Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-29
TO GOVERN COLONIES
President Schurman Discusses Prob
lem Before Cornell Students.
POINTS TO EU2OPE'S EXPERIENCE
Main Purpose Should Be to Extend
Good Government
FINALLY NDEPEND ENCE

At Cornell University yesterday President
! Schurman delivered strong address deal
ing with expansion. He referred to his ad
dress of last year when he answered mega
| lively the inquiry, Shall take the
Philippine Islands from Spain?' His op.n
! ions, he said. brought upon him no little
| condemnation but the rapid march OF
| events rendered it necessary to consider
| whether these opinions were sound or not
| The treaty making power of the United
| States, backed, he admitted, by an over
wheiming public OPINION, irrespective OF
| party, took the Philippine Islands from
spain. Some people were still discussing
| the theoretlc expediency Of expansion. II his
| had not been an open question since last
| winter. The only question today open Was
| this: The United States having taken the
Philippine Islands IRON Spain, what shall
! be done with them?"
| This grave issue must be decided by the
| Pr Sldent and Congress of the nited S ales.
| With them he thought 1t could be left in
| the confident expectation that a wise sou-
| ton will be reached. He invited attention
to some observations on the general sub
| Ject of national expansion.
| In the case of the United States there
| was one important difference between
| the overflow Of the population of our orig
| inal thirteen states, and that of the Brit Sh
| Isles. Wherever the American went he set
| up a new state, which was a vital part Of
| the Union. The Constitution, laws and in
stitutions of the United States were car
| RED into the new domains, out of which
| separate Self-governing states were carved.
| Great Britain and her colonies each MAIN
| tain their own individual identity, not being
| organized into single whole.
There was another difference between the
expansion of the United States and that of
Great Britain, which comes prominently
| into view when our new states were COM
pare with dependencies like India. The
pt pulation of the United States was homo
geneous, that of India indescribably hete-
rogeneous. The Americans ruled them
selves whether in New York or oregon the
alien and multitudnous races of India
could be held together only by a strong
foreign hand. America had grown from
within outward. England had enlarged her,
self by accretion In the former case It
was such growth as that of the boy into
the man; in the latter case it was like set
ting up sons for tn mselves. Our assump-
ton of sovereignty over the Philippine Is
lands was altogether unlike the previous
phases of our national expansion He
pointed out that whereas in the develop
mont of the United States from Atlantic to
Pacific practically uninhabited territories
We're found, the Philippine Islands were al
ready well peopled with Malayans who had
intrusion OF other races. and to whom the
physical environment was far better adapt
ed than 1t is to white men.
EurOpe's Lesson in COIonizing.
The most obvious. but also the most fun
damental, lesson drawn from the colonial
history of Europe was a warning: Let no
ruling race ever treat its colonies or de-
tendencies as its possessions" In earlier
and more barbarous ages subject states
were regarded as the property of the con-
querors. But this conception was an ont
rage upon that idea of humanity which
mad now happily become part of the com
mon consciousness of mankind. This theory
cost England her first colonial empire in
America; then she abandoned it and now
her colonies her glory nd
Spain could not surrender the mediaeval
ihusion barbarous as it is: and her colonial
empire persisted Of dry rot
Yet there were those who speal, of tho
Philippine Islands as our possessions and
calmly conclude we may do what we like
with them. This was too barbarous to be
taken seriously; it was not callousness of
heart: 1t was only muddle-headedness. The
terms Ownership" and 'possession'' are
paroarous survival when applied to any
relation between one people and another.
Inc sovereign power owned nothing but
there was something 1t owed. 1t was
charged with the responsibility of govern
ment. Our relations with the Philippines
would be misrepresented so long as we re-
tanned that fatal confusion of government
and property. Continuing he said: we
SIMPLY possess, in virtue of the treaty of
Pans. the right to govern or aid in govern
ing the people Of the Philippine Islands
Cnhappily. We have not yet got beyond the
first function of government-the suppress
sion of instruction and the establishment
OF peace and order
ne Grew from the history of colonization
..5rhe , re1son me io!,o"lhe:
denotes Is NOT a noonav.maiins o or. uepsn.
for the sovereign power or its citizens"
This followed as corollary from the prop
ost'ion thit suporolhate states were not
.iie plopeIy OF the power which exercised
s'sh's over them' In commercial
age II was easy 10 associate the extension
81 Idue with the foundation of colonies.
oul thett wa no instance IN history of the
9ucCtssiui government OF colony where
pi"ht " .hn parent state or IT'S citizens had
oten ieduihS consideration. On the other
MUM mere were many examples of disaster
anu IepGl!ohs from such unworthy greed
ana eAiholatlon
l-et nation ne said, seek to enrich
itSeli OF itS cltlZens at the expense of its
c"loniS u ana IL mroVerlshes all But let
d iiatioh III all lts dealings with its colonies
'akc as lts sole criterion of judgment and
standard OF conduct the welfare of the col
"IlatS' ana II VIII result, as history every
where demonstrates, that the enriched de-
pehdencics become the most profitable
traders with the ruling country"
lie laid 1t down as a cardinal principle
that the way to get profit from colonies
was not to seek it at their expense. On
the contrary, colonization power should
aim at nothing but the welfare of its colo