Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1899-05-11
THURSDAY EVENING. MAY IL, 1895

A WEEK OR so ago large meeting
was held in Chicago to protest against
the imperialistic policy OF making war
Oh the Philippine republic. The demon
stration was an imposing one, especial
" in the able character Of the speeches
delivered. The partisans of the Nc
Kinley administration made great eff
forts to counteract this popular express
sion. So shey got up three meetings,
taking last Sunday for the purpose,
and, according to their own account,
there were ten thousand persons pres
ent in sill. This number probably is
greatly exaggerated, but, for great
CITY with over three hundred thousand
voters and million and q half OF peo-
ple. with street railroads running in
every direction and day chosen on
which every one could turn out, the
fact that only ten thousand people as
sembled to sustain the administration
is very significant. The employees OF
the great beef contractors OF the War
Department alone might have been ex-
nected to furnish that number of people.
There could not well be more EN-.
phatic rebuke to the policy of imperial
ism. conquest and blood than this
abortive effort supplies. No great
speaker appears to have been present
at these meetings. The resolutions re-
cite the most impudent falsehoods as q
pretext for the executive action. They
assert that the Philippine Islands were
occupied by the American forces. In
stating this fiction they insult the intel
ligenCe Of the American people and
brand as unreliable, their own consuls,
army officers and commanders, and the
agents of the press. ALI these sources
of information concur in stating that at
the time of Dewey's victory the Span
iards had been driven into Manila and
held only that city, and very small
portion of one OF the other islands-in
all, not one per cent. of the total area
of this Philippine Islands. The rest OF
the country was in the hands OF the
Filipinos, who were then regarded by
Dewey and all the Americans there as
very clever fellows and worthy allies
of the United States forces. In fact, so
close was this alliance and so cordial
the feeling between the Insurgents
against Spain and the Americans, that
when the U. S. army began its attack
last August upon the city of Manila
they asked the Filipinos to move their
forces from portion Of the investing
lines in order to make room for their
own operations, just as in the war be-
tween the States brigade or division
was often moved or retired to en-
able fresh body of troops
to perform particular duty.
In order to make out case for McKin-
lev and Hanna all these known facts OF
history, embodied in the official reports
of the administration sent to Congress,
are coolly ignored and the impression
is sought to be made that Spanish au-
thority and occupation were pushed
aside only by the American troops. Even
now, after over three months OF vigOr-
Gus, cruel and unsparing war by the
American army, aided by the navy, the
American troops probably do not oc-
cupy the tenth part of the island of Lu-
zon and not one per cent. in area of the
other islands. Ia the largest of these
other islands, Mindanao, they have not
even attempted occupancy. 1t is by
such colossal falsehoods as this, fol-
lowed by others equally shameless, that
the effort is made to prop up the cause
of the administration. To pay Spain
twenty millions of dollars for her title
to the Philippine Islands, therefore, was
a criminal waste of the peoples money.
Spain had no title to give, except
frail tenure of the city of Manila, which
Dewey could have taken any time he
pleased. sBut it was the money of the
American tax payers, and cost nothing
to Mckinley or Hanna. Some of the
money went to Spain, probably the
bulk of it, and some may or may net
have gone to the birds of prey who are
the tools and hired eulogists OF the adj
ministration. The story of the destina-
ton and distribution of this money will
probably never be told, but we know
absolutely that its payment was q
fraud upon the public Treasury 1t was
made pretext for war upon peo-
pile who had been the allies of the
United States iu the fight against Spsir.
This war WAS wholly unnecessary. Ii
was instigated at Washington by bad
men in order to save the treaty which
which was then in great danger OF be-
ing rejected. Bad as this act was, its
evil consequences might still have been