The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1900-09-15

| f,I. a
| talse hopes a considerable reduction could
| nave been had in our military establish
ment In me philippines, and the realization
OF stable government would be already
| at hand.
The Essence of MiIitarism.
The American people are asked by our
| opponents to yield the sovereignty OF the
United States In the Philippines to a small
traction of the populations single tribe
out OF 80 or more inhabiting the archi-
pelago-a faction which wantonly attacked
me american troops In Manila while in
| rightful possession under the protocol with
spain, awaiting the ratification of the
| treaty OF peace by the senate, and which
mas since th been In active open rebellion
| 10 transfer our sovereignty to small mi
| nority In the islands without consulting
the majority and to abandon the largest
portion OF the population, which has been
| loyal to us, to the cruelties of the guerrilla
insurgent bands. More than this, we are
asked to protect this minority In establish
| Ing governemnt. and to this end repress
| all opposition of the majority. We are re-
CURED TO set up stable government in
the interest OF those who have assailed our
sovereignty and fired upon our soldiers and
| then maintain II at any cost or sacrifice
against its enemies within and against
those having ambitious designs from with
out. This would require an army and navy
far larger than lis now maintained In the
Philippines and still more in excess of what
| Will be necessary with the full recognition
| or our sovereignty. A military support of
authority not our own, as thus proposed, is
the very essence of militarism. which our
o wSSch aus In IN their platform oppose but
be established in its most offensive form.
Must Not Yield.
The American people will not make
| the murderers of our soldiers the agents
OF the republic to convey the blessings
of liberty and order to the Philippines.
| They Will not make them the builders of
| the new commonwealth. Such course
| would be betrayal of our sacred obli-
Onf 10 tl.n AN,.I lit. a
would place at the mercy OF dangerous
adventurers the lives and property OF
the natives and foreigners. 1t would
OF such atrocities as were. secretly
planned. TO be executed on the I'D of
February. 1899. in the city of Manila,
when only the vigilance of our army
prevented the attempt to assassinate our
soldiers and all foreigners and pillage
and destroy the city and its surround
ings, In short the proposition Of those
cations in the Philippines which now rest
upon the government. only changing the
relation from principal, which now ex-
ists,-to that of surety Our responsibility
| Is to remain, but our power is to be d.
minished. Our obligation is to be no less,
but our title is to be surrendered TO an
| other power, which Is without expert
| ence or training, or the ability to main
| tain a stable government at home and
absolutely helpless to perform its inter
national obligations with the rest of the
| world. To this we are opposed. We
should not yield our title while our OBJ
| legations last. In the language of our
| platform: "Our authority should not be
| less than our responsibility" and our
| present responsibility is TO establish our
authority in every part of the islands.
Present Relation Must Continue.
| No government can so certainly pre-
serve the peace, restore public order, es-
| tablish law, justice and stable conditions
| as ours. Neither congress nor the ex-
executive can establish stable govern
ment in these islands except under our
right of sovereignty, our authority, and
| our nag. And this we are doing. We
| could not do II as protectorate power
so completely or so successfully as we
| are doing IL now. AS the sovereign power
| We can Initiate action and shape means
| to ends, and guide the Filipinos to self
development and self-government. As a
| protectorate power we could not initiate
| action. but would be compelled to follow
| and uphold a people with no capacity
| yet to go alone. In the one case, we
pinos from being involved in dangerous
| complications: in the other, We could
not protect even the Filipinos until after
| their trouble had come. Besides, II we
| cannot establish any government of our
| own without the consent of the governed,
| as our opponents contend, then we could
| not establish a stable government for
| them or make ours protectorate with
| out the like consent, and neither the ma
| 1ority of the people nor minority nave
maintain n protectorate even with the
consent of the governed without giving
| provocation for conflicts and possibly
| costly wars Our rights in the Philip
pines are now free from outside Interior
| ence and will continue so in our present
relation. They would not be thus free
| in any other relation. We VIII not give
up our own to guarantee another SOW
| ereignty.
Our Title Good.
our title is good Our peace commission
ers believe they were receiving a good title
when they concluded the treaty. The ex-
ecutiye believed IL was a good title when
he submitted 1t to the senate of the United
States for its ratification. The senate be-
lieved II was a good title when they gave
IL their constitutional assent, and the con-
, gress seems not to have doubted its com
pleteness when they appropriated $4,000 :
600 provided by the treaty. II any who ia
bad title, they were not si6cere. Our title
is practically identical with that under
which we hold our territory acquired since
der which we have exercised full sovereign
ty and established government for the In
habitants.
of the United States disputes the fullness
and integrity of the cession. What then is
the real issue on this subject? Whether
IL is paramount TO any other or not. 1t Is
whether we shall be responsible for the
government of the Philippines with the
sovereignty and authority which enables
us to guide them to regulated liberty. law,
safety and progress. or whether we shall
be responsible for the forcible and arbi-
trary government of n minority without
sovereignty and authority on our part,
and with only the embarrassment of pro-
tectorate which draws us into their trou-
bles without the power of preventing them.
There were those who two years ago were
| rushing us on to war with Spain who are
unwilling now to accept its clear conse-
quence. as there are those among us who
advocated the ratification of the treaty of
peace, but now protest against Its obliga-
lions. Nations which go to war must be
prepared to accept its resultant obliga-
lions, and when they make treaties must
keep them.
Not Imperialism.
Those who profess to dstrust the lib
ministration in its treatment of the Phil
] ippines are not justified. Imperialism has
no place in its creed or conduct. Free
dom is a rock upon which the republican
party was builded and now rests. Lib
| erty Is the great republican doctrine
| for which the people went to war and
for which a million lives were offered
and billions of dollars were expended to
| make It a lawful legacy of all without
/ the consent Of master or slave. There
! Is strain of ill-concealed hypocrisy In
| guarantees to the people of the Philip
pines, while their notification is openly
| advocated at home. Our opponents may
| distrust themselves, but they have no
| right to discredit the good faith and
| patriotism of the majority of the peo-
| pie who are opposed to them: they may
| fear the worst form of Imperialism with
the helpless Filipinos in their hands
| but II they do 1t ~ because they have