Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-16
FUTURE OF PHILIPPINES
Senator Wolcott Defends the Administra-
tons Course.
Bitter Attack on Mr.. Pettigrew's OPP
position-DOes Not Agree Entire
ly With Mr.. Beveridge.

Win VII. beveF1OEcs
The future of the Philippines continued
to occupy the Senate yesterday afternoon
until o'clock, Mr.. Wolcott speaking at
length in support of expansion, and Mr..
Pettigrew replying briefly to some of his
statements
After The Stars report Of proceedings
in the Senate was closed yesterday after
noon Mr.. Wolcott said that in his opinion
any general discussion Of our policy toward
the Philippines seemed to him out Of place
at this time. Our first duty, he sad was
to Quell the instruction. When that pre-
vailed 1t was time enough to bring order
out Of chaos that existed there. He would
not have replied at all save for the re
markable and Incorporate utterances of
the senator from South Dakota No bet
ter demonstration of the value of the
Senate as public forum could be found
than this speech.
There were in this country 100000 of
people, good, bad and Indifferent. They
were mostly good but scattered through
every community there were the discon-
tented and unhappy; people who had not
been successful and who viewed with
picion and hatred all whose lives had
been crowned with success In the warm
sunshine they saw only the shadows; be-
hind every. good action they looked for
lurking sinister purpose. There was but
a step from individual to national hatred;
hatred of the country. which nourished and
protected them. 1t fitting that such
people should be represented here.
Bitter Denunciation.
"And 1 know of no man so fitted to speak
for them as the senator from South Da-
kota," said Mr.. Wolcott, turning his eyes
upon Mr.. Pettigrew, who sat close to him
and who returned the gaze of his assailant
During all the years 1 have known him."
continued Mr. Wolcott, Il never knew him
to say kind friendly word about a
single person or a single cause 1t is not
only valuable that such persons as l have
mentioned should be represented here, that
their views should be aired and ventilated,
but 1t is of great importance that those
views may serve as a warning and detri-
! ment to the young men who are growing
to manhood and upon whom eventually the
responsibility of government will fall. They
should see how important it is that they
should cultivate a good digestion, a hope
full heart and cheerful mind
Mr.. Wolcott said he did not share the Sug
gestions that utteranceS here had any in
1uence upon the Insurgents If Agunaldo
had his ear to the ground he must know
how utterly trif1ing is the captious cav.ing
that went on here. There was not an hon
est democrat who did not admit that if his
party We're in power the first thing to be
done would be to crush the insurrection.
IF our soldiers in Manila will take care
of Aguinaldo and his sympathizers as they
are doing" said he, our people at home
will take care of Aguinaldos sympathizers
in the Senate and in the country"
Mr.. Wolcott recalled Mr.. Pettigrews
statement that If he Pettigrew) were
Filipino he would fight until he was gray
against the aggressiveness of the United
States. -.-.-
II have no doubt he would fight" re-
marked Mr. Wolcott sarcastically, IF he
were Tagal 1t is possible they might
take him by adoption. 1 can picture him
now-clad principally in the genial, pleas
ant smile for which he is noted Qaughter)
blazing away with his blunderbuss against
every one in sight. A suggestion that the
senator and Aguinaldo inaugurate an ex-
change might for the purpose of expert
ment, not be without it's attraction. If the
exchange should take place and if Aguinal-
do, brave, loyal and patriotic, stood here
whose sons had bled and died in defense
of the flag, he would not be found traduc-
ing the President of the United States and
s1andering and maligning the soldiers at
the front, charging them with being swim
dlers and defrauders."
Every Step Honorable.
The resolutions to which Mr.. Pettigrew
had been speaking Mr.. Wolcott declared
were Of no importance because they were
smothered and engulfed in the broader res
olution that called for all information in
the possession Of the executive. They were
simply petty earnings, which contained the
suspicious intima ton that there had been
crooked and dishonorabe conduct No step
had been taken, Mr.. Wolcott asserted, that
did not reflect honor upon the people of
the United States. He read from the Pres
identS message the extract about the duty
of the government after the instruction
was over to spare mo effort to build up
the waste places" ito open schools and
churches, ito foster trade and industry"
and concluding with the words that it was
their liberty, not our power, which we
are seeking to enhance"
That said Mr.. Wolcott, "is the last
treatment of the FiIipinos is described by
the senator from South Dakota as brutal
and cruel
There might be something worse in store
LOT the SaVages of the islands," Mr.. VOL
cott SAID, than asking them to take not
luck with American laws and American
government and the proud destiny of the
American republic"
Why We Took the Philippines.
Turning to the other view of the case,
Mr. Wolcott said that while the utterances
Of Mr.. Pettigrew were deplorable, he was
still unable to acquiesce in the utterances
OF the extremists on the other side We
had taken the Philippines, he said, not as
conquest, but as one of the highest duties
we owed the human race. We had entered
into the war with Spain because We could
not listen to the cries of distress that
came from Cuba We had girded up our
loins for the fray with the assertion that
we were not entering upon a war of ag-
gression. When we inaugurated the war
no one dreamed of the Philippines, but
when it closed so quickly and so victorious
ly we found 100000 people suffering OPP
preston and cruelty. Spain defeated and
bankrupt and the Philippine Islands floating
derelict. We had taken them because to
have allowed them to drift helplessly into
the power of another would have raised in
ternatonal complications. We would have
been compelled to take them had they been
as bleak and barren the desert of Sa-
hara. Mr. Wolcott said we might be COM
PEELED to keep the islands Indefinitely.
Differed With Beverfdxe
He then directed attention to the speech
delivered by Mr.. Beveridge last week. He
did not approve of the resolution of Mr..