The Irish standard., 1902-02-15
The Filiplnos are Christians.
Editor of The Irish Standard:

Editor of The Irish Standard:
Your editorial of Feb. Sth under the
above caption calls attention to an
encouraging fact, viz: the disillusion
of President Schurman Of Cornell uni
versity. When the Mckinley admins.
tration adopted the British form of op-
preston in it's treatment of the Christ.
ians of LuZon, President Schurman
was led by the hypocritical, false pre-
lenses Of the administration to believe
that the sole object of taking the
Philippines was the humanitarian aim
of carrying to them the blessings of
liberty" 1t is encouraging to believe
that President Schurman is not the
only supporter of the Mckinley ad-
ministration who was animated. us
you say he was, by the spirit of Amer.
lean liberty, and that they would not
have sanctioned our brutal Colonial
servitude on the British plan" had
they not been deceived into believing
that the administration was honest and
true to American principles of liberty.
1t is to be hoped that the more hon.
est Roosevelt will make partial
amends for the wrongs committed by
his predecessor. The worst of il is,
though, that full amends cannot be
made. 1t is impossible to return the
lives that have been taken, or to fully
restore the confidence which the Fill
ipinos had i'll us before they knew us
as well as they do now. 1t is also to
be hoped that others besides President
Schurman will have their eyes opened:
and that unless the United States gov
eminent abandons the Imperialism of
the old world, which we have been
taught to despisc, and returns to the
democratic principles of liberty, which
we have been taught to revere, they
will express their disapproval in the
only way which the administration
seems to respect, viz, by means of
the ballot.
Many have been confused by the
pretense that national honor required
the subjugation of the Christian Fill
ipinos. How false and dishonorable
is lnis claim when we remember that
the reason given for bribing with sal
aries the polygamous, slave-holding
Mohamedans Of sulu was that they
were fierce and warlike people, who
would savagely resist any, interfer-
encc with their institutions! How
false and hypocritical is this plea of
national honor, when we consider that
instead Of treating the Christians of
Luzon as well as we did the savage
Sulu Mohamedans, we adopted the
suggestion of Mr.. John Foreman. who
advised our government that 'the is
lands are splendid group, well worth
picking a quarrel with and spending n
few millions sterling to annex Them
What becomes of the national honor
and the pretense Of comforting the
blessings Of Christian civilization
when we pusillanimously hire the
Sulu Mohammedans to float the stars
and stripes over polygamy, slavery
and despotism, while ut the same time
we kill Christians in Luzon by the
thousands because they are, as you
say, guilty of only one crime-the
same crime of which the American
colonies were guilty in the days of
George I'LL" '.
Since we believe in killing Christ.
ians because they desire self-govern-
ment, while we protect Mohamme-
dams in the practice of polygamy,
slavery and despotism, it is fair to ask
whether we believe in the principles
of Christian civilization, to say moth
ing of the desire or the ability to teach
them to other peoples who are already
Christian.
ID QUO MN