Evening star., 1900-09-17
Shall We COntractS


Properly speaking. the question is now
not whether we shall expand-for we have
already expanded-but whether we shall
contract. The Philippines are now part Of
American territory. To surrender them
would be to surrender American territery
They must. of course. be governed primar-
lily in the interests of their own citizens
Our first care must be for the people of
the islands which have come under our
guardianship result of the most right
eous foreign war that has been waged
within the memory of the present genera
ton. They must be administered in the in
terests of their inhabitants, and that neces-
sarily means that any question of personal
or partisan politics In their administration
must be entirely eliminated. We must con-
tinue to put at the heads of affairs In the
different islands such men as Gen. Wood
Gov. Allen and Judge Taft And 1t Is
most fortunate thing that we are able to
illustrate what ought to be done In the way
OF sending officers thither by pointing out
what actually has been done. The minor
places in their administration where it Is
impossible to fill them by natives. must be
filled by the strictest application of the
merit system. 1t is very important that In
our own home administration the merely
ministerial and administrative Offices where
the duties are entirely non-political shall
be filled absolutely without reference to par
tisan Affiliations; but this Is many times
more important in the newly acquired ISL
ands. The merit system is in its essence
as democratic as our common school sys-
tenn, for 1t simply means equal chances and
fair play for all.
Se1f-GOvernment Discussed.
1t must be remembered always that gov
erning these islands In the interest OF the
inhabitants may not necessarily be to goy-
ern them the inhabitants at the moment
prefer. To grant self-government to Luzon
under Aguinaldo would be like granting
nl -crnyy nrr,yyn ~ ~
under some local chief; and this Is no more
altered by the fact that the Filipinos
fought the Spaniards than it would be by
the fact that Apaches have long been train
ed and employed in the United States army
and have rendered signal service therein:
just as the Pawnees did under the admin
fstration Of President Grant; Just as the
Stockbridge Indians did In the days Of Cen
eral Washington, and the friendly tribes Of
the Six Nations in the days of President
Madison.
There are now in the United States COM
munities Of Indians which have advanced
so far that 1t has been possible to embody
them as whole in our political system,
all the members Of the tribe becoming
United States citizens. There are other
communities where the bulk Of the tribe
are still too wild for it to be possible to
take such step. There are individuals
among the Apaches, Pawnees, Iroquois,
Sioux and other tribes who are now United
States citizens, and who are entitled to
ity with all our citizens of pure white
blood. Men Of Indian blood are now sery-
Ing In the army and navy and In Congress,
and occupy high position both in the bust
ness and the political world. There is
every reason why rapidly as an Indian.
or any body of Indians becomes AT for
self-government he or it should be granted
the fullest equality with the whites but
there would be no justification whatever in
treating this fact as a reason for abandon
ing the wild tribes to work out their own
t1yy fhn
applies in the case of the Philippines To
turn over the islands to Aguinaldo and
ment to the islanders; under no circum-
stances would the majority thus gain self
government. They would simply be put
at the mercy OF q syndicate of Chinese
half-breeds. under whom corruption would
flourish far more freely than ever II -four
ished under Tweed, while tyrannical op-
preston would obtain to a degree only pos
sible under such an oligarchy. Yours truly.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
Branch ONCE, 14th and Wellinx Place