The age-herald., 1899-10-08
GOVERNOR JOHNSTON
 ISSUES AN ADDRESS
Continued from Ninth page)

hostile and adverse possession. made no
 difference. We bought that fraudulent title
 from a highway robber who was not in
 possession of the goods, under duress, and
 are now killing the rghtful owners for not
 submitting to it.
 The United States would have an in-
 fnitely better right to sell Hawaii, without
 consulting the inhabitants to Liberia or
 China.
 1ne Filipnos are now resisting and fight
 ing fer exactly what our revolutionary
 fathers fought in in 1776-the right to gov
 ern themselves. The defenders of this
 vicious policy that utterly disregards the
 great doctrine of liberty, attempt to de-
 fend 1t upon two grounds: One, that they
 want to elevate and christanize the Fill
 pinos and the other is, that we shall make
 money by the transaction.
 The beauty of this civilizing and Chris
 tianizing process ought to be apparent to
 the Filipinos. They are first to submit to
 a fraudulent sale, and to armed invasion,
 the complete overthrow of their liberties
 and subjection to commanding general
 and his subordinates who cannot speak
 their language and whose manners and
 customs are contrary to their inclinations.
 Resisting, they are to be shot into the
 t'' cH1rm of heaven. A civilization that is
 introduced with the sword and a religion
 backed by powder and shot is not liable to
 be eagerly adopted by people worth
 saving. But it is said that the acquisition
 of this territory is going to widen our
 markets enlarge our commerce and put
 money into our purses. The death Of our
 soldiers. the enormous expenses or the
 war and the increased taxes to be laid
 upon our people is to be compensated by extending our markets. We are to Kill these people in order to compel them to trade with us. It is said that the south
 will get a part of the swag; that greater demand will spring up for our cotton goods, and the people of the south-a np- erty-loving people who have always stood for principle against spells are invited to | approve because they will get a share of the spells in increased price for our cotton. 1 suppose the idea is that every Filipino and every American killed will need a shroud and that will make demand Tor | cotton We are to shoot the natives, burn their villages and destroy their crops in order to stimulate the demand for cotton goods We are to barter our convictions for money We are to justify war upon an inoffensive people who never did us any
 harm in order to trade with them. Instead
 of commercial agents, we send armed bri-
 eades to introduce our wares. Alabama
 can in one year raise all the cotton the
 Philippines would consume in twenty
 years. Instead of approaching the value
 of orr cotton. annexation would probably
 result in the cultivation of cotton there, as
 
 stead of a consumer. I suppose It has
 already cost us hundred millions. The
 profit on all the trade we will do in
 hundred years would not pay the interest
 on this sum and the end Is not yet. we probably don't hold twenty square mlles of territory around Manila. The island or Iuzon alone is nearly as large as Alabama and when we succeed in subjugating that island there are nearly fourteen hundreo others To maintain our control and fur- At16 70. quire a standing army of nearly nity thousand men. It will require vast ln- crease in our navy for we must be pre- pared to defend these possessions. All l this means more taxes, more labor ana sweat and self-denial to our own people | and the beginning of the Praetorian Guard | to overthrown our own liberties.
 1 We need no territory for an overfoWIng l population The Philippines are more | densely inhabited now than our own coun- | try. Our resources are not deveiopeo; Here in Ala abama We have great acres Of agricultural lands that have not known the hand of man. Every dollar taken from the United States to the Philippines to develop their resources Is dollar di- verted from Alabama or some other state. Let us like charity, begin at home. War has never been declared against the Philippines by congress; the constitution has not been obeyed; were we to notify them tomorrow that the United States h. tended to be their friends and aid them Tn organizing for themselves a government suited to their conditions, not another gun would be fired.
 If our representatives must vote these millions of dollars away-if this money must be taken from our people, would 1t not be infinitely wiser and better to spend a few millions opening the Tennessee, the Coosa and the Warrior rivers to naviga- tion? What blessing would come from a million a year for our public schools or building roads In Alabama rather than In killing and subjugating some millions of half naked people 5000 miles distant If our representatives would pay less att tention to foreign affairs and more to our domestic; if they would direct their ar tillery and small arms at the tariff and trusts instead of the Filipinos; if they would pay more attention to cutting down useless expenditures and putting a check upon the ever increasing pension list, the people would rise up and call them blessed. Chicago Platform
 l It is source of great satisfaction to me |. In,t xxlak