The record-union., 1899-04-23
THE VAIL OF THE TIMID.


THE VAIL OF THE TIMID.
| Now that a small force from Admiral
Dewey's fleet has been captured by in
surgents the voice of the goo goo is
heard ia the land again, wailing dole
| fully about the dangers of Imperialism
| and the threat to free institutions that
| is charged to reside in the prosecution
| of the campaign in the Philippines We
are told that the return to Manila Of
| Lawton's small body of men is a re-
treat in the face of an enemy we find
irresistible, and that the right thing
for us to do is to throw up the sponge
and concede victory ito Aguinaldo ana
| his men,
| But this song of woe will not discour-
| age the true American. 1t was heard
over and again in the dark hours of the
war of the rebellion. A formidable party
m@t in national council and declared The
war failure, and that we should let
! the South go in peace. The same order
of sentimentalists who to-day are fore
casting dishonor for the nation were
| then active in the Northern States in
cuitivating sentiment against further
prosecution of the struggle to save the
| Union. To-day they would have US
| throw away the legitimate fruits of the
war with Spain and return the Philip
pines to the semi-savagery Of the ma
tive tribes.
For it is conceded by those at all ia
miliar with the people of the archipel
ago that our abandonment of the po
sition to them would mean a reign of
anarchy and disorder and monstrous
cruelties such as perhaps have never
been recorded in history. The imperial
! ist fear is but a shadow to fright the
timid. The nation has not declared a
policy of conquest. We are not seek
| ing to conquer the world or meddle il.
the politics of other nations. We are
doing nothing indicating a disposition
to conquest nations and lead captives
in slavish chains.
The nation is simply holding to that
Which it in honor won and in honor
must retain. 1t dispossessed Spain to
give to the people of the islands of the
Philippine Archipelago better govern
inent, more freedom, greater opportuni
ties in the scheme Of life, and to secure
for ourselves a decent refuge in the
| Oilent, to which our commercial i'm
| portance and the rights of our citizens
abroad entitle US. 1t was not the lust
troops to the Orient. We did it to rivet
the results of the destruction of
merciless despotism with which we had
enga ged.
Impatient, unversed in the ways of
civilized nations and deceived by willy
leaders the Filipinos would not await
our settlement of the issues of the war
with Spain, but demanded that they
be turned loose upon their ancient enc
my while he lay in bonds, that they
might wreak, vengeance upon him. To
his We objected as must be conceded
we had to do. We would have beer a
| by word and kissing had we loosed
the Filipinos to slit the throats of the
helpless Spaniards, and loot their
| homes.
For this refusal we have war with
the natives, and for this alone. For
this the voicesof wailing ascends from
goo goo throats Because the fortunes
Of war send some of our brave boys to
untimeiy graves we are besought to
| yield and retreat from a course that we
deliberately decided upon to be neces-
sary justified by the situation and ap-
proved by all the forces Of civilization.
As the Salt Lake Tribune" has elo-
quentJy expressed it, we really went
into the Philippines ''in answer to pray
ers that in a strange language for cen
turies have been ascending, the burden
of which was: How long, o Lord, how
long? And the struggle must con-
tinue until the misguided creatures
there shall have had their eyes bathed
enough in blood to cause their visions
TO be cleared, and to understand that
not only is resistance useless, but that
| those whom they are now holding as
enemies have no purpose toward them
except to consecrate their land to lib
erty and to open for them a way to
happiness, to education and to enable
them to possess their country and to
| enjoy all the fruits of their own toll;
all the honors that may come of their
honest exertions."
| Nh loa;z;4x4 +Lo Cv;.,-