Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-08-26

SEAKER REEDS REIlhEMENl.
SECRETARY WILSON'S ABSURD
INTERVIEW.
Special Washington Correspondence.
WASHINGTON, d. c., August "a
The Philippine program OF Secretary
Root and the administration now
stands out clear. 1t is an aggressive
program of subjugation. The Filipi-
pinos are to be crushed And the
crushing is to be done if possible be-
fore congress meets, or at least before
congress has any chance to criticise
or intervene in any way. The pro-
gram has thus two aspects, the mill
tary and the political. On the one
hand it is proposed to maintain the
prestige of American arms, and on the
other to attempt to conciliate the
growing popular disgust with the fall
ure of Otis to pacify the Tagals and
with the continuance of the war in the
orient. These motives are somewhat
at variance, but they are made to mt
together by the assumption that send
ing a large military force to the Phil
ippines will sooner bring about peace.
Certainly a larger force ought to be
able to occupy some Of the available
points hitherto neglected by Otis;
whether it will end the fighting
IS ANOTHER NATTER
But why does the administration i'm
agine sending force of $4,000 men to
the Philippines will prove more popu-
lar than an attempt to bring about
peace with the insurgents on some
basis that they will accept? This is
costly expedition that the administra-
ton has set on foot. 1t includes a
larger force than England expects to
use if she goes to war with Kruger.
She has conquered immense tracts of
Africa with much smaller forces. She
effected the conquest of India with
smaller armies. Spain upheld such SUI
premecy as she had in the Philippines
with less than one-third as many men,
supressing rebellion after rebellion.
Every call for ten or more regiments
means an addition to the federal ex-
penditure of 81 100000 month by ex-
ecutive order; every additional soldier
recruited adds to the triumph Of those
who believe in militarism and its an
ti-democratic ideals. Will this sort
Of thing prove popular?
THE PRESIDENT IS QUOTED
as placing the problem of conquering
Aguinaldo first and the problem of gov
erning the Philippines second. But
the last should have been first. Lieut.
Calkins, of the Navy, declares his be-
lief that the leaders of the Philippine
Instruction might have been on our
side if we had offered to make use of
their political 0nd administrative abil-
tiles. This is the opinion of every
body not consumed with the pride of
conquest. The solution Of the prob
lem was within our grasp before fight
ing began. 1t was rejected simply be-
cause militarism wouldn't listen to it.
Absolute surrender to American SOW
eTeignty was the ultimatum-no guar
antees, no concession, no plan of gov
ernment-nothing but submission. And
that is the attitude of the administra-
ton to-day. The president accepts
the advice of those who tell him that
conquest is the thing in the Philippi-
mes, and of those who whisper in his
ear that his political future is menaced
by failure to conquer. The imperial
lists have the administration by the
throat and Mckinley is their plant
tool.
THE BUREAU OF STATISTICS
has issued an exhaustive mass of facts
regarding commerce with South Am
erica, accompanied by map intended
to show the saving which would be eff
fected by the construction of the Near
ague canal in the distances travelled by
ships carrying goods to the western
coast of that continent 1t happens,
however, that the value of this showing
as to the usefulness of the Nicaragua
canal to our South American commerce
is much impaired by the significant fact
that the bulk of all foreign trade-Am-
erican included-is with the east and
not the west coast of South America,
and SO would not be affected in any way
by the proposed canal The figures are
remarkable. Marching down the east
ern coast of South America, we find
Brazil importing, in 1897, goods to the
value of over sos, 100000, of which the
United States supplied about II per
cent; Uruguay and Paraguay, $22, 900,
of which our share was less than per
cent; and Argentina, S95,0O0 1000, of
which less than per cent was from the
United States; while tour of the Pa
cific coast shows importations into Chile
Of 1900, 900; Peru, SIS. 100000: Bolivia.