The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-10

reading of that immortal instrument.
millions If it would point out the article,
or section of the constitution which
makes a distinction between the negro
and the Filipino If the Journal cannot
do that, it would be equally interesting
to have pointed out the guarantee which
the negro has under the constitution that
does not apply with equal force to the
Filipino or any other inhabitant of the
territory of the United States. The
Journal has evidently not kept pace
with it's own news, or it would have
! learned that in a case recently decided
by the supreme court of the United
! States-a case which at the time caused
some comment in the leading papers and
which it commonly called the De Lima
case, that at the time of the ratification
of the treaty of Paris by the United
States senate, the territory of Porto
! Rico and that of the Philippines became
| United States territory and subject to
the> provisions of the constitution. The
Journal is perhaps not aware that in
a subsequent case, passed upon ten
minutes after the De Lima case, the SUI
preme court decided that so far as the
imposition of taxes is concerned. con-
gress might regard United States terri
tory as foreign. Comments on the logic
of this decision are not now necessary.
The Journal evidently conceived the idea
that this case applied to the Philippine
Islands and to it's citizens and inhab.-
tants in general 1t is an error into
which many uniformed have fallen.
The constitutional guarantees of per-
sonal and political rights apply to the
inhabitants of the Philippine Islands
with the same force and effect that they
apply to South Carolina to Arizona, and
to Minnesota And any attempt to mod
fly or curtail them, whether by the
Southern Democracy or the Republican
administration in the Philippines, viii
be equally unconstitutional and should
receive the reprobation of all aw-abiding
citizens. If the constitution was not
made to cover the cases of the ignorant
blacks in the Southern states, the edu-
Gated Hawaiians and the FilipinOs, then
let it be amended to exclude them and
all others who are deemed unfit to par
take in their own government.
The suggestion that the Filipino is not
denied the right to suffrage, that it is
extended to them on a variety of sub
jects, is amusing, when read in conjunc-
ton with the preceding sentence. By
what authority is this suffrage extend
ed to them on variety Of subjects?"
Is it guaranteed by the constitution? No
According to the Journal, the constitution
does not apply to that territory. BY
what authority, then, are these Filipinos
allowed to vote on any thing?
While not apologizing for Mr.. TiMman
we will suggest to the Journal that it
is our opinion that the South
would not object were the same treat
ment extended to the Southern negro
that is meted out by the administration
to the Filipino. In communities where
there are no whites, we believe the South
would be perfectly willing to let the
negroes govern themselves. To make it
so plain that even the Journal can under
stand, we think that if the South were
inhabited by negroes, the men who are
now leading the fight for negro disfran-
chisement would not invade their ter
ritory nor attempt to deprive them of
the guarantees of the constitution. With
the Southerners it is largely matter
of political self-defense with the admin
istration it is matter of unadulterated
political aggression. The Filipinos are
as capable of self-gov ernment as are the
negroes of the South. Where, then, is
the difference?
While the G l o b e is not an advocate
of negro disfranchsement, neither is it
an advocate of Filipino Acknowledgement
We advise the Journal before 1t enters
into another constitutional dissertation
to post UP on the facts. A little knowl-
| edge is a dangerous thing.