The Opelousas courier., 1902-05-17
Washington, ID. e., News.
From our Regular Correspondent.

"The bill reported by the Philip
pine Committee is one of the most
iniquitous measures ever present.
ed to q Congress of the United
States," said Senator Dubois of
Idaho, yesterday when | asked him
his opinio>7of the bill itself. "By
the proviEions Of the bill a commits
sion, cop7posed of three men, is
given t1e most absolute powers
over tie Filipinos and their lands.
The e1its of the commission will
becone laws, unless thes are mega
lively acted upon by Congress and
leveRSff Congress haJ the time 1t
would be impossible for it to judge
of these edicts at this distance,
5000 miles away. These three men
can grant franchises to Whomever
they see fit and require in return
for the same such compensation
orno compensation as they choose.
They can lease land in immense
tracts to corporations for what
ever rental they desire. They can
grant the privileges of cutting
timber to such corporations as
they may choose to befriend and
on such terms as they may be dis
posed to make. 1t is ridiculous to
say that the democrats are OPP
posing d step towards the self
government to which they believe
the Filipinos are entitled. The
democrats are doing all in their
power to save the Filipinos from
being delivered to an oligarchy
which can sell them, body and
soul, from whose actions they have
no redress, from a despotic gov
ernment in which they have alb
solutely no voice.
A careful reading of the Philip
pine bill will convince any intel
person that the Philippine
Commission, should the bill be-
come a law, would have powers
that are today possessed by no
European ruler save, perhaps, the
Russian Gar. There are in the
Philippines millions of acres of
rich agricultural lands, more than
there is in the United States west
of the Missouri river, and the
other resources of the islands are
beyond computation, and so long
as human nature remains human
nature the delegation of such
plenipotentiary power to q COM
mission composed of a few fav-
ored individuals is bound to re-
suit in corruption. It is folly to
plead the high character of the
present commission. It's men,
bers may all be dead in Il month.
AS general proposition it is evil
dent that the best men in the
United States are not going to
forsake their homes and their
business interests and go to the
Philippines to administer the af-
fairs of the islands. The men
who seek those positions will be
the usual class of place hunters
who regularly besiege the Presi-
dent for positions which carry
handsome salaries. The passage
of this bill will inevitably result
in scandals from which the fair
name of the United States will
long suffer.
4 There has been prevalent in
J Congress a grave suspicion that
the affairs of the War Depart
ment in the Philippines have been
administered with lavish hand.
: The figures disclosed by the vol
luminous documents forwarded to
the House in regard to the Pacific
transport service, and which were
elected from the Secretary of War
only by the most peremptory res
olution, Immediately led to the
) belief that similar methods had
been pursued in the Philippines,
and a resolution was passed by the
, Senate calling for information.
To this resolution Mr.. Root has
replied that he cannot furnish
; figures during this session of Con-
, gress because they are almost in
extricably involved with other
! statistics of the department. Il
such is the case, it is argued, the
accounting methods of the Wai
, Department must be sadly lack.
; ing in system, but the more plaus-
. ible explanation, and the one gen.
9 orally accepted, is that the Secre'
tary realizes that the figures vii
cast serious reflection on his party
and that he has, in view of the
. approaching elections, concluded
: to suppress them for the present
His course is literally condemned
: even by the leaders of his owl
: party, who argue that the public
). soon forgets but will not forgiv'
9 being kept in the dark.
It has developed that after TIL
: eruption of Pelee, May 5, th
7 Governor of St. Pierre placed
u Gordon of soldiers around th
y town to prevent the panic-stricke
). citizens from leaving.
-e%&e--