light one, and
we will have to proceed by slow steps
until we hit upon some satisfactory
plan OF government"
Senator Cockrell says he hasn't fully
made up his mind as to what he will
do when the time comes to vote on
the Philippine question, and doesn't
expect to do SO until he ascertains the
details OF the treaty and the intentions
OF the administration, but that If he
had the power to act for this govern
ment, At this time, he would tell the
Filipinos to set up their own govern
ment, and would recognize its indie.
pendence. He added: Who knows
the Philippines cannot govern them
selves? The world said the same thing
when we were struggling for liberty,
and some of the hest men in the
American colonies believed that we
would never be able to maintain re-
public. / believe that the Filpinos
can establish and maintain just as Tree
and just as good a republic as do the
French people with all their boosted
intelligence, and | should like to see
the experiment tried"
The administration will not attempt
to secure currency legislation at this
session OF Congress. for the very good
reason that the administration is iii.
vided upon the sort of currency legis-
lation that is wanted. 1t will be re-
membered that Mr. Mckinley in his
annual message to Congress, last year,
did not endorse the radical financial
views expressed in the annual report
OF Secretary Gage; only called the at
tention OF Congress to them, and sug-
gested that they be studied. Now,
Comptroller of Currency Dawes, who
was personally selected by Mr.. Nc |
kinley for that position, has made q
| straight attack, in his annual report,
upon several of the most important
OF Secretary Cages recommendations
1t is reasonably certain that Mr.. Dawes
did not do this without the knowledge |
and consent of Mr.. Mckinley. There |
is also another reason why the admin
istration will not try to get financial
legislation-fear that it would concnn-
trate public attention upon the finan-
cial n n asiion and ,borob,, .t-o,r,I,o..