The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-23
AT PHILADELPHIA.
Students Sing and the Hon. Seth Low
Delivers an Address.

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 22.-Washington's
birthday was celebrated here with exercises
at the Academy of Music under the auspices
of the Univ ersity Of Pennsylvania. Some
1900 students marched in procession and en-
livened the day with their college songs and
class slogans. The exercises at the academy
opened with prayer by Bishop OH w. Whit
aker, and the students in chorus sang the
national hymn America and the university
hymn Hail Pennsylvania" The orator Of
the occasion was Seth Low, Ill. D., presi-
dent of Columbia University. His topic was
9TH United States in 1897
In the course of his address, speaking on
the Philippine question, Mr.. Low said:
'"The advocates Of ratification have been
called imperialists and expansionists, and
the treaty itself has been said to be in woe
full contradiction with all we stand for as a
Nation. These are serious charges and it
behooves every nan who loves his country
to consider whether they are we'll made.
Unless our treaty with Spain has been die
tated by lust of empire, 1t is not fair to call
those who advocated it imperialists, unless
it has been dictated by lust of territory it
is not fair to call them expansionists, I'M
less a better way can be shown by which
peace could AVE been secured, it Is not
just to c~riticise the government for accept
ing even unwelcome obligations that the
war has brought in its train. Undoubtedly
the United States should and undoubtedly
we shall give to the natives of the Philip
pines as great a measure of self-government
as they are capable of exercising; but we
could not, in justice to civilization, assume,
in our treaty with Spain, a capacity for
civilized government on the part of the ma
tives which has never been show to exist.
1t was the same Jefferson who wrote in our
Declaration of Independence that govern
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governed and who argued for a strict con-
Struction of our national Constitution; that
purchased Louisiana from Napoleon, without
the consent of the people, sovereignty over
whom was thus transferred to the United
States and also without any other consti-
tutional authority than that which has been
exercised in connection with the cession of
the Philippines. That is the difference be-
tween Jefferson the statesman and Jeffer-
son the philosopher. The philosopher stated
the ideal. which 1 believe to be the ideal of
the American people to-day as fully as it
always has been; but the statesman did q
great service to his country and to civiliza-
ton by doing a wise thing at a fortunate
moment. although in doing it he contra
vened his own ideal.
which we have had to deal in the matter
of the Philippines had been voluntarily and
conscientiously sought the outcome would
have been discreditable to our good faith
and alarming in it's portent. Coming, as it
has, however, as a result of a war with
Spain, having its origin in disturbances with
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answer the fathers would have made in the
like case. Unless civilization, under proper
conditions, has a right to withhold control
from barbarism and standardization, has to
substitute for either something better, our
own national ife rests upon inexcusable
wrong to the aboriginese whose land we
have taken and for whose civilization. such
as it was, we have substituted our own.
But others again say that the American
ideal is government of the people, by the
people and for the people, and that, how
ever truly we may give to the Philippine
islands a government for the people it will
not and cannot be, under our authority. a
government Of the people and by the peo-
pie. Undoubtedly, In this aspect also, the
fact comes short of the ideal: but to say
that. in the premises we have no duty to
civilization or the Philippine slande is to
claim that a s-elf-governing democracy, by
its very nature. is incapable of serving 9TH
er peoples except by It's own example. / do
not think so meanly of democracy. Yet 1
would not admit for a moment, even by i'm
plication, that the service of the American
democracy to mankind has been hitherto
anything less than a world service"