The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1898-07-13

Gently:
. 1 think we should take all we can
get and keep all we take until the war
is over, when we can better determine
what to do with it. My present impress
sion is to keep permanently all we are
likely to capture, but however that
may be- nothing should be returned to
Spain in any event. .
Senator Hale, chairman of the COM
mittee ON naval affairs, was prompt to
say that he was not for the acquisition
OF the Philippines. "We shall, " said
the senator from Maine, undoubtedly
pulverize Spain and drive her from this
continent, but all we should want in the
Philippines is to get q free port and
coaling station. "
The only ground upon which the
Philippines could be held, in my opin-
ion, - said Senator Burrows of Michi-
gan, member Of the committee on
finance, sis that they would make a
nice balance on our side of the ledger in
any settlement hereafter with Spain.
But the war was not undertaken for ter
ritorial acquisition, but for the purpose
of iberating the island of Cuba from
the misrule of Spain. -
Representative Hopkins of Illinois,
just returned from an extended trip
throughout the west, where he was in
touch with the public sentiment On the
questions Of the war, said: cit is too
early yet to say just what ought to be
our policy in regard to the Philippines.
Much may depend on the cost of the
war. We may have to keep the islands,
in a measure, to reimburse ourselves. "
Representative Benton McAillin. one
OF the leading Democrats Of the house
and prominent member of the ways
and means committee, said: Thomas
jefferson drove it home until the people
of the world accept the saying as fit
with regard to this nation that we
should cultivate peace, commerce and
friendship with all nations and have
entangling alliances with none There
has been nothing to take aWgy from the
force of this saying. Did you ever think
of it? If the preposterous notion could
be realized of annexing the Philippines
as a state, there would be 40 members
of congress from there, including Ma
lays, negritos, sepoys and the like.
There are 8,000,000 people there, and
if we have $50 representatives for
20, 900, 600 people it would mean about
40 for the Philippines. If we annexed
it, it would take larger army and ma
Wy to defend than that needed for the
United States. If we exchanged it to
any European power for possessions in
the West Indies, it would break the bal
ance and produce acute friction among
the great powers. In case of a protecto-
rate by the United States, allowing the
people in those islands to have home
rule after the Egyptian fashion, it
would result in action unforeseen and
foreign to our form of government, My
conclusion ON the whole matter is that
we should do nothing, but let the is
lands remain in statu quo until the war
ends. But / mistake the spirit of the
American people if they are now ready
for annexation in any form Of outlying
territory. "
Representative Hilborn of California,
who by his residence on the Pacific
coast has been led to look into the ques-
ton more than most men in congress,
said: "This is one of the most difficult
problems that the government will have
to solve as a result of the war. 1t will
be happy solution if we find that it
will be possible to adopt the policy
which England has found so successful
in Egypt, but we cannot be unmindful
of the fact that conditions in Egypt and
the Philippines are very different. Who
is it in the Philippines to whom you
would turn over the ark of the covenant
of government? Have they the material
there for the formation of reliable
government that the United States
would be justified in intrusting with
the management of affairs under gen
eral supervision by the government?
However this may be we may find
it impossible to haul down our flag
when once it has been raised over the
islands. We are sending out our young
men by the thousands to expel Spain.
Some of our boys will find their graves
in that land. Those who live will,
many of them, stay there and become
interested in the islands and their well
fare. Both the living and the dead will
form strong ties, which will make it
difficult for us to sever the islands from
us and turn them over to the govern
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