The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1900-08-23

by the commission to secure peaceful
end of the struggle, but the opportuni
ties they offered and urged were all neg
lected, if not, indeed. spurned-'s
The chapter devoted TO Capacity for
Self-Government-' is the result, the
port states, of diligent inquiry for sew
great number of witnesses were exam
med, of all shades of political thought
and varieties of occupation, tribe and To-
cality.
Tribes. Not a Nation.
The most striking and perhaps the most
significant fact in the entire situation is
the multiplicity of tribes inhabiting the
archipelago, the diversity of their lam
guages (Which are mutually unintelligi-
ble) and the multifarious phases of civ
misunderstanding all the way from the
highest to the lowest. As to this the
The Filipinos are not a natioc. but
a variegated assemblage of different
tribes and peoples, and their loyalty is
still of the tribal type
Converting their intellectual capacities
the commission says:
AS to the general intellectual capaci-
ties of the Filipinos the commission is dis
posed to rate them high. But excepting
in a limited number of persons these
pacities have not been developed by edu-
cation experience The masses of the
people are uneducated-
Need of Education.
That intelligent public opinion on
which popular government rests does not
exist in the Philippines And it cannot
exist until education has elevated the
masses, broadened their intellectual hori-
zon and disciplined their faculty of judg
ment- And even then the power of self
government cannot be assumed without
considerable previous training and expert
ence under the guidance and tutelage of
an enlightened and liberal foreign power
For the bald fact is that the F'ilipinos
have had any experience in govern
ing themselves.
shows
se1f-government is due to the old Span
ish regime, which gave the F'ilipinos lit
tie part in governing themselves
After reviewing this Spanish system the
commission sums up on this point:
This is all the training in self-govern-
ment which the inhabitants of the Phil
ippine Islands have enjoyed. Their lack
of education and political experience,
combined with their racial and linguistic
diversities, disqualify them, in spite of
their mental gifts and domestic virtues,
to undertake the task of governing the
archipelago at the present time The
most that can be expected of them is to
cooperate with the Americans in the
administration of general affairs. from
Manila a center, and to undertake,
subject to American control or guidance
Gas may be found necessary. the admin
istration of provincial and municipal af-
fairs.
Must Retain Rule.
.'Fortunately, there are educated Fill
pinos, though they do not constitute
large proportion of the entire population,
and their support and services will be of
incaIcula BILE value in inaugurating and
maintaining the new government AS ed
ucation advances and experience ripens,
the natives may be intrusted with larg-
er and more independent share of govern
ment, government, as the American
ideal, being constantly kept in view as
the goal. In this way American sover-
eighty over the archipelago will prove a
great political boon to the people
SHOULD our power by any fatality be
withdra the commission believes thu t
the government of the Philippines would
speedily lapse into anarchy, which would
excuse, if it did not necessitate. the in
tervention of other powers and the even
tual division of the islands among them
Only through American occupation,
therefore, is the idea of a free, self-gov-
erning and united Philippine common
wealth at all conceivable And the in
dispensable need from the Filipino point
of view of maintaining American sover-
eighty over the archipelago is recognized
by all intelligent E'ilipinos and even by
those insurgents who desire an American
protectorate. The latter, it is true, would
take the revenues and leave US the re-
sponsibilities. Nevertheless they recog-
nize the indubitable fact that the Fill
pinos cannot stand alone.
THUS the welfare of the F'ilipinos CO.
incides with the dictates of national hon
in forbidding abandonment of the
archipelago. We cannot from any point
of view esca pc the responsibilities of gov
eminent which our sovereignty entails,
that the performance of our national duty
| will prove the greatest blessing to the
| peoples of the Philippine islands,
Praise for Troops.
One of the closing chapters of the re-
| port is devoted to tribute to .'our sol
| diers and sailors in the war; The COM
mission says that the presence of Admiral
Dewey member of this body makes
4 it uniting to dwell his personal
achievements, but he joins in the eulogy
| of his comrades The commissioners wit
messed some of the many brave deeds of
| our soldiers, and they declare that all tina
skill, courage and patient endurance
| can do has been done in the Philippines.
They dismiss the reports of the desc
Grating of churches, the numbering of
prisoners and the committing of unmen-
| tionable crimes, and say they glad to
| express the belief that a was never
| more humanely conducted, adding:
| IF churches were occupied it only
| a military necessity, and frequently
| their use forts by the insurgents had
made it necessary to train artillery
| upon them
| Bright Trade Future.
| prisoners were taken whenever oppor-