The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-06-10

Ill
dition of affairs too broad in scope and
too deep in meaning for the ordinary
human mind to comprehend. Never be-
fore i'll the history of the American Re
public have questions of such magnitude
presented themselves.
we have taken into our possession
and under our wing a class of people,
half-civiiized barbaric, treacherouS Tat
gals. foreign in nature, custom and
habit to the worst specimen of the Amer
lean. and are endeayorlng to force upon
them Il form of government which they
do not want and which they could not
enjoy even though it We're fastened
upon them. In short, the Administration
has undertaken TO inject liberty into the
naked Filipn0S through the medium of
rapd-fre guns and high explosives.
FILIPINOS FAR FROM WHIPPED.
we have been led to believe from
General Otis's dispatches that the Fiji
pinos are whipped into subJcction; that
they arc now ready to lay down their
arms. come in under the Starry Banner,
ACCEPT our form of civilization and en-
ioy the rights Of Il free people. Yet
there came to the War Department a
ca telegram asking for more troops. Why
this dispatch if the Filipinos are whip
ped:
Docs Otis, after allaying strife and
bringing the FiIipinos into submission
need more men to hold the TagalS III
a suhdued state? These are questions of
int tn nxary american.
My opinion is that the Filipinos are
as far from being whipped today as
they were when the instruction began.
The warfare to which they are used is
in no sense civilized On the contrary,
if is a guerilla fight, and as such may b.
continued indefinitely. Wild rowing bands
Of naked savages, who make their abode
in tbe interior hills of the island, would
forever menace American authority,
even if such were to be firmly eStab-
lisbed.
GIVE OTIS MORE TROOPS.
Having gone into this troublesome
DISPUTE. however there is but enc thing
TO DISCONTINUE the fighting. 'Ali the
men and all the money necessary 10
hiring the war to a close should he the
motto of every true-sprted American.
It is too late now to withdraw. 1t would
he a confession of our inability to cope
with these barbarians and to whip them
into subicction-it would he ignomnouS
for the American forces to back out of
the Philippines at this time.
NV advice to the Administration is to
give Otis all the men he may need ana
70 instruct him to force fighting until
some sort of a solution of the problem
is evolved.
"As | have said repeatedly i'll my pub
lie utterances. all this trouble could have
been avcrted if the peace treaty had
been amended We could have sent our
peace commissioners back to meet the
Spanish envoys, with Instructions tor re-
lease the whole of the Philippine Islands,
save Manila and sufficient territory con-
tiguous thereto, for Il naval and coallng
station.
"f this had been done we would not
today see this bogus white elephant.
There would be no war i'll the Philip
pines. There would have been little loss
of human blood and but small eXpendi-
ture of public money.
CHANGE OF MIND.
IF President Mckinley had been of
the same mind after returning from ms
Omaha trip as he was when he left
Washington Otis would not be calling
for more troops, there would have been
no endless rebellion in sight, and the
United States would have been content
with the possession of a naval and coal
ing base.
If the peace ENJOYS had been free to
carry out their original instructions, TO
demand the cession OF Manila and sufH-
cent contiguous territory for a naval
and coaling base if they had been left
free to conduct the negotiations without
being shackled by further instructions,
the peace treaty would not have pro-
yided for the acquisition of the entire
and Otis might be enjoying
the summer breeZes from the Atlantic or
the tempered blasts from the Adiron-
dacks instead of being chained to the
tropics, shooting liberty into the FiEpi-
nos.
Three members of the Peace Com
Davis and Gray-were
averse to carrying out the Presidents
regarding the acquisition of
the entire group of islands. About this
there can be no doubt. Witness the COR
between the Commissioners
and the President. which has been
printed in the shape of a public docu-
ment.
AND MILITlARlSM.
a policy of imperialism must ineyita-
bly, be followed by militarism. There
fore the acquisition of outlying terri
tory, together with several millions of
people, entails upon the Government
manifold dangers and responsibilities
Imperialism and miltarism go hand in
hand. 1t is small wonder. therefore.
that the Administration endeavored at
the last session of Congress to force
upon the country a bill creating
standing army in time of peace of 100,-
600 memo
This bill. as is generally known,
came Within a hairs breadth of being
enacted into law. and if it had not been
for the determined opposition of a few
Democratic Senators it would be upon
the statute books today. Thr. Demo
cratic narty has always been against
anything which smacked of militarism.
IN and out of the halls of Congress |
nave opposed large standing armies. and
shall continue to do so as long as | re-
main in public life.
An army of undue proportions is al