The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1899-11-16
GOVERNMENT FOR FlLlPINos.
Senator Morgan Says Congress Should
Define IL without Delay.

Define IL without Delay.
New York, Nov. 8.-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 4, article iv, of the
constitution, which provides that the
United States shall guarantee to every
state in this Union q republican form
of government.
The senator said that this imposed q
distinct duty upon congress, and the
discharge of that duty by action look
ing to the establishment of republic
can form of government in the Philip
piues would be the answer possible to
the anti-imperialists. He explained
that what he meant by giving repub-
lican form of government to the Philip
pines was to give them the best form
of 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 a whole or for any of the
various people who inhabited them,
without thorough understanding OF
all the conditions and needs of the in
habitants. Asked whether he favored
q congressional commission to viGt the
Philippines and study the conditions
there before attempting to frame a sys-
tenn of government, he replied:
II think it would be wise to have
such commission visit the islands.
If we had undertaken to frame gov
ernment for Hawaii without the study
of local conditions which our commits.
sion made, think it is probable that
we would have made some egregious
blunders. This study of conditions
and of tie peculiar Characterization 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 expending
the revenues, and of all matters relat-
ing to the islands as a group, while the
local affairs should be confided as far
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-
tion 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 be
made would be 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 governments into its
ultimate form will have to be q matter
of growth.