The Savannah morning news., 1902-11-20

9ered a peculiar service to every man
jealous of the honor of the American
name in what he has done in adr-in-
lsterlng the Philippine Islands. For
fourteen months it has been part of
my business to see how the work
there was done. / am not speaking
eXaggeratingly, 1 am speaking literal
~, telling the bare, naked truth,
when L say that never, during that
tline has question of party politics
entered into even the smallest action
OF those IL control of the Philippine
Islands.
Now. my fellow-Americans we can
not afford to have the honor of the
nation in any way smirched in con-
nection with our dependencies. We
cannot afford to have ii smirched
anywhere. If we wrong ourselves here
at home, we are to blame and we nav
the penalty. but IL we allow wrong in
connection with the islands not only
the islands suffer. but an indelible
stigma of shame comes to the Amer
lean name. l am earnestly DESTROYS
that the administration of the Phil
ippine Islands shall be put and kept
upon such a plane of patriotic eff
cheney that no change will be made in
II owing to any change of party here
at home"
AT the conclusion of the Presidents
remarks the entire audience of more
than 5000 united in singing God Be
with You Till We Meet Again"
TOasts at the banquet.
There were 200 guests at the banquet
the attendance being limited to that
number. Gov. Longino of Mississippi
travelled from Jackson to be present.
Albert S. Caldwell acted as toastmas-
ter: The programme of toasts was as
follows:
Welcome" the POSTMASTER.
response, Gen. Luke E. Wright.
Our Country" President Roosevelt.
Guest of Honor" w. ]. Crawford.
The Consent of the Governed"
Judge H. H. Lurton.
Service. and Civilization-America 5
Ideal, Bishop Thomas F. Gailor.
Inc Presidency" Alexander e.
Gen. Wright sat on the right and
the President on the left of the toast
master. Great enthusiasm greeted
Gen.. Wright when he rose to speak.
His glowing tributes to the late. Pres
1dent Mckinley and to President
Roosevelt for their lofty policies in
regard to the administration of the
Philippines were loudly, applauded. He
oAoO bOOh OCCdSlOIl TO the work
of Secretary Root, and said the crit
icism of the army and navy was un-
just. There might have been isolated
cases of cruelty deserving censure, but
the cases were the exception, not the
rule.
The Fflipinos, he said, could never
govern themselves without being
taught to do so. He thought Con-
gress was going too fast rather than
too slow. Their interests at present
could be subserved by a non-partisan
administration of their affairs, such
as existed to-day.
President Roosevelt received an ova-
ton when he was introduced. The
entire assemblage arose and, for fully
a minute. made the banquet hall ring
with cheers.
Speech of the President,
cit is a real and great pleasure TO
fe0ff1e to this typical city Of the South
ern Mississippi Valley in order to greet
a typical American, a citizen of Ten
nessee, who deserves honor not only
from his state, but from the entire
country-Gen. Luke E. Wright. We
have a right to expect a high standard
of manhood from Tennessee. 1t was
one of the first two states created west
of the Allegheny mountains, and it was
in this state that the first self-govern-
ing community of American freemen
was established upon water flowing
into the Gulf. The pioneers of Ten
nessee were among the earliest in that
great westward march which thrust
the nations border across the CONT
nent to the Pacific, and it is eminent
ly fitting that a son of Tennessee
should now play so prominent a part
in the further movement of expansion
beyond the Pacific. There have been
Presidents of the United States for
but lib years, and during sixteen of
those years Tennesseeans sat in the
White House. Hardihood and daring,
and iron resolution are of right to be
expected among the sons of a state
which nurtured Andrew Jackson and
Sam Houston; which sent into the
American navy one of the most famous
lighting admirals at all time, Farragut.
There is another reason why our
country should be glad that it was
Gen. Wright who rendered this ser
vice. Gen. Wright fought with distin-
guished gallantry among the gallant
men who served in the armies of the
Confederacy during the Civil War. We
need no proof of the completeness of
our reunion as a people. When the war
with Spain came the sons of the men
who wore the blue and the sons of
the men who wore the gray We'd with
one another in the effort to get into
the ranks and face a foreign foe UNI
der the old flag that had been carried
in triumph under Winfield Scott and
Zachary Taylor and Andrew Jackson.
1t was my own good fortune to serve
under that fearless fighter, Joe Wheel
er, memory of which l shall always
be proud. But if we needed any proof
of the unity of our interests
it would have been afforded this
very year by Gen. Wright, the
ex-Confederate, in his administration
as Acting Governor of the Philippine
Islands. Upon him during the months
of summer rested heavier burden of
responsibility than upon any other pub
lie servant at that particular time;
and not the least of his titles to our
regard is the way in which he was
ablt to work on terms of cordial good
will with the head of the army, him
self a man who had honored the blue
uniform as Wright had IGNORED the
gray.
Flag Stands for Liberty.
'1he American flag stands for order
ly liberty, and it stands for it abroad