The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-12-12
4 rAcrLEss poLlcY.

The fact that Americans, as a rule,
imagine that every body else in the world
would find their conditions improved and
BE- happier ii they were only under the
American flag does not make the beIief
correct one by any means, as some OF
our annexed brethren would be ready 10
testify jus. at present.
We have heard how the Porto Ricans
have been sighin. for their old Spanish
status since they have tried Uncle sam
and how the native Hawalans only tue
other day registered protest at the
polls agaius, the absorption" idea. Now
comes news from Manila that indicates
that the Filipinos have only got out of
the frying pan into tho fire under the
change OF soyereigndes.
a correspondent at Manila OF the New
York Evening Post SHOWS that the cost OF
living has greatly increased in that city
since the Americans took charge. that
The poor are suffering worse than under
Spanish dominion ana thar individual lib-
critics have been greatly curtailed under
the new regime. In The matter of the in-
creased cost Of living the correspondent
says:
Two years have gone by since tha Anieri-
caus came hare. ana there Is stl 40 relief
lHaer Spain when meat - Manila sofa fJr
more tLgl 10 cents (goid) a pound, the gov
eminent came into competitions With the mest
vendors Since the United states troops
have been in possession meat has sold gen-
sFaly from ~ TO = cents Gold a pound
10 normal times here. rice Was SID al 81 ~
uUltl fnr
csysn Of rice will maintain a Filipino fam
ny OF i've persons for twenty days To-Day
,bls sAme measure G; rice COSTS 81 50 (Mex-
icaul and Americans do not realize what
this difference in price means to tho poorer
peObte Tee American authorizes eould have
feshlsieu rhe price OF rice buG they have
no, done
The great troAble with Americans in
attempting the government OF new peo
pies is that they have never had any
thing in that line no do heretofore ana
are the veriest novices in managing colo
MES. We have not even that cosmopoIf-
tan spirit that Europeans have. because
we haye grown up Ito ourselves In the
United States under Institutions and Gus.
toms totally at variance with those OF
the rest OF the world. This isolation has
made US to great extent bigo,ed, or at
least strongly welded TO our ideas and
intoleraut OF other systems.
We 20 into a new field with the nercs-
ness and fanaticism OF crusaders. Every
body and everything We find must bend
at once 70 our way OF thinking and our
way Of doing things. We do not remen-
Der that views and systems and customs
that are aoary with age can not be over
turned In a day, or by a military order,
without great confusion and injustice.
There seems to be The difficulty now
in the Philippines. Our civil commission
is a collection OF American dootrlnaires
ignorant OF everything except Ameri-
canlsm," in It's various phases, and at
tempting to make Americans out OF Ma
lays by paper DEGREES. The old CONNER
cial system. the social customs. the
sports, The religion and the money OF the
natives must give way instantly to the
American models and the Fllipinos be
required TO walk upright as American
citizens before they have learned TO
crawl amid changed conditions!
The whole plan is ridiculous and il Is
not matter for surprise that we have
only SO far succeeded in creating chaos
where Spain had some degree OF order. II
Is much The same in Porto Rico. We
ourselves will have TO learn the A D Ca
Of colonization and management and grad
ual conversion Of new peoples TO new
ways before we can hope to create any
special love among our new subjects for
the American flag or American customs