The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-02-07
\ BILL WAS PASSED
ANNEXATION MEANS RUIN,
How Holding the Philippines Will
Affect the Argiculturists.

question again occupied the attention of
the House today Mr.. Williams, CAllss.),
presented an argument against the an
neXation of the Philippines. watch at
tracted much attention. 1t was devoted
almost entirely to the commercial aspects
of the acquisition holding that the ab-
sorption of the islands would be ulti-
mately ruinous to the American producers
of cotton, rice, tobacco, hemp and sugar,
The general debate ON tho diplomatic
bill closed today and will De taken up TO-
morrow for amendment uhdrr the 1--we
minute rule.
The final conference report on the Ur-
gent Deficiency Bill was agreed to. When
the diplomatic bill was taken UP Mr..
Gibson, (Tenn.), opened the debate with Il
general argument in favor of expansion.
reviewing the acquisitions of territory
from the foundation of the Government TO
show that expansion had been Il national
policy since its inception.
Mr.. Williams said it was not very lofty
to discuss this question from the stand
point of dollars and cents, but the spirit
of commCrcialsm made it necessary. He
said that from the standpoint of Ameri-
can agricultural industry and American
labor the annexation OF the Philippines
would be disadyantageous in comparison
with what could be done under compare
lively free trade relations. He believed
that if we aided the Fiiipinos in setting
up q stable government there we could
obtain perpetual free entry for our goods
and escape the great question that was
perpleXing us. The cost OF maintaining
an army of $4,000 men which would be
necessary if we retained the Philippines
would be three times the value of the inn
ports and exports of the islands.
Il am much more opposed to anneXa-
ton of the Philippines in its old historic
American sense than j am to the new
tangled doctrine of Imperialism. As
much as / would hate to see the Declare
ton of Independence thrown to the winds,
as much as | should hate to see the Con-
Stitution amended so that we might have
subjects, / would rather change the Com
stitution. than TO admit eleven million
barbarians like that and share and share
alike with me and nay children and my
grand children in moulding the detinies
of this great republic, the last hope of all
the ages for popular freedom and for the
demonstration of the fact that man can
govern himself. (Applause.)
MEANS RUIN TO AGRICULTURE.
Now my friends, one or two things
will follow. Either commercial condi-
tons in the Philippines will remain sub
Stantially as they are or they will be
vastly improved under our flag. If they
remain as they are, then if all the Fill
pin0s who wear clothes We're to put into
one gigantic order all the cotton they
want fer Il year and send it within one
week to the city of New Orleans, it would
not create Il ripple upon the cotton mar
ket. Now if upon the contrary we teach
them to wear clothes, either III the school
house or upon the battlefield, and we
produce IA condition of great industrial
progression and Improvement then we
may possibly create n valuable customer.
But he becomes Il valuable customer by
first becoming an immense producer.
Suppose these people progress more mar
vellously than Japan has progressed. Up
on what lines must they Increase Their
producing power? Today the main eX-
ports OF the Philippine Islands consist
of sugar, tobacco and hemp. DO the to-
bacco growers of Connecticut and Mary
land want to produce that sort OF INDUS
trial amelioration i'll the Philippine Is
lands that will enable men who are emf
ployed at 20 cents Il day to compete with
the men in the Connecticut valley and
along the hills of Maryland who are rails
ing tobacco? Do the sugar planters OF
Louisiana want to get valuable customers
for the manufactured goods of this coun-
try by enabling these people TO put up
improved machinery for sugar manufac-
ture and to enable them to sell five, ten,
twenty. fifty and hundred fold as much
sugar as they do now in competition
with the Louisiana man who raises cane
sugar? Do the rice growers of Georgia
and South Carolina and Louisiana want
to annex that sort Of competitions
Mr.. Cochran, MOI, said that if we
were to govern the Philippines under the
Constitution it must be subject to all
the limitations of that instrument. He
called attention to the fact that the agree
ment made with the Sultan of Sulu rec
ocnized slavery and was therefore III vio'
lation of the amendment to the Consti~
tuition which provided that slavery should
be forever prohibited not only i'll the
United States, but liz all territory over
which it exercised jurisdiction.
Mr.. Cochran said that many of the
slaves in the Sulu group were Christians
or the descendants of Christians captur-
ed by the piratical Moros
At ) n. III. the House adjourned.