The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1900-08-10

/ stitutionai guarantees and is subject TO
| the same general laws as citizen OF
state. Take away this security and his
sacrificed at the dema nd OF those whchave
| political influence. This is the evil of the
| colonial system. no matter by what nation
il is applied.
I Title to the Philippines.
| What is our title to the Philippine is
| lands? DO we hold them by treaty or by
/ conquest? Did We buy them or did We
take them? Did we purchase the peo-
title to them7 Were they thrown
| In with the land7 VIII the repub
leans say that inanimate earth has value.
/ and when that earth Is nodded by the
Divine hand and stamped with the like
ness of the Creator IL becomes a fixture
derive their Just powers from the con-
sent of the governed, IL is impossible to
secure title to people. either by force or
| by purchase. We could extinguish SPANS
title by treaty. but II we hold title we
must hold IL by some method consistent
with our ideas of government When We
made allies Of the Filipinos and armed
them to fight against Spain. we disputed
| SPANS title. IL we buy SPANS title we
are not innocent purchasers. But even
II we had not disputed SPANS 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 Filipinos for
NAL assurance of independence is not
material. There can be no doubt that we
accepted and utilized the services of the
Fflipinos, and that when we did so we had
for their own independence, and submit
that history furnishes no example of
| furpitude baser than ours II we now SUBJ
stitute our yoke for the Spanish yoke.
Let us consider briefly the reasons
which have been given in support of an
imperialstic policy. Some say that IL is
our duty to hold the Philippine islands.
But duty is not an argument; 1t is a con-
clusion. To ascertain what our duty is.
in any emergency, we must apply we'll
| settled and generally accepted principles.
1t Is our duty to avoid stealing, no matter
whether the thing to be stolen is of great
| or little 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 recognizes
the obligation imposed upon individuals to
| observe both the human and moral laws.
/ but. as some deny the application of those
| laws to nations, IL may not be out of
place to quote the opinion of others. JEFF
| ferson. than whom there is no higher po-
| litical authority, said:
II know of but one code of morality for
men, whether acting singly or collec-
| lively"
| Franklin. whose learning. wisdom and
! virtue are part of the priceless legacy
bequeathed to us from the revolutionary
| stronger language when he said:
Justice is as strictly due between
neighbor nations between neighbor
citizens. A highwayman is as much a
| robber when he plumbers in gang
| when singly; and the nation that makes
an unjust war is only a great gang"
Force Creates No Right.
Men may dare to do in crowds what they
| would not dare TO do as individuals, but
1 the moral character of an act is not &C.
/ termined by the number OF those who join
/ in IL. Force can defend a right, but force
has never yet created a right. II y was
4 a . rod In ha nlEfr NE Of In
/ PREVENTION, that the Cubans are and of
/ right ought to be free and Independent"
| Language taken from the declaration of
independence, ii Is equally true that the
| Filipinos ARE and of right ought to be free
| and independent" The right of the Cubans
/ to freedom was not based upon their prox-
| unity to the United States, nor upon the
| language which they spoke, nor ret upon
| the race or races to which they belonged
/ Congress by a practically unanimous vote
declared that the principles enunciated at
/ Philadelphia in lI76 were still alive and
! applicable to the Cubans
| Who Will draw line between the natural
| rights of the Cubans and the Filipinos?
| Who will say that the former has a right
TO- liberty and that the latter has no rights
| which We are bound to respect? And. IL the
| Fflipinos are and of right ought to be
| free and independent what right have we
to force our government upon them with
out their consent? Before our duty can be
l ascertained. their rights must be deter
| mined. and when their rights are once de-
| termined, ii is as much our duty TO respect
| those rights as it was the duty of Spain
to respect the rights of the people of Cuba
or the duty of England to respect the
| rights of the American colonists Rights
| never conflict; duties never clash. Can
| 1t be our duty to usurp political rights
which len, belong to others? Can it be our duty
to Kill those who, following the example
OF our forefathers, love liberty we'll enough
| to fight for itt
Some poet has described the terror which
overcame a soldier who, in the midst of
battle discovered that ne had slain his
brother 1t is written: IAN We are breth-
ren. Let US hope for the coming of the
destroyed. cannot be restored-will be so
| sacred that 1t will never be taken except
| when necessary to punish crime already
| committed or to prevent a crime about
to be committed.
II it is said that we have assumed before
| the world obligations which make IL neces-
| sary for us TO permanently maintain a
government in the Philippine islands /
reply. first. that the highest obligation of
TINS nation is TO be true to itself. No obli-
CATION TO any particular nation, or to all
| nations combined, can require the abandon
ment , OF our theory of government and the
| substitution OF doctrines against which
our whole national life has been a protest
And. second. that our obligations to the
| t1lipinos. who inhabit the islands are
greater than any obligations which we can
owe to foreigners who have a temporary
residence in the Philippines or desire to
trade there.
Capacity of Self-Government.
1t Is argued by some that the FfIipinos
|
| tnat therefore we owe IL to the world 10
take control of them. Admiral Dewey in an
omcidl report TO the navy department de-
elared the Filipinos more capable of self
government than the Cubans. and said
mat ne based his opinion upon a knowI-
edge OF both races. But / will not rest
the case upon the relative advancement
OF tie filipinos Henry Clay in defend
ing the rights of the people of South
America to self-government said:
| IL is the doctrine of thrones that man
is TOO ignorant to govern himself Their
! partisans assert his incapacity In refer
ence to all nations II they cannot com
mand universal assent to the proposition.
| IL is then remanded to particular nations
ana our pride and our presumption too
| oIten make converts of u.s. | contend
mat It Is to arraign the disposition OF
Providence Himself. to suppose that He
has created beings incapable of govern
Ing themselves. and TO be trampled on by
kings. Self-government Is the natural
| government of man"
Clay was right. There are degrees
or proficiency In the art of self-goVern-
ment, but 1t is reflection upon the Crea
tor to say that He denied to any people
the capacity of self-government Once
admit that some people are capable OF
self government, and that others are not
and that the capable people have a right