The Saint Paul globe., 1899-02-12
LIBERTY ASSAULTED.
And by the Members of Her Own
Household.

To the st. Paul Globe:
Recent events, in which the United
States has been party. have taken
such a turn that might well as
tound the civilized world. and call forth the
righteous indignation of all true Americans:
for II these hold their peace. the rocks will
cry out. Not since that memorable day in
July 1776 when the Declaration Of Independ-
ence. that Bible of the rights OF men, was
signed, has such a spectacle presented itself
to the world. The guns of the United States
have been turned upon foreign people whose
only crime has been an adherence to the prin-
ciples Of our own Declaration of Independence.
Liberty. the fairest daughter of human
progress, has been assaulted by members of
her own household. 1t was bad, unspeakably
bad. that Spain, whose doctrines and record
were consistent with human oppression
should hold the Filipinos against their will.
but what should be said of America. the
champion os Liberty and human rights. for
holding them against their will with no as
surance of ultimate independence. thus pro-
voking them to hghtf In the conhict that fol-
lowed thousands Of their number weltered In
their own blood. ard who ever say that
1t was not shed In the cause Of liberty? They
may have been untutored in the school Of
civilization It matters not the degree OF their
advancement, their instincts Of liberty and
human rights are doubtless genuine a.
those that actuate US. They may not be able
to define accurately that holy word Liberty. /"
but its spirit pervades their souls as truly as
It did the immortal Henry when he said.
"Give me Liberty or give me DEATH
But those who would cover this heinous sin
with an olive leaf tell US that we had per-
feet right in the Philippines, and for that rea-
son had right to fight in self-defense. While
that may be true, who provoked the Filipinos
to attack the American lines? They certainly
would not fight without some provocation.
That provocation whether Intended or not can
be traced to no other source than to the
American people. Therefore we are respon-
sible for the lives lost In that unfortunate
conflict Now In what way did we provoke
the conflict? The nsurrection that has been
going on in the islands for years past has
been for their independence. In a perfectly
legttimateiy way. the sovereignty has been
transferred during the past few months from
81 ain to the United States; II not in theory 1t
has been In fact
This action was hailed with delight by the
Americans as a great victory for our army
and navy and good reason have we for exult-
ing But how did this change appear to the
Filipinos? The great end for which re has
been struggling has not yet been attained; and
unless there Is some ass france that his long
cherished hope will be attained, the whole
preceding will simply mean to him a change
of task-masters. The fact that We claim to
be any better task-masters than Spain does
not satisfy nor can it be expected. In all fair
ness, to satisfy the Filpinos. What does the
Filipino care about any treaty between IL e
United States and Spain so long as it does not
contain any promise Of his freedom? 1t is said
that we could not give such assurance when
we did not know the outcome of the treaty OF
psace. Pitiful excuse! We hold the Philip.
pine islands today and have since the battle
of Manila as far as Spain is concerned and
are in position to dictate any terms of q
treaty that We wish
On the contrary, what has the action Of
the United States led the Filipinos to be-
heve? We have not only failed to give them
any assurance of ultimate freedom, but have
given them good reason to believe that We
intended to hold them permanently. The
whole course Of Senator Davis has been in
that direction, and the utterances of Prest-
dent Mckinley on his recent trip in the South
were to the effect that our flag should re-
main there permanently and he said. ''Who
should ever dare to haul it down." Besides,
repeated resolutions have been introduced In
the United States senate endeavorins to &C.
cure = promise from tie govsrnmsn4 that