The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-02-21
WELLINGTON'S VIEWS
ON IMPER1AIlSM

WELLINGTON'S VIEWS
ON IMPERIALISM.
Senator Wellington addressed the Sen
ate Tuesday in opposition to the pending
bill prescribing Il tariff for the Philip
pines. Mr.. Wellington said he intends
to vote against it and incidentally gave
| his views upon the subject of the acqui-
sition of the archipelago by the United
States. He was listened to attentively by
a large number of his colleagues, as well
as by many members from the House.
After stating that he spoke with regret
| and reluctance, Mr.. Wellington said i'll
Tart:
Il have been Republican because l
believed that that party stood for the
largest measure of liberty and for the ele.
walton of man. But do not look at the
party as a fetch to which l must bow in
humble respect at every command, if it
be against my own firmly formed opinion,
| against my deep conviction and against
my conscience. Up to the Spanish War
| the principles which have stated were
| the foundation stone of the Republican
| party. But there came new years, and
! with these new burdens, and when l
found that the Republican party was
about to take up policy of what | un-
dertake to say is imperialism, then de-
termined that I could not follow it as
far as that, and that l would support the
candidate of the party that stood against
that doctrine.
Il was opposed to the Spanish War,
not for the reason that was antagonistic
to Cuban independence but for the rea-
son that l believed Cuban independence
could he brought about without a war
and by diplomatic negotiations. l be-
leved then, and believe now. that with
out that war Cuba would today have a
large measure of freedom than she is now
enjoying. Cuba is not free. Cuba has
made change of masters and nothing
more. Our military government still eX-
lists there, and though the solemn promise
of the United States Senate was register
ed that Cuba should have her indepen-
dence, we have unto this day not allowed
her to have it, What has been the excuse?
That she is not qualified for self govern
ment, ard that we must teach her her
lesson in self -government.
LAS part and parcel of the policy of
imperialism the Committee on the Philip
pines has presented bill, the title of
which is. "A Measure to Temporarily Pro-
vide Revenue for the Philippines. 1t is
part and parcel of that self same policy
and, for that reason l cannot give it my
support. l shall vote against the BILL not
on the ground that its schedules are not
Just, not on the ground that there exist
inc, ualities in taxation, and not on the
ground that there may be some mistakes
in the measure, but on the broad ground
set forth in the opinion of the minority
that there is no right here, and that there
should be no right here, to enact such
legislation. The contention is made that
the Supreme Court made it necessary to
do this. Why: Because the Supreme
Court decided that the Philippine Islands
were not foreign territory. l am only
conviced that the Supreme Court has
decided anything because in reading the
opinion it seems to me that it would do
credit to Jack Bunsby, who always gave
an opinion as was an opinion, an opinion
which might mean anything or nothing
at all.
1T is not well. believe, to criticise the
Supreme Court, but do so because in
this decision there is no claim laid down
of any doctrine except that j: is agreed
that the Philippine Islands are not foreign
territory.
You began the war. You prosecuted
one campaign and at the end of il you
were not Is miles from the city of Manila.
You prosecuted another campaign, and
at the end of it you had not done much
more, saving that you had allowed
military officer to make an agreement or
treaty with the Sultan Of Jolo. When
our army came to this sultanate-this
magnificent and delectable land which
lies at the very outposts of the Philippine
archipelago-what did we do? Did we
say to the people, 1T must be submission
Internationally or the extirpation of your
race? We empowered the gentleman
commanding to make an agreement or
treaty, after we had purchased the soverei-
gnty of the Philippine Islands, to pay this
sultan $4,000 for sovereignty, which he
had agreed to pay, not in any money of
the gold standard, but in Mexican silver
| dollars. And then we took him into our
service, paying him month by month a
salary, and we took with him the slavery
that exists there and the polygamy that is
practiced there, and we placed our flag
| above them all to protect them from the
world
Il, for one, do not agree to the PROPOSE
| ton that whenever the American fig is
raised it must remain raised. If the
American flag waves over one slave or
waves over one familyin which poiygamy
is practiccd, | say take down the flag,
free the mer and eXtpeate the polygamy
And yet we are responsible for that con-
dition. | love the American flag and
love my country as much as any other
American. When the American flag was
born it was to wave over the chosen land
of liberty, and i. did so wave for IA century
| and Il quarter of years From the dark
| days Of the Revolution, when Washing
| ton was 1T Valley Forgc-up to the day
| that he received the sword of the captive
Cornwallis-it 1oatcd above US as our
! emblem In the war Of 1912 it was car
ried by volunteers on land and sea. 1t
went to Mexico to give freedom to Texas
And then came the great civil strife. But
| there was reversal of policy when we
were victorious in the Cuban war, and
| our friends from across the ocean whis