Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1902-09-23
neniorable Conditions.

The last few years have doubtless
seen some dimming of our national
ideals. With colonies we find many
things to do that we never looked for
ward TO, and that were, until recently,
supposed to be inconsistent with estab-
Iished and well-settled principles. For
instance, it is manifestiy impossible to
govern the Filipinos as we govern peo-
pie here at home-or rather as our peo-
pie govern themselves. At the very out
set we have to recognize the fact that
government in the Philippines is with
out the consent of the governed-at
least, for the present. Plainly, there
fore we have learned by our excursion
to the Pacific Islands that our boosted
principles are not universally applica-
BILE. So trial by jury can hardly be
practicable in SaiHAr or Mindanao. And
we find it necessary to impose severe
limitations on freedom of speech and
the press, and even to violate the con-
stitution by -resorting to the use Of tor
ture.
Out of this has grown tendency TO
glorify the strong man. to take exceed
ingly practical views of things, TO
talk about weak" races, and to rely
more and more on the strong hand
This tendency is working out in many
directions. One can hardly pick up o
newspaper without seeing an account
of some act of shameless cruelty and
brutality perpetrated on n negro. But
the negro belongs to an inferior race,
and so is entitled to no consideration
from us Anglo-Saxons And we actu-
ally hear voices demanding the repeal
OF the fifteenth amendment. We are
not now discussing so much whether
what we have done is right or wrong.
as the intellectual tendency that has
flowed from those acts.
In the Industrial world the same in
f1ueuces are at work. Men combine and
form mighty industrial organizations
which control State legislatures and
Congress. and then we are told that we
must not attack them, must not even
deny them whet they want, lest in
weakening them we should destroy in-
dustrial prosperity. The vulgar rich,
the millionaire Adventures, dazzle US
with their splendor; and when we criti-
else their methods or question the
beauty of their ideals, we are told chat
they are really benef8etors of the race.
Railroads and anthracite operators get
together in ar organization that is in
violation, at least of the spirit and in
tent, of the laws, and Cypress and rob
their men, and the latter are denounced
for raising the price of coal. Every
where is this gloriication of strength
strength which comes from riches or
mere brute force.
And the answer to 1t all is that the
country is prosperous! This is a sad
plea to make to a people whose ances-
tors endured the most horrid privations
for years in order that they might es-
tablish, as they thought forever, those
great principles which we now smile at
as the mere dreams of political ideal
lists. The only duty OF governments
Notwithstanding our owns to
make the people prosperous. When they
have done that, all their crimes are for
given. Believing as we,do that Democ-
racy is an immortal principle, and that
we shall one day return to sounder and
nobler principles, we refuse to take the
pess.mistic view. But that there are
grave dangers ahead of us cannot, we
think, be denied We insist that the
pulpit has here chance that 1t is GER
tainly not improving. We need to hear
call back to the old ideals and princi-
les.-Indianapolis News.