The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1900-08-11

LG4ao III hlC AAaAk1 ttA AaN0 I0t.h
secured from time to time. enlarged the
flag into the new territory. It Is now pro-
posed to seize upon distant territory al
ready more densely populated than our own
ovn1r and TO to t SSsch upon pom me ,s p Pc War =
fsnt In our constitution or our laws. Even
the argument that this earth belongs to
those who desire to cultivate 1t and have
b ses ,n nnSs,Sa 10 p sSstify e the se sSpprop II Gomez Of
h Philippine islands by the United States.
II the Islands were uninhabited American
and TIL the soil. The white race will not
live so near the equator. Other. nations
have tried to c~olonize in the same LATITUDE.
800 years. and yet to-day there are less
than 10000 people Of European birth scat
tered among 5000. GOO natives; After a
in India, less than on~e-twentieth OF one
per cent. of the people of India are Of Eng
lish birth. and 1t requires an army q : ;op
collectors. Spain has asserted title to the
Philippine islands for three centuries. and
mere yee; w Wepe I less n thsn eh io'occ sp Snha,s Oa re-,
siding in the Philippines.
A colonial policy means that we shall
send to the Philippines a few traders, a few
taskmasters and a few office holders. and
an army large enough to support the au-
thority of a small fraction OF the people
while they rule the natives
Increase In Regular Army.
II We have an imperial policy we must
have a large standing army as Its natural
Which viii justify the forcible a%nnexation
of the Philippine islands will justify the
seizure of other islands and the DONNA
o aon 81 we ote eep Ps0pse;; a q cer vain ! T II not 81 ra SSS-
growth of our military establishment.
That a large permanent Increase In our
regular army is intended by the repub-
lican leaders is not a mere matter of con-
lecture. but a matter of fact. In his mes
sage of December S. 1898. the president
ing army to 100, 900. In 1896 the army con-
tanned about 5000 men. Within two years
the president asked for four times that
sentatives compiled with the request after
the. Spanish treaty had been signed and
no country was at war with the United
When an imperial I policy Is contemp IaHei
but not openly avowed, what may be ex-
pected II the people encourage the republic
an party by indorsing its policy at the polls?
A large standing army is not only a Pc
cuniary burden to the people and, If accom-
panied by compulsory service, a constant
source of irritation. but it is ever a menace
to a republican form of government. The
army is the personffication of force, and
militarism Will inevitably change the ideals
of the people and turn the thoughts of our
young men from the arts of peace to the
science of war. The government which
relies for its defense upon its citizens is
more likely to be just than one which has
at call a large body of professional SOL
diers. A small standing army and a well
equipped and well disciplined state militia
are sufficient In ordinary times, and in an
emergency the nation should in the future
as in the past place its dependence Upon the
volunteers who come from all occupations
at their country's call and return to pro-
ductive labor when their services are no
longer required-men who fight when the
country needs fighters and work when
the country needs workers.
status of the Filipinos.
The republican platform assumes that
the Philippine islands will be retained I'M
der American sovereignty. and we have
a right to demand of the republican lead
ers a discussion of the future status of
the Filipino. Is he to be a citizen or a
subject? Are we to bring into the body
polite S,0O0,000 or 10. 900. 900 Asiatics, so
different from us In race and history that
a~malgamation is impossible? Are they
to share with us in making the laws and
shaping the destiny of this nation? No
republican of prominence has been bold
enough to advocate such a proposition.
The McEnery resolution, adopted by the
senate Immediately after the ratification
of the treaty, expressly negatives this
idea. The democratic platform describes
the situation when 1T says that the Fill
pinos cannot be citizens without endan-
gering our civilization. Who will dispute
it? And what is the alternative? II the
Filipino Is not to be a citizen, shall we
make him a subject? On that question
the democratic platform speaks with en-
phasis. 1t declares that the Filipino cam
not be a subject without endangering our
form of government. A republic can
have 10 subjects. A subject Is possible
only in a government resting upon force;
he is know in a government deriving
its Just powers from the consent of the
governed. The republican platform says
that the largest measure of self-govern-
ment consistent with their welfare and
our duties shall be secured to them lthe
Filipinos) by law" This is a strange doc
trine for a government which owes its
very existence to the men who offered
their lives as a protest against govern
ment without consent and taxation with
the position of the republican party differ
from the position taken by the English
government in 1776? Did not the English
to the coionists? What king ever prom
Used a bad government to his peo-
pie? Did not the English govern
have the largest measure of self-govern-
ment consistent with their welfare and
English duties? Did not the Spanish gov
eminent promise to give 70 the Cubans
the largest measure of self-government
consistent with their welfare and Spanish
duties? The whole difference between a
monarchy and a republic may be summed
king gives to the people what he believes
to be a good government: in a republic
the people secure for themselves what
The republican party has accepted the Eu-
ropean idea and planted itself upon the
ground taken by George III. and by every
| ruler who distrusts the capacity of the
people for self-government or denies them
a voice in their W affairs.
The President's Will the Only Law.
The republican platform promises that
| some measure of self-government Is to be
given to the Filipinos by law; but. even
this pledge Is not fulfilled. Nearly 16
months elapsed after the ratification of the
treaty before the adjournment Of congress
last June, and yet no law was passed deal
ing with the Philippine situation. The will
of the president has been the only law
in the Philippine islands wherever the
American authority extends. Why does
the republican party hesitate to legislate
upon the Philippine question:? Because a
law would disclose the radical departure
from history and precedent contemplated
by those who control the republican party.
The storm of protest which greeted the
Porto Rican bill was an indication of what
may be expected when the American peo-
plesare brought face to face with legisla-
ton upon this subject. II the Porto Ricans,
who welcome annexation, are to be de-
MED the guarantees of our constitution,
what is to be the lot of the Filipinos, who
resisted our authority? II secret inf1u-
ences could compel a disregard of our plain
duty toward friendly people, living near
our shores, what treatment will those SAINT
Influences provide for ~unfriendly people
1000 miles away? II, in this country where