Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-06-21

his detection certain. The great hui
initiation is that the thefts were from
the people of an island towards whom
we sustain judiciary relation and
whose confidence we ask. That this
government makes good the loss is not
enough, and perhaps the lesson has not
been in vain it it shall serve to stimn-
late us to even greater care in dealing
with these people for whom we have
poured out our blood and treasure,
and whom we hope some day to well
come on terms of closest friendship
as citizens of sister republic.
We are dealing with Cuba in spirit
not only OF fairness but of generosity
and OF absolute unselfishness, and
whenever the inhabitants of that is.
land evince and declare their ability
to take over its government and COM
troll, that day they shall receive it;l
and until then we shall continue to
administer it's affairs under a rule sat-
isfactory and salutary to all good cit.
liens in Cuba, and creditable to the
administration at Washington under
whose orders the government is con.
| Quoted.
Had there been no war with Spain
this republic. inclined by principle and
instinct and tradition to peaceful ways
would have continued the development
OF our national resources and character
within it's existing borders, content
| in the future, as thruout the century
just ending, with the path Of national
duty. We are not a warlike or .
quarrelsome people. We have never
coveted the possessions of foreign prin-
| ciEalities, and land lust is unknown
among us. We would fight to the
death to protect that which is right
fully ours; to avenge wrong sought
to be perpetrated upon us,and to guard
this hemisphere from any attempt by
foreign powers to further extend their
rule over it's soil. This has been our
creed, and we have looked forward
with hope and with confidence to the
time when these United States, lying
between the two oceans, should lead
among the nations of the earth, not
by right of the sword, but because the
character and high intelligence OF our
people, and the marvellous resources Of
our country, would enable us, in the
peaceful rivalry Of commerce, to dom.
mate eventually the markets of the
world. To that end we had, for more
than a hundred years, held ourselves
Ialoof from foreign complications, and
| sought to make ourselves strong from
within, with no. thought of colonial
conquest.
The future of nations, however, like
the future of man, is hid from mortal
vision, and, no more than man may &
nation choose it's own duties. When
this war ended and we faced our VIC
tory in all its completeness, we found
/ eight millions of people living upon
uncounted islands delivered into ouH
hands Abandonment Of them would
be confession that while oppression by
Spain of million and a half OF Cub
ans demanded our armed interference,
greater barbarity and cruelty to mil.
lions of Filipinos, less able to protects
themselves, was subject of no concern
to us. No civilized nation in the world.
no Christian nation, could have turned
these people back to Spain. Our conn
missioners, when they insisted upon
our retention OF the Philippines, voiced
the sentiments and wishes OF the
American people; and this nation has
realization Of the difficulties which
sibilities imposed upon us by the
Treaty of Paris.
The Philippines.
We are told that the islands are
rich in all the products of the trop-
les, in mineral wealth, and in the pos
sibilities of their future development.
So much the better. But il they wera
as barren as the Libyan desert, wa
would take them just the same.
We haven't been there long, but
long enough to reach two conclusions:
One is. that the first thing we intend
doing is to suppress the Tagal insur-
rection and to establish law and order /,
thruout the archipelago. That is the
first thing we Shall do. And the last,
is to consider, even for a moment, the
question of giving up or abandoning
these islands.
We are actually owners of the Phil
ippines by an undisputed and undub-
table title. We are there as the neces-
4 sary and logical outcome Of our vic-
tory over Spain. There are upwards OF
! a thousand islands sprinkled upon that
. southern sea, peopled by more than
eighty tribes of differing race and Lam
4 guage and, having absolutely nothing
in common with each other. Most OF
these tribes welcome our coming and
are grateful for OUT protection. The
Tagal tribe, hostile not only to us, but
to most Of the native tribes, are il i'm
surrection against our authority. They
have neither a government nor the
capacity to conduct one, and are wag-
ing predatory guerilla warfare which
would be turned against the other ma
tive tribes if we let them alone. What
would the democracy have us do? Give
them up to rapine and bloodshed, and
leave the islands as fotsam and jetsam
on the face OF the waters? These are
parallels in our own history. We pur-
chased Florida from Spain in 1921,
when it had four thousand white set
tiers, for five millions of dollars, and
other valuable considerations. The
Seminoles, natives of the soil, brave,
resolute, having far greater intelli-
gence and character than the Tagals,
disputed our possession. We sent An
! drew Jackson down to. fight then,
4 and it took us twenty-one
years to subdue them and send
Lea oE -