The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-08-21
WHAT YOU VOTE FOR.

WHAT YOU VOTE FOX,
There is no doubt left in the minds
of the public as to what Mr.. Bryan
will do with the Philippines if he is
elected President next November.
Before a ~perspiring audience of be-.
tween 10000 and 10000 people at In
dianapolis on Wednesday, Mr.. Bryan,
in his speech of acceptance, declared
that imperialism was the domi-
nant issue, and accused the Republi-
can party of attempting to press
economic questions upon the country
to the exclusion of those which in
vo1ve the very structure of our gov
eminent" The critics of Mr.. Bryan
have been asking of him, What
wouldyou do if you we're President?''
and Mr.. Bryan certainly tells them
in language unmistakable in the fol
lowing: eff elected, Ishall convene
Congress in extraordinary session as
soon as / am inaUgurated and recon-
mend an immediate declaration of
the nations purpose, first, to estab-
lish a stable form of government in
the Philippine Islands, just as we are
now establishing a stable form of
government in Cuba second, to give
independence to the Filipinos, just
as we have promised to give indie
pendence to the Cubans; third, to
protect the Filipinos from outside in
reference while they work out their
destiny, just as we have protected
the republics of Central and South
America and are, by the Monroe
doctrine, pledged to protect Cuba
A European protectorate often re-
suits in the exploitation of the ward
by the guardian. An American pro
tectorate gives to the nation pro-
tected the advantage of our strength
without making it the victim of our
greed. For three-quarters of a cen
fury the Monroe doctrine has been a
shield to neighboring republics and
yet it has imposed nc pecuniary bur-
den upon u.s."
The issue thus is sqUarely joined.
President Mckinley in his speech of
acceptance at Canton a rev weeks
ago said: "There must be no scuttle
policy. We will fulfill in the Philip
pines the obligations imposed by the
triumph of our arms, by treaty of
peace, and by international law, by
the nations sense of honor, and,
more than all, by the rights, inter
ests and conditions of the Filipinos
themselves. y X The Philip
pines are ours and American author
ity must be supreme throughout the
archipelago" While we are not alb
soIutely clear as to what is involved
in the administration plan-no eye
can e so far as to tell what our
future policy may be if the islands
are kept as colonial possessions, in
which by the nature of things there
must be taxation without represen-
tation-there is no doubt as to the
Republican party's determination to
colonize the Philippines. And this
statement of the President, followed
by a distinct policy named by Mr.
Bryan in direct opposition to it, re-
moves all elements of doubt. A vote
for Mr.. Mckinley is a vote of en-
dorsement of the policy of colonial
expansion in Asia a vote for Mr.
Bryan means the independence Of
the Filipinos, established, under
United States protection, in a gov
eminent of their own and secured
from foreign interference. In no
recent campaign has an issue of the
paramount character of this one been
more clearly defined, and voters all
the country over may congratulate
themselves that the art of the spell