The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-04-08
A QUESTION
OF METHOD.
American Academy of Political
and Social Science
Holds It's Third Annual Meet
ing In Philadelphia.
OUR DEPENDENCIES
And the Best Manner Of Gov
OUR DEPENDENCIES
And the Best Manner Of Gov
erning Them
The Chief Topic Of Discussion
by Distinguished Thinkers.


Philadelphia, April 8.-The third an
nual meeting of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science began
! in this city yesterday afternoon and
will continue today. Many distinguish
ed men from all over the country are
in attendance and the sessions promise
| to be more than usually interesting
| The general topic for discussion Is the
foreign policy of the United States
commercial and political" This Is
divided into two heads, one for each
day, the first subject being THE Gov
| eminent OF the Dependencies.
| Prof. Samuel McCune Lindsay OF the
| University of Pennsylvania, first wee
| president of the association, occupied
| the chair. There were four formal ao-
| lessor of International law, Yale uni
| versity; Prof. A. Lawrence LoWel,
] Harvard university; w: A1lyne ireland
| of London, and Prof.. h. wv. aunCoI'
| Cornell university.
The discussion that followed was par
| ticipated in by Talcott Williams of this
city, Prof. J. o. Adams and Prof. l.. 3
Rowe of the University of Pennsyl-
| vania-
| Mr.. A. Lawrence Lowell, of Cornell
! university, spoke about THE Govern
ment of Dependencies" He said IN
part:
THAT the colonial administration
ought to be independent of party poll
| tics in America, that the governor gen
| era1 of the Philippines ought not to be
| party hack who is not big enough Tor
| a position in the cabinet, needs no
| demonstration.
I'm fact the success of England as
colonial power dates from the time
when her colonial administration of her
colonies was divorced from party Strug-
giles in parliament. 1t is no less evident
thst the governor general ought to be
advised by a council drawn from the
| wisest members of the colonial service.
| There is, however. another principle
| which is less obvious 1t is that of
! avoiding excessive interference from
| home.
1.-The employment OF capable, in
| f1uentia1 natives by the government is
a matter of no little consequence. This
leads naturally to the suggestion often
| made of late of governing through the
native chiefs, as Great Britain has done
in India and the Malay peninsula. That
such a system is advantageous wher-
ever practicable English experience
amply proves, and indeed, it is now a.
maxim in India that every native state
ought to be preserved with scrupulous
care.
1T is. perhaps. needless to emphasize
the Importance of absolute religious toll
Grafton We believe in it and practice
it so fully at home that we are not
likely to violate it in our dependencies.
LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMEN
1.-The development of local self-gov-
poreance, for it is the foundation Of
true political liberty. Capacity for
popular government can not be created
by edict- 1t must be acquired by slow
experience and efforts to produce it
suddenly have usually been disastrous.
"a permanent civil service is essential
to Porto Rico as well as in the Philip
pines, although it would have some
what different character. In the Phil
ippines we must depend in the main
on American officials, while in Porto
RicO the service OUQht after the first
few years, to be recruited almost ex-
clusively from the residents.
1.-The judicial system is perhaps the
most important point of all. If the
people of Porto Rico are to acquire our
political ideas and traditions, it must
be chiefly by means of the courts of
law, for the relation of the courts to the
administration officials and to the citi-
zens is the fundamental point of diff
ference between the Anglo-Saxon sys-
tenn of government and that of the
Latin races. 1t is the force that pre-
vents the government from being auto
cratic, that makes it a government of
laws and not of men,"
OUR FIRST STEP.
Mr.. Theodore S. Woolsey, professor
OF international law, Yale university,
delivered an address on 1.-The Govern
ment of Dependencies" He said in
part:
Our first step very properly in Cuba,
which is under our protection, consists
in military occupation. using soldiers as
better sanitation and protection to local
industries and the revival throughout
the length and breadth of the land of
all the arts of peace. To accomplish
the desired end, this must be accom-
panied by the gradual resumption of
civil government in all the municipali-
ties, and by the formation of an island
legislature to control internal affairs
subject to the various representatives
'Al franchises should be in the hands
of the native local authorities; the exc
cution of the laws should be entrusted
to native elected officers; the courts to
judge causes under the local law should
be Cuban also. We protect Cuba from
outside aggression, and by veto from her
own inexperience and folly. and pre-
vent acts Of hostility to ourselves But
the revenues of the island after paying
for the maintenance of our soldiers, so
long as they are necessary and of our
few necessary officials must be spent
for its own benefit. This is a protec-
torate.
whether the Issue of the protectorate
is independence, or as many believe
annexation, the process of education, of
paclhcation, is the same. 1t consists an
a word in granting as much control
over internal affairs as the inhabitants
are able to bear. And we must so reg
ulate their duties and revenue laws and
commercial rights, as to give them a
prosperous life, even at our own cost,
that is if we wish the experiment to
turn out well. Thus we should open the
door to foreign trade on as favorable
terms as to our own. Instead of re-
garding the traffic between Cuba and
the states a coasting trade, we should
open it to foreign ships. And between
Spaniards and Cubans we should not
discriminate.
OUR SPOILs OF WAR.
Elm the cases Of Porto Rico and the
Philippines, we are under constitutional
limitations Here there is no presump-
ton Of future independence. They are
our Spoils Of war, to govern as Spain