The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1900-08-16
OUR TITLE TO THE ISLANDS.
Wore the People Thrown In with tho ORR
ontal Real Estats7

Wore the People Thrown In with tho ORR
entail Real Estats7
What is our title to the Philippine
islands? Do we hold them by treaty
or by conquest2 Did we buy them or
did. we take them? Did we purchase
the people? II not. how did we secure
title to them? Were they thrown In
with the land? VIII the Republicans
say that inanimate earth has value,
and when that earth Is nodded by the
Divine Hand and stamped with the
likeness of the Creator 1t becomes
fixture and passes with the soil? IL
governments derive their just powers
from the consent of the governed 1t Is
| impossible to secure title to people,
either by force or by purchase. We
could extinguish Spain's title by treaty,
but IL we hold title we must hold 1t
by some method consistent with our
ideas of government When we made
allies of the Filipinos and armed them
to buy Spain's title we are not inno-
cent purchasers But even " we had
not disputed Spain's title she could
transfer no greater title than she had,
and her title was based on force alone.
We cannot defend such title, but as
Spain gave us a quit claim deed we
can honorably turn the property over
to the party in possession. Whether
any American official gave the Fill
pinos formal assurance Of indepen-
dence Is not material. There can be
no doubt that we accepted and utilized
the services of the Filipinos, and that
when we did so we had full knowledge
that they were fighting for their own
independence, and l submit that his
tory furnishes no example Of turpitude
baser than ours II we now substitute
our yoke for the Spanish yoke.
Let us consider briefly, the reasons
which have been given In support OF
an imperlalistic policy. Some say that
1t is our duty to hold the Philippine
islands. But duty is not an argument;
1t is conclusion. To ascertain what
our duty is in any emergency we must
apply well settled and generally ac'
cepted principles. 1t is our duty to
avoid stealing, no matter whether the
thing to be stolen is OF great or little
value. Every one recognizes the obliga
tion imposed upon individuals to OBJ
serve both the human and moral law
but as some deny the application OF
those laws to nations 1t may not be out
Of place to quote the opinion Of 9th
ers. jefferson, than whom there is NJ
higher political authority, said: 81
know of but one code of morality fol
. men, whether acting singiy or col
lectivelyr Franklin, whose learning
wisdom and virtue are a part OF the
priceless legacy bequeathed to us from
the revolutionary days, expressed thu
same idea in even stronger language
when he said Justice is as strictl,
, due between neighbor nations as be
tween neighbor citizens.
Force can defend right, but fore
} has never yet created a right. II !
was true, as declared in the resolu
: tions of Intervention, that the Cuban
"are and OF right ought to be free AM
: Independent" Language taken from tn
Declaration of Independence, 1t
|, equally true that the Filipinos "ar
!, and of right ought to be free and inde
? pendent" Who will draw
3 line between the natural rights of tn
Cubans and the Filipinos? Who wi
. say that the former has right to lit
I erty and that the latter has no right
!; which we are bound to respect? An
|. il the Filipinos "are and Of right ough
q to be free and Independent what righ
e have we to force our government upo
IA