Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-12-11


the United States. It behooves each one
to maintain order within its own borders
and to discharge its just obligations to
foreigners. When this is done, they can
rest assured that. by they strong or weak.
they have nothing 70 dread from outside
interference. More and more the incrcas-
Ing interdepenGence and completely OF in
ternational political and economic rela-
and orderly powers to insist on the proper
policing of the world.
The Pacific Cable.
During the fall of 1901 communities
ton was addressed to the secretary OF
state. asking whether permission would
be granted by the president to a corpora
ton TO lay a cable from q point on the
California coast to the Philippine islands
by way of Hawaii. A statement of COR
ditions or terms upon which such corpora
ton would undertake to lay and operate
a cable was volunteered.
InaSmuch as the congress was shortly
to convene, and Pacifc-cable legislation
had been the subject OF consideration by
the congress for several years, it seemed
TO me wise to defer action upon the ap-
pncat1on until the congress had first an
opportunity to act. The congress ad-
journed without taking any action, leav-
ing the matter in exactly the same con-
dition in which it stood when the congress
convened.
Meanwhile 1t appears that the CONNER
cial Pacific Cable company had PROMPTLY
proceeded with preparations for LAYING its
cable. 1t also made application to the
president for access to and use of sound
fngs taken by the U. S. S. Nero for the
purpose or discovering a practical route
for tranS-Pacific cable the company
urging that with access to these sound
1ngs 1t could complete its cable much
sooner than If it were required to +aka
soundings upon its own account Pend
ing consideration of this subject it an
peared important and desirable to attach
ions % h.
examine and use the soundings IL il
should be granted.
In consequence of this solicitation of the
cable company, certain conditions were
formulated, upon which the president was
willing to allow access to these sounlings
and to consent to the landing and layine
of the cable, subject to any alterations
or additions thereto imposed by the con.
gress. This was deemed proper espe.
cially as it was clear that cable con.
nection of some kind with China for
eign country, was a part of the com
pany's plan. This course was moreover
in accordance with line of presidents
including President Grants action in the
case of the first French cable, explained
to the congress in his annual message OF
December, 1875, and the instance oc-
curing in 1879 of the second French cable
from rest to st. Pierre, with a branch
to Cape Cod.
These conditions prescribed among 9th.
er things, a maximum rate for CONNER.
cial messages and that the company should
construct a line from the Philippine is
lands to China, there being at present
as Is well known a British line from
Manila to Hong Kong.
The representatives of the cable com.
pany kept these conditions long under
consideration, continuing, in the mean
time, to prepare for laying the cable They
have, however. at length acceded to them
and an all-American line between our Pa
cific coast and the Chinese empire, by
W Of T n11il1 1fOa
lands, is thus provided for, and is ex-
pected within a few months to be ready
for business.
Among the conditions is one reservins
the power of the congress to modify or
repeal any or all of them. A copy of the
conditions is herewith transmitted.
OF Porto Rico 1t is only necessary to
say that the prosperity of the island and
the wisdom with which 1t has been gov
erned have been such as to make it serve
example of all that is best in In
SuIar administration rs
The Philippines.
On July 4 last, on the 126th anniversary
of the declaration of our independents
peace and amnesty were promulgated W
the Philippine islands. Some trouble has
since from time to time threatened with
the Mohammedan Moros, but with the
late insurrectionary Filipinos the war has
entirely ceased. Civil government has
now been introduced. Not only does each
Filipino enjoy such rights to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness as he has
never before known during the recorded
history of the islands, but the people
taken as a whole now enjoy a measure OF
self-government greater than that grant
ed to any other Orientals by any foreign
power and greater than that enjoyed by
any other Orientals under their own gov
ernments, save the Japanese alone. We
have not gone too far in granting these
rights of liberty and self-government; but
we have certainly gone to the limit that
in he f1fa &c % kIa 1Io
themselves it was wise or just to go. To
hurry matters, to go faster than we are
now going, would entail calamity on the
people of the islands. No policy ever en-
tered into by the American people has
indicated itself in more signal manner
than the policy of holding the Philippines.
The triumph of our arms, above all the
triumph of our laws and principles, has
come sooner than we had any right to
expect. Too much praise can not be given
to the army for what it has done in the
Philippines both in warfare and from an
administrative standpoint in preparing the
way for civil government and similar
credit belongs to the civil authorities for
| the way in which they have planted the
! seeds of self-government in the ground
| thus made ready for them. The courage,
| the unfiinching endurance, the high SOL
| dierly efficiency, and the general kind
! heartedness and humanity of our troops
| have been strikingly manifested. There
| now remain only some Is 600 troops In
| the islands. All told. ever 100, 900 have
been sent there. OF course, there have
been individual instances of wrong-doing
| among them. They warred under fearful
! difficulties of climate and surroundings:
/ and under the strain Of the terrible provo
| cations which they continually received
! from their foes, occasional instances of
cruel retaliation occurred. Every effort
has been made to prevent such cruelties,
! and finally these efforts have been com
pIetely successful Every effort has also
been made to detect and punish the
| wrong-doers. After making all allowance
| for these misdeeds, it remains true that
| few indeed have been the instances in
| which has been waged by a civilized
| power against semicivilized or barbarous
| forces where there has been so little
| wrong-doing by the victors in the Phil
ippine islands. On the other hand, the
amount of difficult, important, and bene-