Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1899-08-03

MCKINNEY mas eAceedeu MS authority
in any respect.
True the administration has never
formulated a policy'-and because il
hasn't OF wouldn't, we have the war
The Filpinos asked only promise OF
independence, and were met with the
reply, as Gen. Otis own official CORE
spondence shows, that nobody could
make such promise because only
Congress could control the NATTER
1t is not within the prerogative OF
the administration TO formulate a poll
cy for the permanent control of this
new dependency. To do it or attempt
il would justly bring down upon Nc
Kinley the censure Of the country, if it
did not lead to his impeachment. The
question of what kind of government
shall be established is for Congress to
| decide, just as soon as it meets and
desires TO take the matter in hand.
Neither Gen. Otis nor Mckinley him
self could promise independence to the
Filipinos, because they could not know
in advance what Congress would de-
cree. 1t may have been unfortunate
in this juncture that such a permanent
form of government could not have
been outlined at once, but such is the
constitution of our federal machinery
that the thing was impossible. Otis
could only assure the natives that our
nation would follow its time-honored
traditions of firmness and justice and
begged them not toproyoke hostilitics,
stating that his own orders were to
keep within the lines already held and
on no account, short of absolute attack
by the natives, to open them himself
This is on the eve Of the action by our
Senate on the peace treaty, The Fill
pino response was a mad rush on our
lines in the night, with the hope Of
driving our troops into the sea.
"At the very time this correspond |
ence was in Congress and the censor |
ship was keeping Us in the dark about |
II, the administration side was secur- \
ing the ratification OF the treaty upon
the solemn pledges of its representa-
tive senators, that il should be supple
mented with resolutions promising in
dependence-which pledges were
repudiated as soon as the
object was accomplished :"
The contemporary is either misin-
formed or the victim Of Imagination.
The resolutions referred to were not
favored by the president, either before
Or after their passage -tor il Is fact
that the Senate did pass one subse-
luent to the ratification of the treaty.
in order to satisfy a few Democrats
who feared the party whip. These
senate resolutions meant absolutely
nothing and had no further effect than
4 mere informal expression of opinion.
The Filipinos were not mollified by the
of their passage, for they gave
up hope Of securing peaceful indie
)endence beforehand, as their attack
IN Manila evidenced.
1T was bunco game all round. as
We can see now, and the proof of il. AT
he time, was furnished by the presi-
Tents proclamation. more than month
n advance ofthe treaty ratification and
'etore there was particle of right for
I, legal or moral, announcing that !
hey were 10 be brought under militia
y rule supplemented by Otis order /.
Gen. Miller 10 take Iloilo from the !
alive government by force If neces-
ary'-a clear act OF war-and BY his :
emand for the return of the Spanish |
risoners under threat OF the arrest Of I
guinaldo,"
Prior to the ratification of the peace I
'eaty,we were technically at war with q
pain and IN the event OF its failure OF I
ltification we should have been iusti-
ed in securing all the Spanish terri
Try we could. either in the Philip
ines or elsewhere The treaty itself v
rovided for the cession OF the islands I,
rs, so that Mckinley was right in A
ating that it was ourpurpose to bring /"
lem under our military rule, after (
hich Congress would decide their :
ture, with due regard to the rights II
the inhabitants. Spain. should not 5,
i've withdrawn from Iloilo without II
Otis. as might have been n
me, and we had a right TO be estab- ~
he'd in her place, pending the out Z
me of the protocol.
However the collision of arms NAV \
i've finally come about, and regard
$ of the testimony from several
urces that Otis repulsed the efforts
Aguinaldo to secure peace even then.
c fact is unmistakable and sober
story will so write it down. that this
Mckinley's war and nothing else. a
ID the time has not come vet when !,
G people have nothing 10 say about IL
Notwithstanding, we hold il to be I,
ceedingly bad taste, to say the least a
condemn our president for endea,- "A