The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-06-20

November It is for the American people /
to decide this question. Our position is /
plain The restoration of peace and order |
now so nearly reached in the Philippines
shall be completed. Civil government shall I
be established end the people advanced /
as rapidly as possible along the road to
entire freedom and to self-government
task. We will neither surrender nor re-
treat. We viii not write failure across
this page Of our history. We Will do our
duty, our fun duty, to the people of the
Philippines and strive by every means to
give them freedom contentmenJ and
prosperity W. nave no be1e1 IN the old
slave holders doctrine that the constitu-
ton of its own force marches into every
newly acquired territory and this doctrine,
which we cast cut in 1860. we still reject.
We do not mean that the Philippines shall
come without tariff system or become
part Of our body polite. We do mean that
they shall. under our teaching, learn to
govern themselves and remain under our
flag with the largest possible measure of
home rule. We make no hypocritical pre-
lenses of being interested in the Philip
pines solely on account of others. While
We regard the welfare of these people as
a sacred trust, we regard the welfare of
the American people first We see our
duty 70 ourselves as we'll as to others. We
believe in trade expansion. BY every legiti-
mate means within the province of gov
eminent and legislation We mean to
stimulate the expansion of our trade ard
to open new markets. Greatest of all
markets IS China. Our trade there Is
growing by leaps and bounds. Manila,
the prize of war. gives US inestimable aG
vantages in developing that trade. It is
the brilliant diplomacy of John Hay in
securing from all nations a guarantee If
treaty rights and of the open door in
China rests upon it. We ask the Ameri-
can people Whether they will throw away
these new markets and widening oppor-
tunities for trade and commerce. by put
ting in power the Democratic party, who
seek under cover of newly discovered
affection for the rights of man, to give
up these Islands of the east and make
Dewey victory trulteSs2 The choice lies
between this Democratic policy of retreat
and the Republican policy, which would
hold the islands, give them freedom and
prosperity and enlarge those great Opp0r-
tunities for ourselves and our posterity
The Democratic attitude toward the
Philippines rests wholly upon the PROPOSE
ton that the American people have Meth
er the capacity nor the honesty to deal
rightly with these islands They assume
that we shall fail. They fall down and
worship a Chinese half-breed whose name
they had never heard three years ago,
the honor Of American sailors and SOL
diers, of admirals and generals. and pub
lie men who have gone in and out before
US during an entire lifetime. We are true
to our own We have no dfstrust of the
honor, the humanity, the capacity of the
American people. To feel or do otherwise
I is to doubt ourselves, our government and
/ our civilization. We take issue with the
/ Democrats who would cast off the Philip
/ pines because the American people can
not be trusted with them. and we declare
I that the American people can be trusted
! to deal i'll SfII wisely and oanarot1elv- win
/ these distant islands and will lift them
/ uD to a higher prosperity a broaae free-
I have ever known. We have not failed
4 elsewhere. We shall not fail here.
Those are the questions present to
/ the American people in regard to the
/ Philippines Do they want such a huniI-
Eating change there as Democratic victory
! would bFing2 Do they want an even more
radical change at homer Suppose the
] candidate of the Democrats, the Popu-
/ lists. the foes of expansion, the disSatis-
fed and the envious should come into
/ power. what kind of an administration
! would he give us2 What would his cabi-
net be2 Think what an electric spark Of
( confidence would run through every bust
ness interest in the country when such a
4 cabinet was announced, as we can read
lily imagine he would make. More i'm
/ p0rtant still. ask the American peorle
whether they will put in the White House
1 the hero of uncounted platforms. the
1 prodigs1 spendthrift of words. the cham
I pion OF free silver. the opponent OF ex-
pansiOl1. the assailant of the courts; or
/ whether they will retain in the presidency
the Union soldier, the leader of tho house
OF representatives; the trained statesman
i who has borne VIGOROUSLY the heavy bur-
dens of the last four years; the champion
/ Of protection and solid money: the fear
less supporter of law and order wherever
the fsg floats?
But there is one question which we will
put tc the American people in this cam
paign which includes and outweighs all
others. We viii say to them: You were
in the depths Of adversely under the last