Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1902-12-06

from time to time threatened with
the Mohammedan Moros. but with the
late insurrectionary Filipinos the wal
has entirely ceased; Civil government
each Filipino enjoy such rights to life,
liberty and the pursuit OF happiness as
he has never before known during the
history Of the but the
measure OF self-government greater than
that granted to any other orientals by
any foreign power and greater than that
their own governments, save the Japan
ese alone. We have not gone too FAR In
granting these rights OF liberty and self
government; but we have certainly gone
Philippine people themselves It was wise
or just to go. To hurry matters. to 60
faster than we are now going. would en-
lands lam ca No poley ever pe entered into BY
the American people has vindicated IT
| self in more signal manner than the pol
icy Of holding the Philippines, The tri-
umph Of our laws and principles has
come sooner than we had any right to
| expect. Too much praise cannot be
from an administrative standpoint in
preparing the way for civil government;
and similar credit belongs to the civil
have planted the seeds OF self-govern-
ment In the ground thus made ready for
them The courage. the unfiinch!ng en-
DURANGO. the high, soldierly efficiency;
humanity Of our troops have been strik-
ingly manifested There now remain only
| some 1900 troops In the islands, All told,
course, there have been individual in
| stances of wrongdoing among them:
They warred under fearful difficulties Of
climate and surroundings; and under the
| they continually receive from their foes.
occasional instances OF cruel retaliation
| occurred. Every effort has been made
to prevent such cr rSsn and finally
cessful. Every effort has. also been made
| to detect and punish the wrongdoers.
After making all allowance for these
deed have been the instances in which
war has been waged by civilized power
against semi-civilized and barbarous
where her has been n 50 she P fe
amount OF difficult, important, and be-
| neficent work which has been done Is
well-nigh incalculable.
Taking the work Of the army and the
| civil authorities together, 1t may be ques-
| toned whether. anywhere else In modern
times the world has seen better exam
pie Of real constructive statesmanship
ippine islands. High praise should also
be given those Filipinos, in the aggre::
gate very who o have accepted
good will for the welfare Of the islands.
The National Guard.
The measure providing for the reorgani-
cation OF the militia system and for secur-
ing the highest efficiency in the national
guard, which has already passed the house.
should receive prompt attention ard &C
ton. II is of great importance that the re-
lation Of the national guard to the militia
ard volunteer forces of the United States
should be defined, and that in place of our
present obsolete laws a practical and eff
ticlent system should be ADOPTED.
Needs of the Navy.
For the first time in our history naval
maneuvers on large scale are being held
urGer the immediate command of the adj
mlral OF the navy. Constantly increasing
attention is being paid TO the gunnery Of
the navy, but II Is yet FAR from what II
should be. / earnestly urge that the IN
crease asked for by the secretary Of the
navy in the appropriation for improving
the Workmanship be granted. In battle
The only shots that count are the shots that
hit. 1t is necessary to provide ample
funds for practice with the great guns in
time OF peace. These FUNDS must provide
not only for the purchase OF projectiles. but
for allowances for prizes to encourage the
gun crews, and especially the gun pointers,
and for perfecting an intelligent system
under which alone It Is possible to get good
practice
There should be no halt in the work of
building up the navy. providing every year
additional fighting craft. We are very
rich country, vast In extent OF territory and
great in populations; country, moreover.
which has an army diminutive indeed when
compared with that of any other first-class
power. We have deliberately MADE our
the possession Of a f1rst-class navy. The
isthmian canal will greatly increase the
efficiency Of our navy II the navy Is of suf-
ficient size; but II we have an inadequate
be merely giving hostage to any power
of superior strength. The Monroe doctrine
should be treated as the cardinal feature OF
AoTse an Gs1 P asse Put unless wo %e @
tended to back II up, and II can be backed
up only by thoroughly good navy. A. good
navy Is not provocative OF war. II Is the
surest guaranty of peace.
We neeG thousand additional officers In
order. TO properly man the ships now pro-
video for and under construction. The
classes at the naval school at Annapolis
should be greatly enlarged. At the same
time that we thus add the officers where
We need them, We should facilitate the re-
tirement Of those at the head OF the list
whose usefulness has become impaired.
Promotion must be fostered II the serv-
Ice is to be kept efficient.
Rural Free Delivery.
The striking increase In the revenues
or the post office department shows clear
~ the prosperity of our people and the
country.
The receipts of the post Office depart
ment for the nscal year ending June 30
last amounted to s121 ,S4S, 0I7.26. an increase
of $l02l6,S53S over the preceding year,
the largest increase known in the history
of the postal service. The magnitude of
this increase will best appear from the
fact that the entire postal receipts for
the year 1860 amounted to but sS.5lS067.
Rural free delivery service Is no longer
In the experimental stage; II has become
a fixed policy. The results following its
introduction have fully justified the con-
gress in the large appropriations made
for its establishment and extension. The
average yearly increase In post Office re-
ceipts in the rural districts of the coun-
try Is about two per cent. We are now
able. by actual results. to show that
where rural free delivery service has
been established to such an extent as to
enable us to make comparisons the yearly