The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1900-03-03
CARL SCHURZ ON EXPANSION.
DISCUSSES THE PHILIPPINE
AND PORTO RICO
QUESTION.
SCORES THE MCKINLEY ADMIN
ISTRATION
From the Philadelphia Leiger, Feb, %,

At meeting OF Antt-lmperialIStS at fhIla-
deiphia. Pa, last week. Hon. Carl Schurz
was the principal speaker. He said:
For more than three quarters of "a century
a war of our own making and the period ot
our civil conflict excepled-the American peo-
pie have enjoyed the sneshmahle boon of II
substantial unarmed peace in perfect security.
Until recently We valued this priceless privi-
lege so heartily and proudly that we 10 lked
down with pitying superiority upon the nations
OF the old world, seeing them grieyously bur
dened with their monstrous military aud naval
establishments; and we watched with almost
diSdantul smile their nceSSant efforts to IN
crease those burdens in their nervous anxiety
lest some rival might get an andvantage: until
at last one of their mghtieSt rulers truthfuly
confessed that the ruinOus competition eozld
not much longer 60 on without fatal conse-
quences. And we were the only great nation
on earth securely free from these drag weights
and worries.
Therefore, we could not have war unless
We kicked some foreign nation into it, Even
all our wishes concerning Cuba would prob
ably have been conceded by Spain without
firing a gun, if we had only waited In one
word, il was the first precept of European
craftsmanship to remain on good terms with
this Republic at almost any cost. And, there
fore, il was that we were secure in the enjoy
ment of the inestimable blessings of unarmed
peace, with the fullest liberty To devote all
our social energies to the development of our
immense material resources and of our men
tai and moral capabilities; to the solution of
the great problem of popular government
given in our charge, aud to our glorious mis-
sion to promote the caase Of liberty and civlli-
zsation among mankind 10y the peaceable moral
force of our example.
These were the extraordinary providential
fayors bestowed upon the American people,
part Of which Washington witnessed. part OF
which he f,rrsaw. and the datics aud respon-
sjbiiiies flowing irom which he felt So deeply.
"Whai have We done with these blessings
While the conduct Of the American Demo
cracy has. indeed. no; reached the ideal which
was IN Washington mind. and while for this
reason II has had It's failures. the Republic has
achieved a measure of development IN wealth.
greatness and power that has IN a Ike space
Il time never been cquaiei by ans nation IA
history.
vHE DEGREES o. FRoyIpENCg.
''Bui naW se are told that We have cume
a. = turning point; that the very power we
hsye won "a walking that proyideutial path,
0blizes "a 20 strike oui iu different direction;
tha, We must uo longer eonteut ourselves with
making this vas; continent the home ui free.
peAeeAblc and happy people, with an honest
eadeavor To solve on shss virgin soil the mo
mrnsous problem Of popular self government,
and wiih advancing the cause OF liberty and
civilization among mankind by the moral
force 81 our example, bet that We must give
ap the priceless privilege Of unarmed peace;
thzI Ne must have big fleets aud armies ia
order g. play a new part Ia the affairs IT the
world, that ~e mast bs,cane couquerurs -
spread car commerce and have var away
f0.ssslsstt,ps atd rule fsfcISa peoples 81 our
.s.siassz-nn faatger shat the oriEiaal design
81 uar Republic and tie fundamental prln
ciples of oar democracy mas have been. Aud
zhen Iba advocates uf ,his new course are
hard pressed ga argument, ihey always rvsast,
as thsir last refuge ta the plea that Prosi-
deuce has precipisaled as toto this uew cparse.
