The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-03
THE SUBSTANCE AND THE SHAD-
OW OF LIBERTY.

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Political liberty is the right of self
government, and that is what the Fill
ipinos are fighting for. 1t is what we
fought for eight years and finally Won
in 1875. The right or self govern
ment is the substance of liberty. Any
other form of government is the shad-
ow of liberty.
The esteemed Pioneer Press, in a
lengthy editorial Wednesday morning,
INDUCES in much sophistry and cir
cumlocution in an effort to prove that
the Filipinos don't know liberty when
they see it; that, as a matter of fact,
they don't want liberty, anyhow; and,
lastly, that we are going to give them
generations off. But very plain tale
puts the Pioneer Press down. The
Filipinos say they want liberty, say
they want the right to- establish gov
eminent to their own liking, to be ad-
ministered by men Of their own choos-
ing, and to make laws satisfactory to
a majority of their own people.
We deny them all these privileges,
and we enforce our denial with an
armed force. In this enforcement one
of the generals of our army set out
to make Samar bowling wilderness"
and instructed his subordinates to kill
all boys and men over the age of ten
years" We have refused and are still
refusing to treat the Fflipinos as ra-
tional human beings, although Ad-
miral George Dewey said they were
more capable of self government than
the Cubans. and he said he knew both
peoples well.
The Pioneer Press insists that we
didn't go to the Philippines because
we wanted to. Certainly no one else
wanted us there. The Filipinos didn't;
the Spaniards didn't; and no other ma
ton, either formally or informally, in
timated that they would like to have
us go there. 1t is insisted that we
went to the Filipinos to keep them at
peace among themselves and to pre-
vent their cutting each others threats.
Instead of keeping peace we have CIV
en- them three years Of war, and it is
very much to be doubted if more
threats would have been cut if we had
staid away than have been cut by our
being there. 1t would have been inf
nitely better to have let them cut each
others threats than for us to have
cut their threats.
The Filipinos never asked anybody
to go to their assistance. If they had
been let alone they would, in all prob
ability have soon won their independ-
ence from the Spaniards and then
would have set up such government
as suited them. There was no popu-
lar sentiment in the United States de-
manding that we hold the Philippines
at the time they were wrested from
Spain by the treaty of Paris. At that
time there were hardly bakers doz-
en- of men and women in the United
States in favor of such a policy, but
the alluring opportunity for loot and
plumber and the fortunes to be made
in army and navy contracts, and the
whole scheme of a colonial govern
ment, was so attractive that the Re-
publican politicians made no effort to
resist the departure from right prin-
ciples" and the inaugura ton of cam
paign for empire.
All the sophistry in the world and
ell the fine writing of which all the
Republican editors are capable will
not disguise the fact that we are try
ing to force Our form Of government
upon an unwilling people ten millions
strong; will not disguise the fact that
we are, by force of arms, subjugating
a weaker people, struggling for that
independence which we demanded and
won for ourselves. This is the plain,
undisguised, naked truth There is no
getting away from 1t. Even the Pho
neer Press makes an effort to salve
its conscience by promising that in the
generation of our grandchildren indie
pendence may be Cor may not beg CIV
en- to the Filipinos.
How in heavens name are the Fill
ipinos to be convinced that we do in
tend to give them independence? Ger
tainly they have had no personal ex-
perience with US that would lead them
to believe we had any such benevolent
intention. Congress has never declar-
ed it to be the intention of the people.
The president has never uttered
word, nor has any other prominent
Republican politician, that would give
them the slightest hope of independ-
ence at any time. They have no rea-
son to believe that we intend to give
them independence, and for that rea-
son they are fighting to win independ-
enee for themselves, just as we fought
and won independence from England.
The cases are absolutely parallel.