The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-16
Two Sides of a Case.


the light we have, it must be said
that there is a good deal of substantial
justice in the memorial Of the Filipinos
to President Mckinley summarized in
The Tribune of Yesterday. American
public opinion has not been wholly
fair to these far-off children of Span
ism intrigue, deception and repression.
AS in the case of the Cubans. it has
made insufficient allowances; it's judg-
nents have been snap judgments, hav-
ing in view only superficial appearances
and not going to the bottom of things
Americans who pause to think cannot
expect Spanish rule as it has been i'm
every Spanish colony; substantially
without change since the moment of
it's earliest institutional rule based on
the principle of everything for the rul-
ers and nothing for the ruled; a rule
that has shut out education, made
candor and honesty in civic affairs un-
known terms and reduced to a fine art
the science of Observation-Disclosures
cans who. take due account of these
facts cannot expect either the Cubans
the conditions Of bondage to the high
| plane of enlightened liberty as Anglo
Saxons know 1t. Americans who eX-
| pect of these mal-used wards of Spain
| now become our wards a standard of
| intelligence. gratitude and broad dis
| cernment such as would become the
| products of century of true democ-
| p1a a,lN tho iT11nnCSih1a
| Such expectations are manifestly un-
| reasonable; yet every failure of the
| Cubans or Filipinos to come UP TO
| them is reported in many of our news
| papers gloatingly, as If 1t were mat
| ter to be used against them and a
| warrant for the cancellation of our
moral obligations in the premises. The
| tone of superficial comment, year ago
so eulogistic, is now deliberately con-
temptuous. From one extreme which
clothed the revolving colOnists with
virtues they did not possess to another
| extreme which would deny them any
virtues whatever we have passed with
| ridiculous celerity and il is small Won
der that the more intelligent onlook-
ing Cubans and Filipinos cannot un-
derstand it; are, in fact, disposed to
take umbrage at it,
There is need of remembrance of the
fact that the far-off Filipnos do not
all know the American governments
ultimate purpose as We in this country
know it, and cannot comprehend the
lofty unselfishness and high philan-
thropy which, back of all the sputter
over expansion, is the presidents chief
impelling motive i'm the decision that
Spanish misrule over the Philippines
must give way to better order of
things. They see American soldiers in
possession of their own capital, fra
ternizng with their late enemies, the
Spaniards, while they themselves are
treated with indifference if not with
open and aggressive contempt, are dis
armed and ordered to stand back
and when their ships try to sail the
seas are held up as pirates. These
things, 70 be sure. are all necessary
under the peculiar international con2i-
tions now prevailing; with patience and
pluck they will all work out right in
the end but to the ill-informed and
credulous natives they supply grounds
for wonderment and distrust, and the
tension is not lessened by the curt and
undiplomatic methods natural to Amer
lean military rule. To cap all, Amer
lean newspapers are put into their
hands which scoff at their pretenslons,
, invest with ridicule their leaders and
convey the impression that they have
no rights which anybody is bound to
respect. No wonder they vince: who
wouldn't under such circumstances?
We need to look at both sides OF such