The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1900-08-09

lTCtONHl WIS nVl ndSSU upon NNClE
proximity TO the United States, nor
upon the language which they spoke.
nor yet upon the race or races 20 which
they belonged, Congress. by pracu-
cally unanimous vote declared that the
principles enunciated at Philadelphia
in l;16 were still alive and applicable
10 the Cubans.
who will draw a line between the
natural rights Of the Cubans and the
Filipinos? Who will say that the for
mer have right to liberty and the
latter have no rights which We are
nos are and Of right out to be free
and independent what right have We
to force our government upon them
without their consent? Before our duty
can be ascertained. and when their
rights are once determined. It Is as
much our duty to respect those rights
as 1t was the duty OF Spain to respect
the rights of the people Of Cuba, or
the duty OF England 10 respect the
rights OF the American colonists.
Rights never conflict; duties never
clash. Can il be our duty to usurp
political rights which belong 10 9TH
ers? Can il be our duty 70 kill those
who. following the example OF our fore
fathers, love liberty well enough to
fight for it.
Some poet has described the terror
which overcomes the soldier who. in
the midst Of battle. discovered that he
had slain his brother. 1t is written:
All ye are brethren Let us hope
for the coming day when human life
which when once destroyed cannot be
restored-will be so sacred that It will
never be taken except when necessary
TO punish a crime already committed
or to prevent a crime about TO be COM
mitted.
If 1t is said We have assumed be-
fore the world obligations which make
il necessary for us TO maintain a
government in the Philippine Islands
reply, first, that the highest obligation
OF this Nation is 10 be true to itself
No obligation to any particular nation.
or TO all nations combined. can require
the abandonment Of our theory Of gov
ernment and the substitution Of doc
trines against which our whole nation
al life has been a protest. And, sec
ond. that our obligations to the Fill
pinos who inhabit the islands are
greater than any obligation which We
can owe to foreigners who have a
temporary residence in the Philippines
or desire to trade there.
1T is argued by some that the FIJI
iDinos are incapable OF self-govern-
ment and that therefore We owe It to
the world TO take control Of them.
Admiral Dewey, in an official report
to the navy department. declared the
Filipinos more capable Of self-govern-
ment than the Cubans. and said that
he based his opinion upon a knowledge
of both races. But l will not rest the
case upon the relative advancement Of
the Filipinos. 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 too ignorant to govern himself.
Their partisans assert his incapacity in
reference TO all nations; if they can
not command universal assent TO the
proposition. il is then remanded to par
ticular nations; and our pride and our
presumption too often make converts
Of US. I contend that II is to arraign
the disposition Of Providence himself
to suppose that he created beings in
capable Of governing themselves, and to
be trampled upon by kings. Self-gov-
eminent is the natural government Of
man.
"Clay was right. There are degrees
Of proficiency in the art Of govern
ment. but it is a reflection upon the
creator to say that he denied to any
people the capacity Of self-gOvernment.
Once admit that some people are capa-
Bile Of f-goyernment and that others
are not and that the capable people
have a right TO seize upon and govern
the incapable. and you make force
brute force-the only foundation OF
government and invite the reign Of the
dcspOt. l am not willing to believe
that an all-wise and all-loving God
created the Filipinos and then left them
thousands Of years helpless until the
Islands attracted the attention Of Eu-
ropean nations.
Republicans ask:
Shall we haul down the flag that
floats over our dead in the Philip
pines?
THE same question might have been
asked when the American flag fiOated
over Chapultepec and waved over the
dead who fell there; but the tourist
who visits the City Of Mexico finds
there a national cemetery owned by
the United States and cared for by an
American citizen. Our flag still floats
over our dead. but when the treaty
with Mexico was signed, American au-
thorlty withdrew to the Rio Grande and
venture the opinion that during the
| last fifty years the people Of Mexico
/ have made more progress under the
stimulus of independence and self-gOY-
! ernment than they would have made
under carpet bag government held In
place by bayonets. The United States
and Mexico, friendly representatives
/ are each stronger and happier than they
/ would have been had the former beer
cursed and the latter crushed by ar
! iJnperialistic policy disguised as 'bene-
/ VIOLENT assimilation
Can we not govern colonies We
are asked. The question is not what
can We do, but what we ought to do
| This Nation can do whatever It desires
to do, but It must accept responsible.
/ ity for what 1t does. If the constitu
/ tion stands in the way the people car
amend the constitution. ] repeat, the
I Nation can do whatever 1t desires T.
/ do. but it cannot avoid the natura
and legitimate results of its own con
duct. The young man upon reaching
/ his majority can do what he pleases
He can disregard the teachings Of hi
parents; he can trample upon all tina
ne has been taught to consider sacred
he can disobey the laws Of the state
the laws Of society and the laws o.
God. He can stamp failure upon hi
life and make his very existence {
curse to his fellow men, and he cal
bring his father and mother in sor
row to the grave; but he cannot annu
D 81. n.
and Il can do what It pleases; It cai
spurn the traditions Of the past; It car
renudiate the principles upon which tn,
Nation rests; II can employ force in