The San Francisco call., 1899-04-07
NATIONAL INTEGRITY.

THE victories OF our troops over the Filipnos
excite our pride and afford fresh evidence OF the
superiority OF American citizens over Asiatics
and additional reasons why they could never be
brought politically together except in the relation that
conquerors bear toward the subugated. We bought
the title OF Spain to the Philippines and stand in the
shoes OF that effete monarchy while we assert our
right OF possession and our political sovereignty
against the natives, who were fighting against Spain
for independence when our Declaration was issued
and our Revolutionary War was in progress.
The glaring inconsistency Of our present attitude
in the Philippines logically and powerfully ex-
posed by Senator Hoar in his letter recently pub
ished in The Call
To citizens who really comprehend their own gov
ernment and to lovers of constitutional freedom and
independence everywhere, this bloody strife is fraught
with fearful omens. Our young men, with educated
intelligence behind their artillery filled with the dar-
ing courage of their composite race, handled with
consummate skill and supplied with all the accessories
that money buy, like the ancient Romans are
practically invncbe against sem-barbarians, poorly
equipped, half naked and half starved Under more
equal conditions they would achieve greater trumphs
But success is not always right and in this instance
it is more dangerous to the conquerors than to the
conquered The lust for dominion is danger signal
not only to ourselves but to the world. AS Senator
Hoar has suggested the positions in Revolution
airy War are reversed, and while the Filipnos now as
then, are fighting for independence we have receded
to the attitude of Great Britain. Spain had never
colonzed the Philippine archipelago, and her claim
of ownership was based upon incomplete imperial
robbery. That the title we bought under which
we now call the Filipnos rebels" or insurgents"
and wage against them a relentless war in which
their comparative loss is probably in the proportion
OF fifty to one.
There will be an end to this condition without an
opportunity to extract from it party capital. There
are Democratic expansionists who the worst Of
their class There hundreds of thousands of pa
triotic Republicans who opposed to Asiatic ex-
pansion either in the form of annexation or colon-
zation The people OF the Pacific Coast are united in
their determination to utilize their commercial and
financial advantages, but is an insult to their intel
gence for Eastern expansionsts to pretend that for
this purpose they bound to support territorial
acquisition in Asia and to fall into the trap set by the
imperiasts.
The sentiment against Asatic expansion is rapidly
growing and becoming solid and determined If the
question were left to the rank and file of the army
and navy, who face to face with the problem in
the Philippine Islands and are manfuly uphoding
their national flag in that pestilental region we are
credibly informed that % per cent would favor an
idly the temporary responsibilities, which we have
brought upon ourselves, could be adjusted The in
tense advocates OF expansion include the worst and
most dangerous elements in the United States-un-
principled SPECTATORS the enemies OF remunerated