The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-02-16
The Common Sense View

The common sense Of great QueS-
tion was expressed with incisive force
Monday evening at the Lincoln birth
day dinner of the New York Repubi-
can club by Governor Roosevelt when
he said;
No sensible man will advocate our
plunGinS rashly into Il course of inter-
national knight crrantTy, or into our set
ting deliberately to work to build Up a
great colonial empire. But neither Will
any brave and patriotic man bid us
shrink from doing our duty merely be-
cause this duty involves the certainty of
strenuous effort and the possibility of
danger. Some men of high principle,
from high motives have opposed the rati-
tiCation of the Treaty, just as they had
previously opposed the war. just as some
other men whose motives We're equally
high in 1861 opposed any effort to restore
the Union by force Of arms. The error
was almost as great in the one case as
i'm the other and will be so adjudgeG by
history and in one case, as in the other,
the two main impulses which gave
strength to the opposition were ignoble
| In their very eSsence-the impulse of Sloth
and fear. We should not lightly court
danger and difficulty, but neither should
we Shirk from flCing them when in some
way or other they must be met. We are
a mighty nation and upon us rests the
responsibilities that belong to all great
nations. We can not avoid meeting them.
We can only decide whether we shall
meet them well or i'll. We now have GER
| tain duties in populous islands in the
West and East Indies. We can not with
honor shirk these duties We must not
! fail in these duties, but perform them I'm
a manner that win rebound to the honor
| of this nation.
| is that the people of each island as they
show themselves fit for self-government
| shall be given constantly a larger meas,
uro of selfgovernment But 1t would be
| criminal folly to sacrifice the real welfare
| of the islands and to fail to- do our own
manifest duty under the plea of carry
| ing out some doCtrinal idea, which, If
| II had been lived up to, would have made
| the entire North American continent tC
| this day a hunting ground for savages
| IT is the idlest chatter to speak of saw,
| ages as being entitled to govern them.
| selves; and though it is occasionally
| heard, from well-meaning people who be
| lieve in what they say, it usually covers
| merely laZiness or fear. If we refrain
from doing our own part of the world.
! work then IL will have to be done by
people stronger than we are, for We will
| have shown ourselves weaklngs.
We must give the Filipinos absolute
! justice; but more than all else, il Is eS
sential that we should treat them will
entire firmness and courage. They mus
| be made to realize absolutely that W,
are the masters. The insurrection mus
be stamped out as mercifully as possible
| but Il must be stamped out. We hav,
put an end to a corrupt medieval ~
ranny and by so doing we have bount
| ourselves TO provide against any out
break of anarchic savagery. We are NJ
less bound TO see that where the swort
wins the land the rule of righteous law
shall follow. We have taken upon our
selves as in honor bound a great tasl
and every upright and honest citizen o
this nation should do his part in seein
that this task is honorably and well per
formed.
If the doing of this inevitable dut,
is TO become a political issue the Re
publican party is fortunate in having II
Theodore Roosevelt leader who can
If necessary, take up McKinley's worl
where Mckinley leaves off.