Washington sentinel., 1899-09-09
whit Pay9

If the Administration intends to
keep up its pl ettnse OF subjugat-
ing the Fllipinos IN the interest OF
humanity and Christianity. it
should at once close the lips Of
Senator Carter, of Montana. That
illustrious Western statesman has
been abroad recently and has been
out of touch with the cant and
subterfuges Of the imperlalist syn
dicate. Being asked to suggest
a statesmanlike solution of the
Philippines problem, Senator Car
ter unI)osomed himself in the
breezy and unconventional Mon
tana way and laid down these re-
markable propositions; "This is
a practical age. We are going to
deal with this question on the basis
oil dollars and cents. Neither re-
ligion nor sentiment will have
much influence in determining the
verdict. The great question will
be, Will it pay2 If we can show
the country that it will, as think
we can, the American flag will
never come down from the Philip
pines" A lew hours before he
delivered himself of these exalted
sentiments Senator Carter had
been in the presence of the Chris
tian statesman and benevolent
Assimilator." President Mckinley,
and his performance is the more
astonishing for this reason, for
how can a man think OF pelf when
he has been in such pure and un-
selfish Dresence7
Out in Montana. il Senator Car
ter represents the people Of that
section, the "Stars aud Stripes"
stand for mere commercialism, and
the only device which should ap-
pear on the flag is the dollar mark.
The test to be apple to all prob
lens is not that of justice, right
eousness and patriotism, but the
more sordId consideration, "Will
pay7 Is there any money in it
tor usP" This is a very base con-
ception Of Americanism, but ap-
parently it is what Senator Carter
holds to. Neither religion nor
sentiment" he says, will have
much influence in determining the
verdict" Of the American people
in regard to the disposition of the
Philippines. The public conscience
must be demoralized, indeed, il
Senator Carter correctly describes
its attitude towards the Filipinos.
II religion and sentiment" are to
be excluded from the settlement of
the Philippine problem, why has
Mr.. Mckinley persistently sought
to convey the impression that he
was acting in measure as mis-
sionarY as well as a conqueror in
the Far East7 Why has the ap-
peal been made to church people
to stand by him in his efforts to
spread Christianity among the
Filipinos1 Is the American relig-
ion which our American mission
aries are to impart TO the Filipinos
to rest absolutely upon "the basis
OF dollars and cents7"
There good old adage, which
probably is falling into disuse, how
ever, along with the Constitution
and the Declaration OF Independ-
ence. II sets forth that honesty
is the best policy" and before the
new dispensation began it was re-
garded as a sound rule for national
as well as individual conduct. In
Senator Carters opinion it is cvi-
dently obsolete, and the new doc
trine OF dollars and cents is the
only profitable policy. Patriotism
is toy tor children and weaklings
to play with; national honesty anc
patriotism must be measured by
the profit that is in them. Is il
strange that the Filipinos question
our motives when a Senator oi
the United States tells them
and tells the American people thai
our relations with the Philip.
pines depend upon the amount o.
money that can be squeezed out D
the islands. All our pretension:
about uplifting the natives, giving
them freedom under the "gloriou!
Stars and Stripes" and introduc