The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-11-06
CONGRESS- SHOULD ACT.
Senator Morgan Advocates a Form
of Government For Philippines

New York, Nov. "a special to the
Herald from Washington says:
Congress should at once take action
in relation to the Philippines" said
Senator Morgan today. This action
should be taken in the discharge of the
duty imposed by section 4, article 4, of
the constitution which provides that
the United States shall guarantee to
every state in this Union a republican
form of government"
The senator said that this imposed
distinct duty upon congress and the
discharge of that duty by action look
ing to the establishment of a repubH-
can form of government in the Philip
pines would be the best answer possi-
BILE to the anti-imperialists. He eX-
plained that what he meant by giving
republican form of government to the
Philippines was the best form of a re-
publican government known in the
world, which would be the best form
to be found among the ideal and that
every step toward establishing a gov
ernment in the Philippines should be an
approach to this high ideal.
No attempt should be made, he said,
to frame a detailed government for the
islands as a whole or for any of the
various peoples who inhabited them
without a thorough understanding of
all the conditions and needs of the in
habitants.
Asked whether he favored a congress
Sional commission to visit the Philip
pines and study the conditions there be-
fore attempting to frame a system of
government, he replied:
Il think it would be wise to have
such a commission visit the islands. If
we had undertaken to frame a govern
ment for Hawaii without the study of
local conditions which our commission
made, think it is probable that we
would have made some eGregious
blunders. This study of conditions and
of the peculiar characteristics and
nf he iS n
sary in the case of the Philippines than
in Hawaii, because we know less of the
Philippines"
In the senator's 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 relating
to the islands as a group, while the
local affairs should be cOnf1ded as far
as possible to the people of the different
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 nave the
right to vote would have to be determ-
ined by congress, and in this connection
the senator called attention to the fact
that in this instance the determination
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 allowed
to vote, in others men and women, and
in others various qualifications being
prescribed.
Existing laws, the senator thought
should be continued in force as far as
they were good laws, because the peo-
pie understand them. One change that
would have to be made would be to
take away from the friars and the re-
ligious 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 DrOb-
lem of governing the Philippines the
development of that government into
its ultimate form will have to be a
matter of growth.