El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-18
HOW TO RULE FILIPIN0S
Senator Cushman K. Davis Gives
His Views.
TREAT THEM KINDLY, BUT FIRMLY

TREAT THEM KINDLY, BUT FIRMLY
Would Give the Philippine Archi-
peIngo the Fullest Autonomy When
the People Are Prepared For 1t.
| Why We Took the Islands.
In recent speech in Cincinnati Sen
ator Cushman K. Davis, one of the
American peace commissioners and
chairman of the senate foreign relations
committee, said:
practically the entire question as
to the Philippines was left by the pres
ldent of the United States to the judg
ment and discretion of the American
commissioners. 1t was at first thought
that it would be sufficient to take the
island of Luzon, but the best military
and naval authorities, Admiral Dewey,
General Merritt and Commander Brad
bury, laid the situation before us from
a military, naval and strategic point
of view, which made it perfectly obvi-
GUS that we must either take the entire
archipelago or abandon it entirely that
the relation of those islands to each
other was such that the acquisition of
one with hostile power or foreign
power of whatever character holding
the others would only reproduce the
conditions of Cuba as against the Unit
ed States and create a perpetual sore in
the waters of the east. Wewere bound,
in view of the astounding development
which the Chinese sovereignty has been
subject to, to have a sufficient naval
station in those waters. Who in this
audience would have expected that we
would have left the Philippines OF any
portion of those islands to the ineffable
and indescribable atrocities of Spain2
1--WE cannot endure, in view of our
past and coming interests in the orient,
that the Philippines shall be dismem-
bered by foreign powers, as they will be |
the minute the United States removes
itself from that situation, and above all |
things, my fellow citizens. although
they appear perhaps dimly before us
now, yet I believe there is a profound |
conviction in the minds of the Ameri-
can people that part of all this force
which has pushed us there and estab-
lished us there is an impetus which tells
for civilization, for a better Christian
ity, and that the United States as the
great evangelist of the nations is bound
to play leading part in those waters
and in those islands
81 would treat the Filipinos in this
way. considering their present condi-
ton and their inconsiderate actions.
believe. by inconsiderate
advice from the United States, would
treat them with the hand of paternal
affection wherever possible and by the
hand of paternal chastisement wherever
necessary. And when the time should
Ixf 1o |
of the people. as it has come by the
handling and development of Great
Britain in the Straits Settlements imme-
Degrees they could be admitted to local
which 1 would grant to the
fullest extent wherever possible in the
due process of time, whenever they
should be fit for it. Iwould act toward
its civilized colonies. Whenever they
wanted to go they should go, and 1
would rejoice that in the process of
lished there in the Philippines against
that time shall come, the interest, the
honor, the security of the American
people demand that we shall hold the
protection, but under our rule.
ITO me the acquisition of the Philip
pine archipelago is not a mere gratifca
ton of lust or pride of conquest. Let
US all endeavor to look a little beyond
day after tomorrow as to these things
and let us mark certain great tenden
cies proceeding with all the force and
and sometimes with the
slowness of great geological process
and see what is meant by that which is
ON the surface of human
affairs within the last 80 years, and,
fellow citizens, the tendency-shaIl I
call it of humanity or shall I call it
the forces-which move the human race
toward the Chinese orient-the Pacific
east. Everything has been subdivision
ed. France has acquired Madagascar.
The great centers of activity are upon
the east coast of Asia. Russia is con-
structing across Siberia that great
railroad which was
foretold 200 years ago. By the treaty Of
1896 Russia has obtained practical con-
troll of Chinese Manchuria, an area as
large as Texas and containing 90, O0O,
900 people. She has obtained Port Ar
thur, always open, for a terminus of a
railroad instead of Vladiyostok, frozen
four months in the year. France has
seized Siam. Anam, Camboge and Co
chin China. Germany has made COM
pensatory seizure. :