Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1902-05-28
WASHINGTON LETTER.
CFrom our Regular Correspondent
May "a, 1902.


iquitous measures ever presented to a
Congress of the United States" said
Senator Dubois of Idaho, Thursday,
when l asked him his opinion of the
bill itself. "By the provisions of the
bill commission, composed of three
men, is given the most absolute
powers over the Filipinos and their
lands. The edicts of the commission
will become laws unless they are
negatively acted upon by Congress
and, even if Congress had the time it
would be impossible for it to judge
of these edicts at this distance, 5000
miles away. These three men can
grant franchises to whomever they
see fit and require in return for the
same such compensation or no COM
pensation as they choose. They can
lease land IN immense tracts to cor
porations for whatever rental they
desire. They can grant the privileges
of cutting timber to such corpora
tions as they may choose to befriend
and on such terms as they may be
disposed to make. 1t is ridiculous
to say that the democrats are oppos-
ing a step toward the selfgovernmeut
to which they believe the Filipinos
are entitled. The democrats are
doing all in their power to save the
Filipinos from being delivered to an
oligarchy which can sell them, body
and soul, from whose actions they
have no redress, from dispotic gov
eminent in which they have abso-
lutely no voice.
"a careful reading of the Philip
pine bill will convince any intelligent
person that the PHILIPPINE Commits
sion, should the bill become a law,
would have powers that are today
possessed by no European ruler save,
perhaps, the Russian Car. There
are in the Philippines millions of
acres of rich agricultural lands, more
than there is in the United States
west Of the Missouri River, and the
other resources of the islands are
beyond computation, and so long as
human nature remains human nature
the delegation Of such plenipoteutiary
power to a commission composed of
q few favored individuals is bound
to result in corruption. 1t is folly to
plead the high character Of the
present commission. Its members
may all be dead in a month. AS a
general proposition, 1t is evident that
the best men IN the United States
are not going to forsake their homes
and their business interests and go to
the Philippines to administer the
affairs of the islands. The men who
seek those positions will be the usual
class of place hunters who regularly
besiege the President for positions
which carry handsome salaries. The
passage of this bill will inevitably
result in scandals from which the
fair name of the United States will
long suffer"
There has been prevalent in Con-
gress grave suspicion that the af-
fairs of the War Department in the
Philippines have been administered
with a lavish hand. The figures dis
closed by the voluminous documents
forwarded to the House in regard to
the Pacific transport service, and
which were elected from the Secre-
tary of War only by the most per-
emptory esolution, Immediately led
to the belief that similar methods
had been pursued in the Philippines
and a resolution was passed by the
Senate calling for information. To
this resolution Mr.. Root has replied
that he cannot furnish figures during
this session of Congress because they
are almost inextricably involved with
other statistics of the department
If such is the case, it is argued, the
counting methods of the War Depart.
ment must be sadly lacking in system
but the more plausible explanation
and the one generally accepted, IL
that the Secretary realizes that the
figures will cast serious reflection Oh
his party and that be has, in view OF
the approaching elections, concluded
to suppress them for the present
His course is literally condemned
even by the leaders of his own party
who argue that the pnblic soon for
gets but viii not forgive being KEEP
in the dark.
The sudden death of the demo
cratic members of the House of Rep
resentatives early last week, Messrs
Cummings, Otey and Salmon, seemed
ahout IN he followed nv another or