The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1899-03-04

/ the American commissioners. tired OF this
| wheeling and whirling from one point to
| another laid down TO the Epanish commits
sioners an ultmatum FOE the relinquish-
| ment Of Cuba without the debt. for the ces-
| sion of Porto Rico and the Philippine is
lands, and gave them pe.iod of eight days
| TO answer, with "A prospect or the surpen-
| sion OF negotiations If favorable answer
was not forthcoming at the end OF that
time. AT the end OF eight days the Spanish
| commissioners acquiesced.
| THE proceedings after that were matter
| OF incident and mere form, and the result
was that on December 10. 1898. "A treaty was
| concluded and signed at Paris, about seven
| o'clock In the evening, which. although
| perhaps II does not become me to say yet
| will say. II was the most complete diplomat
| ic triumph ever received In the annals Of
| international negotiations.
Now. my fellow citizens. you may ex-
pect me to say why we demanded the en-
| tire possession of the Philippine islands.
| Practically the entire question as to the
| Philippines was left by the president OF the
United States to the judgment and discre-
| tion of the American commissioners. 1t
was at first thought 1t would be sufficient
| to take the island of LuZon, but the best
| military and naval authorities, Admiral
Dewey, Gen. Merritt and Commander
| Bradbury. laid the situation before us from
military, naval and strategic point OF
| view, which made 1t perfectly obvious that
or abandon 1t entirely; that the relation
| of those Islands TO each other was such that
| the acquisition of one by hostile power
| holding the others would only reproduce
| the conditions of Cuba as against the
| United States and create a perpetual sore
| in the waters of the east. We Were bound,
| in view of the astounding development
which the Chinese sovereignty has been
| subject to, to have a sufficient naval sta
! tion in those waters.
"Who in this audience would have ex-
pected that we would have left the Philip
pines, or any portion of those islands. to the
ineifable and indescribable atrocities or
Spain? When Dewey set the stars of that
flag amongst the antpodal Islands OF the
east, he imposed upon the American people
| a responsibility of which we cannot dream
and which we cannot avoid, and so Ii was
decided we should demand. and we did de-
mand and receive, the cession of the entire
archipelago of the Philippines.
"Will any American citizen, under pres
ent condition. advocate that Dewey shall
sail away from The harbor of Manila?
(Cries of mo, no.'D That our troops shall
vacate that island? (Cries of "Never.)
What would be the result? The F'ilipnos
are not In a present condition to govern
themselves and establish that independent
republic of which fond theorists dream. l
think no man in this audience who has
read the current journals will for moment
question that they are not. We cannot en-
dure, In view of our past and coming inter-
ests in the orient, that the Philippines shall
be dsmembered by foreign powers, as they
will be the minute the United States re-
moves itself from that situation. Above
all things although they appear perhaps
dimly before us now, yet believe there Is
a profound conviction in the minds OF the
American people that part of all this force
which has pushed us there and established
us there Is an impetus which tells for
ri 81 ",
that the United States as the great evan
gelist of the nations is bound TO play alead-
ing part in those waters and in those is
lands.
II would treat the Filipinos In this way,
considering their present condition and
their inconsiderate actions, stimulated, l
believe, by inconsiderate advice from the
United States--I would treat them with
the hand of paternal affection, wherever
possible, and by the hand OF paternal
hastisement wherever necessary. And
when the time should come by the handling
and development of the people, as II has
come by the handling and development or
Great Britain in the Straits Settlement. i'm
mediately opposite. that by degrees they
could be admitted to local autonomy, L
would grant it to the fullest extent possi-
BILE, and l would rejoice that in the process
of time an island republic could be estab-
lished there in the Philippines against the
island empire of Japan. But until that
time shall come the interest, the honor, the
security of the American people demand
that we shall hold the Philippine islands
not only under our protection, but under
our rule.
II am not in favor of the dismembership
Of the great Chinese empire. | am in FAVOR
of retaining the integrity of that empire,
and letting it be accessible to the civilized
world in commerce, and accordingly say
and think that it would safeguard the bust
ness of the world in those waters for 90
years If Great Britain and Japan ana the
United States, as to all those waters and
lands bordering upon them north Of the
equator, should declare with their united
power that there should be no dismember-
ment of that immemoral empire.
1.-THE American peace commissioners
were taught all too painfully while we were
in Parts that we had not friend on the
continent of Europe-not friend. don't
want to see my country become the China
of the west. In these days when space has
been annihilated by steam, | cannot view
with complacency and without apprehen-
sion the destiny of the great empire or em-
pires of dismembered China ready TO de-
scend on the western coast of the United
States. 1t was 20 obviatc that that advo-
Gated so earnestly the acquisition of Ha-
wall.
And now, my fellow-ctizens. in the mat
tiers of our foreign relations and as to what
affects our exterior interests we are all
one-one in interest. Surely in the heart
of no man can there enter In the various
diversites of opinion which involve such n
subject any desire, hope or thought that
does not conduce to the interest OF his
country. We all differ: we have different
shades of opinion on all questions contin-
gent and future The question of what we
shall do with the Philippine archipelago is
not yet upon us. We are actually now in
posse ssion of all those islands. We own
them or shall own them when Spain ratiiies
the treaty of cession and the question is:
Shall we decide at once? Must we say now
and at once that the territory for which we
have paid s20,OO0O00. for which American
blood has been shed and may be being shed
tonight or to-day, for ii is day there now,
shall by an inconsdered judgment, with
out any consideration whatever for the flu
ture, be turned over to a body of men whom
all authorities and observers agree are not
yet fit for self-government to which they
claim to aspirc?"
Vagnries of nm Anti-ExpnnsiOnist.
1t would seem that Andrew Carnegie
has taken the anti-eXpansionf fever hard
err than almost anyone else. The latest
report is to the effect that he has for
mally abandoned the republican party
in disgust with what has been done I'M
Il . al ,tUtr inn tr