Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-10-25

times that of senator of the United
States, and voting to a territorial gov
ernor salary more than double that of
the governor of the wealthiest state In the
Union. How must such action appear to
the Filipino laborer, who, furnishing his
own food and lodging, earns but twenty
five cents In gold day! 1t must be re-
membered that wealth is nothing more
than stored labor, and that In the last
analysis labor in one form or another
pays all taxes. Such action cannot but
make the little brown man doubt the abil-
ity of one nation to give good government
to another Does not the conflict of in
terest between us and the Philippine
people, arising from the growing of COM
peting stable products, render us incapa-
BILE of governing them to their best inter-
est: We know that it will be to the well
fare of the islands to give free trade with
the United States. American, Spanish
and Filipinos there unanimously agree
that the islands can never be well devel-
oped without 1t, yet the very fact that
we hesitate in the matter, shows that we
are consulting our own interests instead
of theirs. No matter how learned and
Just the Judge may be, the ethics OF our
jurisprudence has determined that be is
incapacitated from deciding case when
his own interest might be affected. Ma
tons are but aggregations of individuals
and are subject to the same influences.
The Filipino is not bold, warlike or
unruly person; he impresses every one
as of a shrinking, submissive, kind ma
ture and as one who will suffer great
wrongs before he will resist. Such peo-
pie always appeal to the law and support
good government. They have not the
tendency of the Spaniard toward revolu-
ton. The revolts in which they have
participated have been to overthrow
Spanish reigns of terror, almost equal In
barbarlty to that of the Duke of Alva in
the Netherlands.
The brief experience they had In self
government prior to the insurrection,
was entirely in their favor. They es-
tablished a government modelled after
our own. Their state papers would have
done credit to any nation. They inaug-
urated good judicial, school and revenue
systems and preserved law and order.
Consul Barrett, a strong supporter of
the present administration, wrote of the
hundred men who composed the Philip
pine congress as follows:
"These men, whose sessions | repeat
edly attended, conducted themselves
with great decorum and showed a
knowledge of debate and parliament
ary law that would compare favorably
with the Japanese parliament. The ex-
ecutve portion of the government was
made up of a ministry of bright men,
who seemed to understand their re-
spective positions.
Consul General Wildman, an appointee
of the president, speaking of the Philip
pine government, SAID: "Aguinaldo has
made life and property safe, preserved
order, and encouraged II continuation OF
agricultural pursuits. He has made
brigandage and loot impossible, re-
spected private property, forbidden ex-
cess either in revenge or In the name OF
the state, and made woman's honor
safer in Luzon than it has been In three
hundred years."
Admiral Dewey, it will be remembered,
cabled: "These people are far superior
in their intelligence and more capable
Of self-government than the natives of
Cuba; and | am familiar with both
races"
The best evidence of the ability of the
Philippine people to govern themselves,
Is that they possess large intelligent
class, thoroughly identified in interest
with the islands and capable of admins
tering good government. The civil COM
mission has recognized this ability by re-
Gently adding three native members to
that governing body; by appointing
three Filpins judges of the supreme
court; by selecting about half of tie
Judges of the first instance and nearly all
the governors of the provinces from that
race; and by appointing a solicitor-gen-
eral and many other officers from the
natives. Are these officials not in the
governing business. and do they not per-
form their work as well as the Ameri-
cans? Is it not possible that they are
capable of governing because they were
appointed by the representatives of dis
tant nation? Would they lose that abil-
ity If elected or chosen by properly con-
stituted authority of their own? In the
latter event they would make far better
officers, because they would consult only
the interest of their own people instead
of that of a nation 1000 miles away.
The law of our being is that "the just
powers of government are derived from
the consent of the governed" Then why
continue policy which means the con-
tinuing loss of millions to the govern
ment, the weakening of the military
power of the nation and the destruction
of the policy under which we have
| grown so great? Why not be be true to
our nature and fulfill the prayer of Lin
: coin "that government of the people, for
! the people and by the people shall not
, perish from the earth"
JOHN f. SHAFROTH,
10 n.