Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-09-16

common defense and general welfare
Of the United States?" I think not
Imperialists, Answer.
But it is said that whether right or
wrong, the fact remains that we now
hold the Philippines, and we are asked
what shall be done with them? In the
first place. it may be answered that We
do not possess the Philippines and
never did. 1t is true. however. that
We now occupy a few square miles
near the shore line of two or three
out of the 1000 or more islands. and
that We are doing this by force and
against the will of the people of that
country, and | think against the will
of the people of this country also. But
waiving all this and assuming, for the
sake Of argument, what we know to
be untrue, to-wit: that we have full
possession and control of the whole
Philippine territory. and that we have
the physical power and legal right to
do as we please with it and its inhab-
itants. Now. in this case. what-as
| liberty-loving Americans; as people
who believe in the Declaration of In
dependence. and adhere to the tradi-
ticns of the fathers. and are deter
mined to stand faithfully by our own
political convictions and professions,
what shall we do? Fairness, to say
nothing Of magnanimity, would lead
US to say to the Filipinos, I'VE are
your friends. We do not propose to
make war on you. We recognize your
right to govern your own country in
| home. and we desire that it should be
yours. Establish your government.
preserve order. protect the lives and
property of your own people, and of
the strangers within your borders, and
we shall stand by you if you desire us
to do so, to see that outsiders are not
permitted to NEEDLE in your concerns
to your injury. In brief. we do not
| seek to be your masters; we simply
come as friends TO make you an hon.
est tender of services in any time of
need or peril
In concluding on this branch of the
subject. desire to present few para
graphs from the very able article of
Murat HalSteaa. published in the Gin
cinnati Commercial Tribune, of
July II:
Mr. Halstead confers an unspeaka"
BILE favor On the anti-imperial move
ment when he tries to measure it in
the pint cup of Aguinaldo's personal
character. Does he think that move
ment would put the Declaration of In
dependence and the constitution in one
scale and balance them with 120
pounds of Malay in the other? Does
he seriously suppose and mean to say
as counsel for the present policy Of
blood and iron,' that Aguinaldo is the
heart, liver and lungs of this uprising
against all the doctrines and tradi-
tions of our government? Does he see
hap oil Of oil .hic or nf
tests from one-half the Republican
senate and an army of Independent
citizens in the Republican party, and
many of the brainiest leaders of
thought all over the country, but
little brown soldier 10000 miles away?
Why. they might kill Aguinal.o and
bury him tomorrow, but this move
ment would not disband when it read
his funeral notice. Its roots go down
to the bedrock of American principle
and chartered power: its life is nour-
ished by the springs of our national
vitality, and these will flow and fruc-
tify our plant of seif-government when
Ag;,inaldo is dust. And If the presi-
dents policy of foreign conquest has
no stronger rock to stand on than the
flaws in AguinaIdo's character, is it
not time TO change the standards of
American craftsmanship.
Aguinaldo and his personal cabinet
may be bribe takers: Washington and
Jefferson and Lincoln were not. Their
principles and practices, their gospel
of liberty and morals. are the beacons
of government for this country to fol-
low Be Aguinaldo what he may. we
have no charter to ram our brand of
liberty down the throats of any people
Have We Moral Right?
1t will be conceded, l think, nat the
foreign policy of the Mckinley admin
istration, so far as it relates to the
islands of Asia. proposes substaE-
TALLY
l. To hold the Philippine archipel-
ago. and require its 100000 of in
habitants TO accept a government Of
our Cwn making.
2. To deny to it admission as
state, or states, of the American
Union, and-as sequence to the fore
going-deny to its people representa-
tion in the United States congress and
the electoral college.
If these propositions embody a fair
statement of the purposes of the ad-
ministration, and the party it repre-
sents. We may pertinently ask
ID Have we a moral right to do
what the administration seeks to ac-
complish?
% Have we the legal right?
go Would it be for the best inter-
ests of the American people?
"a Would it be consistent with
the principles of the Republican party?
AS to the first query, we may say
that when we entered upon the war
against Spain, we professed to do so
for the sole purpose of liberating an
rnnn1o-fhot hoin
the inhabitants of the island of Cuba.
This was the extent of our design and
the only thought moving us to action.
To emphasize the fact that we were
prompted by no desire of conquest,
congress proclaimed, by resolution,
that when the end referred to was ac-
complished, the forces of the United
States would be withdrawn, and the
island left in the control of it's own
people. President Mckinley, in con-
sorance with this single and pro-
fessedly benevolent purpose. had an
nounced that under our code of NOR
ality forcible annexation" could not
he thought of: for that. he said,
would be criminal aggression" In
this spirit and with these pledges the
war began, and in the course of it a
Spanish fleet was destroyed on the
coast of Asia, thus giving as control
at Manila bay. and possibly Of few
square miles of Phlii5etGss territory.
subsequently, by the assistance OF the
inhabitants of the island of Luzon, the
city of Manila was captured from the
Spaniards. and at this stage of opera
tions the war between Spain and the
United States ended; but while peace
were in progress at Paris,
the ancient inhabitants of the Philip
pines repossessed themselves, by |
force of arms, of substantially all the |
Philippine territory, except the single !
city of Manila. then in the hands OF |
United States troops. The territory |