The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-04-29

heroic endurance and complaining
patience, In suffering aud priyation. The
Spanish soldiers too, deserve to be hon
ored for their courage, aud especially Tor
their becoming demeanOr after they
were defeated, their presenting amark'
oil constrast to the behavior Of the Uu.
ban patriots, so called,
But tho most striking illustration OF
the war, is furnished in the Philip
pines. where benevolent assimilation,
takes the form Of bullets FOR those who
"stand to be- killed, and Of the desc
lation Of the country, and the burn
ing Of the houses Of such, as run
away. Next to the boast OF humanity,
by those who were urging on the war,
was the claim, that 1t would re-
lease from cruel bondage the devoted
and deserving patriots. who were groan'
ing under the Spanish yoke. Well,
the Spanish yoke has been broken, and
what do we see The patriots, " in
whose behalf so much treasure has been
expended. so much suffering inflicted,
so much blood poured out, are found
to be lazy, insolent, and cruel, and in
capable Of appreciating any kind OF lib
erty, except the liberty Of living in
idleness at the expense OF the United
Il 10 that hnWaVaF
bad may have been the rule OF Spain.
government by the Oubans would have
been much worse. They have proved
unht for even the subordinate position
OF police. Those who have been tried
in that position have turned out to be
dishonest and tryannical, blackmailers
and bribetakers. Even their leader
Gomez, says they are not now quail
fed to take charge Of the government.
Thus ends the first act Of the glorious
drama-Cuba Libre.
Now about the Philippines. The
The position of the government in
those unhappy islands would be farcical
il it were not traRical There the
strange spectacle is exhibited of a pur-
pose to force upon a people. in the
name Of freedom. a government they
abhor. When Madame Roland was
on her way to the guilotine, she passed
a statue OF liberty, pointing to the
statue she cried out, 30 liberty. what
crimes have been perpertrated in thy
name. " With slight verbal mOdifica'
tions, her language may be applied to the
case in hand. and we may exclaim. % !
freedom, what absurdities aud inJus'
tice have been committed in thy name "
The government claims the right OF
the people of the United States to
choose their own form Of government,
but denies that right to the people
whose countries they have conquered.
We were told that the war would add
greatly to the wealth of the United
States, by increased trade and CON-
merce, and by the abundant products
Of the conquered countries. How has
that prediction been fulfilled? Three
millions in money and many more mil.
lions in rations have been supplied to
the Cuban patriots, twenty millions
have been paid for the Philippines
(by the way. Spain got greatly the
better in that bargain The expenses
Of the government. civil and military
have run up to seven hundred million
dollars a year The enormous pension
payments will soon be increased by at
at least fifty millions, and direct taxes
have been imposed on number OF new
subjects. The only item on the credit
side of the account. is the collection OF
three or four hundred thousands dol
lars on imports into our new possess
ions. At this rate how long will it be
before we realize the promised increase
in the wealth Of the country?
In addition to the evil fruits OF the
war with Spain, noticed in this paper,
there are many others existing in the
present, with still more formidable
ones Threatened in the future. Let us
hope that in the merciful providence
of God. some plan may be devised to
mitigate the evils Of the present
and to prevent greater evils in the fu-
ture.
A. Broaddus.