Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1899-08-18
IMPERIALISM.

The American people are beginning
to realize the true meaning of imper-
ialism. For seven months the Admin
istration has been pursuing the true
Spanish policy of maintaining strict
censorship upon the cable and press,
permitting no news to be transmitted
except that which the military author.
tiles dictated During that time the
people have been assured that the
war in the Philippines was only a
skirm1sh-that Aguinaldo is only an
am bilious scoundrel who does not rep
resent the Filipinos-t vast ma
jority of those people are in favor of
American rule-that the rebellion is
practically crushed and the war at
an end, etc., etc.
Fortunately, the Administration
could not maintain its censorship upon
the mouths of the men who, with
decimated ranks and broken health,
are returning home to tell an entirely
different tale They tell us that in a
campaign of seven months, costing
five thousand men and fifty million
dollars, we today occupy practically
no more territory than we did at the
outbreak They tell us that the Fill
pinos are solidly united for independ-
ence and will fight to the death for
that end They tell us that Luzon is
as thickly populated as Massachusetts,
with brave, intelligent and hardy
people, enured to q tropical climate
absolutely fatal to American soldiers.
Even the officers (who are always in
favor of war because it means prestige
and aggrandizment for them) now ad-
NIT that it will take an army of 100, 900
men to establish American supremacy
in the Philippines, and it will take
years to accomplish it. This means,
of course, a vast military and naval
establishment, with it's attendant pen
sion roll and burdensome taxation.
But if the above were all the evils in
this Pandora box which the Admins
tration has opened to the American
people, they could be endured. But
they are nothing compared to the
shame, disgrace and perfidy involved in
this miserable business. No such blow
has ever been delivered against the
very name of republican government
as has been given by this Administra-
tion in this cruel and inhuman war
upon the only republic in Asia.
We entered upon the Spanish war
with the high-sounding slogan of ''God
and humanity We are ending it by
outdoing Spain in her work of cruelty,
death and destruction. We are follow
ing exactly in Spain's footsteps. We
are now doing just what we have con-
demned her for doing for the past hun
dred years. She seized upon distant
islands to which she had no right-we
have done the same. She murdered
innocent people and laid waste their
country and homes because they would
not submit to her rule-we have done
the same. She established strict cen
sorship upon the press, least her own
people at home should revolt at her
cruelties-we have done the same.
She sent her sons to die in a tropical
cline for an unjust and unholy cause
we are doing the same. Those she
could not conquer she would attempt
to bribe--we are doing the same, as
will be seen by the account of Gen.
Otis having sent $4,000 to the sultan
of Sula, one of the Philippine islands,
to get his support. The money paid to
the Cuban soldiers to lay down their
arms was nothing less than a bribe to
betray their country. Truly the cup
Of our shame is full.-Equality, Dead
wood.