Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-08-14

nlZed that the ADMINS tration Would neces
sariy gain political advantage from
the conduct of n war which, i'm the yer,
nature OF the case. must soon end in q
complete victory. they We'd with the re.
publicans in the support which they gave
to the president. When the war was
over and lhe republican leaders began tc
suggest the propriety of colonial policy
opposition at once manifested itself
When the president finally laid before the
senate treaty which recognized the in
dependence of Cuba, but provided for the
ceSsion of the Philippine islands to the
United States, the menace of Imperialism
became apparent that many preferred
to reject the treaty and risk she ills tina.
might follow rather than take the chance
of correcting the errors of the treaty by
the Independent action OF this country.
Trust in the People.
] was among the number OF those who
believed It better to ratify the treitty and
end the war, release the volunteers re-
move the excuse For war expenditures. and
then give to the Tlipinos the indepcn
dence which might be forced from Spain
by new treaty.
In view of the criticism which my ac-
lion aroused In some quarters take this
occasion to restate the reasons given at
that time. I thought it safer to trust the
American people to give independence to
the F'ilipinos than to trust the accom-
plishment of that purpose to diploma cy
with an unfricndly nation. Lincoln en-
bodied an argument in the question, when
he asked: Can aliens make treaties
easier than friends can make laws?"
believe that we are now in n better posi-
ton to wage n successful contest against
Imperialism than we would have been
had the treaty been rejected With the
treaty ratified, a clean cut issue is pre-
tod l,at,
and government by force, and imperial
lists must bear the responsibility for all
that happens until the question is settled.
If the treaty had been rejected, the OPP
ponents of Imperialism would have been
held responsible for any international
complications which might have arisen
before the ratification of another treaty
But whatever differences of opinion may
have existed as to the best method of OPP
posing the colonial policy, there never was
any difference as to the great Importance
| of the question and there is no difference
! now as to the course to be pursued.
Promises to the Filipinos.
The title of Spain being extinguished
we were at liberty to deal with the Fill
pinoS according to American principles
The Bacon resolution, introduced a month
before hostilities broke out at Manila
promised independence to the Filipinos on
the same terms that 1t was promised to
the Cubans. l supported this resolution
and believe that its adoption prior to the
breaking out of hostilities would have
prevented bloodshed. and that its alop-
ton at any subsequent time would have
| ended hostilities
If the treaty had been rejected, consid.
cradle time would have necessarily
elapsed before a new treaty could have
| been agreed upon and ratified. and during
| tl,N 1Nary han
| agitating the public mind If the Bacor
resolution had been adopted by the senate
and carried out by the president, atbel
at the time of the raF6eation of tht
| treaty or at any TING afterwards, 1t would
ha.ss-@sskef the question of imperialism
y7out of politics and left the American peo-
pie free to deal with their domestic prob
lens. But the resolution was defeated by
the vote of the republican vice president,
and from that time to this a republican
congress has refused to take any action
whatever in the matter.
Cowardly Accusations.
When hostilities broke out at Manila.
republican speakers and republican edit
ors at once sought to lay the blame upon
those who had delayed the ratification of
the treaty, and, during the progress of
the war, the same republicans have ac-
cused the opponents of Imperialism of CIV
is a cowardly evasion of responsibility.
If it is right for the United States to
hold the Philippine Islands permanently
and initiate European empires In the gov
eminent of colonies, the republican party
ought to state its position and defend it.
but it must expect the subject races to
protest against such policy and to resist
to the extent of their ability The Filipinos
do not need any encoura cement from Amer
leans now living. Our whole history has
been an encouragement, not only to the
Filpinos but to all who are denied voice
in their own government. If the republic
ans are prepared to cenSurc all who have
used language calculated to make the
Filipinos hate foreign domination, let them
condemn the speech of Patrick Henry.
When he uttered that passionate appeal:
Give me liberty or give me DEATH, he
expressed a sentiment which still echoes
in the hearts OF men. Let them censure
Jefferson; of all the statesmen of history,
none have used words SO offensive to those
who would hold their fellows in political
bondage Let them censure Washington
who declared that the colonists must
choose between liberty and slavery Or
if the statute of limitations has run against
the sins of Henry and Jefferson and Wash
ington, let them censure Lincoln. whose
Gettysburg speech will be quoted in de-
Tense of popular government when the
present advocates of force and conquest
are forgotten.
Some one has said that truth once
spoken can never be recalled. 1t is true
1t goes on and on, and no one can set a
limit to its ever widening influence. But
if it were possible to obliterate every WORD
written or spoken in defense of the prin-
ciples set forth in the declaration of in
dependence. a war of conquest would still
leave its legacy of perpetual hatred, for
it was God Himself who placed in every
hun haoy 81 Is, <,fI
made race of people so low in the scale
of civilization or intelligence that 1t would
welcome a foreign master.
Lincoln said that the safety of this nation
was not in its fleets. its armies or it's forts
but in the spirit which prizes liberty anC
the heritage of all men, in all lands, every.
where; and he warned his countrymen tina
they could not destroy this spirit without
planting the seeds of despotism at their
own doors
Those who would have this nation en-.
ter upon a career of empire must conside,
not only the effect of Imperialism on the
Filipinos but they must also calculate its
effect upon our own nation. We canno,
repudiate the principle of self-govern
ment in the Philippines without weaken
Ing that principle here.
PnrnIyzinE Imperialism.
Even now we are beginning to see tn.
paralyzing influence of imperialism. Here.
tofore. this nation has been prompt to eX.
press its sympathy with those who were
fighting for civil liberty. While our sphere
of activity has been limited to the west
ern hemisphere. our sympathies have not
been bounded by the seas. We have felt
1t due to ourselves and to the world. as
we'll as to those who were struggling for
the right to govern themselves, to pro-
claim the interest which our people have,
from the date of their own independence
felt in every contest between human
rights and arbitrary power. Three-quar-
| tiers of century ago. when our nation
| was small, the struggles of Greece
aroused our people, and Webster and Clay