Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-07

which some people in this country were so
anxious to recognize, has ceased to exist.
There never was anything really to be rec
ognized except Aguinaldo himself and the
adventurers who surrounded him, and now
his counselors are in prison and he cannot
be found. He, with his government con-
cealed about his person, is lost somewhere
in the Jungle"
Mr.. Lodge detailed at length the methods
employed by Dictator" Aguinaldo's army
how 1T burned the villages, pIundered
the Inhabitants and laid waste the couu-
try. He instanced the efforts that have
been made to burn Manila and massacre
the foreign population. which were frus-
trated only by the vigilance Of the Ameri-
can soldiers.
Mr.. Lodge then continued
Behind all this lies the policy of the
President, which our officers followed by
sea and land. History will say that it has
been firm, consistent and humane from the
beginning. No false hopes were held out.
From the dispatch of May % onward the
attitude of our government was clear and
unmistakable: But every real hope. every
proper promise, was freely offered and
never violated. There are many duties
imposed upon a President in which 1t is
easy to imagine personal or selfish mo-
tive, In which such motives might exist
most malignant must be at loss to find
the existence of a bad motive possible.
Suddenly at the end of the Spanish war
we were confronted with the question of
Their fate was in our hands. We were all
able to discuss them and to speculate as to
what should be done. No responsibility
rested upon us. But one man had to act.
While tho rest of the world was talking he
had to be doing The iron hand of neces-
sity was upon his shoulder, and upon his
alone. Act he must. No man in that high
office seeks new burdens and fresh reSpon-
Slbllit1eS or longs to enter on new policies
with the unforeseen dangers which lie thick
along untried paths. Every selfish motive,
every personal interest cried out against 1t.
EVERY selfish motive, every personal inter-
est urged the President to let the
Philippines go, and, like Gallo, to care
for none of these things. 1t was so
easy to pass by on the other side. But he
faced the new conditions which surged up
around him. When others then knew little
he knew much. Thus he came to see what
duty demanded, duty to ourselves and to
others. Thus he came to see what the in
terests of the American people required.
Guided by this sense Of duty. by the spirit
of the American people in the past, by
wise Craftsmanship. which looked deeply
into the future. he boldly took the islands.
Since this great decision his policy has been
firm and consistent. He has sought only
what was best for the people of those is
lands and for his own people. It Is all
there In the record: Yet, although he
fought in his youth for liberty and union,
he is now coarsely accused Of infatuation
for vulgar Caesarism. He who is known
to everybody as one Of the kindest of men,
eager 10 10 klnQly acts TO every one Is de-
nounced as brutal and inhuman to a distant
race whom he has sought in every way to
benefit. When every selfish interest drew
him in the other direction he has been
charged with self-seeking Tor following the
hard and thorny path Of duty.
The President Needs No Defense.
Il hesitate in saying even as much as I
have said. The President OF the United
States needs no defense at my hands. His
own policy and his own acts in the east
are his all-sufacient defense. both now and
in history. But I have read and heard
with amaxement and regret the attacks
which have been made upon the President
in connection with the Philippines. am
well aware that mahgnity cannot raise I'm
beciHty above contempt know that only
weak minds and bad tempers mistake
abuse for argument am sure that IT is
needless to repel attacks from such
sources. But, none the less. as one who
has followed and studied all the details OF
his eastern policy, wish to make public
record of my admiration for that policy
and Of my belief In It. As an American L
believe 1t to be at once courageous. wise