The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-09-12

erIles nave been guaranteed. They are
a bng tS1 they have been given
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 it is in our power
to guarantee. Their individual rights
to life, liberty and the pursuit of hap
ously 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were withdrawn their rights would be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 tyran-
ny. We have given them more self-gov
eminent than they have ever before
had; we are taking steps to increase it
still further by providing them with an
elected legislative assembly; and surely
we had better await the results of this
exp!eriment.for it is a wholly new ex-z
pertinent 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 sue
cessful contradiction that nowhere else
example of constructive craftsmanship
and wise and upright administration as
has been given by theaeivi authorities,
aided by the army, in the Philippine
Islands. We have administered them
in the interest of their own people; and
most by our presence in the islands; but
they have also been Of very great adj
vantage to us as nation.
Spread knowledge of Freedom.
So far from having "sapped the
ment at, home by the course taken in
the Philippines, we have been spreading
its knowledge, and teaching its practice,
among peoples to whom it had never
before been more than an empty name.
Our action represents great stride for.
orderly liberty thruout the world. - Our
flag has not lost its gift Of benediction
in its worldwide journey to their
shores. !" We. have treated the power
we have gained as a solemn obligation,
kind; and the peoples Of the world and
especially the weaker peoples of the
world, are better off because Of the po-
sition we have assumed. To retrace
our steps would be to give proof of an
infrm and unstable national purpose.
ceptance, President Mckinley said s.
'tWe have been moving in untried
paths, but our steps have been guided
by honor and duty. There will be no
turning aside, no wayering, no retreat.
erty and humanity, and none will be.
| We will perform without fear every ma
tional and international obligation.
The republican. party was dedicated. to
freedom forty-fou!r years ago., It has
beer the party Of liberty and emaaci-
sion, but Of performances. It broke the
shackles for four million slaves, and
made them free, and to the party of
Lincoln has come another supreme OPP
pSortg3n!3ity which It has bEaa!yely met in
human family from the yoke. Of i'm
perialism. In Its solution Of great
problems, in it's performance of high
duties, it has had the support Of mem
bers of all parties in the past, and it
confidently invokes their cooperation in
the future.'' s
ago. We did not take the Philippines
at will, and we cannot put them aside
at will. Any abandonment Of the pol
icy which we have steadily pursued in
the islands would be fraught with dis
or and disaster I do not believe that
the American people will consent.
Benefits Received.
Alarm has been protested lest the
4 FilipinOs should not receive all the
), benefits guaranteed to our people at
the constitution. AS matter of fact,
the Filipinos have already secured the
, substance of these benefits. This gov
eminent has been true to the spirit
of the fourteenth amendment in the
Philippines. Can our opponents deny
fourteenth and fifteenth amendments
have been in effect nulifed9 In this,
as in many other matters, we at home
can we'll profit by the example Of those
responsible for the actual management
of affairs in the Philippines. In our
! several commonwealth here in the
United States we as people now face
the complex 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 so
noble work in giving to the Philip
pine people the benefit of the true prin.
y ciples Of American liberty.
Appeal to Good Citizens.
. Our appeal is made to all good citi-
, of the nation close to their hearts. The
; great issues which are at stake, and
upon which I have touched, are more
than mere partizan issues, for they IN
volve much that comes home to the Inc
dividual pride and Individual well-be-
l OIL OuI, poOp1S.1- O1oS1 SoAoiCiOAlS
r as they actually are, good Americans
should refuse, for the sake of the well
: fare of the nation, to change the ma
tional policy. We, who are response
BILE for the administration and legisla-
ton under which this country, during
l 1.-The last seven years, has grown so
: greatly in well-being at home and in
honorable repute among the nations OF
| the earth abroad, do not stand inertly
7 upon this record, do not use this rec
8 ord as an excuse for failure Of effort
: to meet new conditions. On the con-
= trary, we treat the record of what we
a have done in the past as incitement to
a do even better in the future.
We believe that the progress that we
- have made may be taken as measure o,
: the progress we shall continue to make u
. the people again entrust the government
: of the nation to our hands, We do not
9 stand still. We press steadily forward TO-
. ward the goal of moral and material well.
:, being for our own people, of Just ane
= fearless dealing toward all other peoples
= In the Interest not merely OF this country
! but of mankind.
d There is not policy, foreign or do
Q nestle, which we are now carrying out
|. which it would not, be disastrous to re-
8 verse or abandon. If our opponents
8 should come in and should not reverse
>, our policies, then they would be branded
8 with the brand of broken faith, OF
.. false promise, of insincerity in word ant
e daad and no man can work to the adj