The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-10-01
HANNA ON THE PHILIPPINES
AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW WITH
 THE OHIO SENATOR.

Itis Believed to Represent the Views of the President-Hanma Says He Re- gards the Islands as Lost to Spain and
 That Being n Foregone Conclusion in
 Ills Opinion, the Problem Which Next
 Confronts the Administration Re- lntes to the Form of Government
 Which Will be Given the Islands.
 Cleveland. O., Sept. S0.-The Leader has from it's Washington correspondent the following interview with Senator Hanna, concerning the Philippine ques- tion, which is believed to represent the views of President Mckinley: T do not know what the instructions given to our peace commissioners are,' said the senator. but so far as concerns the negotiations which will be institut- ed in Paris, can see no other result than that Spain will have to relinquish her sovereignty over not only Luzon island but the entire Philippine archi- pelago. Spain has no reason to expect to be able to retain any portion of the group. She went into the war and lost and now ought to be prepared to suf- fer all the consequences which a defeat implies. I regard the Philippines as lost to Spain and that being a foregone conclusion, in my opinion, the problem which next confronts us relates to the form of government which we will give the islands.
 'When the Philippine question pre- sented itself there was a strong senti ment among conservative, far-seeing and thinking men in this country which favored the retention by the United States of merely a naval base and coal ing station in the islands-this base presumably being Manila and the bay contiguous thereto. Since then, how ever, this sentiment apparently has un- dergone a very marked change and now it appears for the most part that those same men who at first believed we should occupy Manila alone, are advo- eating the termination of Spanish rule in the whole group. Aside from the fact that the general sentiment of the country seems to be against returning any of the islands to Spain, the United States is under obligations to the in surgents to establish a stable and en- frightened form of government through out the entire archipelago. When the war broke out the Philippine insurrec- tionists became in a certain sense the allies of the Americans and it therefore ' fr moral duty to see to It that III the future they shall be assured safe and civilized rule and until the United States determines in just what man. ner the Philippines ultimately shall be governed we necessarily will have to consider the Philippines our wards.
 During this transitional period, the United States will be called upon to ex- ercse a primitive or rather arbitrary form of control over the islands and continue it until congress finally evolves a system of government. In other words, it seems to me we will have to maintain a temporary protectorate over the archipelago and this will be accom- plished by means of the army and navy now in the Philippines and Philippine water. What will be the ultimate fate of the islands is, of course, problem of the future Whether the islands shall become an independent nation or a colony of the United States, or whether long time American protec torate shall be established will be a subject for congress to decide.
 1t is understood that Spain must abide by the verdict of our peace com missioners, whatever that may prove to be. for she is in no fit condition to re- new the conflict which has resulted so disastrously to her. She has no reason to expect that our commissioners will agree to any proposition which contem- plates the continua tion of Spanish con- troI over any part or all of the group I feel confident we will have no further trouble in an armed way with Spain The only obstacle with which we may have to contend is the opposition of the insurgents to our plans. It is not at all certain of course, that we will en- counter any such obstacle, though it is assuredly among the probabilities However, from what I have read of the mission of Aguinaldo, the insurgent chieftain, we may find the Philippine tractable and willing to accept what ever form of government we shall finally decide upon, so long as Span shall have no hand in its adminstra- tion."
 Regarding the reports which come from Paris that one of Spain's proposi- tions to our commissioners will be that the United States pay her $400,00O, 900 for the relinquishment of the Philip pines, Senator Hanna said significantly: 'We are not paying money for, or buy ing territory which we now control"