The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-11

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10.-Senator
Mason. of Illinois, occupied the atten-
ton OF the senate for nearly an hour
and half today with speech in sup
port of his resolution declaring that
the United States will never attempt
to govern the people of any country
without their consent In many re-
spects the speech was one of the most
notable utterances in the senate thus
far this session. Rugged in language.
pointed and effective in Illustration,
Mr.. Mason commanded the attention
Of the senate and of the galleries from
the first sentence of his speech to the
apostrophe to liberty which formed his
peroration. Several times spontaneous
applause swept over the galleries, but
under the stringent rules of the senate
1t was queiled quickly
1t was several minutes after the con-
clusion of the speech before the senate
could proceed with its business on ac-
count of the confusion incident to the
congratulations which many of Mr..
Mason's colleagues FASTENED to extend
to him.
Senator Mason spoke as follows:
TREATY NOT INVOLVED.
1t is easy to drift with the tide. but it is
not always safe. The simple resolution I
have introduced has nothing necessarily to
do with any treaty, nor do | intend to speak
of any proposed treaty. The resolution does
not involve question of law, but is a ques-
ton as to the future policy of this republic.
l am willing to trust the people, and l want
the people 10 hear both sides of the case be-
fore the verdict is rendered.
Distire- e-4I;shed editors and ctatecman COW
the Republican party favcrs governing GER
tain nations without the consent of their peo-
PIES. Who dare speak in advance for the
party that speaks only in its convention? :?
That party sprang Ike young giant from
the womb of conscience, and made its first
fight for human liberty. 1t has never bow
ed to the storm of expediency. and if 1
may be allowed to prophesy, I predict that
if the delegates will go in again the rafters
viii ring again and again when they demand
the same importance for the citizens of the
Philippines as they did two years ago for
Cuba.
Do you say am speaking for the Philip
pines? Yes, one word for them and two for
ourselves. A black man said to a senator
the other day: Il thank you for speaking
OF my race and the senator replied: 81
am speaking one word for your race and
two for my own race; nothing ever dwarfed
the white race so much as STOPPING for a
hundred years to keep the black man down. -
] may appear to speak one word for the
Philippines, but two for my own people, when
/ plead for the broad manhood of the man
who wrote: ''All Just powers of government
are derived from the consent of the gov
erned." You cannot govern the Philippines
without taxing them. You have not yet
their consent, and the proposition of taxa
ton without representation is made again.
Look out for tea parties; those little semi
social functions are likely to break out even
there, for Hail Columbia and Yankee
Doodle have been heard in the archipelago.
We may talk of 1t as We please, but there
is nothing that satisfies the human mind in
aR enlightened age unless is governed
by his own country and the institutions OF
his own government.
AN UNTENABLE POSITION.
We are now asked to say to the citizens
of the Philippines: You poor ignorant crea-
lures, you can't govern yourselves; we will
extend commerce, and we will do it foI
you. You don't know how to tax yourselves
and in order that we may continue to exer-
else our Christian duty to you, we will pre-
vent your exercising sovereignty-we will ex-
ereise that function ourselves" Mr.. Presi-
dent, they will never learn TO govern them