New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-01-17
TAGALS IN THE SENATE.

Senator Wolcott told the truth in his speech
Monday about the most offensive Tagal in
the Senate describing Senator Pettigrew as
constitutionally fitted to be the spokesman for
the mean souls whose conscious incompetence
makes them enviOus, and for the traitors whose
hatred of the Government is the natural an
tipathy of savage and treacherous would-be
despOts for any rule of civilization and law.
There is a distinct affinity of character between
the anarchist who would overturn everything
in order to grab property which others have
earned and the usurpers who try to seize the
power over their fellow inhabitants of the
Philippines in order to plumber at pleasure the
industrious and peaceful. Being incapable
of realizing how severely he was scored, the
noisy defender of Tagal traitors will continue
to aid the Government by making hostility to
its course repusive and odious.
Senator HOar is a different person The de-
cencies of civilized language are not unknown
TO him, and he strives to convince others, as he
doubtless has convinced himself that it is not
vanity pride OF opinion which makes him
hostile to the Administration, but a sincere de-
sire for the freedom Of the Philippine inhabi-
tants But he cheats himself A very simple
test will show his strange self-deception. Not
once does he venture to state the fact that the
small fraction Of Philippine Inhabitants who
supported the insurrectiOn were trying to usurp
the power of tyrants for themselves, had never
the slightest show of authority from the great
majority of the inhabitants to represent them,
were able to impose q sort of submission upon
that majority only by force used with barbar-
Gus cruelty, and have never from the outbreak
to this day paid the slightest regard to the
wishes of other races in the islands To these
would-be usurpers all the inhabitants outside
the secret society of Tagals We're merely slaves
TO be dashed or sheep to be shorn. and their
tyranny and corruption wherever they set I'D
local authority had turned against them a great
number of the Tagals themselves, competent
observers believe majority, before the Ameri-
can troops began to penetrate the interior
This state of things has been brought to the
knowledge of Senator Hoar and all other intel
ligent people by a multitude of accounts from
trustworthy authorities. The many statements
which Senator Beverage quoted from Philip
pine inhabitants whose means of knowledge
could not be surpassed, corroborated the in
formation given within the last six months by
American officials and civilians But Senator
Hoar has never made the slightest attempt TO
coptrovert or even to face the facts Why il
he has an honest mind? Apparently because he
could not tolerate the possibility that a year
ago or more, when he took position on this
matter and the facts were not known as they
have been since, he made a mistake. To most
men IL would be possible to say that they had
been misled into the belief that Tagal leaders
represented the whole people, and had been
duped by their false pretence Of desire for free
dom. when n fact they only wanted power to