The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-09-08


men. Filipinos and foreigners. He has been
among our troops and must know something
of their views. and he has been on the firing
line. Moreover, he has been In China and
japan and studied the situation from that
point of view. As an exceptionally bright
and able man in search of information re-
garding a matter of great national i'm
Beverage had not obtained some facts and
formed some views that the President would
like to hear. And 1t was both wise and re-
spectful for him TO withhold his views from
the public until they had been commune
Gated to the President. If he had talked
with newspaper reporters his views would
have been more or less colored or distorted.
and after passing through two or three
processes Of distillation, would not have
been his views at all. This would have put
him in an embarrassing position and might
have proved misleading to the President,
who reads the newspapers like other peo-
pie. though he must have learned by ex-
perience that they are not always reliable.
BY keeping his own counsel Senator Bever-
which he deemed worth guarding. and by
not allowing himself to be interviewed he
has shown he preferred that the President
should get his views as he himself did his
information, at first hand and not through
roundabout and discoloring channels. AS
a senator of the United States under oath
to perform his duty as SUCH and represent
ms N porfs "a hroy of he
eminent of which the President is the head,
he was bound to speak truthfully, and as
a member of the Presidents own party he
could afford to speak frankly. Yesterdays
conference must have been both interesting
and important
1t is quite possible that the nature Of the
conference may not be made public beyond
Unless the President expressly authorizes
a report to be made, Senator Beverage
will probably continue to observe his poll
Icy Of silence, though he is at lib
erty at any time to make an Independent
statement of his own views. What these
are Is as yet a matter Of conjecture, but
1t is safe to predict they will be such as
broad-minded man and thoroughly patri-
otto American. If he is in favor of anything
short of the complete establishment of
American sovereignty in the Philippines he
has changed his views very materially since
going there. In an address delivered before
the Union League Club. of Philadelphia on
the 18th of February last. Senator Beverage
said:
Assuming that these peoples (the Filipi-
nos) can be made capable of self-govern-
ment snail we rave no part In this SACRED
liberty. The administration of orderly gov
eminent is not denial of liberty. The adj
ministration of equal Justice is not the de-
5 5ia of Liberties Teaching the habits of In;
people in the. Philippines. divided into
tribe of 100000 Souls and he has an inter
mittent authority over less than $1,000 Of
these. To deliver these continental islands
an autocracy of barbarism. 1t would be to
license spoliation. 1t would be to plant the
republic or piracy for such a government
natural home. 1t would be to make war
certain arlong the powers of the earth who
would dispute with arms each others pos
session OF Pacific empire from which that
ocean can be ruled The blood already
shed is only drop to that which would flow
u America Snould desert Its post in the
Pacific. Imperialism is not the word
for our vast work. Imperialism as used by
the opposers of national greatness means
oppression. and We Cypress not. Imperial
ism as used by the opposers OF national
destiny means monarchy, and the days of
monarchy are past Who honestly
believes that the liberties of 5000 600 of
Americans will be destroyed because the
Republic administers civilization In the
Philippines? Who honestly believes that we
plunge to our doom when we march forward
in the path of duty prepared by a higher
wisdom than our own? Those who so be-
lieve have lost their faith in the immortality
of liberty.
These are the views Of a broad-mnded
and progressive man, and it is not likely
that Senator Beveridge has seen anything in
the Philippines to lead him to change them.
Fortified by the new facts he must have OBJ
tanned they cannot fail 10 have weight with
the President.