The Portland daily press., 1899-10-11


now and then In our political history
there occurs curious incident, which, at
the nrst blush, IL most perpiexlng for
weeks and months. There has been de.
pending In the public mind some strong
conviction which hnds Its expression In
80 many ways and BY so many voloee that
it seems to be In iti grave Significance,
unmistakhble Just At this point, how.
ever, there occurs In some leading statsi
political convention, In which, not un-
naturally, we should expect this profound
and widespread sentiment 10 find en-
precision. But somehow or other, 10 does
not. and what Is stiil more curious, the
officer. the policy. the ntternnce, what
ever it is thiit has provoked courses from
which platforms, candidates and policies
emanate, are liable to become more and
more controlled by those with whom
motives, and personal gains the supreme
ends. 1t is of course conceivahIe that
In the persons of those to whom,
thess distant governments shall be CON-
mitted we shall find only the highest
Ideals and only the most incorruptible In
In the cases What is the likelihood that
there more than anywhere else, the
stream Will rise higher than the sourcer
Bishop Potter referred to an article by
Prof. q. \. Howard to show that IL took
England $50 years after the beginning Of
ner history as an imperial power to get
decent oivti service. tsGs
Comparing the Philippines to India he
said; There are tbs same diver
sions OF race conditions, religion, aud
the Ike, and in the case of these In
sular communities. there is no binding
interest whatever. To undertake to su
perimpose upon them our frse institu-
tions would seem 90 be an utterly hope
less task, and, in such a situation, what
is tne alternative but form OF govern
ment which while not nominally, jet
practically, In Its essential absolutism,
Is imperialS Already we have seen how
easy 1t is to drift into imperial methods
which are simply the methods of pater-
nalism In this very connection. A oardi-
nal principle of government Of the people,
by the people, for the people, Ia that the
people shall not be treated like children
kept In the dark. A sound public opin-
ion, We say, IL the great bulwark or a
Republic, the foundation stone ON which
Its popularity and prosperity must need
rsst. In this connection the searching Of
the mails, the prescription of certain
publications and the stiiling of corrs-
spondencs is one of the most intoleratle
outragcs which a free people has ever
suffered; and 1t Is Significant most Of all,
OF the development Of a tendency which
foreshadous that, whether we are likely
to have imperialism In our distant pue-
sessions In form, we already have it at
home, In fact
1T is time that. confronted with such
possibilities In connection with our new
possessions, we ask, Is it worth whilep
Hor at this point IL needs no gift OF
prophecy but only q moderate knowledge
OF history to reveal to us the dangers that
threaten us. There lies behind us In its
pages, the story of great republic which
by rs ever expanding conquests was
lifted into the throne Of the sovereignty
OF the civilized world only to find that
the tributaries that hat made It great
were destined. ere long, to be the instru-
ments of its ruin.
"Now then, the thing that destroyed
Rome was the loss OF her homossneity.
Our strength today consists in the tri-
umph of those great civic ideals which
are the property alone of AnRlo-Saxon
civilization. But II we persist in dilut-
ing that civilization too largely, the re-
suit needs no prophet to forecast. We may
have territorial expansion, and material
prosperity, and for u time, 1t may be
tnat possession which In the mere dream
Of 1t has begun to intiame our people
with STR nRe inebriety-I mean world
wide supremaay-but In the winning of
| it we shall have lost every distinguish
ing characteristic of fres and self-gov-
erning people,
sis it worth whilef And If you ask
me what today is an honorable alterna-
tive snswer that a gracious Providence,
as believe, has jast now given 1t to us
In an ever memorable achievement con-
summated last July at the Hague I may
not detain you here to indicate how this
great international question of the
future disposition or adm 'nistration
OF the Philippine islands msy be set
tied. To submit to an internation-
al court, representing the best wis.
dom OF the best peoples, the question of
| the best disposition and future adminis-
| tration OF the Philippines may be to ad-
NIT that as nation we are not infal-
libie; but then, surely, great nation
can afford TO leave that claim to the
somewhat Piokwiokian maintenance of
IL at present afforded under alien skies
and remote and un-Americsn traditions.
de was followed by Kew. DIR. Rufus
W. Clark of Detroit, Mich., who combat
ted the position taken by the New York
prelate.
The discussion was continued by Col
Bradley NJ. Thompson of Anu Arbor,
Mich. and others