Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-12-24


sity. We got them in a spasm. We
got them without judgment, without |
consideration, without necessity. We
got them without reasonable prospect |
of profit or honor to the American peo- |
Pile; and we hold them at serious risk to
our own Institutions, at immense cost
in blood and in treasure, and with almost
every man in the Philippine islands long
ing for liberty and hoping for indePen-
dence.
How long a war there will last,
when on insurrection will break out, and
when n break and when another insur-
rection will follow, no man can foretell.
The retention of the islands under CO.
lonial government means a large army
and huge expenditures. 1t means many
a green mound in the country church
yard. where the bones of promising boys,
sacrificed in the Philippines, are to be
laid away. 1t means many millions of
dollars in extra levies of taxes upon
American production and citizenship
and labor. 1t means trouble, trouble.
tTouble-danger along the whole line and
all the time.
yet in two days Ne rush through
this measure which apparently is the de-
claration of policy which apparently
Is the beginning of long reign of the
emperor of the Philippines-which APP
parently is the fixing upon the American
people permanently of burden grievous
to be borne
'Where comes TO us the honor and
profit of such legislation? What have
we reaped but pain and expense and sor-
lr, e ha
pines? Yet gentlemen contend that be-
cause we have them, because we hold
them at the point of the bayonet, be-
cause we are taxing the American peo-
pie to pay the expenses, because we are
maintaining large army to prevent and
suppress instructions, we must hold
them thus forever. 1t is thoroughly
illogical; it is thoroughly unAmerican;
it is thoroughly unprecedented in our
history.
How much better it would be if we
could turn back to the old principles, to
the old philosophy of any party in this
country. No party but yours ever has
been so bad, no party ever before has
gone 80 far from American principles,
has disregarded so grossly American ira
ditions as to exploit a policy like this.
why not legislate upon the theory of
parting with these islands, of allowing
the people there to set up and maintain
a government for themselves, of aiding
them to do it, of making an end of our
possessions over there, and with it an
end to our troubles and dangers? Why
not do that? Why not permit on this
bill an opportunity for discussion oi
such a policy? If that would not do-if
gentlemen would not be content with
that-how much better it would be to
see whether those islands cannot be dis
posel OF to some other nation, some coun-
try fond of colonial possessions whose
experience and constitution are adapted
to the government of an empire?
How much better, if such a thing
could be, to swap the Philippine Islands
| for a part of the British possessions in
North America, where American citizens
could find homes, where the Republic
could grow and expand, where the Ameri-
can flag might be planted and maintained
in peace forever. (Applause.)
The fact =, in my Judgment, that any
disposition that can be- made of the Phil
| ippine Islands i better than their re-
tention. And there are many DISPOSE
tions that can be made. You seek not
to part with them You seek not to al
low the people to govern themselves.
You are apparently Indifferent about
treasure and life and the Constitution,
or at least blind alike to the interests
of Filipino and American. You deprive
the Filipino of the right of self-gOvern-
ment because, you say, he cannot govern
himself as well we can govern our
| -. IN
For Filipino land, he can govern him
self. \ Filipino government by Filipinos
and for Filipinos would, of course, be
far inferior to an American government
by Americans and for Americans, just as
the Filipino is far inferior to the Ameri-
can And then for ourselves-and l am
selfish enough to look first TO the inter
ests of our country, or to try to do so;
to look first to the welfare of our own
institutions Ond to promote first our
own good and the good of other peoples
afterwaTds--how much of evil we could
get rid of and how much danger we could
shun, how much of harm we could escape,
how much of good we could do, provided
we would eXpend our resources and our
energies IN developing our own country,
to make of this Republic of ours not
only the greatest Republic in the world,
but the ideal Republic of all the world;
advancing on the lines of true progress
through the years and through the ages,
instead of frittering away our time and
wasting the treasure and sacrificing the
lives of our countrymen, in vain quest
of territory acros the ocean,"
Regardless of to what extent the
American people "a a whole may agree
with the Missouri congressman as to the
disposition of the burden the country
has taken upon itself, there is much food
for serious thought in what he has said,
not only upon the then pending legisla-
tion. but upon the worth and value of
the islands and the principle involved