The times., 1898-12-15
uIoric.l Ob,tructionlst..


insisting on the exclusive American con-
troll of our new island dependencies by
any hysterical rawlings or wild pred ctions
of disaster no matter how eloquent tie
tongue and admirable the man opposed
to their desires. Nor will they pardon the
efforts that are TO be made To defeat the
ratification of the advantageous treaty
of peace with Spain. Whatever may be
the fears of the timid, the mental twist
of the eccentric and the ambitions of the
demagogues who predict the destruction
of the Republic Il result OF the Ameri-
can Government of the Philippines, there
can be no excuse for refusing the al
proval of the Senate to the work of the
Peace Commission, except in the case of
Senator Hale ana the very few who take
his view. Such men, who hold that we
have been cruel toward Spain, may b. al
lowed to record their protest against what
they regard as the brutal compulsion of
nation with naughty aristocracy, as
long as they do not endanger the treaty
They have been consistent-in their sy m
pathy for Spain from the b ginning, deny
ing the right OF the Americans 10 inter-
fere with Spain's maltreatment of her
own subjects. 1t is mystery how such
men could develop in this land of the
free, but they are in d minority so small
as to be wholly harmless. They may even
serve as a warning as TO what may come
to Americans who mingle Illegally with
foreign aristocrats ..] ~ - aia
Admitting the right Of man to obey
the promptings of his character as long
cannot object to men displaying their
fears of Imperialism. We can INSIST. how
| ever, that they shall not be so i.logicai
| and absurd as TO attempt to prevent TIE
| ratification of treaty that is essential
| TO peace and that has positively nothing
| to do with the subject of their fright. 1t
| is impossible that we should continue at
| war with Spain after she has conceded
| everything we could think of to demand
| of her. She is surely entitled to peace on
| those terms. Yet after all her conces-
| sions, we refuse to grant peace If the
| Senate fails to ratify the treaty. Mob dy
| pretends that we could have, or at any
rate that we should have made better
| terms. Justice demands that we should
reimburse Spain, at least to the extent of
twenty million dollars for her expendi-
| lures in the Philippines. Anyhow. the
agreement to pay this sum does not seem
| to be a point of objection to the senators
who threaten to make u fight against the
| treaty.
The treaty does not constitute our soc
| title to the Philippines. We have them
| already, thanks to Dewey and Merritt.
| We captured them and we have retained
| them with the consent of Spain-reiuc-
| tant but still, consent. If the treaty
| should be rejected we shall hold them
| just the same. Indeed. In that event we
should be tempted to take the Caro.ines
| also. To defeat the treaty is not to re-
| store the islands to Spain or to prevent
| us from establishing a military govern
ment over them. To ratify the treaty
| does not mean that We are committed to
| their retention. We shall be just as much
| at liberty to sell them, return them t.
| Spain or abandon them to the natives
| after the ratification of the treaty "a
| now. There is not word in the docI-
| ment that pledges us to hold them for
any given time. Why, then should any
body but Senator Hale and the othe.
| friends of Spain want the treaty rel acted?
| What possible reason can they urge in
defense of their opposition? Even M.
Bryan, an original and persistent enemy
of the glorious policy of expansion, sees
| that the defeat of the treaty would BE-
| only mischievous and wicked invitation
TO foreign powers to interfere with the
work of the next conference that would
! be necessary. He realizes tnat the foes OF
expansion could accomplish nothing ex-
| cept their own utter condemnation by the
| American people; that after the treaty is
| ratified, every decayed statesman. every
| panic-strIcken provinclalist and every
blatant demagogue could keep up his hys-
terics just the same and have just the
same chance to stop the extension of
| American institutions.
| If the public is still sensible and prac-
| tical, 1t will demand of the obstruct on
| lists some reason for their noise, which
| they will be unable to give-since the
| treaty is not expansion. but the formal
recognition of facts essential to the f r.
! NAL ending of a war. 1t will demand of
| these senators who propose to delay the
| ratification of the peace treaty that they
shall take the only sane course of reserv-
| ing their noise until the occasion arises
| for using it against expansion. The
| youngest American in the high school can
understand that the ratification of the
treaty is not the establishment of i'm
| perialism, but that the question is raised
only with the question as to what we are
to do with our new possessions.