New-York tribune., 1903-04-08

heartily thanking the returned soldiers for their
valor and patriotism and their oontemptuous
refusal to be daUnted or misled by the outcry
raised at home by the men Of little faith, who
wished to abandon the islands, he spoke OF
the islands themselves as follows:
That Congress viii provide for them govern
rnent which vii. bring them blessings. which will
promote their material interests as well as ad;
,nteiiigenee. consdently believe They will not be
as gaSs or ses RI EeT& or saves dafy W bH
law. honestly administered, without Expressing
ent bTbe aacasion Without distincton of social
G n @ ey Of re0Ts h the parsa9 Of ahf happ PE
ness
What he said then lay in the realm OF prom
tse. Now It lies in the realm OF positive per-
1t is a good thing TO look back upon what has
been said and compare 1t with the record OF
what has actually been done. If promises are
violated. if plighted word is not kept then those
who have failed in their duty should be held
up to reprohation. II. on the other hand. the
promises have been Substantially made good: If
the achievement has kept pace and more than
kept pace with the prophecy: then they sao wno
made the one and responsible for the otner
are entitled OF just right TO claim the creoit
which attaches to those who serve the natlon
well
This credit I claim for the men who have
managed so admirably the military and the clVl
affairs of the Philippine Islands, and Tor those
other men who have so heartily backed tneln ~
Congress- without whose aid and support not
one thing could have been accomplished
ORDER RESTORED BY THE ARMY.
When President Mckinley spoke. the first
duty was the restoration of order; and to this
end the use OF the army Of the United states
an army COMPOSED Of regulars and volunteers
alIke-was necessary. To put down the insur-
rectiou and restore peace TO the ISLANDS was q
duty not only TO ourselves but to the islanders
also We could not have abandoned the con-
fiict without shirking this duty, without proplns
ourselves recreents TO the memory OF our fore-
fathers Moreover. If we had abandoned IL we
would have inflicted upon the Filipinos the most
cruel wrong and would have doomed them 10 d
bloody tumble of anarchy and tyranny
II seems strange, looking back that any or
our people should have failed to recognize q
duty SO Obvious: but there was such failure. and
the government at home the civil authorities
in the Philippines, and above aIl our eaeiaLC az am
traction. The army in especial was attacked IN
g way which finally did good. for IN the END II
aroused the hearty resentment Of the great
body Of the American people not against the
army, but against the arrny's raducers
The circumstances Of the war MADE IL one OF
peculiar dificulty. and soldiers were ex-
posed TO peculiar wrongs from their Toes lneS
Fought in dense tropical jungles against enelles s
who were very treacherous and very cruel, Hot
only toward our own men, but toward the great
numbers Of friendly natives, the most peaceaoiie i
and most civilized among whom eagerly vel
coined our rule
ISOLATED INSTANCES OF CRUELTY.
Under such circumstances, among q hundred
Thousand hot -blooded and powerful young men
serving in small detachrlents on the other side
snetarces of wrongdoing should not occur. The
fact that they occurred in retaliation Tor we'll
nigh intoleTable provocation cannot lor one mo
rnent be admitted in the way of excuse or 1ustl-
Scation All good Americans regret and deploTe
them. and the War Department has taken every
sfep III its power TO punish the offendefs anu 70
prevent or minimize the chance Of repetition OF
the offence But these ofTences were lile eA-
ception and not the rule. AS a whole our
rroons showed not only signal courage and eff
cheney but great humanity ana the most SIN
desire TO promote the welIare ano Lpe, IT, ,ale9
OF the islanders. In a series Of exceedingly har-
assing and difficult campaigns they colIl,ieteIg
overthrew the enemy. reducing them many 70
Thev conquered. they conquered only TO make
wav for the rule OF the civil government hot
law. When. by last July, the last Nesuge o.
o-rsnszed irsurrection had disappeared peace
and amnesty were proclaimed
CIVIL GOVERNMENT SUPREME
As rapidly as the military rule was extended
over the islands by the defeat of the insurgents;
inst so rapidlv was II replaced by the civil
roI-ernn,enf At the present time the civil gov
trnrrent is supreme and the army In the Fh1ilp-
mines has been reduced until It IS suIncleHt
merely TO provide against Inc recurIe"cF Vi
trouble -.
10 the Fllipinos as upright, as conscientious ana
aS able 2 group of administrators as ever any
country has been blessed with having Win
them and under them we have assoclaleo Cl-e
hest men among the Filipinos, that the great
ma iority Of the officials. including many or the
l5igbes, rank are thenselvs natives Of the
Islands The administration is incorruptibly
honest; Justice is as jealousy saIeSuaroea "a
here at home. The government IS cohqucteo !5
ands; they are protected in their religious and
civil rights: they have been given an excellent
and well administered school system and each
Of them now enjoys rights to life. liberty. and
the pursuit of happiness such as were never
before known in all the history OF the islands
IMPORTANT LEGISLATION PASSED.
The Congress which has just adjourned has
PASSED legislation OF high Importance and great
wisdom in. the interests of the Filipino people.
First and foremost, they conferred upon them
fx law the present admirable civil government:
tn addition they gave them an excellent cur
Tencv; they passed a measure allowing the or
eanizatfon of a native conSta bulaTy; and they
77royided in the interests Of the islands. for a
reduction of % per cent in the tariff on Filipino
articles brought TO this country i asked that
still further reduction should be made. 1t
was not granted by the last Congress, but
think that in shape it viii be granted by
the next And even without it, the record of
legislation In the interests Of the Filipinos is
with which we have z. right TO feel great salts
faction.
Moreover. Congress appropriated S3.0000oo.
following the precedent il set when the people
Of Porto Rico were afflicted by sudden disaster,
this money to be used by the Philippine Gov
ernnent in order to meet the distress occasioned
primarily By the terrible cattle disease which
almost annihiated the carabao. or water buffalo.
the chief and most important domestic animal
fn the islands.
Coming as this disaster did upon the heels
cf the havoc wrought by the tnsurrectionary
war, great suffering has been caused; and this
misery. for which this government is in no way
responsible. viii doubtless in turn increase the
difficulties OF the Philippine Government for the
next year In consequence there viii
doubtless here and there sporadic in
creases Of the armed brigandage TO which the
islands have been habituated from time imme-
mortal. and here and there for their own pur-
poses the bandits may choose TO style them
eeEz-ee r1srrio+s or Observation-Disclosures hut these
local difficulties will be of little consequence
they give occasion 10 few men here at
home again 10 try to rislead our people Not
only has the military problem in the Philippines
been worked out quicker and better than we