The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-10

lNCAfABLE Of' SELF-ION EMINENT.
But. senator's. il would be better to
abandon this combined garden and Gibral-
tar of the Pacific. and count our blood and
treasure already spent a profitable loss,
than TO apply any academic arrangement
of self-government to these children They
are not capable of self-government. How
could they be? They are not of a self
governing race. They are Orieutals, Ma
lays. instructed by spaniards in the lat
ters worst estate. They know nothing of
practical government except as they have
witnessed the weak, corrupt, cruel and
capricious rule of Spain. What magic will
any one employ to dissolve in their minds
and characters those impressions of gov
ernors and governed which three centuries
of misrule has created? What alchemy
will change the Oriental quality of their
blood and set the self-governing currents
of the American pouring through their
Malay veins? How shall they, in the
heights of self-governing peoples, which re-
quired thousand years for us to reach,
Anglo-Saxon though we are?
Let men beware how they employ the
term "self-government." 1t is a sacred
term. 1t is the watchword at the door of
the inner temple of liberty; for liberty does
not always mean Self-government. Self
government is a method of lberty-the
only after centuries Of study and struggle
and experiment and instruction, and all
the elements of the progress of man. Self
government is no base and common thing,
to be bestowed on the merely audacouS
1t is the degree which crowns the graduate
of liberty, not the name of liberty's infant
class, who have not yet mastered the al
phabet of freedom. Savage blood; Oriental
blood; Malay BLOOD Spanish example-are
these the elements of self-government?
We must act on the situation it eX-
lists, not as we would wish it, 1 have
talked with hundreds of these people, get
ting their views as to the practical work
ings of self-government. The great ma
Jority simply do Tot understand any par
ticipation in any government whatever.
The most enlightened among them de-
clare that self-government will succeed
because the employers of labor will COM
pei their employees to vote their employ
er wills, and that this will insure intel
ligent voting. l was assured that we could
depend upon good men always being in
office because the officials who constitute
the government will nominate their sue
cessors, choose those among the people
who will do the voting and determine how
and where elections will be held. The most
ardent advocate of self-government that
L met was anxious that / should know that
such government would be tranquil be-
cause, he said, If any one criticised it
the government WOULD shoot the offender.
A few OF them have sort of verbal I'M
derstanding of the democratic theory, but
the above are the examples of the practical
workings of self-government entertained
by the aristocracy, the rich planters and
traders, and heavy employers of labor,
the men who would run the government.
NO COMPETITION WITH LABOR.
Example for decades will be necessary
to instruct them in American ideas and
methods of administration Example, ex-
ample; always example; this alone will
,a1,t %I~A,v- lii,
is poor. Educators, both men and women,
to whom L have talked in Cebu and Luzon.
were unanimous in the opinion that in
all solid and useful education they are, as
people. dull and stupid. In SNOWY things,
like carving and painting, or embroidery,
or music, they have apparent aptitude,
but even this is superficial and never
thorough. They have facility of speech, too.
The three best educators on the island at
different times made to me the same COM
parison that the common people in their
stupidity, are like their caribou bulls. They
are not even good agricultursts. Their
waste of cane is inexcusable. Their destruc-
ton of hemp fibre is childish. They are
incurably incident They have no continu-
ity or thoroughness of industry. They will
quit work without notice and amuSe them
selves until the money they have earned
is spent. They are like children playing at
mems work. No one need fear their compe-
guile, force compel these children of
Incidence to leave their trifiing lives for
the fierce and fervid industry of high
wrought America. The very reverse is
the fact One great problem is the neces-
sary labor to develop these islands, to build
the roads, open the mines, clear the wilder
ness, drain the swamps dredge the har-
borS. The natives will not supply it; a
lingering prejudice against the Chinese
may prevent US from letting them supply
it. Ultimately, when the real truth of the
climate and human conditions is known,
1t is barely possible that our labor will go
there. Even now, young men with the right
moral fibre and little capital can make
fortunes there as planters. But the natives
will not come here. Let all men dismiss
that fear. The Dutch have Java, and it's
population under Hollands rule, has in
creased from 1900, 900 to more than 20, Co., =
600 people, yet the Java laborer has never
competed with the laborer of Holland. And
this is true of England and Germany, of
every colonizing, administering power The
native has produced luxuries for the la
borer of the governing country and af-
ford a market for what the laborer of the
governing country, in turn, produced.
In Paluan, the natives are primitive. In
Suu and Mndanao, the Moros are vigorous
and warlike, but have not the most ele-
mentary notions of civilization. For ex-
ample, they do not understand the utility
of roads Nothing exists but paths through
the Jungle / have ridden for hours in
Sulu over the most primitive paths, barely
not grasped the idea of private and per-
manent property in land. And yet, there
is no loveler spot, no richer land, no better
military and naval base than the Sulu
group. In Paluan, Sulu and Mindanao, the
strictest military government Is necessary,
indefinitely. The inhabitants can never be
made to work, can never be civilized. Their
destiny cannot be foretold. But whether
they will withstand civilization or disap-
pear before 1t, our duty is plain.
PLAN OF GOVERNMENT NEEDED.
In all the other islands our government
must be simple and strong. 1t must be a
uniform government. Different forms for
different islands will produce perpetual dis
| turbance, because the people of each island
would think that the people of the other
| islands were more favored than they. In
| Panay / heard murmurings that we were
giving Negros an American constitution
This is a human quality, found even in
| America. And we must never forget that
| in dealing with the Filipinos we deal with
children. And so our government must
| be simple and strong. Simple and strong,
the meaning of those two words must De
written in every line Of Philippine legis-
lation, realized in every act of Philippine
administration. a Philippine Office in ouI
| department of state, an American governor
general in Manila, with power to meet
| daily emergencies; possibly an advisory
| council with no power except that of dis
| cussing measures with the governor gen
| eral which council would be the germ fol-
! future legislatures, a school in practica
| government; American lieutenant governors
in each province, with like council about
| him; If possible, an American resident ir
| each district, and a like council grouped