Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-09-12

| iSofroteS from their appressors: Wha,
of otstI TO 10 protect rhe law abiding friends
robbery and murder? Yet, to abandon
the Islands completely. without ever re-
| tanning coaling station, would mean "a
abandon the position in the comDetjtior
Tor the trade of the Orient which We ha We
acquired during the last six wears: ana
what is far more important, it would
inca, mean lrrrpaiaioie ;i damage to those who
abandon all control over the Moros would
amount to releasing these Moros to nreV
upon the Christian tilipinos. civilized or
semi-clviized, as we'll as upon the COM
merce Of other peoples. The Muros pr.
III large part still in the stage of culture
where the occupation of the bandit ana
.ne d pitaie II E are thoSe most highly regarded;
give them self-government in Inc srnse
that We nave been giving it to the Chris
cnr,rH fam inha s ea'ants' or To abandon the Moro
their platform, would be precisely as If
twenty-five years ago we had withdIa wn
the army and the civil agents from with
the West, alta time when the Sioux and
the Apache were still the terror Of omr
settlers. 1t would be a Criminal absu,d,-
~: and YET our opponents have pledged
themselves thereto If successful in the
coming election they would either have to
break faith, or else to do an act whicb
would leave an indelible stain upon our
good sense During the last five Years
more has been done for the material and
moral well-being of the Filipinos than
ever before since the islands first came
nave opened before them a vista of Nv
derly development in their own interest
and not IA policy of exploitation. Every
effort is being made to fit the islanders fo,.
sclf-%ovcrnrnent, and they have already
il lal;,c measure received il, while for the
first time in their history their personaI
rights and civil liberties have been guar
ID Ix..
have been given schools; they have beef,
given libraries; roads are being built for
their use; their health is being cared for:
they have been given courts in which they
receive justice as absolute as il is in
our power to guarantee. Their individual
rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness are now by act of Congress
jcaiously safeguarded under the American
flag; and if the protection of the flag
were withdrawn their rights would be
lost. and the islands would be plunged
back under some form of vicious tyranny
We have given them more sclfgovern-
ment than they have ever before had; we
are taking steps to increase ii still fur
ther by providing them with an elected
legislative assembly, and surely We had
better await the results of this expert
ment-foi i is a wholly new experiment
in Asia--befOre We make promises which
as Il nation we might be forced to break,
or which they might interpret one way
and We in another. 1t may be asserted
without fear of successful contradiction
that nowhere else in recen: years has
there been as fine an example of construc-
tive craftsmanship and wise and upright
Administration as has been given by the
civil authorities. aided by the army, in
the Philippine Islands. We have adminis
tered them in the interest of their own
people; and the Filipinos themselves have
prOtitcd most by our presence in the is
lands; but they have also been of very
great advantage to US as nation.
So far from having "Sappcd the founda-
tipOS' of free DODul1r yOEernnl,i mt at
home by the course taken in the Philip
pines, we have been spreading its knowl-
edge. and teaching its practice, among
peoples to whom ii had never before been
more than an empty name Our action
represents great stride forward in
spreading the principles of orderly liberty
lost its gift of benedlction in its world
wide journey to their shores" We have
treated the power We have gained as a
solemn obligation. and have used it in the
interest Of mankind; and the peoples of
the world and especially the weaker peo-
pies of the world. are better off because
of the position we have assumed. To re-
trace our steps would be to give proof
of an intirm and unstable national pur-
pose.
Four years ago. in his speech of ac-
ceptance President Mckinley said:
I'VE have been moving in untried paths.
hut cur steps have been guided by honor
and duty. There will be no aurning aside.
wavering, no retreat No blow has
manity. mani .'nd and none p will be- We viii per
form without fear every national and in
terl.ational obligation The Kepu6asan far.,
tour years ago. 1t has been the party of
liberty and emancipation from that hour;
not of profession. but of performance.
1t broke the shackles of four million
slaves and made them free. and to the
party of Lincoln has come another su-
prcme opportunity which it has bravely
met in the liberation of ten millions OF
the human family from the yoke OF i'm
perialism. In its solution OF great prob
lens. in its performance OF high duties
it has haG the support of members of all
parties in the past, and 1T confidently in
vokes their cooperation in the future.
This is as true now as four years ago.
We did not take the Philippines at will.
and we cannot put them aside at will.
Any abandonment of the policy which We
have steadily pursued in the islands
would be fraught with diShonor and dis
aSter; and TO such diShonor and disaster
| do not believe that the American people
will consent,
Alarm ha, bee, profcsSed lest the Fill
pinos should not receive all the benefits
guaranteed to our people at home by the
Fourteenth Amendmcnt to The Constitu-
ton As matter of fact the filipinos
these benefits. This Government has been
true to the spirit of the Fourteenth
Amendment in the Philippines. Can our
opponents deny that here a home the
principles of the Fourteenth and flfte"nth
Amendments have been in effect nullticd?
In this, as in many other matters. We ut
home can well profit by the example of
those responsible for the actual manage
ment of affairs in the Philippines. In our
several commonwealths here In the United
States we as a people now face the com
pleX problem of securing fair treatment to
each man regardless of his race or color. |
We can do so only If we approach the
problem in the spirit of courage, common |
sense, and high minded devotion to the
right. which has enabled Governor Taft, |
Governor Wright. and their associates. to |
do 50 noble Il work in giving to the Philip |
pine people the benefit OF the true princi- |
pies OF American liberty.
our appeal is made to all good citi- |
Zcns who hold the honor and the interest |
of the nation close to their hearts. The |
gl eat issues which are at stake. and upon
which | have touched. are more than
mere partisan issues. for they involve
much that comes home TO the individual |
pride and individual well-being of our |
people. Under conditions as they actually |
are. good Americans should refuse, for |
the sake of the welfare of the nation. to |
change the national policy. We, who are |
RESPONSIBLE for the administration and |
legislation under which this country. dur |
ing the last seven years. has grown SO
greatly in wcll-heing at home and in
honorable repute among the nations of |
the earth abroad. do not stand inertly |
upon this record do not use this record as
an excuse for failure of effort to meet
new conditions On the contrary. we
treat the record of what We have done in