Arizona republican., 1899-02-28
AMERICA AND THE PHILIPPINES

s1cally more worthy of respectful con
 sldeTation than that heard in Boston
 on Thursday from the lips of the
 president of the United States It was | conceived in st2tesrnanship and ex- 1 pressed with the direct, Weighty and
 sympathetic diction of a true born
 orator. We give again few salient l passages of it which should be pon- | dered until their meaning is settled in
 the public mind:
 There was but one alternative, and that was either Spain CT the United States in the Philippines. The other | suggestiors-first, that they should be tossed into the arena of contention for the strife Of nations, or, second, be left
 to the anarchy and chaos of no prctec- torate at all-were too shameful to be considered
 Was it necessary to ask the Philip
 pine inhabitants consent to capture
 Manila the capital of their islands ?
 Did we ask their consent to liberate
 them from Spanish sovereignty CT en-
 ter Manila bay and destroy the Span
 ish sea power there? We did not ask
 these. We were obeying higher
 moral obligation which rested on US,
 and which didn't require anybOdy's
 consent. We were doing cur duty by
 them With the consent of our own con- science and with the approval of civili- za,tion
 "A reign of terror isn't the kind of rule under which deliberate judgment is possible It is not a good time for the libeIator to submit important ques- tions concerning liberty and govern ments to the liberated while they are engaged in shooting down their res cuers. The treaty of peace, honorably secured, having been ratified by the United States, and, as we confidently expect, shortly to be ratified in Spain congress will have the power, and I am sure the purpose, to do what in good morals is right and just and humane for these peoples in distant seas.
 'It is sometimes hard to determine what is best to do, and the best to do is Oftimes the hardest. The prophet 0f evil would do nothing because he flinches at sacrifice and effort, and to do nothing is easiest and involves the least cost. On those who have things to do there rests a respUnsib Iity which is not on those who have no Cbliga- tIons as dOerS. If the doubte~s were in a majority, there would, it is true, be nc labor, no sacrifice, no anxiety and TO burden raised or carried, no contri- button from our ease and purse and comfort to the welfare of others, or even to the extension of our resources to the welfare of ourselves. There would be ease. but, alas, there would be nothing done.
 ''The treaty commits the free and en- franchised FilipinCs to the guiding hand and the liberalizing influences, the generous sympathies, the uplifting education, not Of their American mas tNT hut Of 1,1s, \ 1i pators No one can tell today what is best for them or for us. I know no one at this hour who is wise enough or suf- fciently informed to determine what form of government will best subserve their interests and our interests, their and our well being. If we knew every thing by intuition, and I sometimes think that there are those who believe that they dO we should net need infer nation; but, unfortunately, most of us are not in that happy state. This whole subject is now with congress, and congress is the voice. the consci- ence and the judgment of the Ameri- can people. Upon their judgment and can we not rely?
 Until congress shall direct otker- wise it will be the duty of the execut- i've to possess and hold the Philippines. oI HIS IO IIIG pCOp1G CISI OQ1 pCeSG ebI1tt order and benef1cent government, af- fording them every opportunity to prosecute their lawful pursuits, en- them in thrift and industry, making them feel and know that we are their friends, net their enemies, | that their good is our aim, that their welfare is our welfare. but that neither their aspirations nor ours can be real l ized until our authority is acknOWl- | edged and unquestioned.
 "That the inhabitants of the Philip | pines will be benefited by this Eepub- | lie is my unshaken belief. That they | will have a kindlier government under | our guidance, and that they will be | lided in every possible way to be a self | respecting and self governing people, | s as true as that the American people | eve liberty and have an abiding faith ! Il their own government and in their | ,wn institutions. No imperial designs i urk in the American mind. They are alien to American sentiment, thought md purpose. Our priceless principles no change under a tropical .un. They go with the flag.
 Why read ye not the changeless
 truth,
 The free can conquer but to saver
 If we can benefit these remote peo- ,les, whr5 will object? If in the years ,f the future they are established in government under law and liberty who will regret our perils and sacrifice? Who will not rejoice in our heroism nd humanity? Always perils, and al ways after them safety; always dark less and clouds. but always shining through them the light and the sun hine Always cost and sacrifice, but lways after them the fruition of lib rty education and civilization. I lave no light or knowledge not cOm- non to my cCuntrymen. l do not 'rophesy. The present is all-absorb ng to me, but ] cannot bound my wis on by the blCOd-stained trenches round Manila where every red, drOp whether from the veins of an American oldier or a misguided Filipino, is an ,uish to my heart; but by the broad ange of future years, when that group | ic1a nf bo