The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-09-10

\ A CHARACTER.
**%*t%%%A%% I
ter, N. Y, from the text describing the
scene of Christ before Plate. PLATE
said: 'Knowest thou not that I have
| power to release thee or put thee to
| DEATH? The preacher contrasted the
doctrine of force with the doctrine of
| love. There was Plate representing
Caesar and behind him the Roman gov
eminent, and behind the Roman gov
eminent the Iegions of the army. Pr
late says what can do and before him
stood the man who preached the gos-
pei of love; and then the preacher went
on to show show from that day the
power of the Roman government waned
and of Christ increased. PLATE was
gone, Caesar was gone, and the Ro-
Rman empire crumbled into dust, but
the name of Christ was taken with rev.
erence upon the lips Of new millions
every day.
MY friends. I believe that minister
presented what every Christian should
think about.
What is to be the mission of this
nation? Is it to go forth as a great
moral force or as bully and bruiser
among the nations? The gospel of
Christ or the gospel of Plate? 1 be-
lieve the time will come when every
knee shall bend and every tongue shall
praise, but it will be when the Chris
tan people go forth with love to lift
people up by example and not blow
them up by dynamite in order to get
their money.
do you believe, my friends, that we
can justify war of conquest on Bible
grounds?
Now, it is said that we owe 1t to the
Filipinos to go there for their good.
Dewey announced to the government
at Washington in June, 1898, that the
F'ilipinoS were far more capable of self
government than the Cubans, and yet
in order to furnish an excuse for TAX
ing the land of the Filipinos and throw
ing the net of our government over
them, they are now saying the Filipi-
nos are not capable of governing them
selves.
What Should Be Done.
my friends, you cannot defend it
upon Christian grounds, neither can
you defend it upon political grounds.
You ask me what we can do there.
There ought not to have been one MOI
ment's hesitation. If a man under
stands that the people are the source
of government, he ought to understand
what should be done. If it is true that
governments derive their just powers
from the consent of the governed; if
it is true, as we said it was. if the
people of Cuba are and of right ought
to be free, then where can we draw the
line between the rights of the Cubans
and the rights of the Filipinos?
When we compelled Spain to admit
the independence of the people of Cuba
we did right I believe the same prin-
ciple ought to have controlled in the
Philippine islands. What else could be
done? The administration could give
to the Filipinos the same independence
that it gave to the Cubans.
Not Too Late.
But, my friends, you tell me it is
too late. I say it is not. 1t is never
too late for this nation to do right, and
/ believe that today the president
might call congress together and ask
authority to make to the Filipinos the
same propositions of independence that
we have made to the Cubans. 1t would
cost money, but not so much as to
carry on a war 1000 miles away.
This nation has the opportunity to
win a victory such as it has not won
since Yorktown. We said to Cuba we
do not want your land; we want your
And 100000 volunteera
>.
ipinos as we said to the Cubans: We
have driven the Spaniards out; stand
up and be free.
MY friends, what mockery to have
the statue of liberty enlightening the
world in New York harbor-.when we
cease to be the champions of self-gov-
If we enter upon an imper-
ialist policy, what shall we do with it?
Take it down and sent it back to
France and tell the people there that
we are not in the liberty business any
more, and get a secondhand statue of
William the Conqueror and indicate the
change of the American people in their
policy for the future of this nation?
The imperial policy is going backward. |
II ask the question of you, did our
liberty bell ring in vain? History tells |
US that when the declaration was about
to be signed, the people gathered in |
the streets and waited for the signal, |
and when it came the old liberty bell I
rung out and the people caught up the I
sound and cheered and cheered again. !
Shall we no longer stand before the I
world and defend the doctrine of the !
rights of the people? know not what |
you think care not; but, in my judg- |
ment, this nation is not ready to go |
back to royalty.
Duty of the People.
'T understand that some people think |
that we ought not to mention this sub |
ect while the war is on; that it is the |
luty of every American citizen to sup
port the policy of the administration, /
whether that policy is right or wrong. |
I do not believe in the doctrine that the |
King can do no wrong. If you deny to /
is the right to object to a war of con- |
Iuest, you deny a right given to the /
English people even as far back as the I
lays of the revolution. And shall We
say today that when we deny indie
oendence and self-government to the |
Filipinos that we endanger the doc
rine of self government in the ma
ion?
II .am not willing to surrender the
light ITO govern ourselves, in order to I
get glittering promises of a colonial
policy.
II believe we stand face to face with
| great proposition. upon the settle
nent of which is to depend the question
whether this is to be a homogeneous re-
public or whether heterogeneous en-
,ire.
Spend your money in the develop
nent of the American citizenship, in
he development of American ideas.
Ind we shall make this republic what
he fathers intended
We are not pleading for the Fill
,inos. If they were all to die tomorrow
-.