Willmar tribune., 1900-10-20
lInRerIect 'Pags

~
riea on by our government were we'll
inqnired into and fully understood by
she American people, and then sub
znitted TO popular vote On it's Own
merits for approval,> that policy
wonla Do indignantly spurned by the
intelligence as well as the moral sense
ot n>overwhelming majority of our
citizenship Its defenders, well aware
OF this, therefore make q special effort
20 mislAad that Intelligence and moral
sense by the pretense that their oppo-
merits, the anti-imperialists, pusillani-
uousy refuse to meet the, responsible
s1ies 'devolved upon us by the late
Spanish " ST, and shat those RESPONSE
bilities can be discharged only by a
:irsnA continuance OF 'sae aeRrsseat pol
ICY. 49,
This I emphatica]ly deny~arLet us
SEQ what our true respons Utilities are,
Ana how they should be met. To this
cad we mast 6rst remember what has
aappened. In April, 1898, we went TO
war. with Spain for the sole purpose,
IS congress proclaimed to the ..World
by q solemn resolntionS:of rescning
from. oppressive misrule apopul alton
struggling for freedo and indepeua:
4nee. Congress not only positively
aisc3aimed any intention to annex to
ohis republic the territory inhabited
by that population, but declared that
she paople OF Cnba ''are, and ,Of right
onqhs to be, FREQ and independent''-
IN other words, that Spain, by her op-
pressiye misrale, had not only NOR
ally bot actually forfeited her sov-
e>eignty over hat country. This was
The affirmation Of a principle.
Then came Dewey 3 victory in Ma
Mia bay. The case of she Philippine
islands was in all essential respects
iaentical with that Of Cuba. Their
people had also been struggling
against Spanish oppression, like the
Cubans,. and il the Cnbans, according
80 the aee]ara1 of congress, .t.t:were,
and OF rigbt Ought TO be, free and in
aspendset," so surely were the Philip
pine islanders: and if Spain bad,
aceording to- our proclaimed doctrine,
morally md actually forfeited her
sovereignty over Cuba, so she had
forfeited her sovereignty over the
EhInpBines-
But the claim of the Philippine
islanders as to their independence was
N FACT even mach stronger than Rat
Nf the Cubans. Dewey invited and
5vonghs the chief leader of the Philip
pine insurgents to The scene Of action.
With Dewey's aid and under his eyes
shas chief organized a Filipino army
81 81, 1000 men: he proclaimed the Phil
iopine republic, hoisted the flag OF
shza rePubiic On his armed vessels,
and sea up a civil government which,
accordins BOZ sns iAperialist Barrett's
testimony, compared in sume of it's
iupol, ant parts tav orably with that of
Japan,
The Filipino army then, while our
land forces Wei gradually arriving.
sanek|K cleared aAe interior of the
sonnNy uf the Spa ards, taking
naDy thousands oA Them prisoners,
And 80 hemDed 30 On the land side the
Spanish garrison DI Manila that it
1,p na nelshts stcei2e reinforcemeDtS
nng " cape insA the interior. In other
words, tbe E1sipinos acted most eff
&~enaly as onr Al'ies, crippling the
Spanish p,w Ga u, We could not have
.pipI3ed is with UNr forces then At
sand: "nsa snry weve practically rec
*>sBhxsa a. s>nr alias, even to the ex-
sF.0t Ut having tnrned over to them
Spanish prisoners taken in comtnun u
erb lt,ris,&f>
And WHITE SO pro6t7ny from their
ata ion As our allies, wei do not say
'ft&'al1x promised them their indie
$1n0eBse-"-hnt VIC did what morally
amounted 10 She same thing: VIZ per-
zi1tea lbeD TO believ that in fg htin g
so abe same side with rs they were
hIhtiDg f,'s their Own independence:
ws pernated ahena to believe this unti]
We had troops enoos.h on the ground
10 make Us masters Of The situation.
What h happened ,hens We took Ma
1ila, snn1laonin4r the Spanish c..m-
1naDaleP L. snvrsn der on the very
pn'sne> ans''ng otA>srs, that he was
heTnsnsa ~ oo Abe land side by the
taliE' no-> And then we proceeded to
'2s'nclt2de n peace asenty with Spain.
That t. e..a7 WAS ~ deei,1e the fate Oi
abe Philippine islands. The FilipinOe.
a'nr Allies, wsn'na had permitted to
believe thai they were fighting fo,
saesr indepe saenae, a. sed to be heard.
We s'ammed the door in their faces.
And bshuna their backs we extorted
OF boaaght, rs ysa like. from Spain,
she eeas1Es'n enemy, the sovereignty
over ODF = aalies-tbe same sovereiyDty
which, in the CNha nTecaf1ent. wa had