Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1900-09-14

A people Or nation is tree or IN
dependent when it has autonomy
and sovereignty, free from the
control of any other sovereignty.
The two things do not necessari-
ly exist in the same place. a
man may not be free though he
lives under an independent gov
ernment. On the other hand,
the inhabitant of a colony SUBJ
.ect to the jurisdiction of ma
ton beyond the sea, may enjoy
the fullest measure of freedom.
The first kind of freedom-the
freedom of the Individuals an
inalienable right. Every man
on the face of the globe is en-
titled to it. The proper and
principal object of every govern
ment on earth is to secure him
this freedom. That is what
governments are for, and that is
all they are properly for. But
the freedom or independence of
any particular section of the
globe as a sovereign state is not
an inalienable right. The earth
is divided between numerous
nations. The territorial limits
of these have constantly changed
in the past, and will continue to
change in the future. These
limits are determined from many
circumstances. But whether
one nation or another has juris-
diction over a particular terri
tory, has no necessary connec-
ton with the inalienable rights
of the people of it. If the terri
tory is acquired and the don,in-
ion over it is exercised the peo-
pie there owe allegiance to the
government under which they
find themselves. And this does
not deprive them Of any right
whatever. If we rightfully OBJ
tanned jurisdiction over the Phil
ippine Islands, it was not only
our right, but our duty, to gev-
ern them. And conceding this
Jurisdiction, the Filipines have
no mere right to resist the gov
ernment of the United States
than an Oregonian has to resist
it. 1t is his government, as it is
ours, and until it becomes op-
pressive he, as well as every
other inhabitant under the pro-
teotion cf our laws, must obey
them.
And the United States rightly
acquired such Jurisdiction. Every
nation has a right TO acquire ter
ritory. That includes the propo-
sition that every nation has a
right to cede territory. To say
that the inhabitants must first
consent to the new dominion is
to deny the right of acquisition
and cession. This has always
been the theory and practice of
nations and of the United States.
The Filipinos were under the
dominion of Spain and owed
allegience to its government.
They had not successfully re-
belled, but were the subjects of
Spain when the treaty of cession
was ratified. At the instant the
treaty was ratified the territory
and people of the Philippines
came within the jurisdiction of
the United States. From that
instant the Filipino owed no
allegience to Spain. His allie
gience was due to the United
States. That allegience was due
by virtue of the fact that the
Philippines became United States
territory. 1t was due for the
same reason. that every other in
habitant of our territory not the
subject of some foreign govern
ment owes allegiance to the
United States. e.
No man has the inherent, in
trinsic or iualienable right to be
the subject of any particular gov
ernment. The relation of SUBJ
|ject and sovereign does not arise
in the first place by agreement
or consent of the subject, but of
necessity. Every human being on
earth is born a subject of some
government. He has nothing
to do with it except to be born.
He is not consulted. He may
indeed under modern practice
usually become the subject of
another nation by swearing a
new allegieAce and forswearing
his old allegience. But that is
not an inalienable right. 1t is a
right bestowed and regulated by
the laws of expatriation and of
naturalization of the several ma
tions. The right of each nation
to. refuse naturalization or resi-