The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1900-10-03

IAguinaldo In Ldxon originated m and
rests wholly upon military force, and has
not. even In Luzon, to say nothing about
the many other important islands, come
into existence or continued by the free
choice or voluntary consent Of the people
sought to be governed. y It's scope and
authority IS limited to the territory oc-
cupied by its armed bands and detach-
ments in Luzon. The consent of the
| governed IS neither asked. sought or ex-
pected. The great mass Of the people
are as helpless and where within reach
of the Tagal government under as abject
subjugation under Aguinaldos military
oligarchy as they ever were under the
| Spaniards III the years that are past.
1t IL to such an insurrectiOn and to
such government that our adver-
fsarfes would have us lay down our
arms and surrender our control and
authority. 1t II this insurrection
and this government that we should
have encouraged and set up as
permanent Establishment and have
made ourselves the protectors Of.
1t II to this government of A4ui-
naldO's that we should retrOcede the
title and authority we acquired
from Spain.
When we ratified the treaty we should
have given assurances of all this, and
| then all would have been we'll 1t is be-
cause we have failed to do all this and
because we are suppressing this insur-
rection. bringing order out of chaos and
attempting to give the FYlipinos just,
safe and liberal ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS to
| any they have ever had or could posi-
| bly, acquire through Aguinaldo and his
chiefs-tnat we are guilty of imperialism
and guilty of threatening the liberties of
our own people by. an increased standing
| army.
but 1t il Onl: in his criticisms that
Mr.. Bryan is lofty and scars to i'm
lay down programme of his own
he IL less elusive. less startling. and
approaches Republican ground
nearer than he apprehends.
In his Philippine programme he would,
| first, establish stable form of govern
ment. That is exactly what the Republi-
can party aims to do. But this implies
| that there is no such government there
| now, not even Aguinaldos government.
| What Mr.. Bryan admits by implication we
assert as a positive fact. and we further
assert that the first step in the establish
! ment Of a stable form of government is to
| suppress the existing instruction and in
surrectionary government, and that sta
BILE form of government can not we'll be
established before this is done.
DIFFERENT IN CASE OF CUBA.
Even this Mr.. Bryan admits by implica-
ton, for he says we should do as we have
done in Cuba. And what have we done
there? When our forces went to Cuba
there was Cuban republic and Cuban
army. There was no Filipino govern.
ment nor Filipino army when Dewey en-
tered Manila bay In Cuba, through our
efforts and aided by the good sense of
Gomez and his chiefs, the Cuban republic
has been permitted to expire and the Gu
ban army has long ago been disbanded,
and by the aid and cooperation of the
Cubans engaged in the effort OF
establishing de novo a stable government
there. Had Aguinaldo and his chiefs fol-
| lowed the example of Gomez and his
chiefs We should before this have been
long on the way towards establishing
stable government in the Philippines IN
der the circumstances we have not, as
Mr.. Bryan contends, been dilatory in es-
tablishing such a government In 1916 our
| armed forces took possession of California
and continued to hold it pending the Mexi-
can war; the ratification of the treaty OF
| peace, and until it became state in 1850.
California never had territorial form OF
government, but remained under the con-
troll of the army from 1916 until it became
| a state There was no insurrection in
California, and yet, for upwards Of two
years after the treaty of peace, it was
governed through the military department
of the government, and this was held
| fn he wolf nd
constitutional government, nor Were we
accused of being dilatory in giving Cali
fornia a state government. But it is as
serted that the Flipinos are entitled to
absolute independence and that we have
| no right to govern them without their
consent.
If this is true, what right have we
to impose any form. even stable
form. of government upon them:
They may insist that they have the
right to establish just such a form of
government as they see fit and that 1t is
not our business to establish any FORM,
| even a stable form for them. What
them. Are We to abandon the scheme or
| are we to watch, wait and pray for their
/ consent, or are We to go Oh regardless OF
| it. And in case we do go on to establish
| a stable government without their con-
| sent and they see fit to resist and to go
| into an insurrection-as they are now do
/ ing-against our present efforts to estab-
| lish a stable government, and We resort
| to arms to repress such resistance and in
| surrection and insist upon establishing 4
| stable government at the point Of the
! bayonet will not this bring us back into
| the slough Of Imperialism with the ghost
| of standing army in the back ground"
! There is only one sure escape from such
| a gloomy outcome: 1t is to leave it to
| the Filipinos to say what constitutes n
| stable form of government. Rlt ii we DO
| that. there is really no occasion for our
| giving any consideration at all TO their
| form of government. There is no need Of
| giving them any form of government at
| all. That should be left wholly to them
selves.
AS TO A PROTECTORATE. ~
Having given the Fi!ipinos stable form
of government, Mr.. Bryan would give
them their absolute independence and
then protect them from the interference
of other nations. If it is our duty to es