Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-03-05
Our Philippine Policy and siis"'
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l am fond OF oysteis-oysters raw
and oysters cooked in any way eNcep'
steamed. ! have always had s'raAse
repugnance TO steamed oysters, but once
allowed myself to try them. They hia''
me sick. and / suffered for hours l'oi"
the most distressing nausea / mao oFei
experienced. Now, IL 80 happeheu 'i"'
soon after this friend invited me 10
supper. and had served. as speclai tie"'
for me. steamed oysters. Upon peInS
asked 70 be helped, most uh"ill'hsS
had to decline. My host Insisted very
much. and had to persist In my refusal
/ took the earliest opportunity 70 eApi"'h'
and he altogether approved my course.
But supposed one can suppose so ram
an outrage-that my host had sald ina
you shalt not yield TO a foolish preJuulSe'
and had summoned his butler ana MS
sons TO assist him in forcing the oDioA-
iors diet down my aesophagus Ana YET
the President is doing exactly this thihg
10 the Filpinos These poor people hau
felt the heavy and CALLING pressure Oh
foreign yoke. against which they hdu
risen i'm righteous rebellion. Naterahy
and necessarily they are unWllling 10 como
under the domination of another foreign
power, more distant from them and more
alien to their traditions and modes OF
thought. They sigh for freedom, and Tor
many years have fought for 1t with
desperate and logged courage. For
liberty they have fought against Spain
and now-horribile dictu--they are hght-
ing for It against US. Mr.. Mckinley tens
them they don't know good thing when
they see it, and hence he is reluctantly
compelled to force into them from eating
guns our nOstrum for good government
They don't want It, and because they
don't want It they should not have II. III
we force It down their outlets they Will
vcmit It up in disgust and indignation.
Any good thing" is a bad thing 10 those
who do not want IL.
II the FilipinOs have not learned from
their yearnings for freedom, from their
tolls and sacrifices TO achieve II, from
many years Of bloody war waged in its
defence properly to appreciate it, and
utilize 1t when at last achieved. in vain
nay we attempt 10 teach them the way.
They are ready now for freedom, II they
will ever be; far more ready than they
viii be after a period Of pupilage under
our instruction. Any government learned
or initiated from US would tOpple down
at once. 1t would be foreign 10 their
testes TO their feelings sentiments. and
traditions and would be most transtory.
What suits US cannot possibly suit them.
If We are to hold the Filipinos, and as
well, the Cubans and Porto Ricans, until
they are iii for political freedom, who
is TO decide when that time has come?
Tho Federal Government? Surely. But
the Federal Government has already de-
cided that very question and has placed
an ever memorable precedent Oh record.
More than thirty years ago IL Knocked
the manacles from 100000 OF negro slaves,
and Immediately admitted all the males
among them over q years Of age 10 the
fun privileges and responsibilities Of
American citizenship. Certainly the Fill
pnOs and Cubans are far better prac-
ticed in the arts of civilization and vastly
more competent 20 the functions or gov
eminent Than our late slaves were. Then,
why not let the Filipinos and Cubans set
up for themselves without delay? We
must first educate into fitness say the
lmperialists. OF all nonsense this is the
silliest. We can't educate them. They
must teach themselves-they. only they.
But it is worse than silly. II is a pre-
tence The idea is to hold them In vas
salage. and so increase tha power and
profits Of our rulers and insure Republi-
can success in the next presidential cleo
ton. That is II. and ali Of H.
Why were the negroes not first ed
ucated? Because their votes were need
cd at once to control elections in the
southern States. The test Of fitness for
civic functions is by many Of our people
the capacity 10 spell Baker" But nine
tenths of these new sufragans could not
do even that.
have yet to learn by what token We
20 Ostentatiously proclaim 10 others our
Astounding suficiency in the art Of gov
eminent Had we not better look little
into our own closets2 l think there are
there some hideous skeletons. Have We
so forgotten the frightful era Of recon-
struction? Can we ever cease 10 rcmem-
Der that awful carnival Of sorrow, shame,
humiliation, and crime? The Federal
| Government then, in the penitude of its
wisdom, made governments for eleven
| States. At once property was taxed up
90 and beyond the point OF coniiscation'
| so that the owners Of property-betore
valuable-had TO abandon IL because their
property only made them poor. The
| richest people became al once the poorest
| Property became a burden and curse.
| not a blessing. Life was in constant
peril. and female virtue was at the merc>
| of enraged savages. Men whose worth
| had been attested by their fellows were
| disfranchised, and the riff-raff became the
| rulers. These governments, improvised by
| others, became so intolerable that they
| were slOughed off at the earliest possible
| moment such plunderlng, slch waste.
| such prohigacy, and crime We're never
witnessed before. With the memory OF
| the utter failure Of such governments I'm
posed upon others, without their con
sent. why are we so anxious TO repeat
| the tragic experiment? The people VINO
are 10 live under "a government are tht
only people who can form II. The FIN
| pinos can make a better government lot
| themselves than the wisest statesmen We
! have or have ever had.
II we are such adopts in the art oil
| good government. why can't we display
| some OF our skill and knowledge at nome .
Look at our pension-rollsl Thirty-thres
| years after the cessation or nosuillles
we have on this roll a million OF pension
ers. who become more numerous as death
invades their ranks Depletion but MS
their ranks. death but mulupies their
numbers. How immensely muiutudinQus
they will be one or TWO de-
cades hence. when all VIII bs
6esd The most expert arithmetciar
viii be utterly unable 10 determine
And we are taxed Sl45 10000 per annum
ia support this immense army, mostly
ghosts and myths. more than any othef
government can pay for en- army Of flesh
and blood.
Look at the marriage relation, 50 loose
I'm MANY OF our States that man can
get a divorce. at triflng cost from MS
wife for almost any cause or for no
cause. Such a relation IS not marriage.
Consider our elections that don't elect,
the brazen bribery and corruptions mat
I'm nearly half the States scandaiize the