and that !, j. yAis 10 resist
.'Noh.,.iy can De less disposed than | am 20
pose a. = mouthpiece OF Providence Bat
d. maintain that when we speak OF something
hzyiaE been so ordained by Pr1vidc'sce that
no human being could be held responsible for
Il. Ne can only mean that the will VI ulAn one
way or the other could not play determining
part ia il. In this sense il NAV be sAid that
geographic. climatic and other sach con
difionS, whtch made The haldiug up % a great
democracy oa this Ameflean SOIL 50 natural,
~efu providsntiAl: that the rising NJ Of an
idea leader al the b~gIHalRg Oi cur tiuyeru
msng Was pr0videntIAi; that the peculiar sitH-
Aslon oi ihss Repahlie among the Powers ot
the aaFth enabling il Ia bald az thai great
Democracy 80 the uew world. untruabled By
the jealousics and guafreis OF other nations,
vas prOvidential. Bus can II be maintained
thal N she same sense the eonqsest OF the
Philippines ~as pFUssdenlial, and that Prss
danl Mckinley Was right when be Said ia Bes-
ton. February Is. 1899: The Philippines
we're Iatrasted to our hands by the Providence
OF God; il Is u trust we have not sought?
DsLIEERarEIr PLANNED CONQUEST.
The sneaker then referred TO the CORES
pondenee between CommodoFe Dewey aud
ihe Government respecting the Philippine
Islands and the SpAaish forces there; 70 hts
instructions after the declaration OF var 20
DESTROY the Spanish feet, and then said;
'sWheR Spain, after series Of defeats, got
ready for peace. the Secretary Of the Navy
.elcgraphed TO Dewey IS follows: Washing
ton. August Is, ls9S The President desires
to receive from YOU any important intorma-
,iou you may have of the Philippines; the
de>irability ofthe several islands; the character
of their population; coal and other mineral
deposits; their harbor and commercial ad-
yantages and ia d naval and commercial
sense, which would be the most advantage
Gus, etc. Thus, It appears that the President
was thsn not yet quite certain how tar Il would
be profitable 10 Us that Providence should i'm.
pose that unsough,' trust upon us. When
he had received information which made him
think ii would be profitable 10 have the whole
archipelago intrusted to us, he instructed our
Peace Commissioners at Paris to insist that
Spain should cede US the whole. And after a
loag and arduous wreSile with the representa-
- ! 4. ! Il.
uant No. 62. our Commissioners at last sue
ceedei in extorting from them the cession OF
what sovereignty Spain had over all those
Islands, aud they agreed that the United
States should pay $50, 600. 900 therefor.
"fhus the record shows most conclasively
that the conquest of the Philippines was not
thrust upon the Administration by mySieri,
ous and oyerruling power, but that it was de-
lberately planned with cool circulation OF
| protit. aud that if the business so far has not
been as successful as expected, II proves only
that the calculation was not quite correct.
And when now President Mckinley tries to
make the American people accept his inter
probation that the Philippines were simply
'intrusted to our hands by the providence oI
God and that ii is trust we have not
sought, he has, to say the least, taken liber,
ties with Providence which he may answer
for
The speaker then reviewed the history OF
the war with Spain. to show how the policy
for which the President makes Divine Provi.
dence responsible was carried out. tie suid
the spectacle of our going To war to secure
freedom for a foreign population was so novel
that We bad been charged with some secret
design for conquest, aud that t'=.say's victory
in Manila Bay brought with il the temptation
testing our sincerity; that Dewey invited
Aguinaldo TO join him in movement against
Spain; that he did so, aud set up civil gov
ernment well spoken of by imperialistic agita-
tor Barrett; that the Filipino army did the
only fighting against the Spanish up to the
surrender of Manila, and had cooped up the
Spanish in Manila; that all this time they
acted as our allies against common foe. lie
continued:
"And then when he had taken Manila and
assembled a large land force there--did we
remember that we had to war against Spain
with the solemn proclamation that this should
be a war of liberation, and not of conquest,
and that our Filipino allies were fairly enti-
tied to the full benefit of that pledge2 No,
not that President Mckinley entered into
peace negotiations with the common enemy,
STANDARDIZATION from which our allies,
the Pilipinos, who urgently asked to be heard,
we're carefully shut out, and through his Peace
| Commissioners President Mckinley couclud-
| ed, behind the backs of our allies, a treaty
with Spain, the common enemy, by which he
recognized. not that the Philippine Islanders
were, and of right ought to be, free and indie
pendent, like the Cubans, but that Spain,
| a,o,, afa. bay;no haan actually 0uStpd from