The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-04
His Speech at a Meeting i'm the Inter-
est of the Citizens Union In
dependent State Ticket.
ADDRESS BY w. L. WILSON
WHO is ALSO OPPOSED TO RETAIN
ING SPANISH TERRITORY.
Views of Senator Proctor, Who Has
Returned from EurOpe-RoOse-
welt at Troy and Albany.

NEW YORK, Nov. "a mass meeting
was held in Chickerng Hall tonight in the
interest of the independent state ticket of
the Citizens Union. Carl Schurz was the
principal speaker. John Jay Chapman, who
opened the meeting, was bitter in speaking
of Colonel Roosevelt. He has appealed
for votes in military uniform" he said,
trying to make capital of it. 1 do not
mind his boysh campaign. / do not blame
him for wrapping himself in the American
flag He really thinks he is the flag. When
Roosevelt lends his aid to cover up Alger
scandals, he is trying 70 whitewash the
most scandalous thing of the Nation. l
charge him with this in his silence"
r. Fulton Cutting, chairman of the meet
ing, said: "Agerism and cvil-service re-
form enough alone to demand a third
party. With the gold and silver issues out
we have a clear platform"
Mr. Schurz opened with tribute to the
late colonel Waring, who died last week
from yellow fever, contracted in Havana.
he then entered upon a discussion of the
question of territorial expansion, saying
that, while the campaign should have been
Waged ON state issues, Colonel Roosevelt
had forced the annexation issue by declar-
ing that his election would be an indorse-
ment OF the policy Of keeping all the con-
Quered territory. 1.-The adoption of that
policy" said Mr.. Schurz, would be fatal
TO the Republic morally. Congress, in
der to satisfy the conscienceS of our people
and to prOpitiate the opinion of mankind
for our war with Spain, declared solemnly
that IT was to be q war in behalf of OPP
pressed Cuba, war of humanity and lin
Grafton and not OF conquest or aggrandize-
ment. President Mckinley had already de-
clared in a manner equally solemn that
annexation by force is not to be thought
of, because, according to our code of NOR
ais it would be criminal aggression.
Our first duty is to keep our word to do
~ Vrhi nh cod 10
serve the character of our Spanish war as
a war OF humanity and not of aggrandize-
ment, to abstain from that criminal ag-
SreSsion which has been denounced by
President Mckinley himself and thus to
maintain our national honor. Our para
mount duty is not to any foreign country
or people, but to this Republic and to the
seVenty-hve million who inhabit it. Our
duty is soberly to consider how the annexa-
ton to the United States of the Spanish
possessions, or any of them, will affect, not
merely the interests of the inhabitants
thereof, but the character and the welfare
of those seventy-five millions of our own
countrymen. The annexation policy will
bring into our political system millions of
Spanards, creoles. negroes Malays, Chi
savage tribes whose names we have yet to
learn, and thus thrust upon us race prob
lens, compared with which those we al
ready have on our hands, signify little.
How can it be doubted that the anneXa-
tio1 policy will be certain to bring upon us
a flood of corruption such as we have new
Tammany and justly so. Adopt your annex
alton policy and you will have American
Tammanys ten times worse, scattered by
the score over two hemispheres.
Start on your policy of imperialism and
who will deny that the peace of the country
will be in constant peril? Do we not hear it
said every day now, with horrible cyncism
that after having thrashed the Spaniards at
Manila, we shall have to thrash the insur-
gent FflipinOS, too, if they refuse to do our
will. Have you considered what that
means? After having pretended to make a
war for the sake of humanity, in aid of
those who fought against Spanish deSpot-
ism, we are told that we may have to shoot
down the very men who have fought for
their liberty, because they may want to be
Can you imagine a fouler blot of shame
upon the eScutcheon of this Republic re-
public originally founded on the principle
that government derives its just powers
from the consent of the governed? And
for such business we are to send the youth
of the American people to fight in the trop-
les, whence they return wasted wrecks in
health and spirits, If they return at all.
For this we are to throw away the greatest
glory of this Republic, which consisted in
the fact that it lived and prospered and
grew rich and powerful and secure, not by
war, not by building up great armies and
navies, but by not needing any. For this
we are to raise big armies and construct
big navieS at immense cost and to put a
full-armed soldier or sailor on the back of
every WOrkingman when he goes to his toll.
But am tod that we must have new
markets for our products. Can we not get.
the markets of those countries unless We
annex them? DO we not sell nearly a thou
sand millions worth of goods a year to
countries we have not annexed? And is not
one European customer worth much more
than twenty ASiaticS? And cannot we get
the Philippine markets without anneXing
the countries behind them?
But now am asked do we owe no duty
to the populations we have liberated from
the, Spanish yoke? Wen, whatever respon,
sibilities may have been put upon Us by the
destruction Of the Spanish fleets and by the
a n a JNi
sane person seriously maitain that the duty
this Republic owes to the people of the
it owes to its own 100000 people, and to
the untold millions that will occupy this
land of the future. Must we, in order to do
our duty to the CreoleS and the TagalS
break our solemn pledge that this was to
be a war of humanity and not of self-ag-
grandiZement? Must we destroy our moral
credit among the nations of the earth?
Must we commit criminal aggression? Must
we by annexation make all those incongru-
Gus races, the Spanish-negro mixture, the
Malays, the FilipinoS, the Tagals, the Chi
nese and the nameless savages, citizens OF
the United States, and thus poison with the
tropic virus our body polite? Must we in
selves with the power of helping to govern
us? Must we attempt to rule subject pop
ulations by arbitrary government, which a
democracy like ours can never do without
abandoning it's fundamental principles and
rushing into unreasonable corruption?
Must we thus break down the great
trial of general government, of, by
and for the people? Must we bring
upon us the constant danger of war
often war for nothing-and burden our
people with a measurelessly growing load
of ornaments? Must we continue to send
the sons of the Republic to the tropics to be
ruined or killed by tropical disease? Must
we pay such a terrible price for commercial
facilities which, by sensible diplomacy, can
be secured for nothing? :"
strongest reason for fearing that as matters
now stand. nothing can save the Republic
from being hurled over that precipice
cept a vigorous demonstration of popular
feeling against that policy wherever in the
present campaign candidates have asked for
popular Endorsement as imperialsts as,
more than any one else, Col. Theodore
Roosevelt has DONE"
-H