The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-11-10
PRECEDENTS IN PLENTY.
Cited in Advocacy of Retaining the
Philippine Islands

Philadelphia, Nov 10.-"The effect of
territorial expansion upon our dOmes-
tice relations was the subject of dis
cussiOn at the last meeting of the Con-
temporary club, the speakers being John
Bash McMaster, historian; Thomas G..
Sherman of New York, and former
Senator Edmunds. The first speaker
favored and the others opposed the
acquisition of territory not contiguous
to the United States.
DR.. McMaSter gave a history of the
policy pursued by the United States in
its ACQUISITION of foreign territory, and
its method of governing it, to show that
the proposed taking of the Philippines
would be in line with previous acts. He
said he believed there was no reason
why we should not govern these islands
was acquired by several purchases.
Referring to the declaration of indie
pendence and its enumeration OF several
rights of the governed, quoted by OPP
pOnents of a colonial system, DR.. Nc
Master said the principles there stated
had never been literally Incorporated
into the governmental system of the
United States, or any state. Jefferson,
who drafted the Declaration, and ne
gOtiated the purchase of Louisiana, and
federaHsts of that day urged the same
objections in force tOday-that we
would be compelled to admit to citizen
ship on equal terms the Creoles, the
Spanish, the French, the negroes and all
other persons inhabiting this large
territory.
1t was their claim that the Mississippi
was the natural boundary of the United
States and later that Providence had
erected the Rocky Mountains as a pro-
per boundary of our union. He quoted
from Daniel Webster, that the conStitu-
ton could not be stretched to cover a
territory.
1t related only to states. The terri
tory was simply owned by the United
States as a man would own a horse He
showed also that from the beginning of
our acquisition of territory that the
president had been the supreme author
ity, appointing a governor and council,
and that territories were admitted as
states, not as a matter of right, but of
Former Senator George F. Edmunds
sad in part:
Our sons and daughters cannot live
in the tropics. Look at the case of
Great Britain and her hundreds of
years of Indian mastery. Everybody
knows that there has never been an
English settlement within the tropics
but civilians who go there, and nine out
of ten die before they are so years old
and the loss of the battalions that go
there is greater than that of our sons
and brothers who went to Santiago and
Camp Alger"
Referring to the Philippines, Mr.. Ed
munds said:
I'VE now have from these islands all
the commodities they produce on the
same terms that other nations do. Sup
pose we take them and adopt the Brit
ish colonial policy and make them a
| close colony and allow no one to trade
with them except ourselves. How soon
would the other nations meet US by
saying we will treat you the same way
in our colonies and then the balance of
| the commercial gain would bankrupt
! the United States in ten years.
I'VE told Spain and told the world by
| a solemn declaration of our congress
when we began this war against Spain
| that we rejected the idea of territorial
| ACKNOWLEDGMENT. Was that a lie, a
| sham, a false pretense? And we stand
I'D in the face of the world and say
| yes, we have been lying"