The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-08-23

stages even of what eventually turn out
TO be the most brilliant victories.
THE PHILIPPINES.
"All this is true of what has happened
during the last four years in the Philip
pine Islands The Spanish war itself was
an easy task; but il left us certain
other tasks which were much fore diff
cult One Of these tasks was that of deal
ing with the Philippines. The easy thing
10 do-the thing which appealed not only
to lazy and selfish men, but to very good
men whose thought did not drive them
down TO the root of things-was TO leave
the islands. Had we done this. period
of wild chaos would have supervened;
and then some stronger power would
have stepped in and seized the islands
and have taken up the task which we IN
such a case would have finched from per
forming.
"A less easy but infinitely more alb
surd course would have been to leave the
islands ourselves and at the same time
assure them that we would not permit
anyone else to interfere with them This
particular course would have combined
all the possible disadvantages of every
other course which was advocated. 1t
rould have placed us in a humiliating
poscition, because when the actual test
came it would have been quite out OF
the question for US, after some striking
deed of savagery had occurred on the ISL
ands. to stand by and prevent the re-
entry of civilization into them; while the
mere fact of our having threatened thus
to e1arntee the local tyrants and wrong
doors against outside Interference by our
selves or others, would have put a pre-
MUM upon every species Of tyranny ana
anarchy within the islands.
FINALLY. there was the course which
we adopted-not an easy course-one
fraught with danger and difficulty, as IS
generally the case in this world when
some great feat is to be accomplished as
an incident to working out national des-
tiny. We made UP our minds 90 stay IN
the islands-to put down violence-to es-
tablish peace and order-and then to in
troduce a just and wise civil rule, ac-
companied by a measure Of self-goVern-
ment which should increase as rapidly as
the islanders showed themselves mt for
il. Well. it was certainly formidable
task: but think of the marvelousiy sue
cessful way in which it has been accom-
plished.
1.-The first and vitality important feat
was the establishment of the supre-
macy of the American flag, and this had
t. be done by the effort of those gallant
fellow Americans of our to whom so great
debt is due-the officers and enlisted
men of the United States army. regulars
and volunteers alike. In succession II
campaigns. carried on in unknown tropic
iungles against an elusive and treacher-
Gus foe vastly outnumbering them under
the most adverse conditions Of climate.
weather and country, our troops com
pletely broke the power of the insur-
gents. smashed their armies and hurried
the broken robber ban into submission
Ir its latter stages. the war against our
rule sank into mere brigandage, and what
our troops had to do was to hunt down
the parties Of Lsdrones. II was not
task which it was humanely possible 70
accomplish in a month or year. but
month hy- month. year by year. with un-
wearied and patient resolution. our army
in the Philippines did the task which it
found ready at hand until the last vest