The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-16
THE PEACE COMMISSION AND THE
PHILIPPINES.

The Washington correspondents who al
ways fix up several Cabinets for a Presi-
dent before he makes one himself have APP
piled their mind-reading capacity very in
dustriously to finding out President Nc
kinleys policy regarding the Philippines
and his instructions on the subject TO the
peace commissioners. All their guesses and
conjectures are worthless. If the President
has any definite policy at present in regard
to the Philippines he is much too wise to
have given even a hint of it to any person
except the members of the commission and
perhaps only in writing to Secretary Day.
1t is more likely that he has no fixed and
definite views on the subject, and that his
instructions to the commission are flexible
enough to allow them to be largely gov
erned by circumstances and future develop
ments. 1t was evident all through the war
that the President was trying to keep in
| close touch with popular sentiment and to
carry out the wishes of the people rather
than enforce any policy of his own. This
made him strong and contributed in large
degree to his success, No doubt he has
done the same in regard to the Philippines
and will continue to do so. In that case
he must have discovered that public senti-
ment, aiming at honest and patriotic con-
clusions is very much divided on the ques-
tion There is a general desire to do what
is right and best for the national honor
and interests, with considerable diversity
of opinion as to what that is. An Eastern
publication recently took a postal-card
plebiscte of the newspapers of the country
on the question, with the following result:
Out of 1872 papers which responded eighty
four expressed a preference for the Ameri-
can retention of the entire group of the
Philippines, sixty-three favored merely the
retention of a naval station, and the rest
were mostly divided in opinion as to the
superior merits of an American protectorate
or a joint protectorate. A few advocated
the sale of the islands to some other ma
tion Japan or England, but not one IA
vored returning them to Spain. This di-
versity of opinion among newspapers indi-
Gates a like diversity among the people at
large. No doubt the President has discov-
cred this fact and is more or less affected
by it. He may have a strong personal in
clination to particular policy and yet be
reluctant to enforce it without knowing
whether it represents the average popular
sense of the country. He must realize also
that public opinion and the situation itself
may be changed by the development of new
facts or unexpected complications, and that
the commission should have free hand to
deal with events they may arise. For
this reason it is not likely he has given the
commissioners any hard and fast instruc-
tions.
There is one point which it is to be hoped
the commissioners will keep in view and on
which perhaps the President has instructed
them. That is that the United States is in
a position to dictate terms in regard to the
Philippines as much as it was in regard to
Cuba or Porto Rico. On the 18th of August,
when the protocol was signed. Spain was
completely whipped and at the mercy of
the United States. If she had not been she
would not have agreed to cede Porto Rico
and evacuate both islands Immediately"
If the United States had demanded it Spain
would also have had to evacuate and cede
the Philippines. That the United States did
not demand this was an act of magnanim-
ity concession to a defeated and pros
trate enemy In this spirit it was agreed
that the control, disposition and govern
ment of the Philippines should be left for
determination by the treaty of peace, the
United States meanwhile occupying and
holding the city, bay and harbor of Manila.
This came very near being admission
on the part of Spain that her sovereignty
over the Philippines was already destroyed.
If it was not then, it certainly has been
by later events so that the Philippines are
more completely at our disposal now than
they were even when the protocol was
signed. That being the case. the commits
sioners should not hesitate to make and
insist upon any demand regarding ne dis
position of the islands that the honor and
interests of the United States may seem to
require. Spain may protest and her COM
missioners may set up a claim of Spanish
sovereignty in the islands, but her claim
should not be regarded. She is as COM
pletely whipped now as she was when She
agreed to evacuate Cuba and Porto Rico,
and is in 70 position TO resist any demand
the United States may make regarding the
Philippines. That being the case, the only
question for the commissioners to consider
is what the honor and interests of the
United States require.