River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-09-15

factures'
Republican Reciprocity.
On the subject Of reciprocity the pSaS-
ident says:
Our opponents assert that they believe
in reciprocity. Their action on the most
important reciprocity treaty recently ne
gotiated-that with Cuoa-does not bear
out this assertion. Moreover, there can be
no reciprocity unless there is a substantial
tariff; free trade and reciprocity are not
compatible. We are on record as faVorlng
ARRANGEMENTS for reciprocal trade rela-
lions with other countries, these arrange
ments to be on an equitable basis of benefit
to both the contracting parties. Inc re-
publican party STANDS pledged TO every
wise and consistent method of increasing
the foreign commerce of the country. That
it has kept its pledge is proven by the fact
that while the domestic trade OF TINS com
try exceeds in volume the entire export
and import trade of all the nations of the
world, the United States has in addltlGn
secured more than an eighth OF the export
trade of the world, standing first among
the nations in this respect.
OF the proposition to reduce the size of
the army the president says:
IF our opponents should come INTO pow
er they could not reduce our army below
it's present size without greatly lmpa1rlnS
it's efficiency and abandoning part OF the
national duty. In snort, IN TINS Inatter' IL
would either have to treat this particular
promise of the year 1904 as they now treat
the promises they made in 1896 ana lsOO,
else they would have to embark on q poIlcy
which would be ludicrous at the moment,
and fraught with grave DANGER TO the ma
tional honor in the future.
He reviews the administration Of the gov
eminent finances and refutes the charge
that the government is administered eX-
travagantly with facts ana ngures' aho
says: -.
do our opponents grudge the $50, OOOO 600
paid for the Panama canal? do they IN
tend to cut down on the pensions 70 tIS
- he civil a r
to put a stop, to the irrigation policy! or
to the permanent census bursau! or 10
immigration inspection? Do They lnteHc TO
abolish rural free delivery? DO they in
tend to cut down the navy? or che Alaskan
telegraph system? Do they intend to dis
mantle our coast Notifications? If there
is to be a real and substantial: cutting down
in NATIONAL expenditures it n%ust be in such
matters as these. The department OF agri-
culture has done service IF lncalCulable
value to the farmers of his country In
many different lines. Da our opponents
wish to cut down the money for this serv-
ice? They can do it only by destroying the
usefulness of the servi%s itself"
Philippine Independence.
He refers to the promise in the demo
cratic platform to grFe independence to the
Philippine islands. and after speaking or
the folly of such 4 promise says:
'It may well III that our opponents have
no real intention of putting their promise
into effect If this is the case, if, in other
words they are insincere in the promise
they make, it is only necessary to say again
that it is unwise to trust men who are false
in one thing to deal with anything. The
mere console usness of broken faith would
hamper them in continuing our policy IN
the islands; and only by continuing un-
changed this policy can the honor OF the
the islands subserved. If, on the other
hand, our opponents came into power and
attempted to carry out their promises to the
Filipinos by giving them independence and
wing control
islands, the result would be frightful
calamity to the Filipinos themselves, and
international crime. Anarchy would fol-
low; and the most violent anarchic forces
would be directed partly against the civil
ggeomg and P"rey al GH
Bloody conflicts would inevitably ensue in
the archipelago, and just as inevitably the
islands would become the prey of the first
power which in it's own selfish interest
took up the task we had cravenly aban-
doned.
During the last five years more has been
of the Filipinos than ever before since the
islands first came within the ken of civil
lied man. We have opened before them
vista of orderly development in their own
interest. and not a policy of exploitation.
Every effort is being made to fit the island
ers for self-government, and they have
already in large measure received it, While
for the first time in their history their per-
sonal rights and civil liberties have been
guaranteed. They are being educated;
they have been given schools; they have have
for their use; their health is being cared
for; they have been given courts in which
they receive justice as absolute as 1t is in
our power to guarantee. Their individual
rights to life, liberty and the. pursuit or
happiness are now by act of congress
jealousy 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 self-government than
they have ever before had; we are taking
steps to increase it still further by pro-
viding them with an elected legislative
the result of this experimentation it is a
wholly new experiment in Asia-befOre we
make promises which as a 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 success
full contradiction that nowhere else in re-
cent years has there been as fine an exam
pie of constructive craftsmanship and wise
and upright administration as has been
given by the civil authorities, aided by the
army, in the Philippine islands. We have
administered them in the interest of their
own people; and the Filipinos themselves
have profited most by our presence in the
islands; but they have also been of very
great advantage to us as nation"
Conclusion.
In conclusion the president says:
"Our appeal is made to all good citizens
who hold the honor and the interest of the
nation close to their hearts The great is
sues 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
we'll 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 pol
icy. We, who are responsible for the ad-
miniStration and legislation under which
this country, during the last seven years,
has grown so greatly in well-being al home
and in honorable repute among the ma
lions 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 the past as Indictment to DO even better
in the future. We believe that the progress
that we have made may be taken as a.
measure Of the progress we shall continue
to make if the people again entrust the
government of the nation to our hands
We do not stand still. We press steadily
forward toward the goal of moral and ma
just and fearless dealing toward all other
peoples, in the interest not merely of this
country, but of mankind There is not a
policy foreign or domestic, which we are
now carrying out which it would not be
disastrous to reverse or abandon. If our
opponents should come in and should not
reverse our policies then they would he
branded with the brand of broken faith.
of false promise. Of insincerity in word and
deed; and no man can work to the advan-
tage Of the nation with such brand cling
ing to him. If, on the other hand. thew
should come in and reverse any or all of our
policies. by just so much would the nation
as a whole be damaged Alike as law
makers and as administrators of the law
we have endeavored to do our duty in the
interest of the people as whole we make
our appeal to no class and to no section,
but to all good citizens, In whatever part
of the land they dwell and whatever nav
be their occupation or worldly condition