The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-07-04
TWO DEMOCRATIC VIEWS.

In the Democratic state convention Chair
man Ralston became the jealous and pa
thetic champion of Aguinaldo and the Fill
pinos generally. Copying from the litera-
ture Of the anti-imperialistic association
and other distinguished men who have used
their influence to prolong the war in the
Philippines, Mr.. Ralston told us that these
Filipinos were struggling for independence
the same as did the forefathers of SOM
of us. He gave us to understand that Agui-
naldo is the George Washington of the
period, and declared that all these Fill
pinos needed was an opportunity to set
up a self-government that would be a light
Tagalogs should get hold of the name and
speech of Chairman Ralston his name
would be added to the trinity of the cham
pions of the Aguinaldo despotism, making
a quartet. occupying the fourth place. while
Mr.. Bryan occupies the second.
But now we have heard from another
Democrat, the gallant Capt. David F. Allen,
in a long letter to the Frankfort Crescent,
TO which attention has been called. Captain
Allen has been in Luzon several months.
This letter presents the opinions of Taga-
logs by a Democrat on the ground, and it
may be well to make a few extracts there
from. Here they are:
In all things except plain and ornamental
lying the Filipino is ten centuries behind
the American, but in deceit, hypocrisy and
all that il requires to make a wholly unre-
liza hlp human being thew are ten centuries
ahead of us. . They speak Tagalo
very largely, a jargon of groans, grunts,
squeals and mixed sounds. The simplest
question cannot be answered. The men
when marching say to the natives 'tubig,"
and they know the soldiers want water.
The people are an understood, diseased
lot. But few but have "dobe itch" They
nave but little property, are ignorant, Graf
ty and superstitious. One-half of their time
is put in in worshiping, and their cere-
monies to us are full of pageantry, show
and glitter. Without the restraint of re-
ligion they would be yet more degraded.
. The truth is, We are in a "scrape"
and might have got our foot in IL If Bryan
had been President. We have purchased a
lot of secondhand islands with several
millions of the most undesirable tenants,
some monkeys, a few cariboos, a lot of
cheap ponies and millions of dogs thrown
in for measure. Ninety-nine out of every
hundred of these natives have no concep-
ton of self-government.
During the fall of 1898 Captain Allen was
one of the most strenuous advocates of
keeping all we got by conquest" Several
glowing speeches of his along that line can
be found in the files of Indianapolis papers.
But the point it is desired to impress is
that Captain Allen insists that these peo-
pie know nothing about self-government,
and the inference is that it will take years
to teach them to understand anything about
'the consent of the governed" Most of
those who have written about the natives
do not regard them as being as hopeless
as Captain Allen sees them. Now that
champion Of Aguinaldo, Mr.. Ralston, makes
the Tagalogs a very fine people ardently
seeking constitutional freedom. Captain
Allen. who is on the ground, declares that
the Tagalogs are the offscouring of the
world, incapable of anything like govern
ment. Both these eminent Democrats be-
long in the same congressional district.
Both are leaders. but both cannot be right.
Which view shall We accept? Shall it be
the consent of the governed should be
stopped and the abandonment of the Philip
pines advocated because the ignorance and
| depravity of their inhabitants make the
task of teaching them a hopeless one.