The Portland daily press., 1898-11-29
CURRENT COMMENT.
WORSE THAN FREE TRADE
(Afanchester Mirror. J

Chairman Dingley of the ways and
means committee explains that the open
door Qoes not necessarily mean FREQ trade
but that all nations shall be treated Ai1ko
More specifically, that our pledge 10 main
| tain an open door policy in the Philip
pines does not bind us to admit the Eng
| lish, French and German merchants Tree,
but upon the same terms we make for
ourselves; in other wor is, that we may
exact from them the same duties that We
collect from our own citizens. he adj
NIT that If we annex the islands and
make territories of them we cannot, with
out changing cur constitution, restrict
the trade between them and the rest OF
our Union and that II they come In un-
der territorial government, trade must be
free as to our own people, and under our
open door agreement with all others; but
he maintains that while we hold them as
conc uered provinces and rule them with
our army and navy We may establish what
restrictions we please provided they apply
TO all.
So Ii seems to come to this, that we are
60 hold the people of the archipelago as
vassals and govern them by military
power until we sconolude to discard the
principles on which our government is
founded and rewrite our constitution.
charging our own citizens meanwhile for
the privilege of trading with them the
same ,IQkEH VIC CAhk6 6C tOkCfkASAps AA-Ap
isn't free trade certainly but to US II
looks like something worse, for tho pres
ent and to point directly to free trade in
the future.
We are SO narrow minded that we can
not SEQ why, If we are to spend a hundred
milli on dollars and sacrifice thousands of
lives every year in ciyiiizing, Christianlz-
ing ana developing the Philippines, we
should not have preference In their
markets over foreigners who are at no ex.
pense and assume no responsibility or
risk
DON'T LIKE THE OPEN DOOR.
(Boston Transcript
Even in the ranks of the imperialists
it is not oil harmony, as the scheme de-
yelops. The Chicago Inter-Ucean has
been one of the fierceet on the grab
alp advocates, but it balks before the
stopen door," 4 ccording to this part of
the programme, it declares, sthe United
States takes possession of the Philippines.
pays $40, COO, 600 for the privilege Of as
suming the obligations OF government,
and then voluntarily puts itself at a dis
advantage Ia the ports of its own terri
tory;'' and it finally arrives at this dis
gusted conclusion: 1.-The American peace
commissioners propose simply to turn
tie trade and commerce of the Philip
pines, as an AAlSflCisH puSsosSiou, ofcf
to Great Britain. That is what the open
door policy means" Colonization of the
philippines will inevitably embroil us.
sooner or later, in strife with the Euro
pean powers having interest in the East
Without the 'sopen door" we should run
up against serious trouble a little sooner
than with it. Epgland' s newly discovered
ardor Of affection for us would quickly
cool were we to keep these islands as our
own exclusive trading preserves, and with
the cold shoulder from England there
would be sudden bristiing of all the
other powers. The desire of the Inter
Ocean for annexation, or at least posses.
sion, OF the Philippines, combined with
its objection to the "open door, ;" places
it in the category OF the most reckless OF
all the blind leaders who have rushed
madly forward without knowing where
the next step would land them.