The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-09-06
THE PHILIPPINES.

Five years ago. had we been told that
the sun would never set on our territory.
we would have received with incredulitv
this statement of so rash a prophet.
Now that this state of affairs actually
exists, perhaps it may not be uninter-
estlng to the readers of our home paper,
The Journal, to know something of the
conditions and relations existing at the
present time in our foreign possessions
farthest from the seat Of home govern
ment
The two general classes of people in
the Philippines are the pure Filipinos,
or natives, and the mestizos, who are
mixture of Spanish and native blood.
The latter are by far the smarter and
more intelligent and form the better
class of society. They are the leaders
in all affairs of government and many
are we'll educated. 1t is a mistake to
think that these people are all ignorant
and not capable of acquiring an educa-
ton, for many have been educated in
Europe and quite a few have come
to this country and proved themselves
able to hold their own in many branches
OF learning. The language most in use
is, OF course, Spanish, although many of
the people are able to speak English.
They seem very anxious to learn our
tongue, and in fact to adopt many of
our customs. The country itself is
naturally very rich, and is capable of
producing large quantities of sugar,
hemp, coffee; and, in food, almost any
article that grows.
The commercial possibilities of the
islands are very promising and we will
yet see the advantages that will accrue
to us from our retention of this valuable
archipelago, which policy of retention
was unavoidable after the action taken
by Admiral Dewey. OF course nothing
can be done toward establishing titles
to land and property until law and order
have been enforced i'll all parts of the
island, but this probably will not be
done until after the presidential election
in November. Could the Filipinos
understand the small chance of success
Mr.. Bryan has for election to the high
est office in this land, | fully believe
that they would close their hopeless
resistance and come in to surrender
what arms they have and take the oath
| of allegiance. Many of these insurgents,
realizing the uselessness of further
resistance, have taken the oath, and
some even have allowed themselves to
be captured by our spies rather than
endure the ignominy of surrender.
When asked why they did not come in
and accept the terms of the amnesty, as
their cause was forlorn hope, and they
We're being whipped at every encounter,
they replied that it would be the worst
thing for them to do, in view of the
fact that should Mr.. Bryan be elected
the islands would be turned over to
them, and those who had accepted the
protection of our government would be
left to the mercy of the insurgents who
had remained loyal to their cause. The
! mercy they would receive from the
dominant party would be the contisca-
ton of their property and the loss of
their lives. It will be seen that their
side of the argument is not bad one,
providing, of course, that the election of
Mr.. Bryan is an assured fact, and next,
that he would fulfill his campaign pro-
misses, which l doubt he would ever do,
were he elected.
Those people who are pleased to call
themselves anti-imperialists, and who
aid and abet the enemies of their country
by sending them vile and reasonable
documents for distribution among the
insurgents, are responsible for the lives
of many of our brave soldiers who have
fallen, fighting an enemy sustained and
encouraged by the disgraceful utter
ances of so-called American citizens.
None realize more thoroughly the injury