Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1899-11-16
GOVERNMENT FOR fILiPiNos.
Senator Morgan Says Congress Should
Define 1t without Delay.

New York, Nov. s.-A special to the
Herald from Washington says: "Con.
gress should at once take action in re.
lation to the Philippines, said Sena.
tor Morgan tonight. This action should
be taken in the discharge of the duty
imposed by section 1, article ", Of the
constitution, which provides that the
United States shall guarantee to every
state in this Union republican form
OF government.
The senator said that this imposed
distinct duty upon congress, and the
discharge OF that duty by action look.
ing to the establishment of republi.
can form OF government in the Philip.
piues would be the answer possible tt
the anti.imperialists. He explained
that what he meant by giving a repub.
lican form OF government to the Philip.
pines was to give them the best form
of IL republican government known in
the world which would be the best
form to be found among the ideal, and
that every step toward establishing a
government in the Philippines should
be an approach to this high ideal.
No attempt should be made, he said,
to frame detailed government for the
islands as whole or for any of the
varions people who inhabited them,
without Il thorough understanding Of
all the conditions and needs of the in.
hAbitants. Asked whether he favored
congressional commission to visit the
Philippines and study the conditions
there before attempting to frame a sys.
tenn of government, he replied:
IL think it would be wise to have
such commission visit the islands.
Ii we had undertaken to frame gov.
eminent for Hawaii without the study
of local conditions which our commits.
sion made, think it is probable that
we would have made some egregious
plumbers. This study OF conditions
and OF the peculiar characteristics and
needs OF the people is even more neces'
sary in the case OF. The Philippines
than in Hawaii. because we know less
Of the Philippines.
In the senator opinion, the govern.
ment OF the United States should have
charge OF the external relations OF the
islands, of collecting and expendine
the revenues, and of all matters relat.
ing to the islands as group, while the
local affairs should be confided as fai
as possible to the people OF the differ.
ent localities. In this connection he
spoke OF the township system of the
New England states as the highest
ideal OF local self-government.
The question OF who should have the
right to vote would have to be deter.
mined by congress, and in this connec.
ton the senator called attention to the
fact that in the first instance the deter.
mination OF who shall have the suffrage
in the states and territories organized
under the United States, an arbitrary
act, in some places, men only being al.
lowed to vote, in others men and
women, and in others various qualifica.
tions being prescribed. Existing laws,
the senator thought, should be con.
tinued in force as far as they were good
laws, because the people understood
them.
One change that would have to he
made would he to take away from the
friars and the religious orders their
power of levying taxes on the people.
Senator Morgan is OF the opinion that
while the United States should under.
take at once the solution OF the problem
OF governing the Philippines, the de.
velopment of that government into its
ultimate form will have to be matter
OF growth.