The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-04-11

withdraw, he left open the path way Of
peace with Justice. But when spain
blindly refused, q command greater than
national ease, duty b CHER than any
material interests, voice from God and
from man lott no course out 20 enforce
the withdrawal and toe rescue Of doomed
people.
The atrocitiss of Bulgaria roused the
eloquent voice OF Gladstone, stirred the
stout heart OF England and recast the
map Of the Balkans. The later horrors OF
Armenia found Europe divided ana BAL
anced with jealou sies, and she stood.u um Q
and palsied In the presence of that awIni
massacre. But the great Republic couIa
not remain silent or impotent with tue
hideous wrongs of Cuba at our on uoots.
We should have been false to humanity
and recresnt TO civilization had We ia!ieo
to stretch forth our saving arm. lne
cool, dispassionate verdict Of history VIII
pronounce IL the most obligatory ana the
most righteous Of wars, as 1t was tne most
faultless In its direction and the most as
tonishing and overwhelming IN its sue
cess.
Granted the war, where could we have
stopped short Of where we now standr
Point who can 10 q single step taken thus
far which wasssnos the inevitable sequence,
the Irresistible conclusion. OF the nrst
decisione Less or different we might have
done and plunged into mistake and disas'
ter. More we might have done and yio-
lated faith and proiuoed divisions. But
review the events of the year in the light
of after wisdom and tell me who can
what movement Of war or negotiation OF
peace, what term OF settlement or act OF
government was not just what right,
reason. duty andssafety dictated. Coun
We have done more or less In Cupar VINO
criticises the disposition OF Porto hioof
Where could we have halted In the fhilip-
pinesf
As we have gone on conclusions have
come, doubts have disappeared, results
have yindioated, and discussion mas al
vanced to new qustions. year ago We
were discussing war, and events prougne
an undivided front. Nine months ago,
30 swift and unerring were the blows. We
were discussing the cessation OF hostiiitiet
and the protocol as It came from inc
hands OF the President was recognized as
skillfully settling the provisional terms
and preserving the safeguards and posi-
bilities. Six months ago we were q scuse-
ing the FINAL condition OF peace and the ne
gotiations OF Paris, strenuous, resolute
and masterful, ended In the only agree-
ment which meant real peace Three
months ago We were discussing tne
treaty and not only did Its ratification
remove IL from the arena of contention,
but 1t is now accepted as wise' statesman
like and altogether hawless. Then we
were debating whether we should take
the Philippines, and IL came to be
clear that there was no other conrse-no
Joint or divided sovereignty, no turning
back to Spain, no leaving as derelict on
the ocean currents, no independence
which means anarchy, no handing over
to any other powers. IL there were doubts
they have vanished, and
TO-DAY THE QUESTION is
not whether we should have taken the
Philippines for no man now ventures to
dispute 1t, but what shall We do with
themf
That question the American people will
answer, and It may well be that as the
discussion goes on and events move for
ward the doubts and uncertainties will
clear up, as they have cleared up in every
preceding chapter of the advancing story.
The people will answer. and they will
answer with full regard for the rights
and welfare of the Filipinos. They will
answer also with u full sense OF their own
duty and obligations. AMI they will
answer without branding themselves as
incapable of playing their appropriate
part in the worlds broad karena and as
unequal to the demands OF progress and
civilization. They do not share the un.
a nation has the right to run away from
q perplexing or burdensome duty by
proclaiming that IL hasn't character or
ability enough to perform it,
Nor are they deceived by any hollow
fiction or any irrelevant maxim. They
are not foolish enough to suppose that
single day has either lifted the victims OF
four hundred years of oppression and bar
barism into washingtons and bolivars or
d, graded the descendants OF the real
Washington and his oompeers into repro
auctions of George the Third and LORD
North. They understand that the princl-
pies of the Declaration of Independence
are abstract truths, and that they are also
practical fruits to be reached by practical
msaps. they did not ask the consent OF
the Cubans to save them from starvation,
but they viii put the Cubans in the way
of having government based on their
consent. They do not ass the consent OF
the Filipinos to save them from chaos, but
they will teach and guide and raise the
Flipinos to point where they will con .
sent to their own best Interests, and
where they will have the largest measure
of self government for which they shall
show themselves qualified,
1t Ia not strange that people shut up
for centuries IN the darkness of tyranny
and ignorance should falter dazed and
uncertain when they suddenly step out
into the fullness of light and liberty. IL
is not strange that they should be misled
and misguided for the hour and seek to
smite the hand that rescues them. This
Is an old experience, aud 1t makes an IN
pleasant necessity. There must be peace
before there can be rebuilding. But in
the name of my countrymen repel the
calumny that American rule and Ameri-
can purpose are aggressive or sohem-
ing uespotio. We went to the Philip
pines under the necessity of war, but we
stay because we are responsible for peace
and order and security. We have taken
the foundling of nations on our door
step and we cannot heartlessly thrust 1t
awaT. There may be need of heroic
treatment, but better little heroic treat.
mant at ssthe outset than anarchy and
self-destruction. We are there with heal
ing and blessing. We are thers with the
Bible and Civilization. We are there
with the promise of peace and progress,
of trade and com merce, of enlightenment
and prosperity, and does any man doubt
that American influence Will be beneficial
and elevatiDgS
The President holds these islands In
trust for the American people until they
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