The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-08-23

the Philippines. The easy thing to do
the thing which appealed not only to
lazy and selfish men, but to very many
good men, whose thought did not drive
them down to the root of things-was to
leave the islands. Had we done this
period of wild chaos would have super
vened and then some stronger power
would have stepped in and seized the
islands and have taken up the task which
we in such case would have flinched
from performing. less easy but in
finitely more absurd course, would have
been TO leave the islands ourselves and
at the same time to assert that we would
not permit any one else to interfere with
htem. This particular course would
have combined all the possible disad-
vantages of every other course which
was advocated. 1t would have placed
us in a humiliating position, because
when teh actual test came it would have
been quite out of the question for us,
after some striking deed of savagery had
occurred in the islands, to stand by and
prevent the re-entry of civilization into
them; while the mere fact of our having
threatened thus to guarantee the local
tyrants and wrong doers against outside
interferences by ourselves or others,
would have put premium upon every
species of tyranny and anarchy within
the islands.
''Finally there was the course which
we adopted-not an easy course-one
fraught with danger and difficulty. We
made up our minds to stay in the islands
to put down violence, to establish peace
and order--and then to introduce just
and wise civil rule accompanied by
measure of self government which should
increase as rapidly as the islanders
showed themselves fit for it. Well, it
was certainly a formidable task, but
think of the marvelously successful way
in which it has been accomplished.
"The first and vitality important feat
was the establishment of the supremacy
OF the American flag, and this had to be
done by the effort of those gallant fell
low Americans of ours to whom so great
a debt is due-the officers and enlisted
men of the United States army, regu-
lars and volunteers alike. In a success
sion of campaigns, carried on in unknown
tropic jungIes against an elusive and
treacherous foe vastly outnumbering
them. under the most adverse conditions
of climate, weather and country, our
troops completely broke the power of the
insurgents, smashed their armies and
harried the broken robber bands into sub
mission.
Il do not refer to the Moros, with
whom we have exercised the utmost for
bearance, but who may force us to chas-
tise them if they persist in attacking our
troops. Among the Filipinos proper,
however, peace has come.
step by step, as the army conquered,
the rule of the military was supplanted
by the rule of the civil authorities-the
soldier was succeeded by the civilian
magistrate. The utmost care has been
exercised in choosing the best type of
Americans for the high civil positions,
and the actual work of administration
has been so far as possible by native
Filipino officials serving under the
Americans. Our success has been wond-
erful. No country has more upright
nor ADLER body of officials than Governor
Taft, Vice Governor Wright and their
associates and subordinates in the Philip
pine Islands.
1T was, of course, inevitable that
there should be occasional failures, but
it is astonishing how few these have
been. Each inhabitant of the Philippines
is now guaranteed his civil and religious
rights, his rights to life, personal lib
erty and the pursuit of happiness, sub
ject only to not infringing on the rights
of others. 1t is worth noting that al
rady the Philippine people have received
a greater share of government; that
they have more to say as to how they
shall be governed, than is the case with
any people in the Orient, which is under
European rule. In short we are govern
ing the Filipinos primarily in their in
terest and for their very great benefit.
1t would be hard to find in modern times
better example of successful construc-
tive craftsmanship. Finally, in the
Philippines as in Cuba, the instances of
wrong doing by either our civil or mill
tary representatives have been astonish-
ingly few, and punishment has been meted
with even handed justice to all offenders.
THE awakening of the Orient means
very much to all the nations of Christian
dom, commercially no less than polti-
cally, and it would be short-sighted
craftsmanship on our part to refuse to
take the necessary steps for securing
proper share of our people of this COM
mercial future. The possession of the
Philippines has helped us, as the securing
of the open door in China has helped us.
Already the government has taken the
necessary steps to provide for the lay
ing of a Pacific cable under conditions,
which guarded absolutely the in
terests of the American public. Our COM
merce with the East is growing rapidly.
Events have abundantly justified alike
from the moral and material standpoint,
all that we have done in the Far East
as sequel to our war with Spain'