The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-10

have we replaced them with anything.
Along the northern and eastern csas'
OF tie island of Mindanao they had three
| provinces, where they had in successful
| operation all the machinery Of govern
| ment, courts, administrative offices, and
| municipal offices-eVerything to meet the
| wants of a civilized people or community.
| And this state of things continued for two
| years. At the end of that time we got
| possession there, and at once shut every
| thlng down tight, and so 1t stands and
mas stood for nine months. with no WISH
| BILE indication whatever that it will ever
! pc different. Nobody is authorized to
| make a conveyance: there is no way to
| protest a note; no possibility of trying
| any Kind of a civil case whatever; no sort
Oh means of administering an estate
| nothing, absolutely nothing to enable the
| people to attend to the affairs of ordi-
| nary civilized life.
And that Is not the worst of It, In
/ nearly all cases in those islands the
| Americans in charge do not know that
| these things are lacking 1t Is astounding
| to see the ignorance of such things among
I Americans. They do not know that these
| know of the things themselves and their
| uses Nearly all the army officers think
! if you sweep the streets of the towns and
make people keep the pigpens away from
their houses the people are well governed
I The only thing they know of government
is bossing, or at best, commanding them.
Not one in a thousand has any just con-
ception of government
o.
ready for self government, but will never
he capable of being satisfactorily gov
erned by people of the Western civiliza-
ton. And for the same reason there
will never be a time when it would be
safe to admit them States into our
Union. And it is also true that
we cannot govern them as foreign and
subject people without so Stultifying our
selves in the matter of our professions Of
principles of all true government as to
endanger our own Government in the
course of time. And We cannot govern
them as well as they can govern them
selves. And why do we want to govern
them at all? 1t has always been
the policy and practice of the English
to represent to the world that the peo-
pie it is profitable to rob and destroy are
ignorant and vicious savages who amount
to national nuisances, and a curse to the
world, etc, and our nation have evident
ly made up their minds to adopt that
policy and practice-or at least those who
run things and do things have-and
therefore it would not be popular to tell
the truth about the Fiiipinos. [ could
write a book that would be interesting.
and that would possibly sell, if | could
get my own consent to join the process
sion, and write about the odd and curious |
things over here, and so exaggerate these
as to make the whole work amount to
a tissue of lies. / have not seen anything |
in print that was other than this, in the |
form of books. speeches. etc. And
official reports have lied for purposes had
in view.
generations VIII read IN the
school histories that We. at this day and
time, were either vicious or criminally |
ignorant. And, after all, judge,
what do we want these lands for? Hyp-
ocrftical cant among a certain class says |
We want to Christianize and properly civ |
iilZe these people-they say we want to |
elevate them without using halter But |
that, of course, is the verieSu boSh. A |
few religious cranks, who are entirely ig-
norant of the situation, may really think 1
this, but, of course, no one pays any at |
tention TO them, because all sensible pep
PIE Know that that is not it, And then
again, others have been made to believe |
that God forced them onto uS-that cir
that our people could not con-
troll placed them in our hands. etc.
We got them on our hands be-
cause we wanted them, and worked to get |
them there: and it took lots of hard work
ana scheming, too. And it was not all
some investors of capital will probably |
make money out of it. In fact. army con-
tractors and shipowners have already
done so.
people there is absolutely nothing in it.
Nor will the islands servS, as an
outlet for Americans; furnish homes for
people. In the first place the islands al
mile than the United States has. and,
besides, they are more mountainous than
he Rocky Mountain region of the United
states is. That is, not a greater per cent
IF them is inha bitable by man than there
S of the Rocky Mountain region of the
United States. In short, they (the hab-
table portions of them are much worse |
now by the people that are
lere than the worst overcrowded State of
he Union is by the people there. And
white people simply will not live in this |
attitude. They never have done SO in any
lSe of the world; and why will people |
persist in such nonsense to suppose
hat they will do so now or hereafter? l |
fnow great many think that Hongkong /
S community of white people. and that
here are white people at Shanghai and |
Singapore, and Penang and Molucca and
lava and Sumatra and Sandockan, but !
hey think this because they have not
cad the authorities.
They only have to read the books of
he English to see that the English and |
Dutch colonies in the Tropics are not
olonies at all; they are simply govern
nents by English and Dutch people of |
ropical peoples. None of these so-called |
olonies have white people permanently
UGH as are connected with the army or {
he Government, or acting agents for '
companies at home. |
In short. the English and Dutch have e
Ot migrated to these colonies here in r
he Tropics. Notwithstanding they Che i
Olonies) have been maintained for CEN Y
iries, some of them three centuries. And 7
here are today almost no Spanish people e
t all in the Philippines. and there never q
ave been any except what were con- ]
ected with the army or the Government. v
paniards have never migrated here
Americans who produce things could b
OF come here and enter into competition S
18th these people as producers. 1t is y
onceded by all that these people can do v
verything here Except govern their
)untry) better and cheaper than Amer | a
ans can. h
But it is poorly worth while for me v
try to give you. in a letter anv idea | fl
the Philippine situation. 1t involves h
10 much. and as you say, the Philip II
me problem will not be settled for a s
ng time, II could be: We could settle Il
in year If We should say to the q
eople today, We will treat you as we f,
'omised to treat the Cubans' No Fill D
no asks more; and mighty few of them "
lwillingiy. They talk about the war al
ling over. There is more fighting going tC
| today than there has been at any | ii
me since the first part or what may be N
rmed the beginning of the war; and we | Dc
I'VE fewer real friends in the islands pl
an We ever had before. and each day W
es the number diminish. w
our great misfortune has been in the he
alibre' of the men that have been in ca
large over here, Otis and his outfit of 70
There has never been a m
me when they, in the slightest degree. m
any part of the situation W.
re One thing was that they thought 81,
at all they had to do was to whip a du
lipino army 1t never occurred to them en-
at in doing so they would stir up FIJI M
mo people that would have to be con- on
cred; and they are q people that are ga
unconquerable. The main rea- loI
n that they are practically unconquer-
lie is that their conditions of life are in
CHI. and their view of death and small tn
gard for 1t so peculiar. that the things wa
at would unquestionably conquer any
ople of the civilization that we under in
md have practically no effect on them Ra
all In fact. what would conquer an $50
lerican people (such as what caused the Lo
render of the South, for eXample) only ine
lders them desperate, and sets them to at
hting in cold earnest and without tn.