The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1904-12-09


prepared. while Scrupulously avoiding |
wrongdoing itself to repel any wrong, and |
in exceptional cases to take action which |
in a more advanced stage of international
relations would come under the head of the
exercise Of the international police. A
great free people owes it to itself and to all
mankind not to sink into helplessness be-
fore the powers of evil.
Second Hague Conference.
We are in every way endeavoring to help
on with cordial good will, every movement
which will tend to bring us into more friend
ly relations with the rest of mankind. In
pursuance of this policy shall shortly lay
before the senate treaties of arbitration
with all powers which are willing to enter
into these treaties with US. 1t is not pos
sible at this period of the worlds develop
ment to agree to arbitrate all matters, but
there are many matters Of possible differ
| ence between US and other nations which
| can be thus arbitrated. Furthermore, at
| the request of the Interparliamentary
| union an eminent body composed of prac
| teal statesmen from all countries, have
| asked the powers to join with this govern
| ment in a second Hague conference, at
which it is hoped that the work already so
| happily begun at The Hague may be car
| ried some steps further toward completion.
| This carries out the desire expressed by
| the first Hague conference itself.
| The Monroe Doctrine.
In asserting the Monroe Doctrine, in taxi
ing such steps as we have taken in regard to
Cuba Venezuela and Panama. and in en-
deavoring to circumscribe the theater of
| war in the far east and to secure the open
door in China, We have acted in our own
| interest as well as in the interest of human
| ity at large. There are however, cases in
| which, while our own interests are not
greatly involved, strong appeal is made to
| our sympathies. Ordinarily it is very much
wiser and more useful for US to concern
| ourselves with striving for our own moral
and material betterment here at home than
to concern ourselves with trying to better
the condition of things in other nations.
We have plenty of sins of our own to war
against, and under ordinary circumstances
we can do more for the general uplifting of
humanity by striving with heart and soul
to put stop to civic corruption, to brutal
lawlessness and violent race prejudices
here at home than by passing resolutions
about wrongdoing elsewhere. Neverthe-
less there are occasional crimes committed
on so vast a scale and of such peculiar hor-
ror as to make us doubt whether it is not
our manifest duty to endeavor at least to
show our disapproval of the deed and our
sympathy with those who have suffered by
it. The cases must be extreme in which
such course is justifiable There must be
no effort made to remove the mote from
; our brothers eye if we refuse to remove
the beam from our own. But in extreme
cases action may be justifiable and proper
What form the action shall take must de-
pend upon the circumstances of the case
that is, upon the degree of the atrocity and
upon our power to remedy it. The cases
in which we could interfere by force OF
l arms as we interfered to put stop to in
| toerabe conditions in Cuba are neces
: sarily very few. Yet it is not to be expected
E | that people like ours which in spite o.
| oartaip obvi0nS shortcomings
I theless as a whole shows by its consisten
D practice it's belief in the principles of civil
= and religious liberty and Of orderly free
e dom, a people among whom even the wors
: crime, like the crime of lynching, is neve
e more than sporadic so that individuals an,
not classes are molested in their funda
mental rights-it is inevitable that such
Il | nation should desire eagerly to give expires
q sion to it's horror on an occasion like tina
Q of the massacre of the Jews in Kishineff, o
o when it witnesses such systematic an
Z long-extended cruelty and oppression a
!, the cruelty and oppression Of which tn
e Armenians have been the victims, an
e which have won for them the indignan
d pity of the civilized world.
o The Philippines.
!, In the Philippine islands there has bee
> during the past year continuation O
> the steady progress which has obtaine
= ever since our troops definitely got tn
: upper hand of the insurgents. The Phil
= ippine people. or. to speak more accur
ately, the many tribes, and even race:
sundered from one another more or les
sharply who go to make up the peopl
;. of the Philippine islands, contain man
y elements of good, and some element
which we have a right to hope stand fo
d progress At present they are utterl
= incapable of existing in independence a
- all or of building up a civilization {
~ their own. I firmly believe that we ca
y help them to rise higher and higher
~ the scale of civilization and of capacit
- for self-government and 1 most earnes
Is ly hope that in the end they will be alb
= to stand, if not entirely alone, yet
nc some such relation to the United State
4 as Cuba now stands. This end Is not "
- in sight, and it may be indefinitely pos
~ poned If our people are foolish enough
ia turn the attention of the Filipinos ava
At from the problems of achieving NOR
1. and material prosperity. of working fl
al stable orderly and just government
IL and toward foolish and dangerous il
Is trigues for a complete independence II
% which they are as yet totally unfit.
u On the other hand our people mu
&c keep steadily before their minds the ia
< that the justification for our stay in Il
l. Philippines must ultimately rest chief
re upon the good we are able to do in Il
sh islands 1 do not overlook the fact tn
in the development Of our interests
the Pacific ocean ana along ltS COAST
e. the Philippines have played and will pls
re- an important part, and that our interes
ur have been served in more than one W.
Id by the possession of the islands. But o.
a. chief reason for continuing to hold the
to ! must be that we ought in good fai
an to try to do our share of the world
or work, and this particular piece of wo
es has been imposed upon us by the result
OF Of the war with Spain.
~ For Elective Government
nd Within two years we shall be tryil
he the experiment of an elective low
he house in the Philippine legislature.
hit may be that the Filipinos will misu
We this legislature, and they certainly W
i'm misuse 1t If they are misled by fool
a persons here at home into starting
We agitation for their own independence
we into any factfous or improper action
re such case they will do themselves
hit good and win stop for the time being
on further effort to advance them and 81
rs, them a greater share in their own go
e. eminent. But If they act with wisdc
ry and self-restraint, If they show that tn
nd are capable Of electing a legislatu
nd which in its turn is capable of taking
he sane and efficient part in the actual wo
Tor of government, they can rest assur
ed that full and increasing measure
err | recognition will be given them. Abo
rs, all they should remember that tn
,st | prime needs are moral and industrial. r
Use political. 1t is a good thing to try {
IN experiment Of giving them a legislatul
he but it is far better thing to give thu
is schools, good roads, railroads which v
he | enable them to get their products to m;