The Holly chieftain., 1901-02-01
SENATOR TOWNE ARRAIGNS
OUR POLICY IN THE PHILIPPINES

mind in whose gloomy recesses' this
enterprise of sacrilege and violence
hrst gathered form and pressure There
has indeed been evidenced disposition
BY Its most illustrious sponsors, as IL
their prophetic souls already trembled
al the inquisition of other ages, to Inn
pute the dubious responsibility to Prov
idence itself. 1 know not which to ad-
mlre the more, whether the modesty
which disclaims credit for the policy,
or the colossal presumption which
challenges and betrays the yanunted
confidence of the Almighty.
Il devoutly believe that the Republic
Is at the gravest crisis of its history,
ana feel that necessary preliminary
to Its getting safely out Is to cause the
people TO realize how it came to get in."
Mr.. Towne said of the Presidents
, proclamation that among the roses of
Its soft rhetoric of love. its fair speech
about our coming not as invaders or
conquerors, but as friends of the
mild sway of Justice and of 'benevo-
lent assimilation the already justly
awakened distrust of the Filipinos
clearly beheld the unsheathed and gilt
tering steel of despotism.
III We are bent on slaughter" said
he let 1t be in open guise. II we lust
Tor this peoples land, let us not glaze
our enterprise with false and sinister
pretense. Rather let us boldly raise
the sombre flag of international piracy.
whistle scruple down the wind and
then close In upon our feeble victim to
the cry of loot and glory"
Mr.. Towne maintained that the Unit
ed States was under the obligation of
circumstances, If not actual promise,
to grant independence to the Filipinos
ana that among nations, the former
was quite as binding as the latter.
He then argued at length in support
of his contention that the Filipinos
were perfectly capable of governing
themselves, pointing out that eighty
per cent. OF the population of I.uzon
can read and write. and holding that
the government established by Agui-
naldo was strong, symmetrical and pro-
gressive, even in the difficult and dis
turbing conditions which surround it.
He declared that the Filipino states
men would creditably meet almost
any emergency of administration in
even the most advanced government
and would have dignitied and orna-
mented the early struggles for nation
atty of any people known to history.
There is excellent reason to believe
that even Mt this day the existing Fill
plnO government low as 1t Is in es-
tate. and migratory to some extent as
to location, exercises a wide and re-
spected authority in the Philippine is
lands and is obeyed quite generally by
the local authorities in the interior.
There is not the slightest ground
for believing that any appreciable i'm
preston has been made upon the deter
mination of the Philippine people to re-
sist us to the end. There is no evil
dence that any strong native pro-
American element has any existence
whatever. AS the result of two years
OF wasting war, we occupy about one
tive-hundredth part of that archipelago.
No district is really .'pacified.' We
hold the ground our troops stand on,
practically nothing more.
During the campaign of 1900 1t was
false accusation against the Oppon-
ents of the administration policy that
they We're keeping alive smouldering
rebellion in the Philippines. The
newspapers and magazines made much
OF this foolish argument, and In many
a pulpit where the gospel of the bullet
has supplanted the Christianity of the
thS ptOuS dnhtueIIlh OIL DruUG0t
priesthood rose to heaven on the wings
of praNer.'
Mr.. Towne then declared that after
the elections the resistance in the Phil
ippines increased and that 1t had been
announced in the Senate within week
that 10000 American soldiers would
be needed In the islands for an indefi-
mite period.
In closing, Mr.. Towne characterized
the present contest ms an unholy war
for greed and empire. He said:
II shall not willingly cease to dream
Of twentieth century devoted to the
demonstration, the first and only one
In history, that n government Of the
people, for the people and by the peo-
ple' need not perish from the EARTH
There is an inspiration in the thought
that to our beloved country may be re-
served the eliminating glory of the
ages in crOwning with success the long
experiment Of righteous self-govern-
ment."
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