The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-08-27
About Flag Hauling.


ing. The Times says: "The
American flag was hauled
~ down in Tripoli. The Ameri-
can flag was hauled down in Mexico.
1t was hauled down on other historical
occasions. The American flag has
been planted in Cuba. The president
promises to haul it down. 1t has been
planted in Pekin. The president prom
ises to haul 1t down. The adminis-
tration does not find it difficult to haul
down the flag anywhere but in the
Philippines, where It has no business"
We suppose most of the readers of
the Times know--they should If they
don't-that neither in Tripoli, Mexico.
Cuba nor Pekin was the American
flag lifted in sovereignty duly ratified
by solemn treaty. In the Philippines
the flag is flying because a treaty Of
Bryan helped to ratify, and which, we
are free to confess, could not have
been ratified except for the votes OF
the II Democratic senators whom he
rallied to its support, makes the Phil
ippines as completely the territory Of
the United States as the territory
comprehended within the Louisiana
purchase was when President Thomas
Jefferson bought that great tract, now
the richest and most promising part
of our domain, from Napoleon Cf
France, without the consent of the
governed" and proceeded to govern
1t very much as President Mckinley
is proceeding to govern the Philip
pines.
To say that the administration "has
no business" in the Philippines is to
forget that it has to put down a guer-
rlla warfare kept up by bandits and
free hooters who are encouraged in
their resistance to American authority
by the reasonable encouragement held
out to them by the flag-haulng ele-
ments Of the home population. Gem
eral Lawton laid his life down in the
execution of that business: and one
of the last messages he wrote for the
guidance of public opinion at home
was this letter to ex-Minister Barrett,
which today has the solemn emphasis
Of message from the tomb:
"I would to God that the truth of
this whole Philippine situation could
be known to every one in America
as I know it. If the real history,
inspiration and conditions of this in
surrection, and the influences, local
and external, that now encourage the
enemy as we'll as the actual possi-
bilities of these islands and peoples
and their relations to this great
East, could be understood at home,
we would hear no more talk of un-
just Shooting of government into
the Filipinos, or of hauling down
our flag in the Philippines. If the
so-called anti-imperialists would
honestly ascertain the truth on the
ground and not in distant America,
they, whom I believe to be honest
men and misinformed, would be con-
vinced of the error of their state
ments and conclusions and of the
unfortunate effect of their publica-
tions here. If am shot by Fill
pino bullet, it might as well come
from one of my own men, because 1
know from observations confirmed
by captured prisoners that the con-
tinuance of fighting is chiefly due to
reports that are sent out from
America"
They talk about apathy, but we don't
expect to see much apathy in the
manner in which the patriotic people
of these United States will express at
the polls next November their opinion
upon the proposition to throw up both
duty and honor in the Philippines and
strike colors to Aguinaldo.