The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-01-26
faced squarely. Everything pointed in
one direction-the purpose to annex the
Philippine Islands

and was worthy Of place in the
archives of any Government. He re-
ferred to the commission the President
had appointed to go to the islands and
report on the situation. 1t was not
enough, he said, that the Commission
ers should be men of high characters,
but they must be without preconceived
prejudices, if the truth was to be OBJ
tanned. IF William Mckinley ever
changes his policy regarding the Phil
pines he declared in stentOrian
tones, "he will bend to the weight of
popular opinion, to which he bows,
right or wrong"
This utterance raised storm of ap-
plause from the Democratic side. john
son requested that such interruptions
cease, as they took up his time. Sew
eral times before he had made similar
request.
Il should imagine the gentleman
could tolerate Democratic applause -
interrupted Henderson R.) of Iowa.
THE gentleman can always tolerate
the applause of honest men, no matter
whence it comes,'' replied Johnson
quickly
AS the applause which greeted this
rejoinder died away he added: And
he can also tolerate the narrow censure
Of those of his own party, as he has
done frequently in the past. He has
never been so we'll satisfied with HIM
self as when his narrow colleagues were
crying him down. (Applause.)
Proceeding, he denounced the Presi-
dents course as a policy of evasion, -
and charged that his supporters were
conjuring up specters to drive in the
opposition. 1t was declared that our
failure to take the Philippines would
precipitate a general European war;
that all the nations of Europe would
scramble for what we left if we with
drew. He said he had seen no such
disposition except on the part of Ger
many, and she was actuated by the
example of our greed. The President
arrogated to himself the right to speak
for 100000 people.
81 thank God,'' shouted Johnson,
"for the spirit of independence in the
Senate of the United States, prospect
i've of party. Bryan never made a
greater blunder than when ne said the
treaty should be ratified and our policy
determined afterward. Andrew Car
negie was nearer right, but he said the
treaty should be fought in the dark, not
in the open IF the treaty is ratified
without being coupled with a. resolution
declaring for the ultimate independence
of the Islands, it will be the death knell
of all our efforts to stop the torrent. !"
He would vote for a bill to reorganze
the army, but before God he would
never vote for a standing army of 10O,-
600, whose ultimate object was to estab-
lish a colonial system. IF / were in
the Senate" he said, II would rot in
my seat first; I would scorn the de-
mands of a State Legislature and the
clamor of the press. / would let them
malign my character and misinterpret
my motives, but would never swerve
from what I believed to be right"
Johnson next referred to the part
Great Britain had taken in inducing the
United States to enter into controversies
of the Far East, and of the manner in
which British assistance was being
given to the ubiquitous policy Of Will
lam Mckinley"
Let there be a new treaty." he
pleaded vehemently, ''let it not give
$40, O00, 600 for a cession of the Philip
pines to the United States, but let it
provide unequivocally that Spain with
draw from the Philippines and give the
Philippines the inestimable blessings of
liberty This world policy means the
embarking of a course like that of Eng
land. which had embroiled it in war I'M
interruptedly for 100 years"
The Indiana member now turned to
the cost of expansion. He detailed the
cost of the war, and the estimates of
$145 100000 for the military establish
ment and S41 100000 for the naval es-
Enlistment for the next fiscal year. 1t
showed, he said, that our war budget
exceeded that of the great military
Powers of the world. 1t was within
So COG, 900 of the cost of Great Bril-
tain's vast establishment, by which she
ruled her colonial empire; it was more
than the war budget of Germany, more
than that of France, or of any other
nation on the face of the globe. And
this was to realize '.the wild dream of
expansion"
Johnson's time was twice extended,
Democratic members of the Military
Committee yielding their time to him.
The Monroe doctrine, he declared, would
vanish with the annexation of the Phil
ippines. If we reached out into another
hemisphere, We could not with propriety
resist aggression in this.
There was a whirlwind of applause
when johnson took his seat and many
Democrats crowded up the aisle to con-
graduate him.
When Dolliver of Iowa rose to reply.
there was an outburst of applause from
the Republican side. Almost every seat
on the floor by this time was occupied,
and the galleries were packed to the
doors.
He began by saying that he had had
no intention of making an elaborate
speech on this bill, and he resented
Johnson's statement that he had been
maneuvering for an opportunity to re-
ply TIe had never heard the epithet
"Spaniard'' applied to the gentleman
from Indiana or any other member on
the floor. and if the gentleman deserved
the title he must get it from some other
tongue than his.
He would not make an extended re-
ply, he said, but he did desire to say
something Of the large responsibilities
which had come to US as result of the
war. He had hoped that Congress would
approach this question in the larger,
broader spirit in which the war had
baen entered upon. The war had
brought all sections and parties to-
gether in common cause. Now that
it was over and the treaty signed and
ready for ratification, it would seem
that the same spirit should be pre-
se-ved Rut on the contrary the "COn-
gressicnal Record" and the magazines
were being filed with views more num-
erous and varied than the islands we