New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-09-17

chaFscterl Our CONSTITUTION u1akfs pro
visions for colonial establishment Any err,
torizI government we rnight establish Nou4o
necessarily because of the populat ton q an
oiigarchy. which would have 70 be support sa
By armed soldiers Yet Hawaii has now 0eeh
annexed and her delegates have sat in the
National conventfss1s az the two great paEttSsss'
The fears then expressed IN relation 20 a . o-t
garchy' and armed 80. dfeFs' are BOZ TO- 80
ously entertained by any human osihs. 80 :.
they are precisely the objections urged agalhs.
tie acquisition of the Philippines al tisis teIS
moment We are making no new departure
We are not taking single step when IN an
way affects cur Institutions or our TRADITIONAL
roiicies From tfe beginning we have given
widely varying degrees Of self- government %
the different Territories. according 20 theii
The simple truth is that there Is nothing even
remotely resembling "fmperial fzn7 or raiiiISF-
ism" invotYed in the present development OF
that policy OF expansion which has oeeIl par ~
the history Of America from TIE day %heh sss~
became nata9a The words mean aDsI - .oe ~
nothing applied 20 our present policy "a "a
Philippines for this policy ls only tmpeFia'ist1c
in the sense that JefFerson's policy n LOUISIANA
was iFnpeTfaustic; oniy military Ia the sens
that Jacksgn's policy toward the SeTninoleS or
Clusters toward the Sioux embodied TTl!4t&Efstti
and there IA no more danger Of It's producing
evil results al horne now than there was OF It's
interfering with freedom under JEFFERSON OF
Jackson or in the days Of the Indian wars on
he plains. Our Army is relatively not as iafse
IL was in the DAYS OF wayne We hdSs NO.
one Regular for every thousand inhabitants
There is no more danger o. a dTaf' 'h4H 'heie
IS Of the reintroductf0n Of slavery
When expanded over NsW-Aexlco aIl1
California We secured free government 20 these
territories and prevented their raining unceI lAr
'rnilftarisr' Of a dictatorship like that OF santa
Ana OF the imperialism Of real empire n
the DAYS Of Macmillan. We put a stop 70 IN
periaItsTn n Mexico sooE as the Civil NaE
closed. We made great antrim per dIlstiC
stride when drove the Spsntards from Pofso
Rico and the Philippines, and thereby mace
ready the ground n these islands fcr that grad
uaIIy increasing measure Of self-goveFnIIle TOT
which their populations are seyeIa"y ~ 80
Cuba is being helped along the path 20 lnde-
pendence as rapidly as her own ctlZens are
content that she should 60 Of course thE
presence Of troops IN the Philippines during tns
TagaI instruction has 70 70 do With mill
tarfsrn OF imperialism than had their presence
n the Dakotas. Minnesota and wyoming our
ing the many years which elapsed before the
fra! outbreaks Of the Sioux were dehriIe4y put
down There is no mora mIlitar1sT1 OF Imperial,
ism IN garrisOniEg Luzon until order IS restored
than there was imperialism IN senoing soI9I5.9
20 South Dakota IN 1890 during the OgalalIa
outbreak The reasoning when 1ostlh5s oar
having made against Sitting bal ai7o
tustfaes cur having checked the outbreaks O
AgIfra do and his followers directed, as the5
were against Filipino and American alike
RIGHT AND DUTY IN PHILIPPINES
The only certain way Of rendering il neces-
sary for our Republic 10 enter on career OF
..TrilitarisrnyT would be 70 abandon the Fhlhp-
pines to their Own tribes aud at the same time
either TO guarantee stable government among
these tribes or to guarantee them against 9ut-
SIDE interference. A far larger army would o.
required 10 carry cut any such policy tlan VIII
h,s raer1frsd 70 secure order under the American
Gag. while the presence Of this flag On the ISL
ands ia really the only possible security against
outside aggression. The whole argument against
President McKinIey's policy in the philippines
becomes absurd when It is CONCEDED tnat "e
should 10 quote the language OF the Kansas
City platform, give TO the PnLlIppines mrs. q
liable form Of government II they are now
entitled to Independence they are also entitled
10 decide for themselves whether their govern
reept shall BE- stable or unstable, cfviiZeo OF
savage or whether they shall have any govern
uneut at all; wnfle II - Of course, eeoaIly eN4-
dent that under such conditions We nave no
right whatever to guarantee them against out
SIDE Interference any more than we have 10
make such a guarantee IN the case OF the
Boxers who are merely the Chinese ahalos ues
Of AguiualdO's followers IL we nave rsnt ~
eS+a tlish a stable government in the islands IL
necessarily follows that IL Is not only our Dsn
but our duty support that government uhtIi
themselves How else viii il be stable me
minute we leave IL, fl ceases TO be staoe-
whether we shall expand-f0r We have already
expandsd-but whether we shall contract me
PhiTUpines are now part Of American territory
To surrender them would be 70 SURRENDER Am
ertcan territory. They must, OF course, De gov
erned primarily in the interests OF their own
citizens. Our first care must De Tor the people
OF the Islands which have come under our
guardianship as a result OF the most righteous
fC-eign war that has been waged within the
memory Of the present generation They must
be administered in the interests of their lnhapI-
tants and that necessarily means that any
question Of personal partisan politics IN their
administration must be entirely eliminated we
must continue put at the head Of AFFAIRS IN
the different islands such men as Genera "ooc'
Governor Allen and Judge tart: ana IL - d most
fortunate thing that We are able to Illustrate
what ougF. 70 be done in the way Of sending
officers thtfher by pointing what actually
has been done The minor places in their ad-
rilistrat ton where II Is Impossible 10 MI them
by natives, must be filled by the strictest appli-
cation Of the merit system. II is very important
that In our own home administration the merely
ministerial and administrative Offices. where
the duties entirely non-poHtical, shall be
flied absolutely without reference 70 partisan
affiliations but this IS many times more i'm
portant in the newly acquired islands The
merit system is in It's essence as democratic as
our common school system, for IT simply means
equal chances and fair play for all
ABANDONMENT NOT JUSTIFIED.
II must be remembered always that govern
ing these islands in the interest Of the inhabi-
tants may not necessarily be 10 govern them as
the inhabitants at the moment prefer. TO grant
self government TO LuZon under Agulnaldo
would be like granting seif-government to an
Apache reservation under some local chief; and
this is no more altered by the fact that the
Fiipinos fought the Spaniards than it
would be by the fact that Apaches have long
been trained and employed in the United States
Army and have rendered signal service therein;
just as the PaWuees did under the Administra-
ton Of President Grant; Just as the StoCkbrIdge
Indians did in the days OF General Washington
and the friendly tribes of the Six Nations IN the
days Of President Madison
There are now in the United States cOmmuni-
ties Of Indians which have advanced far
that il has been possible to embOdy them as a
whole in cur political system. all the members OF
the tribe becoming United States citizens There
are other communities where the bulk of the
tribe is stiil too wild for It to be possible to
take such a step There are individuals among
the Apaches. Pawnees. IrOquois Sioux and other
tribes. who are United States citizens, and
who entitled to stand, and do stand, on an
absolute equality with all our citizens Of pure
white blood. Men of Indian blood are now seTv-
ing In the Army and Navy and in Congress, and
occupy high positions both in the business and
the political world There is every reason why
rapidly Indian. or any body of Indians
becomes TT for lf-govt rnment. he or it should