The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-03-12
Defends Pettigrew.

To the Editor of the Globe:
1t is claimed by those who now stand
responsible for our present policy in the
Philippines, since militarism and aggres-
sion now come to the front, that 1t is now
too late to review or criticise what has
been done, because such policy is no long
er debatable, since we have appealed to
the arbitrament of arms and a difference
of views no longer comes within the
pulse of reasonable discussion; but it
would seem that the American people
ought to know why g. peaceful solution
could not have been effected of this Phil
ippne question which seems possible
had the administration displayed a little
tact and forbearance, thus saving thou
sands of lives and hundreds of millions
of money that have been expended to
consummate crime. For this purpose
instituting Inquiries in the United States
senate and calling for all the Informal
| ton now at the disposal of the govern
ment. In going thus far it would seem
that no one has transcribed his consti-
tutional rights, the freedom of speech and
the freedom of discussion and inquiry
abused, and yet q coterie Of senators have
conspired to abridge the freedom Of
speech and shut off discussion upon the
Philippine question, and to make their
| possible they have charged that Senator
Pettigrew, by implication at least has
been guilty of treason and Of shedding
| the blood of our brave soldiers now ex-
purely mercenary Yet the head and
trent rGI Of Of his 9ffending amounts only to
| independence and autonomy. on whose
account the the war with Spain was
waged, then by all fairness and reason
| the Philippines ought to be eqaully con-
| sidered. If Senator PettlgTew has been
| guilty Of treason and bloodshed, what
shall we say Of President Mckinley when
| he says that forcible retention of the
| Philippines could not be thought of be-
| cause, under the moral code, that would
be criminal aggression. Neither Senator
| Pettigrew nor any other senator who is
| opposed to mllitarism in the Philippines
| has gone as far as that In forcible ex-
| preston or depreciation OF military rule,
and 1t would not be a great stretch Of
fancy Of the Filipinos on seeing our flag
waving in the Philippine breezes should
| imagine they saw President Mckinley
standing hard by Old Glory, shouting
rorc1Dle retention, moral code, criminal
| aggression, etc.
| Again on referring to the parliament
tary discussions at the time of the Amer
lean Revolution, we do not find anyone
charging Lord Chatham, Col Barre and
| many others with shedding the blood of
the English soldiers serving in the colo
! MES nor do We find q similar charge
against those who are now opposed to the
governments policy in South Africa or in
| our own country on the occasion Of our
| war with Mexico
The keynote Of senatorial aggressive
ness was sounded in the senate when
| our backWoods statesman, fresh from the
! dusky shades of hoosierdom, yclept
| Senator Beverage, made his elaborate
! speech before the United States senate
replete with rhodomontade and f1ambuoy-
ant rhetoric, setting forth his views upon
| the Philippine embroglio, and yet the giSt
/ or his argument amounted only TO this
| that the Filipinos are not capable of self
| government because of their ignorance.
And so he has shown an Arctic cold
| ness for the poor Malay on this account,
| but he seems to forget that the negroes
| or the South were twice as ignorant when
| infranchised and considered capable of
| self-government as are the Filipinos of
today. and so this statesman of the Wa
| bash has given the cue to our other SEN
ators and as the strength of the wolf
| lies in the pack so these have combined
| to destroy freedom of debate, and to brow
| beat and force the threats of those who
are opposed to militarism in the Philip
| pines; Howbeit the grounds of anti-im-
| cy is We'll taken. for it is openly avowed
by eXpansionists that the Philippines are
! not the real objective point of our pres
ence in the Orient, but that China is,
and that the Philippines are to be the
| entering wedge, and as England found
dia SO we are to find our way
| to the heart Of China through the Philip
! pines But in formulating a new policy
! IN the Eastern hemisphere we must aban-
| don our old condition in the Western
| hemisphere, and it is on these grounds
taken their stand, for they find no
| equivalent In the East for the loss of the
| Monroe doctrine, and as this doc
trine. as has been declared by an
eminent jurist. rests upon a principle
| that is calculated to endure for all
wise, 1t ought not to be abandoned; and
|