The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1899-03-04
ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES
THE RISK OFlMPERIALISM SHOWN
BY FACTS AND FIGURES.
An Interesting Letter by The Echo S
Washington Correspondent. = The
Danger Of Holding the Philippines
IIIustrated.-Reed Is Boldly Thwart-
ing the Administration.
ROOM OF THE SEA COAST ECHO.
No. IL Sun Building.
Washington, D. c., Feb. Is, 1899.

Room OF THE SEA COAST ECHO. ,
No. II Sun Building.
Washington, D. c., Feb. Is, 1899.
/ Washington still thrills with
the eloquence of Bryan. At the
banquet of the Virginia Demo-
cratic Association here recently,
he said the word which needs
needs most to be said to check
the mad rush towards imperialism
upon which Mckinley is helpless
ly drifting.
The country needed someone to
sound the same warning concern
ing the Philippines which Burke
uttered in the British Parliament
in behalf of the struggling colo
nies of America.
We could not be conquered. If
so IT would have been at such
loss, as Franklin pointed out, that
the colonies would have been of
no value to the British crown, as
they would have lain desolate md
waste, their population dead, dis
persed or paralvzed.
So with the Philippines. They
cannot be conquered. They pro-
badly will he-for the admiHi,tra-
tion is riding to destruction un Il
landslide Of its own starting-Dut
at such cost of life and treasure
on the parts of the Unitel States
and such destruction Of life and
property in the islands that even
the merciless rigor of Spanish
Governor. General could not eX-
tract from their tropical jUngles
one-tenlh the revenues necessary
to off set the expenditures.
Already Aguinaldo and his jun
ia Of Malay chiefs have issued or
ders to apply the torch. Manila
lies one-fourth in ruins and the
new warfare has hardly begun.
Three years of Gomez policy of
destruction in Cuba have afford
ed to the Fillpinos the best possi-
BILE object lesson as to the effect
iveness Of a guerrilla warfare of
destruction against the set lines of
regular military campaign.
Gomez at no time had over 2500
men in his immediate command.
Actually within reach of his voice
there were seldom over 800. The
rest were scattered in groups and
zones over a radius of from 80 to
to 80 miles. As he put 1t, five
men with flint and steel could do
more damage to Spain than a
brigade armed with Mausers. AT
no time did the Insurgents in Cuba
have over 100000 men under arms
operating over some 45, 900 square
miles against 100000 Spanish
troops.
In the Philippines 100000
Malays living in islands of more
than three times the area ofCuba
are against American occupation.
A few island like that of Negros
NAV accept American domination
put the half-civllized tribes-the
fighting Malays-wiIl not. They
want to be let alone. Otherwise
they will burn and bushwhack for
years.
They will divide into bands and
harass the American outpOsts
from canebrakes and jungles.
The pestiIence and fever of the
rainy season will decimate the
American troops.
Can they be conquered? Yes,
eventually, by determination, but
at what cost of life and money.
Not one American boy in ten who
stays in the Philippines through
a single rainy season under the
hard lines Of camp duty, behind
earth work trenches or ln'open
camp will come out an invalid
suffering from recurring maIarlal
fever the rest of his life.
1t will take not less than $4,000
troops and twenty gun boats to
! hold an area ten miles outside of
each considerable coast town.
The interior towns will have to be
practically abandoned.
1t costs upwards of S25OO per
/ soldier to maintain the standing
army in the United States each
year.
To maintain one in the Philip
pines will cost not less than So
900 year for each soldier and
| sailor. This does not include the
consideration that, as since the
| civil war, the pension bill to be
/ footed will in the end be more
ahan twice as the cost of the war
itself.
An immediate. expenditure of
$3.50, 900, 900 is for ecast, then, for
/ the pleasure of beating several
millions of semi-s ayages into sub
mission to an alien people whom
they know nothing about and care