Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-06-20
UPON THEIR OWN HEADS.
Reasonable Results Of the Adminis-
tration's Blunder in the Hand
ling OF Philippines.

President Roosevelt, secretary
Moody and every republican that I'M
dertakes TO defend the work of the
army or Justify the policy of the gov
eminent in the Philippines, can now
appreciate the far-reaching effects OF
the blunder the administration made
when it permitted the establishments Of
a military censorship. The evil that
institution did has lived after it. The
good, if there was any. has been IN
tered with its bones, says the Detroit
Free Press.
When the administration authorized
a censorship that suppressed news,
distorted news and invented news, 1t
succeeded in setting the seal of dis
righteousness upon all information
emanating from the Philippines or re-
lating to the Philippines. 1t was many
months before the American people
came to understand that their govern
ment did not consider them fiji to know
the truth about their own business;
but having once comprehended it, they
are slow to forget it. As a result of the
administrations folly, the country as
whole believes nothing that any Of
fcer of the government, either civil or
military, may say in regard to the
conditions in the archipelago.
When a man like Gov. Taft says
that this thing is so or that his testi-
mony ought to be conclusive. 1t is not
While nobody charges the governor
with deliberate misreprese ntation, his
statements are accepted at their face
value only by persons that prefer to
believe them. For the rest there is
struggling of shoulders, insinuations
as to the pleasures of rainbow chasing,
an offset of contradictory testimony
given by others, and a general evil
dence Of polite distrust. The odore
Roosevelt, whose reputation for truth
and veracity is certainly as good as
that of anybody in the United States,
is the victim of the censorship evil,
too. When the president declares that
the army has not violated the rules of
war and that individual cases have
been urged to the disgrace Of all the
troops, nobody seems to believe this
because the president has said it. Ad-
ministrationists accept it, because 1t IS
in the interests of their party. Demo-
Gratis sheer at it. Persons that are try
ing to learn the truth assume that
the president of the United Safes
must be reliable, and yet they recall
how Mr.. Mckinley seemed to be badly
informed at times in regard to the
insular matters that he discussed.
And thus it goes.
There can be no general credulity in
an atmosphere of distrust. and this
atmosphere of distrust was created
when the administration went into the
business of suppressing information
fbro11Ch the m edir111 of q military CEN
sorship. 1t is unfortunate now that
the democrats in congress. in order to
make campaign material for their
party. should misrepresent conditions
m the Philippines, and possibly circu-
late falsehoods about the atrocities
committed by the troops. But we must
remember that it was the government
of the United States that first began
the business of lying about the Philip
pines. The administration did not
call it lying; but it was lying. and its
own folly has survived to plague the
party.