The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-11-16

1 themselves against their neighbors The
 military governor of the province, all | though a TagalOg and an insurgent, 1 had characterized the condition existing
 as complete anarchy and had repeated | ly sent in secret to Manila asking for i aid to restore order and promising to ! surrender with his troops If we could
 only despatch a small force to his aid. 1 The speaker denounced as false state-
 ments that the Americans had no 1 friends among the F'ilipnos and deelar- ed that we had many good, true friends there. He continued: T heard it said that if only a small fraction of the Phil
 ippine poulation is in arms against us,
 and if the great majority of the people
 are ready to accept American sover-
 eighty, why is it that we are compelled
 to send a great army to the island? l
 answer, first, because we are waging
 the most humane war ip history. If 1t
 were simply matter of killing we
 should not need so large an army. Two
 regiments of troops could go where they
 chose in the island of Luzon to- day and
 kill to their hearts content without sa-
 rious risk. It is because we are at
 tempting to protect the peacable in
 habitants from the depredations of the
 lawless people that we require so large
 a force.
 Finally, a word as to the way out.
 Is it conceivable that we should with draw our troops, abandoning our friends to the certain vengeance of our enemies and the people at large to civil war and
 utter anarchy? There can be but one answer to this question. Our troops must stay until armed resistance has ceased and public confidence has been fully restored. The day will come, sooner or later, when native soldiers, under American officers or under off, cers of their own, will do large share of the work that remains to be done. In the matter of autonomy we have al- ready made a safe beginning, and the experiments in municipal and provincial governments which are even now in progress will eventually furnish a safe basis for congressional action
 Tn closing, let me say that there does not live an 'anti-imperalist' who has more sincere regard for the people of the Philippine Islands or q keener in- terest in their present and future well fare than myself I have great faith in them. believe that under our guild ance they will make rapid progress in civilization and will soon be able to take an important share in the burden of their country but I know that If the full weight of that burden were thrown upon them to-day they would inevita- bly, sink under it. Those who affect to believe that we are creating bloody dis order by our presence in the Philip pines; that the natives would continue to hate us even if we gave them good government; that they would be better off under a very bad government en- tirely their own than under a very good one administered in part by others and that the only logical and honorable course open to us Is to withdraw our forces and leave the peaceable and law abiding natives of the Philippine is- lands at the mercy of Aguinaldo and his army, may be sincere in their con- victions, but by freely giving voice to them they are encouraging the ambi- tious Taglog leader to prolong a hope less struggle. The prolongation of this struggle is costing us millions of dol lars, and. what is far worse, good red American blood. Let history fix the responsibility for it. Those of us who believe that the flag should remain in the east should stand shoulder to shoul- der There is work for us to do. Let those scoff who will. The future often million of human beings and the honor If great nation are in our keeping, and the eyes of the world are upon us. Let us not prove false to our trust"