BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-05-07
Evidence Versus Views.

Edward Atkinson had the door of the
Senate Philip oine comui tee slammed
somewhat rudely is his ACE sever il
weeks ago and the consequence las
hat he filed The ears of such newspa-
per correspondents as were unable to
elude him With his wrath This, he
said, "is the best advertisement I hay g
| had since MY pamphlets on the Philip
pines were stolen II m the United Sta
.es mails, a case Of "anti" inaccuracy
Of statement, tor the pamphlets we're
not stolen but excluded. II had come
o Washington" continued Mr.. Atkin-
son, TO take up their time. By a cu-
riols coincidence, on the very day on
whicl they shut out his view they let
in some real information which served
in very effective manner to show II e
difference oetv cen the sort f stuff Mr.
Atkinson has on tap and real evidence.
Several months ago the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union Of Colum-
bus, Wis, S mt Mr.. A Lester Hazlet to
the Philippines on a special mission tt
investigate the charges made against
the military administration OF the
islands. He spent some time there and
the results of his observatio, S, set forth
. in a carefully prepared report, were laid
} before the Senate committee yesterday.
In regard to moral conditions in Manila
he says:
1 did not find Manila to be in the
str.ctest sense a model city, but CAN
truthfully say that, in my judgment, it
is the peer of any American city Of
equal population, in the matter Cf clean
liness and order, and l believe its mo-
raj to1e to be such as to fairly challenge
: comparison with our best cities OF
10000 population.
That oisposes completely of the
"anti" charges of moral ruin in Manila
due to the great increase in the number
of saloons under American administr&-
: tion. Surely the word of a professional
temperance agent should be conclusive
on this point In regard to the general
condition of affairs in the islands Mr..
1azlett says:
1 went to the island an ardent anti
expansionist return a firm believer
in the policy of the administration. l
frankly confess that had a wrong idea
of conditions in the archipelago. l
believed the people ready for self-gov-
ernment /; now l know that hile SOM
of them are, the great mass oi the
PEOPLE are not capable of it but they
will be, and that, perhaps, before
generation shall have passed. The
Filipino is fully as bright as the Japan
ese ; they learn quickly and are ex
t1emely anxious to acquire. The Phil
ippine archipelago i'll some day be
great commonwealth Of states We are
laying fo 1ndations for nation that
may even ou.laSt our Hn. We owe it
to the future, to the unborn citizens of
this coming republic, that e lay we'll
the cornerstone of the superstructure.
There is strong and influential peace
party among the lives, and the an
tipathy to American rule has been
greatly exaggera ed.
That is the testimony of man who
has seen and Who knows whereof he
speaks. 1t confirms the views of all
other men who have been in the islands,
including Bishop Potter, who, like
Mr. Hazlett, found when he reached
the islands and saw actual conditions
that he had a wrong idea" which had
been based on misinformation dissem-
mated in this country by the Atkinson
group of American insurrectos who
deal in views" and not in facts, and no
other effect than to hamper and delay
the great work for civilization that
| Governor Taft and his associates are
conducting in the islands.
Will the "antis" accept Mr.. Hazletts
word any mors readily than they
accep.ed Bishop Potters and Governor
Taft5s2 Certainly not. They have
moral conviction that he is lying, just
the same as Bishop Potter, Governor
Taft, Acting Governor Wright. Gems.
Otis, Macarthur and Funston and all
others who have spoken from personal
knowledge have lied. There is some
thing positively internal in the air of
the islands As soon as ot1r pureSt and