Evening star., 1900-04-17

ty?
Title to Territory in Dispute.
81 affirm that you cannot get by conquest
and you cannot get by purchase, according
to the modern law of nations, according to
the law of nations as accepted and ex-
pounded by the United States, sovereignty
over people. or title to a territory, of
which the power that undertakes to sell 1t
or the power from whom you undertake to
wrest it has not the actual possession and
dominion. Under municipal law you can
not buy horse of which the seller Is dis
possessed: you cannot buy foot of land of
which he is disseized. You cannot purchase
lawsuit. Under international law you
cannot buy people from a power that has
no actual dominion over them. You cannot
buy war. More than this, you cannot buy
tyrant's claim to subject again an op-
pressed people who have achieved their
freedom.
You cannot buy the liberties of a people
from a dispossessed tyrant, liberties they
nave bravely won for themselves in arms.
You cannot buy sovereignty like merchan-
disc and men like sheep. The King of Eng
land kept, down to 1900, the title of Duke of
Normandy and King of France. Could any
other country or all Europe together have
bought France of King George? 1 wonder
what would have happened If, instead of
acknowledging our independence. any time
before the French treaty France had bought
england out and undertaken to assert her
title to the United States. These questions
nave to be answered, not amid the shouting
and applause of political campaign, not in
party Platforms not alone in single cam
paign or single generation. They have
got to be answered to history, to the in
structed conscience of the civilized world
ambitions of a single generation have gone
by and are cold. And there will be to them
but one answer.
States Out of New Territory.
Gentlemen tell us that the bill of the
senator from Wisconsin is copied from that
introduced in Jefferson's time for the pur-
chase of Louisiana Do you claim that you
propose to deal with these people as JEFF
ferson meant to deal with Louisiana? You
talk of Alaska, of Florida, of California; do
you mean to deal with the Philippines as We
mean to deal with Alaska and dealt with
Florida or California?
Il repeat. In every acquisition of terri
tory we ever made we meant to make states
OF 1t. Jefferson expressly saws so in his
Louisiana message There was no nation
owning and dwelling on the territory; no
people In the sense Of the declaration: no
organized national life: and certainly, in
every case but Louisiana, we had reason
to believe that the few scattered dwellers
In the territory approved the transaction"
The Filipinos.
Proceeding to speak of the Fiiipinos, Mr.
Hoar went on to demonstrate the follow
Ing propositions, quoting at length from
numerous reports Of our military command
ers and consular officers:
Now, Mr.. President, there is no his
toric fact more clearly established by his
toric testimony than the facts
First that these people were aiming at
independence from the beginning
Second that they achieved independence
Third, that our commanders. naval and
military, our Secretary of War; our ad-
ministration at home, knew all the time
that they were aiming, striving at inde-
pendence
Fourth, that encouraged them by ev-
cry form of practical assurance.
Would Have Prevented War.
IF We had dealt with them in the treaty
of peace as we dealt with Cuba there would
have been no war.
IF We had not hurried reinforcements to
Manila both of ships and of men, strength
ening the forces of our army and navy
there after Spain had yielded, there would
have been no war.
IF the urgent request of Aguinaldo, after
the outbreak of the 9Th of February, that
hostilities might cease, had not been met
by the declaration of Otis that fighting
must go on" there would have been no
war.
IF Aguinaldos offer to withdraw his
troops and make a wider belt between the
two armies had been met in like spirit
there would have been no war.
IF senators had not been talking about
holding on to all they could get about maxi
ing money out of their great act of liberia
tion, about keeping from the people of these
islands their liberty and their independence
for purposes of gain and trade, there would
have been no war.
And now the attempt to charge this
thing upon those of US who have but pro-
claimed the doctrine of the Declaration of
Independence and have but repeated again
the Cuban resolutions; who have but quot
ed the language of the President of the
United StateS-the reSDOpSihi1ity
hostilitfes-is a proceeding not matched in
impudence since the day of the upstream
wolf and the downstream lamb"
What He Would Do.
Mr.. Hoar presented the following outline
of his policy:
Il. l would declare now that we will not
take these islands to govern them against
their will.
''2. l would reject cession of sovereignty
which implies that sovereignty may be
bought and sold and delivered without the
consent of the people. Spain has no right
full sovereignty over the Philippine Islands.
cannot rightfully buy 1t from her.
%. l would require all foreign govern
ments TO keep out of these islands.
Il. l would offer to the people of the
Philippines our help in maintaining order
until they have q reasonable opportunity
TO establish government of their own.
d. 1 would ald them by advice, If they
desire it, to set up a free and Independent
government.
&c. 1 would invite all the great powers
of Europe to unite in an agreement that
that independence shall not be interfered
with by us, by themselves, or by any ono
of them with the consent of the Others
-. l would declare that the United States
will enforce the same doctrine as applicable
to the Philippines that we declared as to
Mexico and Haiti and the South American
1t is true that the Monroe doc
trine, doctrine based largely on our re-
gard for our own interests, is not appli-
cable either in terms or in principle 20 a
distant Asiatic territory. But undoubtedly,
having driven out Spain, we arc bound and
have the right, to secure to the people we
have liberated an opportunity, undisturbed
and in peace. to establish a new govern
ment for themselves.
'S. l would then. in not distant future
leave them to work out their own saliva
tion. as every nation on earth, from the
of time, has wrought out its own
salvation. Let them work out their. own
as our own ancestors slowly and
In long centuries wrought out theirs; as
Germany, as Switzerland, as France in
briefer periods wrought out theirs; as
Mexico and the South American republics
nave accomplished theirs, all of them with