Mexico weekly ledger., 1899-03-02

The halt held ont % them Is the in
creased oornmeroe which we are to sT-
p~srisnus and az which we are 70 reap
the benefits The hollow fsilsSy Of this
th~ay Is clesrly demonstrated when it
i stated upan government statistics
thzf the entire foreign trade Of the
Philippine IslEzsas in the last year only
Emounte5 70 tiG. 90. 600. SC that II we
secured The entire trade Of thoss islands
and ever d1llsr q that trade were
clear prgEt-which. Of course, is pre-
PosisECs-we would still fall $40, 0O0,-
900 sAors annually Of gaining enough
to pay The very modest estimates for
the increase Of the standing army, to
say nothing Of the enormous increase Of
tsxe Necessary to build the finest navy
in the world The proceeds Of the en-
tire foreign trade Of the Philippine Is
lands In the last year, If 1t were all
clear profit, would only amount to
enough to build two first class battle
ships Upon the whole it is safe to say
that, from a purely commercial and
financial standpoint, II our Uncle Sam
uel undertakes to hold the Philippines
permanently in less than ten years he
viii Be under the necessity Of making
an assignment, for since Julius Caesar
rode at the head Of bis victorious legions
there has not been enough money
coined in al the mints Of the world 10
maintsin our supremacy in the orient
for q quarter Of a century.
Te Held the Philippines.
There is siiT another feature Of the
financial view Of this case which /
m05sstly commend TO the profound con
sidsFssion Of oar exuberant jingoes, and
that is this-to hold the Philippine Is
lands viii require the lives Of 30, 900
American soiiiers annually. the very
flower II the youth q the country. The
oo-porztiaus Of this country. for their
cwn benefit have had the value Of the
average human life fixed at Is, 600,
which Il entirely inadequate. The true
rule for computing the value Of a hu-
MAE life ought to be 10 multiply the
reasonable annual salary o. the deceased
by the number Of years be hiss 10 live
according to the approved life tables;
but, taking IL on the low basis fixed BY
the legislatures Of the states at the be-
hest Of the corporations, 20. 600 human
lives at Is. 600 each would amount to
the astounding total Of s100, 600, 600
annually, hut even this enormous sum
would represent only a small portion Of
the financial loss to the United States
by reason Of the death Of her soldiers in
the Philippine Islands. for, Judging by
past experiences. 1t is perfectly safe to
assume that for every two soldiers who
died in the service Of their country at
least one pensioner would be billeted
on the public treasury. The minimum
pension under our laws BY reason Of
death is 500 per year, and the average
life Of a ~pensioner is something like IS
years 50 that for every soldier who
dies. In addition TO the $5, 900 money
loss which the government sustains BY
reason Of his death, there is a contingent
loss in the shape Of pensions. amounting
10 at least f2, 900. so that the prospect
Of supremacy in the Philippine Islands
also presents the prospect Of an appalling
sacrifice Of human life and a financial
drain which no nation on earth can
long endure.
Not Fitted For C~itiEenship.
But even the financial ruin above
foreshadowed pales into utter insignia
canoe when compared with the i'm
mense damage which viii be done to
our institutions in other ways There
Is not q solitary man whose opinion Is
at all worth considering who believes
ont Of the 10. 900, 900 inhabitants
the Philippines there Is even one hu-
being ct for American citizenship
The thing Is an impossibility in nature
Even the most Tabid and enthusiastic |
philippine advocate dares not up
hold the theory that sovereign states Of
Union are TO be made out Of these
either O or hereafter. II this
is not 70 be done, then clearly, II we
are to hold them al all. we are 10 hold
them a. colonies or dependencies TO be
ruled by the sword and the sword alone.
This means that we are TO appoint con
.tinually a brood Of p~rocunsuis and mill
larry satraps and send them forth. poor
rs Lazsrus al the rich mans gate 10
-eturn to as lawless nabohs 10 corrupt
Jur manner and our Institutions by
wealth wrung from an alien, a serviie
and a helpless people
Still another feature must give pause
10 rational beings before they viii con
lent % this stupendous revolution in the
conduct If our Affairs, and that is the
lvershadoHing danger 20 our liberties
'esulttng from q great standing army.
'gainsi which al Of our patriots and
ages from Washington to the present
lour have warned them Congress nav
,ass al the laws it pleases constituting
bis new standing army an army Of oc-
'uPation for the Philippine Islands. and
irescriie al the penalties its ingenuity
nay devise against bringing these troops
% the United States or retaining them
lere. but the fact remains neverthe-
that a resoluta ambitious, IN
crupulous man in the White Hoas
nay within 90 days while congress Is
IN session. transport 50. 600 regulars
the PHILIPPINES to overzwe the
and to overthrow the republic
is useless % say that no such mar has
ver sat in the presidential chair. All
teaches that in every age and in
very cline, Whenever the opportunity
or seizing supreme power has presented
iseh man with nerve great enough
nd c~cnscience little enough 10 pro6t by
he oonaion has put in an a-ppazrance
the scene q action Cesar and
Narnleou were not freaho q nature. but
we're fypa a a class Conditions sim-
lar 70 those which produced them win
10 Toducs their o~ounterpsrts Il e
n Cd saying that an ounce Of msvsn-
Ion l. worth a pound Of cure znd IN.
We desire 10 become slaves we woan
10 wei 70 refus D pacs the means d
ur snshvensui in the hands q any
nan
al NJ |,