The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1900-08-15


When he uttered that passionate appeal:
Give me liberty or give me death, he
expressed sentiment which sim echoes
In the hearts Of men, Let them censure
Jehersoni Of all the statesmen OF history,
none have used words SO offensive to those
Spndase epd be tner 1spws IN
who declared that the colonists must
choose between liberty and slavery. Or.
III the statute of limitations has run against
the sins of Henry and Jefferson and Wash
ington, let them censure Lincoln, whose
Gettysburg speech will be quoted In de-
present advocates Of forSe ' and Conquest
are forgotten,
Some one ha. said tina, truth once
II goes on and on, and no one can set a
limit to tts ever widening influence. But
u It were possible to obliterate every word
written or spoken in defense of the prin-
ciples set forth In the declaration of in
dependence, war of conquest would still
leave its Legacy Of perpetual hatred, for
u was God Himself who placed in every
human heart the love of liberty. He never
made a race of people so low in the scale
OF civlliza ton or intelligence that 1t would
welcome foreign master.
Lincoln said that the safety of this nation
was not In its fleets, Its armies or its forts.
~, put IN the spirit which prizes liberty and
where and he warned his couhtrymen that
they could not destroy this spirit without
planting the seeds of despotism at their
Those who would have this nation en-
ter upon a career of empire must consider
not only the effect of imperialism on the
| Fllipinos. but they must also calculate its
erect upon our own nation We cannot
repudiate the principle of self-govern-
ment in the Philippines without weaken
ing that principle here.
ParnIyzinR Imperialism.
Even now we are beginning to see the
paralyzing influence of Imperialism. Here
tofore, this nation has been prompt to ex-
press its sympathy with those who were
fighting for civil iharty
OF activity has been limited to the west
ern hemisphere, our sympathies have not
been bounded by the seas. We have felt
1t due to ourselves and to the world, as
| well as to those who were struggling for
the right to govern themselves. to pro-
| claim the interest which our people have,
| from the date of their own Independence,
! felt in every contest between human
| rights and arbitrary power. Three-quar-
tiers of century ago, when our nation
was small the struggles of Greece
aroused our people, and Webster and Clay
| gave eloquent EXPRESSION to the universal
desire for Grecian independence. In 1896,
| all parties manifested lively interest
| in the success of the Cubans, but now
| when war is In progress In South Afri.
| ca, which must result in the extension of
| the monarchial idea or In the triumph of
republic, the advocates of Imperialism
| In this country dare not say word in
behalf of the Beers. Sympathy for the
| Beers does not arise from any unfriend-
illness toward England; the American peo-
pie are not unfriendly toward the people
of any nation. This sympathy is due to
the fact that as stated in our platform,
/ we believe in the principle of self-govern-
| ment and reject. as did our forefathers,
the claims of monarchy. If this nation
| surrenders its belief in the universal APP
| plication of the principles set forth in
the declaration of Independence. II will
| lose the prestige and influence which II
| has enjoyed among the nations as an ex-
ponent of popular government.
Our opponents. conscious of the weak
ness of their cause, seek to confuse I'M
ALT xxrft h CtnA how
dared to claim Jefferson as a supporter
of their policy. Jefferson spoke so freely
and used language. with such precision
that no one can be ignorant of his views
On one occasion he declared: IF there
be one principle more deeply rooted than
any other in the mind of every American
1t is that we should have nothing to dc
| with conquest" And again he said: Con
quest is not in our principles; 1t is in
| consistent with our government
Right Kind of Expansion.
The forcible annexation of territory tc
be governed by arbitrary power differs al
| much from the acquisition of territory &c
| be built up into states as a monarchy diff
fers from democracy. The democratic
| party does not oppose expansion, when
| expansion enlarges the area OF the repub'
lie and Incorporates land which can be
| settled by American citizens, or adds to
our population people who are willing tc
| become citizens and are Bile of dis
| charging their duties as such. The acqui'
sition of the Louisiana territory, Florida
Texas and other tracts which have beer
| secured from time to time, enlarged the
republic, and the constitution followed the
flag into the new territory. 1t is now pro
| posed TO seize upon distant territory al
ready more densely populated than our owr
country, and to force upon the people e
rant in our constitution or our laws. Ever
the argument that this earth belongs &c
those who desire to cultivate 1t and have
! the physical power to acquire 1t cannot
be invoked to justify the appropriation OF
the Philippine islands by the United States.
| II the islands were uninhabited American
citizens would not be willing to go there
and till the soil. The white race will not
| live SO near the equator. Other nations
have tried to colonize in the same latitude.
The Netherlands have controlled Java for
800 years, and yet to-day there are less
than 900 people of European birth scat
century and half of English domination
| in India, less than one-twentfeth OF one
| per cent of the people of India are of Eng
| lish birth. and it requires an army of 70, GOO
| British soldiers to take care of the tax
| collectors. Spain has asserted title to the
| Philippine islands for three centuries, and
| yet when our fleet entered Manila bay,
| there were less than 10000 SpaniardS re-
siding in the Philippines.
colonial policy means that we snall
| send to the Philippines few traders, few
| taskmaSters and few office holders, and
an army large enough to support the au-
thority of a small fraction OF the people
while they rule the natives.
Increase in Regular Army.
II we have an Imperial pOllcy we must
have a large standing army as its natural
and necessary complement. The spirit
which will Justify the forcible annexation
of the Philippine islands will justify the
seizure of other Islands and the domino
ton of other people, and with wars of con-
quest We can expect certain, II not rapid,
growth of our military establishment
That a large permanent increase in our
regular army is intended by the repub-
lican leaders is not mere matter OF con-
lecture, but matter of fact. In his mes
sage of December 5, 1898, the president
asked for authority to increase the stand
ing army to 100000. IL 1896 the army con-
the president asked for four times that
many. and a republican house of repre-
sentatives complied with the request after
the Spanish treaty had been signed and
no country was at war with the United
States. If such an army is demanded
when an imperial policy is contemplated,
but not openly avowed, what may be eX-
pected II the people encourage the republic
an party by indorsing its policy at the polls
large standing army Is not ii only NJ pc
panied by compulsory service, constant
source Of irritation, but 1t is ever a menace
| to republican form of government. The
| militarism will inevitably change the ideals
| of the people and turn the thoughts of our
| young men from the arts of peace to the
| science of war. The government which
| relies for its defense upon its citizens is
more likely to be just than one which has
at call a large body. of professional SOL
| diers. small standing army and well
equipped and we'll disciplined state militia
are sufficient in ordinary times, and in an
| emergency the nation should in the future
| as in the past place its dependence upon the
| volunteers who come from all occupations
at their country's call and return to pro-
| ductive labor when their services are no
| longer required-men who fight when the
| country needs fighters and work when
| the country needs workers.
/ Status of the FiIipinos.
The republican platform assumes that
hi frla do hn tot F,ad
der American sovereignty. and we have
a right to demand of the republican lead
ers a discussion of the future status OF
| the Filipino. Is he to be a citizen or a
| subject? Are we to bring into the body
polite 100000 or TO- 900 Asiatics, sc
different from us in race and history that
amalgamation is impossible? Are they
| to share with us in making the laws and
shaping the destiny of this nation? Nc
republican Of prominence has been bold
| enough to advocate such a proposition
The McEnery resolution. adopted by the
senate Immediately after the ratification
| of the treaty, expressly negatives this
/ idea The democratic platform describes