The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-12

ditures which cause the increase. The nensions to the veterans Of the CIVIL War are demanded by every sentineh.. . nf regard and gratitude. The rdfai free delivery Is Of the greatest. use sra convenience tc the farmers, oooy os men who live under conditions whiCh make them ordinarily receive httie oi, rect return for what they pay toWa.o tho support of the Government.
 Money for Irrigation.
 rho i,rIga{.on policy in the arid and sA,ni..rid ieslons of the West Is one fr,ueht with the most beneficent and far reaching good to the actual settlers ths home-makers, whose encourage ment Is a traditional feature in Amer .ica's national policy. Do our opponents grudge the fifty millions paid for the Panama Canai7 Do they intend to cut down on the pensions to the veterans of the Civil warf Do they intend to put a stop to the irrigation policyf or to the permanent census bureauE or to immigration inspection? Do they in- tend to abolish rural free delivery! DO they intend to cut down the navy! or tho Alaskan telegraph systemf Do they lnteHu tO uAShAaHsA0 ~~A
 tifications?
 If there is to be a real and substan- tial cutting down in national expen- ditures 1t must be in such matters as tutse. The Department of Agriculturs has done service of incalculable value f., the farmers of this country In many different lines. Do our opponents wish to ,L, down the money for this ser yice7 They can do 1t only by des:roy ing the usefulness of the service itselr'
 Honesty and Emeiency.
 The public work of the United States has never been conducted with high- CT degree of honesty and efhciency than at the present time; and special meed of nraise belongs to those officials re- sponsible for the Philippines and Porto Rico, where the administrations nave been models of their kind.
 Of course wrong has occasionally oc- cured, but 1t has been reientlessly stamped out. We have known no par tv in dealing with offenders. and have hunted down without mercy every wrong -doer in the service or the ha- tior whom 1t was possible by the u'- most vigilance to detect: for the pupiic servant who betrays his trust and tho private individual who deDduches nin' stand as the worst of criminals, be- cause their crimes are crimes against ,be entire community, and -ot only against this generation but against the generations that are yet to ne.
 Philippine Independence.
 Our opponents promise Independence to the Philippine Islands. Here again we are confronted by the fact that their differences of opinion among themselves. their proved inabil- ity to create a constructive policy when in mower, and their readiness, for the sake of momentary political expedi- ency, to abandon the principles upon which they have insisted as essential conspire to puzzle us as 10 whether they do or do not intend in good faith to carry out this promise if they are oiven control of the Government.
 Tn their platform they declare for in- d.nendence. apparentiy--for their lam auaRe is a little obscure-without qual- if,cations as to the time; and indeed q qualification as to time IS an ap- s,,rditv for we have neither right nor newer to bind our successors when 1t ia impossible to foretell the conditions which may confront them: wnlie 1T there is any principle involved In the matter, 1t is just as wrong to deny ln- dependence for few years as to deny if for an indefinite period.
 
 terances by our opponents the term was substituted for in- danendence: the words used being so .cbosen that in their natural construc- tior they described precisely the policy now being carried on. The language os the platform indicated a radical change of policy; the later utterances Indicated a continuance of the present policy. But this caused trouble in thelr own ranks and in still later, al though less formal utterance. the self government promise was recanted' and independence at some iutuTe tihe was promised in its place
 Dem0ePatH' Quick Changes.
 Thev have occupied three entirely difrerent positions within fifty days. Which ts the promise they really in- tend to keep? They do not know their own minds; and no one can tell how long they would keep or the same mlnd' shoI,ld they by any chance come to q working agreement among themselEto. If such ambiguity affected only tht American people it would not so SlFdl' ly matter; for the American people can take care of themselves. But the Fla ininos are in no such condition. Con adanca is with them a plant of sloW growth. -,
 They have been taught to trust the ,rord of this Government because this has promised nothing u,htcb If did not perform. If promised independence they will expect independ- ence: not in the remote future. for their descendants, but immediately. for them selves. If the promise thus made is not Immediately fulfilled they will reg Ird if as broken, and will not again trust tn American faith; and 1t would be indeed a wicked thing to deceive them in such fashion.
 Looks into the Future.
 Moreover, even if the promise were made to take effect only in the distant future, the Ftlipinos would be thrown into confusion thereby. Instead of