The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-05-25

Juphiti dllu Otuci lieScuchtS tiidt eiio
United States had the right to annex
non-contiguous territory and hold 1T
permanently. He claimed that Dewey's
victory gave us an undoubted right to
be in the Philippines, and that there
could be no termination of that right
unless by our own voluntary act. In
closing he cited with much force the
miserable condition of such sub-tropical
republics as Hayt, holding that the
Filipinos would inevitably relapse into
the same condition if left to their own
resources.
Francis j. Nash for the negative con-
tended that the word permanently was
the key note of the question. He was will
ing to concede that it would be wise for
the United States to remain temporarily
in the Philippines for police purposes and
to protect American property there, but
held that forcihle reduction of the
islands for the purpose of permanently
holding them was nothing less than
criminal aggression and that the Presi-
dent had so announced at the beginning
of the Cuban war He closed by calling
attention to the incongruity of our ideas
of liberty as typified by the statue on
Bedloes island and the idea of conquest
aroused by the forcible subsection of the
PHILIPPINES.
Walter c. Reineking argued for the
affirmative that the expression govern
ment by the consent of the governed
was overworked; that the interests of
civilization often demanded that a
stronger race should assume control of
weaker and guide it in the paths of
civic virtue; that the enforcement of a
form of military government was often
necessary; that, in short, civilized man
is his brothers keeper and should not
shirk his responsibility
Timothy j, Kelley followed and show
ed by statistics the unpreparedness of the
United States, a distinctly industrial ma
ton, to compete with great warlike
powers like England, France, Germany
and Russia He showed the great mill
tary establishments of the European ma
tons, and proved by figures that this
country would be entirely unable to cope
with any of them in an external conflict,
though we We're impregDable so long as
we remained within the confines of the
North American continent. He main
tanned that ON the one hand it would be
disastrous to us to incorporate such a
heterogeneous mass as the Filiplnos into
our body polite, and on the other hand
it would be disastrous to the Filipinos to
attempt to govern them as colonies when
we had no sort of colonial machinery.
E. J. Zimmerman summed up for the
affirmative. He claimed that aside from
a question of duty, the United States
would reap great commercial advantages
from a permanent retention of the Phil
lipines; that oriental trade is expanding
and the United States in order to get her
share of it must have foothold in the
east, such as these islands would afford.
Answering contention of the negative,
he said that it was untrue that the Anglo
Saxon race could not exist in the tropics,
and cited instances.
Lake Alexander closed the debate. He
protested against sacrificing all American
ideals 10y, grasping these islands in the
east and holding them against the will
of the inhabitants. He said we wanted
no vassals, nor did we want to admit
Filipinos to our halls of legislation as
equals Therefore the only reasonable
alternative was a sufficient protectorate
to preserve the Philippines from being
exploited by the powers that are prepar
ing to partition China, leaving the in
habitants to work out their own saliva
ton as they certainly would do in time.
He argued that the American people
were not crowded and had no call to
open up new lands in the east while mil
lions of acres remained undeveloped at
home. His peroration contained quota
tions from Abraham Lincoln, the liberator
of a race warning America from ever
again attempting to control inferior and
unwilling races by force Or without their
consent Alexanders effort was prob
ably the strongest of the evening, though
marred a little by his too rapid delivery.
His gestures were not too frequent and
came at the proper points for emphasis
The composition was good and the argu-
ment excellent When he finished the
impression was quite general that Mani
towoc had Won and the Sheboygan de-
baters went over and congratulated their
opponents on their victory. However the
markings of the judges when summed
up showed 497 to the credit of Manito
voc and 49S! for Sheboygan. Though
the disappointment was great the losers
took it in good part and thereby showed