Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1900-08-16

/ destroyed. cannot De reSt0f6Q-W11 be SO
sacred that ii will never be taken except
when necessary TO punish a crime already
committed, or 20 prevent a crime about
If it is said tha we have assumed before
the world obligations which make it neces-
sary for us TO permanently maintain a
/ government in the Philippine Stands. ]
reply. first, that the highest obligation of
this nation Is to be true to itself. No obli-
CATION TO n particular nation, or TO all
nations combined, can require the abandon
ment OF our theory of government and the
our whole national life has been a protest.
And, second, that our obligations to the
F1iipinos, who inhabit the islands, are
greater than any obligations which we can
owe to foreigners who have a temporary
residence in the Philippines or desire to
trade there.
Capacity of Self-Government.
1t is argued by some that the Fflipinos
are incapable of self-government and
that therefore we owe it to the world to
take control of them. Admiral Dewey, in an
clared the FiliDinos more capable of self
government than the Cubans, and said
thai he based his opinion upon a knowl-
edge OF both races But l will not rest
the case upon the relative advancement
of the Fflipinos, Henry Clay, in defend
ing the rights of the people of South
America to self-government, said:
1T is the doctrine of thrones that man
Is 100 ignorant to govern himself. Their
ence to all nations; if they cannot com
mand universal assent to the proposition,
- - NANA ~ ndIl0nS.
and our pride and our presumption too
often make converts of us. 1 contend
that 1t is to arraign the disposition of
Providence Himself, to suppose that He
has created beings incapable of govern
ing themselves. and to be trampled On by
government of man."
Clay was right. There are degrees
of proficiency in the art of s~elf-govern-
tor to say that He denied to any people
the capacity of self-government- Once
dr1i Thaf nm naNr1n orn @f
self-government, and that others are not,
and that the capable people have a right
and you make rce-bru force-the only
foundation of government and invite the
reign of the despot. 1 am not will
ALLOWING God created the F~ilipinoS, and
then left them thousands of years helpless
until the islands attracted the mi
Republicans ask: Shall we haul down
the flag that floats over our dead in the
have been asked when the American flag
hoated over Chapultepec and waved over
who visits the City of Mexico finds there
a national cemetery owned by the United
States and cared for by an American
dead, but when the treaty with Mexico
was signed American authority withdrew
opinion that during the last 50 years the
people of Mexico have made more rogreS
under the stimulus of independence and
SCI HoH NAGy "oHA0 q
made under a carpet-bag government held
in place by bayonets. The United States
stronger and happier than they would
have been had the former been cursed and
the latter crushed by an imperialistic pol
icy, disguised as benevolent assimila-
ton"
Responsibility of the Nation.
Can we not govern colonies?' we are
asked. The question is not what we can
do, but what we ought to do. This nation
can do whatever it desires to do, but it
must accept responsibility for what it does.
If the constitution stands in the, way, the
people can amend the constitution. l re-
peat, the nation can do whatever IT desires
to do, but it cannot avoid the natural and
legitimate results of its own conduct. The
young man upon reaching his majority
can do what he pleases. He can disregard
pie upon all that he has been taught to
consider sacred; he can disobey the laws
of the state, the laws of society and the
laws of God. He can stamp failure upon
his life and make his very existence a curse
to his fellow men,, and he can bring his
but HI cannot annul the sentence: 9Th
wages of sin is DEATH" And so with this
nation. It is of age, and it can do what 1t
pleases; it can spurn the traditions of the
past; it can repudiate the principles upon
which the nation rests; it can employ force
instead of reason; it can substitute might
for right; it can conquer weaker people;
it can exploit their lands, appropriate their
property and kill their people; but it cannot
repeal the moral law or escape the punish
ment decreed for the violation of human
Would we tread in the paths of tyranny,
Nor reckon the ~tyrant's cost?
Who taketh another's liberty,
His freedom is also lost.
Would we win as the strong have ever won,
Make ready to pay the debt,
For the God who reigned over Babylon
Is the God who is reigning yet"
Some argue that American rule in the
Philippine islands will result in the better
education of the Filipinos. Be not de-
ceived. Ii We expect to maintain a colon
ial policy we shall not find il to our ad-
vantage to educate the people. The edu-
Gated F1IipinoS are now in revolt against
us, and the most ignorant ones have made
the least resistance to our domination If
we are to govern them without their con-
sent and i've them no voice in determining
educate them, lest they learn to read the
of independence and the con-
stitutiQn of the United States and mock
US for our inconsistency.
The principal arguments, however, adj
vanced by those who enter upon a defense
First, That we must improve the present
opportunity to become a world power and
enter into International politics..
Second, That our commercial interests in
the Philippine islands and in the orient
make it necessary for is to hold the is
Third. That the spread of the Christian
religion will be facilitated by a colonial
Fourth, That there is no honorable re-
treat from the position which the nation
mas 1aken
The first argument is addressed to the
pride and the second to the ma
tion's pocketbook. The third is intended
for the church member and the fourth for
the partisan.
Growth of a Principle.
1t is a sufficient answer to the first argu-
ment to say hat for more than a century
this nation has been a world power. For
ten decades 1T has been the most potent
influence in the world. Not only has it
been a world power. but it has done more
than ah ali the tine p pGlf5lcS na 4f 6ae Of fu tha w Tafd
combined. Because our declaration of in
dependence was promulgated, others have
of 1776 fought for liberty others have
fought for it: because our constitution
been adopted The growth of the prfnci-
pie of self-government, planted on Amer
lean soil. has been the overshadowing
1t has made this nation conspicuous
among the nations and given it a place
ever ~ enjoyed. Nothing has been eaa9 able mo to
check the onward march of this idea. I
am not willing that this nation snail cast
aside the ~omnipotent weapon of truth to
again the weapon of physical war |
fare. / would not exchange the glory of
his republic for the glory of all the en-
pires that i've risen and fallen since time
The permanent chairman of the last re-
publican national convention presented
the p%ecuniary argument in all its bold
ness, when he said:
we make no hypoertSisal pTetenses of
on account of others. While we regard
the welfare of these people as a sacred
trust, we regard the welfare of the Amer
lean people first. We see our duty to our
selves as well as to others. We believe
IN trade expansion. By every legitimate
means within the province of government
and constitution, we mean to stimulate
the expansion of our trade and open
new markets"
This is the commercial It
Is based upon the theory that war can