The age-herald., 1898-11-13
THE DISPOSITION. OR
 THE PHILIPPINES

commissioners have declared that they will
 yield these islands to force only. The issue
 is made. What the result will be no one
 can tell.
 We have all heard, or read Senator Nor l gan this question. He holds that, hay ing taken the Philippines by force, we
 should not return them to Spain. but should place these islands in the same position as l Cuba; that is. turn them over to the people
 thereof to govern. maintaining American
 military form of government over the
 same until the people have established their
 own government. As to whether such government, when established. shall be a
 part of the United States. is an open ques- l ton. Senator Morgan's idea is that they | shall occupy the same general position to
 the United States government does Alaska.
 | I was surprised a few days ago to hear l an able member of the Alabama congress l sional delegation state very pronounced l views against holding the Philippines on l the ground that we did not want these
 islands and that the people now inhabiting them are incompetent to govern them, and 1 therefore they should be returned to Spain. l In the first place, the inhabitants of the l Philippine islands an enlightened peo- | pie. Manila, the principal city, is a de- cidedly enlightened city. As. manufactur- | ing center, it is a decided success. There | are more cigar factories, and more opera | tiyes employed in them, in the city of Ma | nila than in any other single city in the | world. The export trade of Manila is tre- | mendous.
 | The trouble about the people who oppose l our holding the Philippines is that they
 suggest no solution of the difficulty. The | congressman above referred to suggested | that we establish a coaling and naval sta- | ton there and then release the islands, al-
 lowing Spain to regain possession. This
 would me> nothing more nor less than | grabbing of this territory by European na- l tions. notably by Germany. Now, to come to the importance of this question to the 1 United States. Several millions of cotton 1 goods and other manufactured products of | the United States are exported to China an- 1 nually. Indeed, trade with China
 amounts to about $50 OOOOOO per annum. Our | goods enter the ports of China free, or | practically free, of duty
 Every one konws that Germany, Russia,
 
 make inroads into China, and from the | present outlook it is only a matter of time | when China will be divided up among the great nations of the earth. Now, let us | look at the effect of such division upon American commerce. Germany has al- ready taken possession of Kiou-Chou bay. Kiou-Chou bay is port of entry. Ameri- | can goods going through that port must | pay Germany tariff duties, whereas Ger man goods pay no tariff duty. Suppose the | entire coast of China were divided among | the European nations. American goods | could then enter no port without paying l the tariff duties of the European nation holding the port entered, while goods | made in the country owning the port could | enter free. The result would be that Amer | ican manufactured goods would be shut out | of all the great ports of China by the tariff | duties imposed by the respective European | nations owning the same.
 |
 | If the United States retires from the Phil | ippines, 1t will be only matter of time | when the United States will be shut out of
 the trade of the orient. Trade must be l protected. It cannot be protected without | navy, and that navy must be in pos tion | to protect the commerce of the country | which it represents.
 | The United States interfered in the Gu
 ban situation humanitarian grounds l The same conditions exist in Manila. The | results in Manila and the results in Cuba | have been similar. A rebellion against Spain was in progress in both places The | Filipinos in the Philippines are entitled to | the same consideration as the Cubans in | Cuba. The United States at present has
 the same military form of government ex- 1 isting in tho Philippines as it has in Cuba Nobody has seriously proposed that we | take Cuba as our own-as a colony of the United States Neither has anybody pro- posed that we take the Philippines as | colony. But it is only right and proper, | after the action of this government, that | it should protect the rights of the people of that country while they are engaged in
 establishing a government
 | The production of manufactured goods in
 the United States is far in excess of the
 consumption. Foreign markets must be | found and maintained for these products The opportunity is at hand. The United States is now in position to gain and main- | tain commercial supremacy in the countries | of the orient. To sacrifice this opportunity would eventually result in the sacrifice of
 hundreds of millions of commerce an-
 nually.
 As it is now, and as it has been for many | years past, the United States has been l compelled to keep a squadron of warships
 in the Orient. It has been compelled to
 maintain naval station known as the
 -Pcom,z qGfMzkvbgkq jcmfwy cmfwy fww "China Station" Yet our ships on this sta
 tion have never had resting place. They | have never had a coaling station. When | war with Spain was declared our sh ,ps
 were unable to get ton of coal nearer | than the Hawaiian Islands, 6,O0O miles dis | tant Had it not been for the foresight of | Admiral Dewey in providing his ships with
 coal before war was declared, our navy | would have been useless. As it is now, we