The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-05-31
A DISAPPOINTING SPEECH.

President Roosevets Memorial Day speech, de-
livered at Arlington yesterday, thoroughly dis
appointing effort of painfully disappointing man.
Even his Introductory applause of the bravery OF
the veterans Is disappointing 1t was occasion for
fine oratory, and little grandiloquence would have
been excused But the president did not rise to It,
He had something his mind that operated as a
handicap to eloquence. He essayed one flight, but
his exaggerated view is almost ridiculous. Speaking
of saving the Union he said:
There we're other crises in which to have gone wrong
would have disaster but this crisis in which
have wrong would have meant not merely disaster
could have been made; but had YOU failed in the iron
days the loss would have been rreparabe the defeat ir
the people Of this continent and much OF the future OF
mankind whole.
We are a great nation, but if secession had sue
ceeded 1t is inconceyabe that free government would
have persisted the face of the earth 1t is absurd
to assume that the American people would not have
worked out peace and prosperity along some other
line and that the whole earth would have reverted to
barbarsm upon the failure of the Western Republic.
The thing upon the presidents mind the Philip
pine war and he got to it speedily if not gracefully
and fell into the bad habit of making invidious com
PARSONS. He said
From time to time there occur in country, the
deep and lasting shame OF people ynchngs carried
under circumstances of iuuan cruelty and barbarity-a
cruelty infinitely worse than any that has been
mited by the Philippines the victims
and far more bruaizlng to those guilty OF it. The men
who fail condemn these ynchngs and yet clamor about
what has been done in the Philippines, indeed guilty
neRecting the beam in their eye while haunting their
| brother about the mote in his.
This is downright dishonest. Mr. Roosevelt knows
well enough that the who condemn Philippine
outragcs equally condemn lynchngs of all any
where but it his purpose to try to sec
tional prejudice in the hope of dvertng criticism Of
his policies. What has he to say to Mr.. Hoar? There
is no lynchng beam in his eye.
! The president accentuates his appeal to sectional
and partisan prejudice by Juggling in resolution Of
the Confederate congress- condemning the outrages Of
the Federal army Theoretically he defends the acts
of all the straggors and ruffans who followed Sher-
man to the sea- for he takes pains to dfferenate
between the orderly and the dsorderly which charac-
terze all armies, though he goes to great lengths to
do so in respect to the war in the Philippines.
Strange to say, the president speaks nowhere of
the Filipino assault upon sovereignty, of the
rebellion, of making the flag stay put" In his
mind extending the boundaries of civilization
at the expense barbarism and savagery' and bring
ing the light of civilization into the worlds dark
places; fighting TO bring peace and freedom
to the Philippines I'VE conquer to bring just and
responsible civil government to the conquered .
The shadow of destiny has already reached to the
shores of Asia. The might of people already
looms large against the word-horzon and it will
loom larger the years so by"
That is a genuinely mperaIist view. 1t is the
view OF the conqueror and the crusader. Under this
the dark places, until have overrun Asia and
Africa and conquered slaughtered the aliens and un
believing dogs of all the earth.