Omaha daily bee., 1899-07-19
pEspossIpuhriEs OF THE NATION.
why We should ne scruputous In our
Ionhnc With Other PcOple.

of never failing interest to ourselves and
our families and sometimes to our neigh-
bors. no matter how old we grow or how
fulr OF Joy or sorrow, success or misfortune
the departing year has been. They are a part
and perhaps the best part-of the perl
Oddities that enter into so many OF the acts
OF our lives. We ind or adopt periods ana
sum up the events OF the intervals, and,
consciously or unconsciously, measure In
one way or another the progress and tend
encies OF our lives. The same impulse that
thus affects the individual affects the mass
OF individuals who form the organized con
ditlon Of a people-the town, the state, the
nation. Thus our national birthday be-
comes the common one OF the cooperative
life OF many millions, with the same sort
of review OF the past and hope for the
future that the individual must have In re-
spect of his own life. Our nation is not a
strange, incomprehensible and unapproach-
able being whose conduct we see at a
distance. 1t is ourselves. Its standards OF
right and wrong are and always must be
the same as those that should be our W
personal ones. The law of the personal ex-
istence and duty OF a single man must be
and is that OF all when they are acting to-
gether as a nation. The nation exists solely
to protect and defend the rights and pro-
mote the common-not the separate and
selHsh-interests OF the people. Life,
liberty and the pursuit OF happiness, as our
Declaration Of Independence stated it. are
the inalienable rights OF men and nations.
And the application OF these truths was set
forth in its statement Of the conduct OF the
British king toward the colonies.
To protect and defend the rights OF indi-
viduals there are the %coercive provisions
pf tho law which form a mart Of the united
being Of the state or nation, and to which
every member Of the nation and the stranger
within its gates has implicitly assented.
But among nations there is no such law
OF compulsion. Each, in Its conduct to-
ward another, is a law unto itself, and what
the strongest thinks or feels to be either
right or desirable for itself comes to pass,
either by the submission Of the weaker, or
by slaughter, or both.
In a government OF the people the ma
tional conscience consists OF the average
conscience Of the people who maintain 1t
and elect its officers. II the ten command
ments and the sermon on the mount are
the standards OF the conduct Of the indi-
vidual they must be Of five, or 100 or 1000, 900
acting together-nation, state, municipality,
trust, corporation, labor union, church or any
other combination OF men.
Superiority in intelligence or physical
power cannot alter the fundamental verify
Of things. The good that any government
does and the evil that it does is the good
deed or the evil deed of every citizen that
supports it in the act. The intelligence, the
morality and the industry Of the man, the
family and neighborhood are the only founda-
ton and measure of good government. It
was to defend and secure these that the
Declaration was given to the world. Liberty
Of person., liberty OF labor and liberty
Of opinion and speech and Of religious wor-
ship, and equality of rights would, our
fathers thought. produce justice and order
with all that these terms imply. We have
pursued the experiment Of government under
these standards for now 1913 years. On the
whole, it has proved, with all its failures
to keep to the standard, the best system Of
government yet known among men.
Internally it has shown great progress,
much as yet remains to be improved and
rectifed in securing to it's citizens the rights
which it provides for. But in the family
of nations and peoples which cover the
globe we have stood like the others unre-
strained by anything save our own will or
want OF strength, although it is self-evident
that the same principles of justice should
be applied In the relations of nations that
VIC nave hduc tue CohpclliHs StduudIub III
our internal affairs. But as we are stronger
than most nations we ought, IL we really
believe in the great truths on which our gov
eminent is founded. to be scrupulous in the
highest degree in our conduct toward
every people with whom we have to do.
Whether We have been so is a question 1t
Is the bounden duty of every citizen to con-
slider, and II he thinks the officers the
people have elected are mistaken in their
policy or wrong in their conduct of affairs
he ought to say so, and do his best to correct
the wrong and change or modify the policy.
This is the very essence of the political
duty OF a citizen. And, reciprocally, the
officers of the government are bound as
faithful agents to give the fullest informa-
ton in respect of their administration and
withhold nothing other than what the public
safety may require to be kept secret for
the time. The Importance OF this duty in
the present unhappy condition OF our affairs
is very great. AS one instance, and just
now the most urgent one, the people ought
TO know precisely what took place be-
tween our authorities and agents and the
rebel forces and authorities In the Philip
pines before the capture OF Manila; and
what took place after 1t; what were and
have been the instructions to our forces
there; what were and have been all the in
structions to the commissioners sent there.
and what was the real reason Of their failure
to secure peace. According to the re-
ports Of the time, the Philippine people were
struggling by war to be free from the
Spanish oppression before and at the time
our fleet appeared at Manila, and were our
cooperating friends until after the fall OF
that city, and had and still have possession
Of the principal islands except a few towns
along the coast.
Had Spain then anything TO cede 90 us
other than a pretended sovereignty that did
not exist in fact?
Under what circumstances did the friend
ship and cooperation of the Filipinos change
to one OF hostility, and which still con-
tinues?
While the events OF the past cannot be re-
versed, the present and the future are in our
hands. How shalf we discharge our re-
sponsibilities Of justice and Just policy?
First, let us know the whole truth OF what
has happened, and then perhaps tho
advocates OF glory or dominion or trade or
civilization and religion advanced by the
cannon and the bayonet and supported by the
blood and treasure OF our people can point
ott IN ne how thaaa ara a,h. =