The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1900-08-04
Continued from last weeks issue.
BOUGHT BEHIND THEIR
BACKS.

DhShC.
w hlle thus "usIng" the Fiiiplnos
as our military allies, the admins
tratloa secretly instructed our offi-
GERS that we might indeed profit
from tie effective cooperation of
the FllIpnos, but that 10 sort of
recognition should be accorded to
them winch might embarass our
scheme to make them our subjects.
! And then, when the surrender Of
Manila had been obtained, and we
| had sufficient troops on the ground
TO make US masters of the situation,
and we began egDtlatlons for peace
with the common enemy, and our
Filipino allies asked to be heard IN
these negotiations as to the future of
their country, we slammed the door
in their faces as If they had no right
10 their country at all. And behind
their backs we bought them, IS for
mer Secretary Day AYERS, from the
common enemy" bought them like
a drove of sheep, and we got the
"common enemy SPAN to
"cede" TO us the sovereignty over
the Philippines, sovereignty which
as We well know, she had PRACTICAL
ly lost and could not deliver, and
which, according to the principle
emphatlcally affirmed by ourselves
IN the case Of Cuba, Slain had for
felted to the people Of the islands.
And then, even before that peace
treaty had been ratified, and while
it was very uncertain whether II
would ever be ratified, President
Mckinley. without any legal right
by a bold usurpation OF power,
ordered the army to enforce thai
spurious sovereignty upon he whole
archipelago. Aud then, when the
Fillpinos, our late allies, asserting
their title to fire., dom and indepen
dence upon the ground OF our OWE
protested principles, refused to be
sold and bough, like herd of cattle
We destroyed by force OF arms the
government they had set up and pro-
ceeded to shoot them down. Aud we
have continued ever since this kill
lug business because We covet their
country.
In public speeches | have again
and again challenged the imperial
l.ts to show me IN the history of the
world sIrgle act of perfidy com
mltted by any republic m1re in
famous than that which has been
committed by President Mex jnley's
administration against our Filipino
allies. | have never received any aD-
swer. now address this challenge
to Senator Foraker personally. |
respectfully invite him 10 ransack all
his knowledge of the annals of man
kind for an act of treachery more
base and infamous, and then to ell
Tighten the American people with
his finding.
3. The interviewer Of the Herald
asked Senator Foraker Ibis question:
"But Mr.. Schurz says that all the
advantages--coInmerclal facilities,
footholds for the Asla.ic trade, ac-
commodations for our navy, ETC.
that have been obtained in the Phil
lppines might have been gained
without killing thousands of Fillpi-
nos for the purpose of subjugating
them to our sovereignty. VIII OF
that" The Senator answered:-s'It
does not alter the case from the
moral point of view, nor does it al
ter the question OF duty, that thous-
ands have been killed. Every body
regrets the loss of life, and nobody,
| know, more than the Pre- sident.
Bat when war comes and insurrec-
tons occur these results must tol-
low"
With due respect lie it SAID, this
is no answer at all. An evasion 80
palpab!e ameunts to confession
that no answer is possible. Indeed,
what could il be? Every intelligent
observer of current affairs knows
that If We had treated the Philip
pine Islanders justly by recognizing
then right TO independence as we
had promised 10 recognize that Of
the Gubans, we could have obtained
from them for the msre asking
whatever commercial advantages
aud whatever coaling stations aud |
other accommodations for our navy,
and whatever facilities for develop
ing the resources of the islands and
for exercising an slevatirg influence
among the natives we might have
desired. We could have
had all this without killing more
than ten thousand Flllpinos, with
cut sacrificing the lives of thousands
of our own people and wrerking the
mental and physical vitality of many
more thousands by service IN the
tropics, without keeping up large
army in the Philippines. COSTING, our