People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1900-08-16

! stitutional guarantees and is subject to
! the same general laws as a citizen OF
Itate. Take away this security and his
rights will be violated and his interest
sacrificed at the demand OF those wh0have
POLITICAL influence. This is the evil Of the
colonial system, no matter by what nation
1t is'applied
Title TO the Philippines.
What is our title to the Philippine Is
landsY Do We hold them by treaty or by
conquest? Did We buy them or did We
take them? Did We purchase the peo-
pie! II not. how did we secure
title to them? Were they thrown
In with the land? VIII the repub-
tcans say that inanimate earth has value,
and when that earth Is nodded by the
Divine hand and stamped with the like
ness Of the Creator II becomes a fixture
and passes with the soil? II governments
derive their Just powers from the con-
sent OF the governed. 1t Is impossible to
| secure title to people. either by force or
by purchase. We could extingush SPANS
title by treaty, but II we hold title We
must hold II by some method consistent
with our ideas OF government. When we
made allies of the Filipinos and armed
them 10 night against Spain, we disputed
| Spain's title. II We buy SPANS title we
are not innocent purchasers But even
I II we had not disputed Spaln's title, she
| could transfer no greater title than she
| had. and her title was based on force
alone. We cannot defend such a title but,
as Spain gave us a quit claim deed, We
can honorably turn the property over TO
the party in possession Whether any
American Official gave the Filipinos for
NAL assurance Of independence is not
material There can be no doubt that we
accepted and utilized the services OF the
| Filipinos, and that when we did so we had
| full knowledge that they were fighting
| for their own independence and / submit
that history furnishes no example OF
| turpitude baser than ours If we now SUBJ
stitute our yoke for the Spanish yoke.
Let us consider briefly the reasons
which have been given in support of an
imperialistic policy. Some say that 1t Is
our duty TO hold the Philippine islands.
But duty Is not an argument; II Is con-
clusion. To ascertain what our duty is,
In any emergency. we must apply we'll
settled and generally accepted principles.
1t Is our duty to avoid stealing, no matter
whether the thing to be stolen is of great
or little value. 1t is our duty TO avoid
killing a human being, no matter where
the human being lives or to what race
or class he belongs Everyone recognizes
the obligation imposed upon individuals 10
observe both the hupan and moral laws.
but. as some deny the application Of those
laws to nations it may not be out OF
place to quote the opinion Of others. JEFF
ferson, than whom there is no higher po-
litical authority, said:
Il know Of but one code OF morality for
men, whether acting singly or collec-
lively"
FrankliR, whose learning. wisdom and
virtue are 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 neighbor
citizens. A highwayman is as much a
robber when he plumbers in a gang as
when singly: and the nation that makes
an unjust war Is only great gang"
Force Creates No Right.
Men may dare to do in crowds what they
would not dare TO DO as individuals, but
the moral character of an act is not &C.
termined by the number Of those who join
In 1t. Force can defend right, but force
has never yet created d right. II i was
true, as declared in the resolutions Of in
PREVENTION, that the Cubans ARE and of
right ought TO be free and Independent"
Language taken from the declaration OF
INDEPENDENCE, it is equally true that the
Filipinos ARE and Of right ought to be free
and Independent The right OF the Cubans
to freedom was not based upon their prox-
unity TO the United States, nor upon the
language which they spoke nor yet upon
the race or races to which they belonged.
Congress by practically unanimous vote
declared that the principles enunciated at
Philadelphia in l11G were still alive and
applicable TO the Cubans.
Who will draw line between the natural
rights of the Cubans ard the Fiipinos?
Who will say that the former has a right
to liberty and that the latter has no rights
which We are bound to respect? And, ii the
Filipinos ARE and OF right ought to be
free and Independent" what right have we
TO force our government upon them with
out their consent? Before our duty can be
ascertained, their rights must be deter
mined, and when the.t rights are once de-
termined, It is as much our duty to respect
those rights as it was the duty Of SPAIN
to respect the rights OF the people OF Cuba,
or the duty Of England to respect the
rights OF the American colonists. Rights
never conflict; duties never clash. Can
1t be our duty to usurp political rights
which belong to others? Can ii be our duty
to Kill those who, following the example
OF our forefathers, love liberty well enough
TO fight for It,
Some poet has described the terror which
overcame a soldier who, in the midst of
battle, discovered that he had slain his
brother. II Is written: "All We are breth-
rem. Let US hope for the coming OF the
day when human life-which, when once
destroyed, cannot be restored-will be so
sacred that II will never be taken except
when necessary to punish a crime already
committed, or to prevent a crime about
TO be committed.
II It is said that we have assumed before
the world obligations which make II neces-
sary for US TO permanently maintain a
government In the Philippine islands. I
reply, first. that the highest obligation OF.
this nation Is to be true to itself. No obli-
gStion to any particular nation, or 10 all
nations combined, can require the abandon
ment OF our theory OF government and the
substitution OF doctrines against which
our whole national life has been protest.
And, secoAd, that our obligations TO the
tilipinos, who inhabit the islands. are
greater than any obligations which we can
owe TO foreigners who have a temporary
residence in the Philippines or desire to
trade there.
Capacity of self-Government.
It is argued by some that the FilipInos
are Incapable Of self-government and
that therefore we owe 1t to the world 10
take control OF them. Admiral Dewey. in an
oHlclal report TO the navy department. de-
clared the FlliDinos more capable of self
government than the Cubans. and said
mat he based his opinion upon a knoWl-
edge OF boih races. But I will not rest
the case upon the relative advancement
OF the Fillpinos. Henry Clay. in defend
ing the rights Of the people of South
America to self-Eovernment, said:
1T Is the doctrine Of thrones that man
Is too ignorant TO govern himself. Their
partsans assert his incapacity in refer
ence to all nations: If they cannot com
mand universal assent to the proposition.
It Is then remanded to particular nations:
and our pride and our presumption too
often make converts Of US. / contend
that 1t is 10 arrsign the disposition OF
Providence Himself. to suppose that He
has created beings incapable Of govern
Ing themselves, and TO be trampled on by
kings. Self-government is the natural
government. of man"
Clay was right. There are degrees
OF proficiency in the art OF self-govern-
ment, but 1t Is a reflection upon the Crea.
tor TO say that He denied to any people
the capacity Of self-government. Once
admit that some people are capable OF