New Iberia enterprise. (New Iberia, La.) 1885-1902, 1899-05-06
DEMANDS OF THE NATIONAL HONOR.

All who will recall that the war i'm tn,
Philippines was brought on by the persis
tent and brutal refusal of the McKinle,
administration to give to the Filipino com
missioners who visited this country th,
faintest hope of government, fol
which they have fought for century
President Mckinley even refusing to re
ceive them-will applaud the sentiments
contained in the following communities
tion:
Editor Picayune; Sir--It is, in general
u pleasure to read and approve youl
editorial cOlumns-so sane, 80 judicious
and SO conservative. Allow me to say,
however, that there is q single express
sion, perhaps inadvertent, in your issue
of this morning, in your otherwise ad
mirable article on "A vacillating Policy, =
hat6sene call fuFsearnest protest, and
4 III the IiI0fB becadSe tir0 sPfcayune IL st
widely read and influential. While i'm
pliedly admitting = rs what unblinded
observer must not THAT Mckinley s
absorption policy 'tis mistake" you add
that "the national honor demands that the
Agninaldo rebellion be put down
no matter what sacrifices are required to
do it," | must confess my hopeless in
ability to follow your reasoning. The
facts are these:
Under pretense of rights acquired first
by war, then by treaty, in the sacred
name of humanity, but really in the lust
Of gold and thirst for commerce, we have
invaded and are trying to subjugate by
thr ~ ~,
savage warfare n foreign and unoffending
people, who not only have never in any
wise wronged us, but who are geographi-
cally and otherwise incapable of wronging
us so long as we behave and merely for
bear to wrong them. This upprovoked
invasion and attempted conquest these
brave people are resisting to the best of
their poor ability. We admit our deep
dyed guiltiness and yet we persist. We
know the right and we approve it, too; we
know the wrong and still the wrong
pursue. That is indeed very old story,
but it is new, alariningly new, to hear
that the national honor demands it, We
are burning, looting, ravaging, manning,
slnughtering-not only armed soldiers.
but unarmed defenseless prisoners as well ;
we are drenching an alien soil with the
blood of its own inhabitants only
rightful possessors we are spreading
want and woe, ruin and wretchedness over
q populous region we are making a
solitude-that we may call it peace--of
the towns and villages of a people whose
only crime is patriotism and love OF
liberty. All this, we admit, is wrong
terribly, cruelty wrong-but we proclaim
to the world that we will never cease from
wrongdoing, though it take hundred
years to effect the impious conquest nay,
though we have to exterminate the patriots
we cannot subdue, and all because forsooth
athe national honor demands, il Will
you tell us, Mr.. Editor, what is this
modern moloch, the national honor, that
demands in sacrifice not only thousands
of American lives, the peace and hap
piness OF myriad American homes, but
whole race OF brave, il only semi
civilized, Of patriotic and Of inoffensive
islanders, almost as unrelated to us as
the inhabitants OF the mooni Is It any
thing else than headstrong conceit, over
weening pride, and inordinate vanityi Is
It aught else better than an itching palm,
the nnholy coveting OF fertile plains and
metalliferous mOuntainsi II not, and il
such be the base idol we are worshiping,
the sooner broken the better. We are
waging one Of the most cruel and inignit.
ous wars that ever disgraced the annals
Of history; we are committing national
crime Of appalling proportions and OF
unsurpassed atrocity is ii possible that
the national honor demands that we
dishonor the nationf That we defame
the human racei That we outrage human
nature Never On the contrary, it is
the imperative demand, not only OF the
national honor, but Of our common
humanity; OF every principle Of our
polity; OF every interest Of our civiliza-
ton Of every precept OF our religion
that this unnatural and infamous massacre
cease instantly and 6nally--no matter how
much il may humiliate the administra.
tion that begun and continues ii. The
American people have no quarrel with the
Filipinos let the president and his cabinet
and his commission 90 to Manila and fight
il out.
Il Is useless to say that the islanders
began the war. We were there in armed
force; we had taken partial possession
We had no thought OF yielding an incl,
We at least the administration had PRO-
claimed, TO the world our fixed dstermi.
nation TO stay and keep the islands a. our
own. Under such circumstances it was
perhaps unwise in the islanders to attack
~, but the provocation was extreme and
we were the real aggressors. II a bully
invades your premises, and refuses to
leave, and dsclares be win hencefofth
manage your property for you ~ your
highly paid agent, and develope your re-
sources to his own advantage, and will
exterminate ron II you don't kesp quiet,
\ nay b. impudent Tor yon to strike him