The age-herald., 1900-03-25

|
 | Editor of Atlanta Constitution.
 |
 opportunity to establish and maintain such
 a government. On the other hand, there has i been similar disposition to misrepresent l the attitude of many of those who believe 1 conscientiously that 1t is to the best in- i terest of our government to retain the l Philippines as a permanent possesslon l There is a vast difference between "impe-
 rialism' and expansion" and it is entirely | consistent that the later can be accom- 1 plished without the former as necessary l correlative.
 The advantage of commercial expansion Ito the people of this country Is so appar- 1 ent that argument is not necessary to sus- | tain the contention that we should leave | nothing undone to open new avenues for l the extension of our commercial facilities. 1 We are now at the open gates of China, and | our hold on the Philippines puts us in a position where we can take such advan- 1 tage of our opportunity would not have l been possible had we not obtained the un- expected footing given us when Dewey l sailed into Manila harbor and raised the American flag above the wreck of the Span | ish fleet Nobody denies the great beneht | to accrue from our increasing trade in the | Orient, and it is an unjust argument which l seeks to make 1t appear that those who | would hold out the hope of ultimate inde- l pendence to the Fiipinos fail to understand l the importance of the extension of our com | merce to the Asatic market
 l Many of those who are keenly apprecia- l tive of the riches offered in the develop
 ment of this market believe that 1t can bet
 ter be secured to American commerce by | dealing with the Filipnos as we have dealt
 with the Cubans than by proceeding with | them on the unjust basis that we have the right to tyrannize over them, as was | boldly declared, in fact that we proposed | to do with Porto Rico whose people were | formally put on notice by the representa- | lives of the dominant party in congress that l the Spanish yoke of tyranny which had l been taken from their throats by American | interference, was to be substituted with an- | other of American make, the only differ | ence being that the new one was to be of | somewhat different character than the old l one. There can be no doubt that this new | venture into the uncertain sea of colonial | experiment has already had a very naus- | eating effect upon the public mind. The peo- l pie of this country will never be satisfied
 to hold Porto Rico in discriminating bonds,
 and if we hold it-as we ought to do-it | must be as a territory--and ultimately as | a state-with full and free access to Amer 1 ican ports, and with American commerce
 given an open gate to the Porto Rican mar 1 ket. Any other course would be cruel, con- l scienceless, and defenseless, and the party
 or the power responsible for it will be re-
 pudiated by the American people.
 | In dealing with the Philippines, it Is well l to keep in view the fact that American sen- | timent without regard to party, is deter l mined to maintain the commercial footing l already established there. Viewing the mat 1 ter from party standpoint, the democrats l are no less emphatic in their endorsement | of this position than are the republicans. | If the democrats contend, they will In | party convention, that our government | must put down the insurrection in the Phil l ippines, formally establish our authority, | and administer the affairs of the Islands | with the view of giving their people ulti- | mate independence, as we have pledged the | Cubans, it will be because they think that l our commercial interests will be better con-
 served by such a policy than by declar- | ation for colonial administration as per- l manency Whether or not the republicans l declare openly for the permanent retention | of the Philippines, and the administration 1 of their affairs as a vassal possession they l must defend such policy in the approach | ing campaign, just as it's representatives | in congress have defended the theory of | permanent possession in antagonism to the | democratic contention of ultimate inde- i, pendence.
 l Around these two contentious the national | campaign of 1900 will wage. All other issues | will be of secondary importance-the trust l question, the currency and the tariff-ex- l cepting in so far as the Porto Rican tariff 1 brings up the whole question of protec-
 tion an incident to the main issue. If the republicans succeed in November | in electing their president returning a re-
 publican house of representatives and guar l anteeing a republican administra tion to l succeed the one now in power, there can | be no other possible alternative to the con- 1 clusion that it will mean that we are to l keep the Philippines permanent pos
 session, maintaining our hold on the S,O00,- l 600 people of the islands by the same pro- : cess of colonial administration by which l Great Britain is enabled 10 hold India; that
 our government Is to be committed to the
 establishment of a large standing army, J half-hundred thousand of which must be i retained in the Philippines to insure our su-
 premacy; that we must keep across the Pa ! cific 1000 miles from our own shores, q for
 midabe armada, ready to cope at any time 1 with the fleet of any nation with which we
 may have cross-purposes; that we must l make sweeping change in our system of l government for the purpose of adjusting 1t | to this newly created condition, and that l the taxpayers of the country must be pre- | pared to go down into their pockets to in- l dulge their demand for this luxurious de- i parture. It may develop into a profitable in- | vestmcnt and the taxpayers may ultimate l ly revel in the expenditure. but the assur- | ance is, to say the least, rather vague and | uninviting.
 | If, on the other hand, the democrats 1 should win the fall elections-if they should | elect their president. or, faHlng Tn that,
 should capture the house of representatives, | the verdict would be susceptible of only !, one construction, and that would be that l the American people are unwilling to com- 1 init their government, the strength of which has been proved by century of cru- | cial tests to new departure in the realm of colonial administration, the basis Of which is government without the consent | of the governed, authority maintained by | fcccc, subjection without devotion, and sub lCnntinued on 18th Pagel.