The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-11-06

jects, voting to each member q salal
which is nearly double that of a cab
net officer of the greatest nation of til
world, and three times that of sen;
tor of the United States, and votll
to territorial governor a salary mor
than double that of the governor {
the weallhiest State in the union. Ho'
must such action appear to the Fllipin
laborer, who, furnishing his own foo
and lodging, earns bIt twenty-Ev
cents in gold day! 1t must be re
membered that wealth is nothing NOR
than stored labor, and that in the las
analysis labor in one form or anothe
pays all taxes. Such action cannot bu
make the little brown man doubt th
ability of one nation to give good gov
ernment TO another. Does not tn,
conflict of interest between us and th,
Philippine people, arising from tn,
| growing of competing stable products
render us incapable of governing them
to their best interest? We know that
it will be to the welfare of the islands
to give free trade with the United
States. American, Spaniards and Fill
pinos there unanimously agree that the
islands can never be well developed
without IT., yet the very fact that we
hesitate in the matter, shows that we
are consulting our own interest instead
of theirs. No matter how learned and
just the judge may be, the ethics of
our jurlsprudenc has determined that
he is incapacito ed from deciding a
case when his own interest might be
n Oft oro h,f
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
nature and rs one who will suffer great
wrongs before he will resist. Such
people always appeal to the law and
support good government. They have
not the tendency of the Spaniaid to-
ward revolution. The revolts in which
they have participated have been to
overthrow Spanish reigns of terror, al
most equal in barbarity to that of the
Duke of Alva in the Netherlands.
The brief experience they had in
self-government prior to the insurrec-
tion, was entirely in their favor. They
establisheda a government modelled after
our own. Their State papers would
have done credit to any nation. They
inaugurated 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
Philippine Congress as follows:
These men, whose sessions l re-
attended, conducted them
selves With great decorum and showed
a knowledge of debate and parliament
with the Japanese parliament. The
executive portion of the government
was made up of ministry of bright
men, who seemed to understand their
positions"
Consul. General Wildman, an ap-
pointee of the president, speaking of
,he Philippine government, said:
Z" Aguinaldo has made life and pro-
perty safe, preserved order, and en-
continuation of agricultural
pursuits. He has made brigandage
and loot impossible, respected private
property, forbidden excess either in re-
venge or in the name of the State, and
made a womau's honor safe, in Luzon.
thau it has been in three hundred
years"
Admiral Dewey, it will be remem-
bel ed, cabled: "These people are far
superior in their Intelligence, and more
capable of government than the
natives of Cuba; and 1 am familiar
with both races"
The best evidence of the ability of
the Philippine people to ,vern them
selves, is that they possess large in
telligent class, thoroughly identified i'll
interest with the islands and capable
of administering good government.
The civil commission has recognized
this ability by recently adding three
native members to that governing
body; by appointing three Filiplns
judges of the supreme court; by select
ing about half of the judges of the first
instance and nearly all the governors
of the provinces from that race; and
by appointing sollcitor-general and
many other officers from the natives.
Are these officials not in The govern
ing business, and do they not perform
their work as we'll as the American !?
Is it possible that they are capable of
governing because they were appoint
ed by the representatives of distant
nation? Would they lose that ability
if elected or chosen by properly con-
stituted authority of their own2 In
the latter event they would make far
better officers, because they would con-
cult only the inter. st of their own peo-
pie instead of that of 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 continuing loss of millions
to the government, the weakening of
the military power of the nation and
the destruction of the policy under
which we have grown 80 great2 Why
not be true TO our nature and fulfil
the prayer of Llncoln that government,
of the people, for the people and by
the people shall not perish from the
earth"
JOHN II. SHAFRoTH.
Manila, p. l. sS
/ -zzs>-~o.-Ss. -Ss.s-
In Minneapolis tho postoffice depart
msnt has given q contract to an auto