Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-05-08
BRAGS NOT IN ORDER
TRUTH ABOUT OUR ACTIONS IN
THE PHILIPPINES.
President Has No Good Reason for
Any EuIogy Of the Administrations
Methods-"civiI Government" by
the War Department a Farce.

When Mr.. Roosevelt reached Fargo
In his swing around the circle he I'M
proved the opportunity to brag about
what had been done for the Philip
pines. Why he selected that place for
his attack on the people whom he Is
pleased to call "the army's traducers'
is immaterial.
To say the least, he is extremely
optimistic in his estimate OF the great
and benevolent things which have
been done for the people OF the Phil
ippines by the army, by Congress and
by the civil government His hard
words are for the ''treacherous and
cruel people who began as our allies
and became our enemies when they
discovered that they were to be treat
ed as conquered subjects and not as
we had promised to treat the Gu
bans.
Mr.. Roosevelt reiterates what he
has said so many times before, that
cruelty in the treatment Of Filipinos
by our army was exceptional and he
extols as usual the wonderful kind
ness of army, Congress and all con-
cerned toward our cruel and treach-
erous subjects. He also takes to his
own administration no little credit for
investigating the cases Of cruelty to
which its attention has been called.
The fact remains, however, that
there has been systematic suppress
sion of the truth by the war depart
ment. 1t was not until Gen. Miles let
out the secret that suppressed Off
ci.l report of cruelties was brought to
light in the Senate, and the General
incurred the severe displeasure OF the
administration and would have been
retired in disgrace but for the inter-
vention of certain Senators whose sup
port the administration needed.
The fact remains, Furthermore, that
the administration did not bestiv it.
self to find out the truth in a single
case until it had been goaded into
action by those at whom Mr.. Roose-
welt sneers as men Of little faith"
When at last it reluctantly moved
the fact was disclosed that courts
martial for cruelty had been farces-
a fact which did not go to show that
cruelty was exceptional. The fact re-
mains also that repeated appeals for
investigation since the Smith court
martial have been ignored, and there
has been manifest purpose to cover
up something.
That purpose is still manifest, as
we are reminded when the president
boasts of the establishment of civil
government in the Philippines. What
Mr.. Roosevelt himself confesses when
he says that "the best thing that can
be done in handling such a problem
is to put the best possible
men in charge and then give him the
heartiest possible support and the
freest possible hand. That is what has
been done with Gov. Taft"
That is to say, the best thing is
to give people 80 remote an auto
crat to reign over them, and that is
about what the boosted civil govern
ment comes to. Not many days ago
it was announced as matter of
course that this civil government had
made an important report to the war
department, About the same time
the fact was incidentally mentioned
that the war department still had its
insular bureau in full operation.
1t must be admitte. that when Con-
gress has interfered with this civil
government run by the War depart
ment it has made mess of it. Mr..
Roosevelt lauds Congress for giving
the Philippines IAN excellent cur
rency," but it did not do that until a
year after Gov Taft had begged it to
do something and not until after he
and his commission had told Congress
that business was PROSTATE and the
: people were in dire distress partly
for want of decent currency.
Mr.. Roosevelt applauds Congress
for affording the Filipinos some relief
from the Indebtedness wrought by
war and pestilence by making cut
of rs per cent in the Dingley rates on
imports from their islands. But new
or before our conquests of 1898 did
Congress impose Dingley rates or any
other rates on articles imported into
the United States from any territory
of the United States.
There are people who do not ap-
prove of civil government" by the
War department or of the treatment
of territory of the United States as
foreign territory, and they are neith-
er weddings" nor "cravens," as Mr..
Roosevelt may discover one of these
days.