The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-10-29
1T is SETTLED.
All the Philippine Islands Are
to Be Retained.
The President and Cabinet Are
Agreed on 1t.
NO OTHER WAY OPEN.
McKfnley's Western Trip Was
a Revelation to Him.
Found Public Sentiment Almost
Unanimous on the Subject.
MAY PAY THE DEBTS
And a Bonus Besides to Spain
For Her Loss.
Philippine Debt is Estimated at
$4O,OOO,OOO.

New York, Oct. ga special to the
Herald from Washington says:
President Mckinley is convinced that
there is no way in which the United
States can escape the responsibility of
taking all the Philippines. He has ar
rived at this conclusion after mature
deliberation. He at first favored keep
ing nothing more than military and
naval base and thought that the United
States should in no event retain more
than the island of Luzon.
When the American peace commits
sioners left for Paris it was not con
templated that they should demand
from the Spanish government more than
the absolute cession of this one island
to the United States and a revision
ary interest in the other islands of the
group. It has been found however, that
there were many practical difficulties
in the way of such solution, not the
least of them being the evident impos-
sibility of Spain's re-esta blishing auth
ority over the remaining islands with
out prolonged and bloody struggle with
the insurgent forces.
Information, coupled with the opinion
of military and naval commanders IA
milar with the Philippine situation
have led the president to believe that
Spanish fleet in Manila bay and Gen.
Merritt's capture of Manila ,annihila-
ted Spanish sovereignty in the islands
and it became a duty of the United
States to establish better government
than the one which was destroyed by
American arms.
The president has been deluged with
letters from all parts of the United
States and with resolutions from COM
mercial and religious bodies urging that
sovereignty should be maintained
wherever the flag has been planted. In
this same line, the presidents recent
western trip was a revelation to him
and the members of his cabinet who
accompanied him. The further he went
west the stronger he found the Senti-
ment in favor of holding all the Philip
pines and establishing an American
government over them.
Secretary Gage, who went west before
the president and who went as far as
Denver, found the sentiment there even
stronger than in Omaha. In all the
meetings of the cabinet before the peace
commissioners left for Paris, Secretary
Gage was the most conservative of all
the presidents advisers. He doubted
the wisdom of taking even as much as
the island of LuzOn, and would have
been glad if a way had been found of
relinquishing all the Philippines. Since
his return from the west, however, he
is an advocate of holding all the islands.
Although it has been finally determ-
ined that the Philippines shall be re-
tained, the peace commissioners may
be given considerable latitude as to the
terms on which they are to be retained
The Philippines are regarded as stand
ing on a different basis from Cuba. and
Porto Rico. and some of the members
of the administration believe that if all
the islands are taken, Spain should be
given some measure of compensation
for them, especially as the Philippines
have been by far the most valuable of
all her colonies.
"It can be said that it is quite proba-
BILE that the American commissioners
will be authorized to go so far as to
offer to pledge the United States to as
sumo the Philippine debt. or at least
such portion of it as has been expended
on public " orlxs in the islands. The ex-
act amount of the debt that could pro-
perIy be charged to the United States
under such an arrangement could not
be accurately stated without a fuller
analysis of this debt than as yet has
been made but it is believed that it will
be less than $40. 900 900. I was told by a
high official of the administration today
that it might be decided that the Span
ish government should receive an actual
cash payment for the Philippines, in ad-
dition to the assumption of the debt, or
a part of it by the United States"