The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-08

II
as repugnant TO both the letter and spirit
Of our organic law. There is no place in
oHr system of Government for the deposit
OF arbitrary and irresponsible power. That
the leaders OF great party should claim
for any President or Congress the right to
treat millions of people as mere posses
stons and deal with them unrestraiHed by
the Constitution or the bill OF rights shows
how far we have already departed from
! the ancient landmarks and indicates what
may be expected If this nation deliberately
enters upon career Of empire.
The territorial form of government is
temporary and preparatory and the chief
security citizen OF a Territory has is
found in the fact that he enjoys the same
constitutional guarantees, and is subject to
the same general laws as q citizen OF
State Take away this security and his
rights will be violated and his interest
sacrificed at the demand of those who
have political influence. This is the evil
of the colonial system, no matter by what
nation it is applied.
The Philippine Question.
What is our title to the Philippine ISL
ands2 Do we hold them By treaty or by
conorest? Did we buy them or did We
take them? Did we purchase the people"
Ii not. how did we secure title to them?
Were they thrown ii with the land? WIN
has value and when that earth is r11oi1eta
by the Divine Hand and stamped with the
likeness of the Creator it becomes a fix
ture and passes with the soil? If Govern
menLs derive their just powers from the
consent OF the governed, IT is Impossible
to secure title to people, either BY force
or by purchase
we could extinguish SPANS title ty
treaty, but il we hold title We must hold
II by some method consistent with cur
ideas Of government When made al
lies OF the Filipinos and armed them 10
fight against Spain, we disputed SPANS
title. Il we even buy SPANS tide we
are not innocent purchasers. But even If
we had not disputed Spain's title, she
could transfer no greater title than she
had, and her title was based On force
alone
We cannot defend such title, but as
Spain gave Us q quit claim deed, We en-
honoTabiy turn the property over TO the
parry il possession. Whether any Amer
can official gave the Filipinos formal as
surance OF independence is not material
There can be no doubt that We accepted
and utilized the services Of the FilirinCS,
and thai when we did SO we had full
knowledge that they were fighting for thair
own independence, and / submit that his
tory furnishes no example Of tuTpitUde
naser than OURS if we nov substitute our
yoke for the Spanish yoke
LET consider briefly the reasons
which have been given in support OF an
imperjalistic policy Some say that it is
our duty to hold the Philippine Islands.
But duty is not an argument: it is q con
elusien- To ascertain what cur duty Is in
any emergency, we must apply well-set-
tied and generally accepted principles It
is our duty to avoid stealing no matter
whether the thing 10 be stolen is Of great
or little value.
1T is cur duty to avoid killing q human
being. no matter where the human being
lives or to what race or class he belongs
Everyone recognizes the obligation impos-
ed upon individuals to observe both the
human and moral law. but, as some deny
the application OF those laws 10 nations
il may not be out of place TO quote the
opinions OF Others. Jefferson. than whom
there is no higher political authority, said:
know OF but one code OF morality
for men. whether acting singly or coIlec-
lively
Franklin. whose learning, wisdom, and
virtue are a part of the priceless legacy
bequeathed to US from The Revolutionary
days, expressed the same idea in even
stronger language when he said:
Justice is as strictly due between
neighbor nations as between neighbnr citi-
zens. 4 highWRyman Is as much IobbeT
when he plumbers in gang as when sin
gly5 and the nation that makes an unjust
var is only q great gang
Men may dare 10 do in crowds what
they would not dare to DO as individuals.
but the moral character OF an act is lot
determined by the number of those who
join in it Force can defend right. but
force has never yet created a right. II
IL was true, as declared in the resolution
Of intervention. that The Cubans are and
Of right ought 10 be free and indePen-
dent language taken from the Declara-
Gil
that the Filfpinos are and OF right ought
TO be free and independent The right Of
the Cubans to freedom was not based upon,
their proximity to the United States, noT
upon the language which they spoke, NOR
yet upon the race or races TO which they
belonged. Congress by practically unaRi-
nous vote declared that the principles
enunciated at Philadelphia IN 1z76 were
still alive and applicable TO the Cubans-
The Right to Liberty.
who will draw line between the
natural rights OF the Cubans and the Fla
pfnos7 Who viii say that the former has
a right to liberty and that thu latter has
no rights which we are bound TO respect?
And if the FiIipinos are. and Of rigEt
ought to be- free and independent WhKt
right have We 10 force our Government
upon them without their consent? Before
our duty can be asceTtafned. their rights
must be determined and when their rights
are once determined. il is as much or
duty to respect those rights as it was the
duty OF Spain 10 respect the rights o. the
people of Cuba. or the duty OF England 10
respect the rights of the American coo
nists Rights never conflict; duties n5ve-
clash Can 1t be our duty to usurp 20
Iitical rights which belong to others2 Can
it be our duty to killlthose who. following
the example of cur forsfathers love lib
erty well enough 10 fight for it?
Some poet has described the terror
which overcame q soldier who, IN the
midst eff battle, discovered that he had
slain his brother 1t Is written All ye are
brethren Let us hope for the coming of
the day when human life-which whsn once
cannot be restored-wnl BE- so
sacred that it viii never De taken EXCEPT
when necessary TO punish crime already
committed or TO prevent q crime about To
be committed.
II it is said that We have assumed he
fore the world obligations which make il
necessary for us to permanently msiEtsia
a GSxarnment in the Philippine Islands, ]
reply first, that the highest obligation 81
this nation is TO be true to itself. No oh
legation to any particular nation, or To al
nations combined, can require the atardo1-
ment of cur theory of government and
the substitution of doctrines against which
our whole national life has been a protest
And, second, that our obligations TO the
Filipinos, who inhabit the islands, a-e
greater than any obligation which we can
owe to foreigners who have a temporary
residence in the Philippines or desire to
trade there.
at Is argued by some that the Fflipiros
are incapable of self-goyernnlent and that