Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-01-12
enterprise now proposed for our Republic
STATUS OF THE FILIPINOS.

SnOulu pfOVlde that those VINO WISH COulu
remain subjects of Spain and aliens as TO
the United states. This has been IA nee
essary rule OF international law for hun
dreds of years, and the rule Is founded
upon the obvious fact that the people of
every country or of any part of it must
owe allegiance to and be subject to the
government of some sovereign power, be
IT tribe, or emperor, or, king, or repub-
lic and must, unless they are slaves or
serfs, have the rights of such.
But republic can have no subjects. Its
people must be either citizens, slaves or
aliens.
If aliens they are the subjects or citi-
zcns of some other power which Is bound
to protect them. The transfer, therefore,
of the sovereignty of Spain over the Phil
ippines to the United States makes all her
subjects at once citizens of the United
states.
If citizens of the United States, they
have all the rights that belong to other
citizens In the territories, whether on the
main land or on islands Of the sea. Neither
geography nor distance has anything TO
do with 1t.
THE POWER OF CONGRESS.
! The constitution of the United states
provides Tor the government Of territor-
les as well as for government within the
States. In the States autonomy is fixed
in respect to all the three departments Of
The goVernment-icgislati executive and
judicial. In the Territories Congress is
left free to regulate subject to the Con-
sttution, the means Of government ac-
cording to its discretion. But fundamen-
tai and other private rights are, and al
ways have been, as secure under and by
force oil the same constitution in the Terri
tories as in the States. The constitution
secures both, only by different methods
of exertion. Congress may invest the po-
litical government of territory in a single
person If IT chooses, and coniide the judi
cial power to a single judge if it likes, but
it cannot authorize the political Governor
to make a law that injudiciously affects
personal rights differently from such
laws as Congress may rghtfully make
for the citizens of a State.
1t cannot authorize Territorial judge
to condemn man unheard or to deal
with his person or property otherw.s :
than by that due process of law which
the Constitution secures to all the people
who owe allegiance to the United States
or are within Its sovereign power. 1t cam
not say that no citizen residing In a State
shall migrate to a Territory, or that a
citizen or some particular class of citi-
zens reside in a territory shall not mgrat e
to State In short, the constitution does
operate and have full force in our Ter
ritories in the respects that affect the per-
sonal and civil rights of all.
This fundamental principle (self-evident
on our republican theory of government
has been constantly recognized and acted
upon by the supreme Court of the United
States.
Congress, therefore, cannot lawfully
prevent the migration of any citizen re-
siding in the Philippines (and every Span
ish subject therein becomes one by force
of the treaty. to our States any more than
it can lawfully prevent the migration of
tn hn
1t is not well, then, to shut our eyes Ia
dangers Of this character that attend
such acquisition of territories fully popu-
lated by such peoples as those of the
Philippines are known to be.
WHAT WILL THEY DO TO US?
There are other considerations, both
humane and financial, that cannot be ig-
, nored. If the people of the Philippines
, both civilized and savage, must be sub
dued to our Christian government by
! force of arms, how many American lives
and how much American treasure ought
to be sacrificed to that end?
Rapidly developing events seems to show
that military force of at least 30 go mer
must be kept up on land in those islands
, in order to our obtaining an effectua
supremacy.
And this force must be supported by
, many naval vessels, with their crews. etc
. 70 keep up such an establishment it Is
; evident from the experience of Spain an6
, from that of other nations carrying or
such operations in the tropics that n con
,, slant current Of supply and reinforce
ment both of material and men must &C
on.
Resides the causalties of battle with foes
(some of whom Spain has not been abb,
10 subdue in aO years of EFFORT there II
:, also the constant and unconquerable foe
;, of the tropical climate and the disease:
always present in II,
And besides this no troops from the tenn
perate zones can long endure the effect o
such climate, and they must therefore
be withdrawn to some cooler latitude a
very short periods to reouperate. Thu
English in India happily have the flima
layan hills within comparatively shor
distances, to which their troops are sen
at frequent intervals to escape the ex
haustion of the tropical seacoast. Bu
. our troops in the Philippines must b.
: transported by sea four or five thousan,
miles to reach the salbrous shores o
California and Oregon. To accomplish a.
this the annual and continuous expendi
. lure of millions upon millions of the earn
. ngs Of our people must go on indefinitely
Y A CONDITION AND A THEORY.
: But we are now confronted with both
condition" and theory" The execu
tive has concluded a treaty by whc
SPAN mas Ctutu the sovereignty or IN
o whole Philippine group, of which she ha
, actual possession of only a small frac
6 ton, and in many parts of which her do
minion had been absolutely overthrow
a and in other parts of which she never ha
n any dominion at all, many of the island
having from the first until today been in
a habitcd by independent tribes over whic
G Spain never had any actual dominion.
In dealing with this treaty the Senate
q supposed to be as free to act according I
:. its own judgment as the President wa
: free to act according to his In negotiatin
- it, The Senate may decline to ratfy tn
- treaty, which In the present state of al
- fairs would produce situation eXtremel
y embarrassing. But If the Senate believe
g the treaty to be wrong 1t viii doubles
>, have the courage to reject ii and to fac
- the consequences.
70 The Senate, however, may consider tina
, while Spain ought to depart from tn
!, Philippines and renounce her dominic
" there, the United States ought not to as
sumo her sovereignty, such as ii wa
70 against the express will of the people c
70 the islands. And in view of the evils like
"a " to follow even If those people desired [
=. become part OF the United States, tn
u Senate can amend the treaty so as to pre-
!, vide substantially, as the scheme has bee
u as to Cuba, that the people of thos
= islands should be left to govern themselve
> as best they may, with su n guarantee
J. tor order and personal safety OF the II
re servaton of order. Such a guarantee ca
l. be presently enforced at infinitely less co.
l. of blood and treasure than our undertal
ing to assume and exercise soVereignt
:, over the Islands.
In such a case every material benefit