The age-herald., 1900-03-08
SENATE DISCUSSED
 THE PHILIPPINES
Mason Wanted His Boer ReSoIu-
 ton Acted Upon.
SAYS IT WOULD BE PASSED
He Thinks the Committee on Foreign Relations Has No Intentions of Reporting Favorably or Ad-
 verseIy the Resolution

6epOrJlng x dVOrdDiy or Au- verseIy the Resolution Washington, March 7.-Soon after the senate convened today MT. Sullivan, of Mississippi, offered a resolution that the Philippine Islands are the rightful property. honorably acquired by the United States, and that while the misguided Filipinos con- tinue the present war brought on by them selves against the rightful authority of the United States, so long as a single gun in their hands is trained upon our flag, no ex- pression of intention as to the future course of the United States with respect to them should be made by the senate"
 MT Sullivan asked that the resolution lie on the table until he should call it up. MT. Mason, of Illinois, then gave notice that tomorrow after the morning hour he would enter a motion that the committee on foreign relations be discharged of fur ther consideration of his resolution express sive of the senates sympathy with the Boers in their struggle with Great Britain. He had, he said, introduced the resolu- tion on December 6, and it had been in the hands of the committee ever since. "I have no intention of violating the rules of the senate" said MT. Mason, "but it is clearly the intention of the foreign rela- tions committee to take no action in regard to the resolution, and want it brought in- to the senate and placed on the calendar. 'The committee could give us report if it would. If a majority of the commit tee is opposed to the resolution, let them report it adversely. That would be making some progress. l am satisfied that 90 per cent of the people of the country are in sympathy with the Boers in their war with Great Britain, and am just as certain that the majority of this body would favor the resolution 1 introduced. It is the merest child's play for us to sit f1ere and not be able to get a vote upon 1t"
 Mir. Lodge Speaks
 Jn accordance with the notice previously given, Mir Lodge of Massachusetts then addressed the senate on the Philippine question. As chairman of the committee on the Philippines and as member of the foreign relations committee, MT. Lodge was expected to make notable utterance on the question. He was given, therefore, an attentive hearing by both his colleagues on the floor of the senate and a large con- course of the auditors in the gallery
 MT. Lodges speech was based upon the bill introduced by MT. Spooner, of Wiscon- sin, vesting in the president authority to govern the Philippines until congress should otherwise provide for legislation.
 Senator Lodge declared that it would be a great mistake at this time to undertake any far-reaehing legislation dealing with the Philippines. The president, he said should be authorized to control the Philip pines, and our position should be clearly defined. He deprecated making party is- sue of the Philippines. He had been unable to discover what policy his political oppo- nents proposed.
 The resolutions offered by senators on the other side present no policy, but invite us to make promises. Promises are nither &C., ton nor policy. and, in the form of legis- lation are grave mistake. Those which involve in pledges of independence have the additional disadvantage of being the one sure means of keeping alive war and disorder in the islands. If we must aban- don the Philippines, let us abandon them frankly. If we mean to turn them over to domestic anarchy or foreign control, let us do it squarely. If we are to retain them let us deal manfully with the problems as they arise
 ''The policy we offer on the other hand is simple and straightforward. We believe in the frank acceptance of existing facts and in dealing with them as they are and not on theory or what they mlgnt ana ought to be. We accept the fact that the Philippine Islands are ours today and that are responsible for them before the world.
 ''The next fact that there is war in those islands, which, with its chief in hid ing, and no semblance of government, has now degenerated into mere guerrilla fight ing and brigandage Our immediate duty, the .fore, is to suppress this disorder, put an end to fighting and restore peace and or- der. That is what We are doing; that is all we are called upon to do, in order to meet the demands of the living present. Beyond this we ought not to go by an executive act except to make such provision that there may be no delay in re-establish- ing government when the war ends."
 MT Lodge quoted official documents and correspondence in support of his conten- tion that Dewey entered Into no political arrangements with Aguinaldo. He de- nounced as absolutely fictitious all state ments that Admiral Dewey saluted the Fil- ipino flag or received Aguinaldo with mili- tary honors, or in any way recognized the so-called Filipino government
 Captain Coghlan's Letters
 MT. Lodge presented an extract from a letter written by Captain Coghan, then of the Raleigh. detailing precisely what oc- cured at Subig Bay. Captain Cognlan said: "I wish to affirm as strongly as hu- man words can do so that Aguinaldo's peo- pie did not accompany us, and that they took no part whatever in that capture. No one but the admiral, Lieutenant Brum- by, Captain Walker and myself ever knew where we were to go. We left at midnight without lights of any kind, not even signal ing as usual for permission to get under way, and no one knew except the flagship and vessel or two near us that the vessels (Raleigh and Concord) had moved from their berths. It was not known until next morning that we had gone out of sight of our feet At this very time the so-called guniboat of Aguinaldo was anchored at Cavite, and did not learn of our departure until next day about noon. We captured Grande island about 10:30 a. m., July T. and no Filipino boat of any description ap- peared about Subig Bay until that evening about o'clock, when the other boats at Cavite came in and expressed the greatest surprise at our capture, telling us they had hoped to take part in the attack"
 Senator Lodge upheld the presidents