Iron County register., 1899-11-16
WHAT HURTS M'KINLEY.
The Presidents Philippine Policy .
Melancholy Record Of
Failure.

Everybody knows that the chief oh,
ject of the officers carrying on the
| Philippine war is not to .'hurt" Nc
Kinley. MY Instructions said the
Manila censor, "are to shut off every
thing that could hurt McKinley's ad-
ministration." ''Of course the censor
explained to the protesting newspaper
| correspondents, I'VE all know that we
are in a terrible mess out here, but
we don't want the people to get ex-
| cited about it," You see, If the dear
] people were once to get excited about
it they might begin to say things
about the matchless leader who got
the army and the country into the
| terrible mess. So the countersign of
the whole army is: "Do nothing to
hurt Mckinley" Every council of war,
| every plan of campaign, is dominated
| by the consideration that, whether the
| insurgents are hurt or not, Mckinley
! must not be. If the truth would hurt
him, why, serve up lies instead.
Yet it is undeniable that, in spite of
| all thess sedulous efforts to keep our
fragile president wrapped in cotton
wool, he has been seriously hurt by
his Philippine war. When we speak
of hurting man like Mckinley, we
mean, of course, hurting him politi-
cally. His moral feelings, his sympa-
thy, his pride, his patriotism-these
things have nothing to do with the
case. The only pang in question is
that of votes lost. That, we hope, is
understood. And it is fear of this po-
litical hurt which has anew started
the president out on his travels into
good republican regions where, he is
credibly informed, the people, not
withstanding the zeal of the censor,
are getting excited about the terrible
mess in the Philippines. What do the
shrin cries of alarm from Ohio mean,
if not that Mckinley is in danger of
being hurt? And all agree as to the
source of the injury to his sacred per-
son. 1t is not free silver, not trusts,
not lack of prosperity and business
boom, but simply and solely his
wretched mismanagement in the Phil
ippines.
In reckoning up the various ele-
ments of the Philippine misery that
tell strongly against the president,
we put first the unquestioned and
unexampled miscarriage of all his
plans. If nothing succeeds like sue
cess, nothing fails like failure. And
McKinley's Philippine policy has been
one long and melancholy record of
promises unfulfilled and predictions
made grotesque by the event. We
challenge imperialist newspapers to
reprint the series of Otis dispatches
about having the situation "well in
hand" and the collapse" of the in
surrection being expected next week,
together with the official outgivings
from Washington. The contrast be-
tween prophecy and fact would be too
terrible. Now, the most godlike pres
ident cannot help being "hurt' when
he has to go before the people with
a confession that his hopes and plans
have all been frustrated. The dilem-
ma is too sharp. Either he foresaw
all this and did not prepare for it,
or else he was living in a fools para
disc. In either case his title to states
manship is seriously impaired. A mis-
taken policy, if pushed through with
vigor and success, may win political
prestige; but a policy which a great
many people were nervous about from
the beginning, which has been hand
to-mouth and trust-to-luck affair at
best, and which turns out colossal
failure-that is precisely the policy to
"hurt" its author.
This would be Nue even if there
were no moral or political principles
involved. If mere tawdry success is
counted upon to impose on the popu-
lace, then there can be no complaint
if the populace resents blunder upon
blunder and plans gone wrong. But
there are moral questions and politi-
cal convictions involved, and some Of
Mr.. McKinley's most grievous hurts
come from the growing persuasion of
the people that he is all wrong in that |
aspect of the matter Try as the GEN.
sor may, he cannot "shut off" the |
moral considerations which are doing |
such damage to the Mckinley admin |
istration. For example, the censor let |
through on Tuesday this statement |
from Gen. Otis:
'Insurgent officers said that Aguin-
aldo desired to end war, and send |
civil commission for conference, and |
were informed that it would not be |
received"
Why not? Does not Mr.. Mckinley
wish to end the war? Did he mean
what he said in Boston, that his one
desire was to see the Filipinos "a self
respecting and self-governing people?"
Did he not authorize the Philippine
commission to promise the natives
"the amplest liberty of self-govern-
ment? ?" And when he finds a civil |
government set up and in undisputed
control, congress in session voting
to free American prisoners and to
send delegation of civilians to treat
for peace, is he going to refuse even
to confer? If he is, and thinks he can
go before the American people as a
conqueror and oppressor, who
demands that a brave race come. to
him with halters round their necks
before he will so much as talk with
them-if he thinks he can do this
getting ''hurt," then we very
much mistake the power and the in
clination of the voters of this coun-
try to deface the clay-footed image
which Mark Hanna has set up, and
which he expects us all, at the sound
of the sackbut and psalteEy, to fall
down and worship.-N. Y. Post.
Farmers Share in sPrOsperity."
What is the Nebraska farmers share
p +be hoaSfed ssMcKipIev nrosperify 9s |