The Wilmington daily Republican., 1900-03-02
TALKING
ON PEACE.
The Speakers Call the Phil
ippine War One of Con-
quest and Extinction.

Under the auspices Of the Della
ware Peace Society a large audi
ence was present in the Friends
I Meeting House, Ninth and West
street, last night to listen to an adj
dress By Herbert Welsh, Of Phila-
delphia. The meeting was opened
by Chief Justice Lore in an address
in the course of which he said we
are engaged in war of aggression
and conquest, seeking to force our
Saxon civilization upon the Malay
an race, while we frankly admit
the race to be incapable of receiv-
ing it. We are in the Philippine
Islands unlimited; against the will
of the people; under the frank and
brutal admission of Senator Lodge
that we bought them from their
Spanish master, when, in fact,
those masters had never subdued
them and did not own them. 1t is 4
war Of conquest and determination
waged under the guise OF humanity
by the most advanced of Christian
nations.
"Strip this war of the lust of con-
quest, the greed OF commerce and
the pride OF dominion, we have left
only the sham pretense of the pro-
motion of Christianity and civiliza-
ton, using as it's instruments the
sword. the bayonet, gatling guns,
death-de aling shot and shell.
"England and the United States
seem both to have slipped from the
orbit of advanced civilization. Both
are waging bloody wars and have
retrograded to the arbitrament OF
blood"
sour Philippine war Plea for
Peace" was the sub ect of the ad-
dress delivered by Mr.. Welsh. He
SAID from the Christian and Ameri-
can points OF view. that Christ in
terpreted the law that duty toward
others was as we would expect
them ts treat us, and the statement
in the Declaration of Independence
"that all men are created tree and
equal and government to be true
and Just must be by consent He
spoke of the similarity of both ideas
and said the moment we leave them
we are giving the lie to Christianity
and leaving that which is the es-
sence and spirit Of the American
constitution
"Thc main power in the Philip
pine Island" ne said, twas the
orders of friars. They had the
power to make or unmake the
Spanish government, and unmade
it. Prior to the appearance OF
Dewey at Manila harbor a condi-
tion existed that was common all
over Europe, and especially in
Spain before the reformation. This
was the grinding tyranny under
which the people suffered. The
Spaniards were beside themselves
and had instituted horrible sys-
TEN of repression. Fllipinos were
thrown into dungeons and suffered
the tortures of the inquisition. Out
of these conditions sprung the de-
sire for independence, born in the
hearts of the Filipinos. How could
they have any other idea than of
liberty and independence"
The speaker reviewed the events
leading up to the war, battering
down the arguments of the eXpan-
sionists with facts which, he said,
were undenable. -Aguin aldo, he
said, is of simple, true and sincere
character, which stands out strong
and clear. He espoke of Aguinaldo's
interviews with a United States
commander representing Admiral
Dewey, and with United States
Consul E. Spencer Pratt at Singa-
pore. Aguinaldo said he would be
contented for himself and people
with the terms given Cuba, specify
ing independence. He dealt severe
ly with the manner of the govern
ment in dealing with the Filipinos
to break down their government,
and the government began to act
before it had a constitutional right
for so doing. "Thc most shameful
OF all this shameful business,
said the speaker, sis that these
people have been trod upon with an
iron heel when, instead, we should
have grasped and nourished and
thanked God for this promising
little republic. "