Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-25
Must Govern Islands.

Chicago, Aug. 25.--A special to the
Times-Herald from ShelbyVlle, lnd.,
saws: ",rhere must be for the present a
government of the Philippines by the
United States, because there cannot for
years to come. be a government of the
Philippines by the Philippines, for the
Philippines. We are bound to give free
dom to the Philippines. What Aguinaldo
is fighting for is not freedom, but inde-
pendence. There may be some day inde-
pendence in the Philippines. The short
est way to it is under the American flag.
With these sentences. former Congress
man George L. Adams of Chicago struck
the keynote of the address which he de-
livered before the Lithia Springs assem-
bly,, sort Of western Chatauqua at
Lithia Springs, in this county.
His subject was pending Questions
and he had been led, through a discussion
of the possible political issues of the
next national campaign to make thor
ough analysis of what the United States
had accomplished in the islands which
have come under it's control, and of what
the country proposed TO accomplish In
the future After asserting the honor of
the motives which had led the United
States to intervene in Cuban affairs for
the benefit of the Cubans Mr.. Adams ar
rayed his reasons for holding that the
aims set up in the policy of the United
States toward the Filipnos are the same
az those in the policy toward the Cubans,
although, perforce, the methods taken to
attain this end are different in the two
cases.
..Those who call themselves anti-im-
perialists" he said "cOnfine their argu
ments to the Philippine islands. One of
them said not long ago that we ought to
treat the FilipinOs as we treat the Gu
bans. l believe it is precisely the same
thing that we set out to do and are try
ing to do in both cases. The motive is
the same the policy is the same and the
method would have been the same but
for causes beyond our CONTROL
After telling of this cOuntry's assump-
ton of responsibility in Cuba as a re-
suit of intervention without recognition,
Mr.. Adams showed how the United
States was now giving governing powers
to the Cubans by encouraging local self
government, from which all free govern
ments must rise. Turning then to the
Philippines, he said:
Our constitutional right to rule the
Philippines is admitted by nearly all,
even among those who think it is unwise
or unjust to exercise it, The question is
one of morals only. This question of
morals is substantially the same for the
philippines as for Cuba. There is this
difference however. We are responsible
to the society of civilized nations or
which we are member to maintain
order in the Philippines which SPAN.
with the assent of the civilized world,
ruled for AGO years and then ceded to us.
Cuba was not ceded to us. 1t was SIM
ply evacuated by Spain. ,Still, we eXer-
else authority there. We have not asked
the consent of the governed. The ad-
ministration has tried to do IN the Philip
pines just what it has tried to do in
Cuba
Mr. Adams then asked what course the
United States could have taken to avoid
the laborious task of establishing order
in the Philippines after the war, and
alone he said, would bring liberty there.
I'VE are bound.' he continued, Ito give
freedom to the Philippines. What Aguin
aldo is fighting for is not freedom. but
independence. Independence he could
not have even if we withdrew our army
and navy and hauled down the Stars and
Stripes in Manila. Liberty he can have
under the American flag in almost as
large a measure as the state of Illinois.
Let the people of the islands first learn
to govern themselves in their several VIII
lagos, cities and parishes. If then they
choose to unite these villages. cities and
parishes into states we ought to help
them to do so. If then, the several states
choose to unite to form federal repub-
lie We ought to help them to do so, and il
the federal republic thus formed is strong
enough to maintain it's position as an IN
dependent nation and choose the protec-
ton of it's own flag instead of the pro>
lection of the flag of the United States,
a large majority of the American people
would be glad to speed it on its way"