The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1900-08-10

has l. fl the Republican party rather
than be silent when he believed that
sympathy ought to be expressed for
those who were fighting the same
kind of battle that our forefathers
fought century and a quarter ago.
LET us consider briefly the reasons
which have been given in support of
an imperialistic policy. Some say
that 1t Is our duty to hold the Philip.
pine Islands. But duty Is not an ar
gument. 1t Is conclusion. To
ascertain what our duty Il in any
emergency we must apply we'll set
tied and generally accepted princi.
pies. It is our duty to avoid steal.
ing, no matter whether the thing be
stolen Is of great or small value. 1t
Is our duty to avoid killing human
being, no matter where the human
being lives, or to what race or class
he belongs. Everyone recogniz es
the obligation imposed upon indi-
vtduil to observe both the human
and moral law, but as some deny the
application of those laws to nations,
it may not be out of place to quote
the opinion Of others. Jefferson,
than whom there is no higher
political authority, said:
~ kcow of but one code of
morality for man. whether acting
singly or collectively
Franklin, whose learning, wis
dom and virtue are part uf the
priceless legacy bequeathed to US
from the revolutionary days, ex
pressed the same idea in even
stronger language when he said:
"'Justice is as strictly due be-
tween neighbor nations as between
neighbor citizens. A highwayman
is as much robber when he plum.
ders in gang as when singly. and
the nation that makes an unjust
war is only great gang
Men may dare to do in crowds
what they would not dare to do as
individuals. but the moral character
of an act il not determined by the
number of those who join in it.
Force can defend right, but force
has never yet created right. Ii it
was true, as declared In the resolu-
tion of Intervention, that the Cube us
are and of right ought to be free
and independent Language taken
from the Declaration of Independ-
ence), it is equally true that the
Filipfnos are and of right ought to
be free and independ Mt. The right
of the Cub4ns to freedom was not
based upon their proximity to the
United States, nor upon the language
which they spoke, nor yet upon the
race or races to which they belonged
Congress, by a practically unani-
nous vote, declared that the prin-
cip'es enunciated at Philadelphia in
l776 were still alive and applicable
to the Cubans."
Republicans ask: Shall we hau
down the flag that floats over our
dead in the Philippines? The same
question might have been asked
when the American flag tioated over
Chapultepec and waved over The
dead who fell there; but the tourist
who visits the City of Mexico find:
there national cemetery, owned By
the United States and cared for by al
American citizen. Our flag still
floats over our dead, but when the
treaty with Mexico was signed
American authority withdrew to thu
Rio Grande, and venture the opin
ion that during the last fifty year
the people Of Mexico have made NOR
progress under the stimulus of indie
pendence and self. government thar
they would made under carpet-ba,
gov 6l II IlCHb hClo III paw ny boJ "
nets. The Ulited States and Mexi
CO, friendly republics, are each hap
r pier than they would have been hat
, the former been cursed and the lat
, ter crushed by an imperialistic pol
: Icy, disguised as benevolent assimi
ton.
"'Can we not govern cOionies?' W
are asked. The question is notwha
we can do, but what we ought to dc
The nation can do whatever it de
sires to do but it must accept respon
sibility for what it does, Ii the Cor
stitution stands in the way, the pee
pie can amend the Constitution.
repeat, the nation can do whateve
it desires to do, but it cannot avoi
the natural anf Legitimate results {
it's own conduct. The young ma
upon reaching his majority can d
| what he pleases. He can disregar
the teachings of his parents; he ca
, trample upon all that he has bee
taught to consider sacred; he ca
Is disobey the laws of the State, tt