The age-herald., 1900-08-28
Scathing Reply to Republican
 Vlce-PreSidential Candidate. SCORES THE ADMINISTRATION
Its Policy in the Philippines. Severely Arraigned- Speech Which Will be Used as Campaign
 Document

Duluth, Minn., August 27.-The largest gathering to listen to a political speech that ever assembled in Duluth heard this evening Charles A. Towne, who opened the campaign in a lengthy address, in which he replied to the recent speech of Governor Roosevelt, delivered at St. Paul on the occasion of the national convention of the League of Republican Clubs, and arraigned the administrations policy in the Philippines. The audience, which com prised persons. of all shades of political belief, and many scores of women. lis- tened attentively to the orators remarks for more than two hours, and frequently throughout the discourse the applause was deafening
 The speech, which will be used as a campaign document, is considered as MT. aoWne's greatest political effort. At its conclusion ne was rendered an ovation by the multitude.
 MT. Towne will leave Wednesday of Thursday for Omaha and other westsern points to enter actively into the work of the campaign.
 Mr. Towne's Speech
 MT. Towne opened by expressing a lack
 
 his party, right or wrong" or "any presi- dent, right or wrong,' considering the lat ter simply a statement of divine right of kings. He then said:
 The issue of first moment the one that temporarily dWarfs all others by compari- son is wine ther the Republic itself is to continue Because of the magnitude of ..-.s question, which not only the Demo- cratic platform but the public concern de- clares to be the paramount issue of the campaign and because l design to use a good part of this address in commenting upon an address delivered at St. Paul re- gently by the Republican caididate for Vice President,I shall devote the greater part of the time tonight to the considera- tion of imperialism. It is one of the para doxies of history that policy of subjuga- ton and conquest should have been the inheritance of a war of liberation"
 lie then reviewed at some length the causes leading up to and the chief events of the Spanish war. He took up the nsur- rection in the Philippines, which had been raging for many years, sketching 1t briefly and telling how brilliantly Dewey and his sailors engaged the Spanish fleet in Ma nia bay, and continued:
 '1t was thus as a mere incident in the prose cution of our war for the liberty of Cuba that we found ourselves in the Phil ippine islands. It is claimed that circum- stances were such as to compel us with due regard to our interests and our internation- al duties to pursue in these islands there- after the policy for which the administra- tion has become responsible. A brief ex- p!anaticn, however, of these circumstances, will suffice to show that the policy adopt ed was not only unnecessary but that 1t was in the highest degree disadvantageous to the United States, while involving the ut most cruelty and injustice towards the in- habitants o. those islands and violating every principle of good faith and the hon. orable traditions of American diplomacy"
 Asto ,he Nil m s
 After again referring to the different sit- nations In Cuba and the Philippines he said:
 But the statement that we never prom ised the Filipinos their independence con- veys a false impression. Our conduct was such as to estop an honorable nation from using such plea as a Justification or ex- cuse for attempting to sujugate the islands The Filipinos made no secret of their ob- ject In rebelling against the Spanish gov ernment What they desired to do was to form government of their own and to be absolutely independent of Spain. The rep resentatives of the United States in the east Knew this ODJect perfectly well. The Fill pnos proclaimed 1t to the world.
 ''It is important to bear in mind that the Filipino Republic established under the leadership of Aguinaldo was a government in fact recognized throughout the Island of Luzon and several adjoining islands to the South, capable of preserving order, collect ing taxes, maintaining education and a complete system of public administration, raising and supporting army for a con- siderable period numbering 5000 men and conducting war according to the humane principles of modern international law.
 Tt Is the fashion among apologists for the administration policy to represent the Filipinos as little short of barbarians and savages and as wholly incapacitated for the task of self government. Fortunately, the evidence on this subject is readily accessi- ble and overwhelming in quantity and cer- tainty."
 He quoted from Lieutenant John D. Ford of the United States Navy, General Charles A. King, United States Army and others in support of his statement Con- tinuing he said:
 .'It is impossible to determine the exact time at which the authorities at Washing ton decided to take forcible possession of the Philippine Islands. It is clear that AAulRnl DoWay for a considerable paxAod after the battle of NEAAlia Bay had no knowledge of such an intention. General Anderson, who took command of our land forces in the islands about the first of July, 1898, in an article in the North