Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-06-06

y
shall be free" With infinite tact. with
inexhaustible patience, President Nc
Kirley labored in the peaceful cham
nels of diplomacy, but against the cold.
impressive, dilatory spirit of the
Spaniards, without avail.
Then the American people girded up
their loins. ana with a solemn decIara-
ton to the world that the war was not
waged for conquest, but for civil liber-
t., they struck one mighty blow. and
in one hundred days swept the last
vestige Of medieval despotism from
the western hemisphere. To the strug-
CLING Cubans we gave protection.
money, stable government. And but
today. under the guidance of the
United States, new star has ap-
peared in the armament, and the Re
public of Cuba has taken its place
among the nations of the earth. Our
flag has come down, our troops have
left the island, and the magnificent
spectacle is presented for the first time
in the history of the world. of a great.
free people, prosecuting a war. pour
ing out its blood and treasure for the
benefit of an alien race, and turning
over to that people their native land
under native government Of its own
choosing.
We found ourselves in the Philip
pines by the fortunes of war. In an
hour. on d peaceful May morning,
Dewey so thoroughly destroyed Span-
ish authority in Manila bay that We
We're compelled to remain in possession
long enough, at least, to establish or
der and secure protection to life and
property: by the fortunes of war the
island became ours. The change of
sovereignty WAS legal in every sense.
and is so recognized by every civilized
nation. We are now engaged in restor-
ing order to those islands; in protect
ing property; in establishing native
civil governments: we are establishing
schools. building roads, expanding
trade and bringing to those people the
blessings of peace and order rs we
brought them to Porto Rico and Cuba
And il view of the repeated deciars,-
tions of President Mckinley and Presi-
dent Roosevelt il view of the explicit
orders given to cur officers, military
and civil. in those islands. no man and
L
the United States has any Interior
purpose in the acquisition of the
islands. or that our dealings will be any
less open and honest with them than
with Porto Rico or Cuba. Until some
evidence is offered to the contrary we
may rely upon the declaration of Presi-
dent Mckinley, often repeated: "Our
flag in the Philippines still waves there,
ana it waves not as the banner of i'm :
DerialiSm, it waves not as the symbol
of oppression. but it waves as it waves
here and everywhere, the flag of free
dom, of hope of home, of civilization
The people of those islands will not be
governed as VasSals. or SerfS, or slaves:
they will be given government of
liberty. regulated by law, honestly ad-
ministered. without depressing eXac-
tons. taxation without tyranny, justice
without bride, education without dis
tnction of social condition, freedom of
religious worship, and protection in
life. liberty and the pursuit of happi-
ness"
So much for our island dependencies.
Other matters nearer home, and close
~ touching our interests as Il maritime
state. are pressing for action on the
part of the Republican, party. With
the expansion Of our interests. and
the increase in the Importance of our
country among the nations of the
world it is but a plain duty that we
should strive to place ourselves in Il
position 10 compete with other nations
in the carrying business of the world.
Other nations subsidize shipping. with
the results that their fleets far outnum-
Der ours. They send their vessels to
the far parts of the earth, where
private means alone cannot afford to
send ours. AS a result our fleets are in
ferior, ana the glory we once had on
the seas is no longer ours. The Re
publican party is pledged to the en-
actmcnt of a ship subsidy bill which
will place our merchant marine on a
footing Of equality with that Of other
nations. 1t need not necessarily pro-
vide for long continuance of the sub
sidy paid, for once our shipping inter-
eStS are properly re-eStablShed they
will take care of themselves: but y
subsidy is necessary, and our party is
fully pledged to it. When such Il
measure becomes law we shall see our
shipyards. again, as they were in the
old days Of our shipping prosperity. and
the American flag carried, as it for
merly was. to every sea, in every
cline
In speaking of expansion in our
shipping, one naturally comes to that
most important public utility to which
our party is committed, the Isthman
Canal-an utility which will rank
among the engineering wonders of the
world. There is some doubt in the
minds Of few public men as to which
route for such 4 canal would be
better. but as to the necessity
for some canal there is prac-
teal unanimity: almost daily there are
accessions to the numbers of congress-
men and Senator'S who favor the
Panama route. offered to this country
by its French owners at forty millions
of dollars. less than one-fifth of what
they had already expended on it. The
route is practicable, and with less than
one hundred and eighty million dol
lars. and ten years of labor, the United
States can sever the two continents of
the Western hemisphere, and bring the
fer east to our very doors. The voyage
to the Orient will thus be so greatly