The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-06

remedying any serious defects that may
appear.
Nothing could be more unjust or I'M
wise than for us to deny the island
self-government until sentiment
might be manufactured there favorable
to annexation. The genuine character
of such a sentiment must always be
open to serious doubt. It Is to be hoped
that the president has no such purpose.
In dealing with trusts, while he de-
votes considerable space to the sub
ject, it must be admitted that space
is about all that he does devote.
He quotes from President Harrison's
message advocating legislation to check
their growth and limit their abuses.
He refers to the legislation that was
enacted and then cites President Cleve-
land in proof that the law had been a
complete failure. He makes no recon-
laendation of any additional legislation
by congress, but rather discuurages it
by strongly intimating that the remedy
must be found through the legislatures
of the several states.
This is equivalent to dismissing the
whole subject from the domain of ma
tional legislation. 1t also discourages
all hope of any remedial legislation
whatever, for to get the uniformity of
laws to which he refers. through the
legislation of forty-five separate, dis
tinct and independent bodies will be
practical impossibility. And espe-
cially so as the trusts can and do ex-
ercisa far more influence with state
legislatures, than with the national
congress. IT congress cannot success
fully deal with the problem, then most
certainly it never will be solved. The
president might Just as well have said
nothing upon this subject.
In his treatment Of the Philippine COM
plication the president certainly does not
rise to the plane Of true American
| craftsmanship. In fact he fails to even
| touch the essence Of the question at
| all.
| His claim that the islands are ours
| by every title Of law and equity" can
not be sustained without completely
| ignoring the rights of the ten millions
Of natives. II we regard SPANS title
as a good one under the general code
| Of international law, then as cold,
| technical legal proposition the islands
and all that they contain are ours be-
cause we took them in such manner as
to get all the title that Spain had. But
to hold this good as against the people
.sJs n
Spain's title save as a matter of COM
pulsion, is to do violence to every
American principle of government rec
ognized from the days Of Washington
down to the beginning Of Mr. McKin-
! ley's term.
! In referring to the ''sinster ambition
Of Filipino leaders, and the plot to at
tack the Americans and burn Manila,
the president gets entirely away from
the main issue, and 6ndeavors to OBJ
scure the real principle involved by
/ creating a prejudice against the Taga-
/ los. The whole question turns upon the
right Of the people to self government.
If they have such right it cannot be
( defeated because certain ones among
! them have sinister ambitions or be-
cause some of them entered into a plot
to exter1ninate the Americans and burn
Manila. These things, if true, are to
/ be deeply deplored. But men with sin
lister ambitions everywhere abound, and
! history records many plots quite as bad
as that of the Filipinos. Whether some
! of their leaders have "sininster ambi-
tons" or not, and no matter what kind
! of a plot may have been conceived,
! the great fact remains that neither
! those leaders nor the people have ever
/ asked anything beyond the great
! American privilege OF governing and
! taxing themselves.
The presidents statement that the
great majority of the people are loyal
to America has nothing in the way of
4 reasonable proof to sustain it. The
| people have never been polled upon the
! subject. So far as they ars acouies-
| cent. it is the acquiscence of an I'M
armed body of civilians in the presence
of an irresistible military force and is
! no fair test Of their real wishes.
The contention that it would be I'M
! just to the "peaceable and loyal ma
| jority" to leave them at the mercy of
the armed insurgents carries in it
| self an assumption of the whole oues-
| ton at issue. It is simply intended to
arouse prejudice against those of the
natives who are In the field doing the
| fighting.
It completely begs the main issue.
No one, at least no considerable num-
! Der Of the American people, have ever
argued that a great majority, loyal and
1 anxious for the Americans to govern
1 them should be turned over to the
mercy of the insurgents. What has
been claimed is that the people there
, Should receive the assurance that it
was not the purpose of the United
States to subjugate them, but that
they should have the right Of self-gov-