Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1904-12-15

I
voice is now potent for peace, and Is 20
potent because we are not afraid OF war
But our protestatlons upon behalf Of
peace would neither receive nor deserve
the slightest attention IL we were Inn
potent TO make them good.
The Army.
Within the last three years the United
States has set an example in disarma-
| ment where disarmament was proper.
| By law our army Is fixed at a maximum
of one hundred thousand and a minimum
| OF sixty thousand men. When there was
insurrectiOn in the Philippines We kept
the army at the maximum, Peace came
In the Philippines, and now our army
has been reduced to the minimum at
which II is possible TO keep 1t with due
| regard to its efficiency The guns now
| mounted require twenty-eight thousand
| men, II the coast Notifications are to be
adequately manned. Relatively to the
| nation. 1t Is not now so large as the po-
lice force Of New York or Chicago reEa-
/ lively to the population OF either city.
| We need more officers: there are not
| enough to perform the regular army
| work. II is very important that the off,
| GERS Of the army should be accustomed
| to handle their men In masses. as IL n
| also important that the national guard
| Of the several states should be accus-
| toned to actual field maneuvering. espe-
| ciHIly I'm connection with the regulars.
| For this reason we are to be congra tu-
| lated upon the success of the field ma
| enuvers at Manassas last fall. maneuvers
I in which a larger number Of regulars
and national guard took part than was
ever before assembled together In time
| Of peace. No other civilized nation has
| relatively to its population. such di-
minutive army as ours; and while the
army is so small we are not to be ex-
cused II we fail TO keep It at a very high
grade OF proficiency.
Great progress has been made in pro-
tectfng our coasts by adequate forth
cations with sufficient guns. We should.
| however. pay much more heed than az
| present to the development Of an extern
| sive system Of floating mines for use in
all our more important harbors. These
mines have been proved to be a most for
! midabie safeguard against hostile fleets.
[ The Philippines,
In the Philippine islands there has
| been during the past year a continuation
| OF the steady progress which has OBJ
[ tanned ever since our troops definitely
| got the upper hand OF the insurgents
The Philippine people. or. to speak more
| accurately, the many tribes. and even
| races, sundered from one another more
| or less sharply, who go to make up the
people of the Philippine islands, contain
many elements of good. and some ele-
! ments which we have a right to hope
| stand for progress. At present they are
| utterly incapable of existing in indie
pendence at all or of building up a civ
| ilization Of their own. 1 firmly believe
that we can help them to rise higher and
| higher In the scale of civilization and
| of capacity for self-government. and
| most earnestly hope that in the end they
| will be able to stand, If not entirely alone,
| yet in some such relation to the United
| States as Cuba now stands. This end
L f= tonf Ns.,E IN fgl,k ss
definitely postponed If our people are
| foolish enough to turn the attention OF
| the Filipinos away from the problems OF
| achieving moral and material prosperity,
| of working for a stable. orderly. and just
| government. and toward foolish and dan
gerous f1trigues for a complete independ-
ence for which they are as yet totally
unfit
On the other hand our people must
keep steadily before their minds the fact
| that the justification for our stay in the
| Philippines must ultimately rest chiefly
! upon the good we are able to do in the
| Islands. l do not overlook the fact that
| in the development of our interests in
| the Pacific ocean and along its coasts,
the Philippines have played and will play
| an important part, and that our interests
have been served in more than one way
by the possession OF the islands. But
| our chief reason for continuing to hold
| them must be that we ought in good
| faith to try to do our share of the
| worlds work, and this particular piece
| of work has been imposed upon us by
| the results Of the war with Spain. The
| problem presented to us in the Philip
pine islands is akin to, but not exactly
| like. the problems presented to the other
| great civilized powers which have pos
sessions in the Orient. More distinctly
| than any of the powers we are endeaY-
| prineg n flpvalOn the natives fbaunGaIyaa
so that they shall take an ever-increas-
ing share in their own government, and
| as far as is prudent we are already adj
hitting their representatives to a gov
ernmental equality with our own. There
are commissioners, judges, and governors
in the islands who are Filipinos and who
have exactly the same share in the gov
eminent of the Islands as have their coli
leagues who are Americans, while in the
lower ranks, of COURSE the great major
ity of the public servants are Filipinos.
Within two years we shall be trying the
experiment Of an elective lower house In
the Philippine Legislature.
Meanwhile our own people should re-
member that there Is need for the high
est standard of conduct among the Amer
leans sent to the Philippine islands. mob
only among the public servants but
among the private individuals who go
| to them. It Is because / feel this SO
deeply that in the administration Of these
islands 1 have positively refused to per-
init any discrimination whatsoever for
political reasons and have Insisted that
in choosing the public servants consld-
Grafton should be paid solely to the
worth of the men chosen and to the
needs of the islands. There is no high
er body of men in our public service
than we have in the Philippine islands
under Gov. Wright and his associates.
So far as possible these men should be
given a free hand. and their suggestions
should receive the hearty backing both
of the Executive and OF the Congress.
There is need OF a vigilant and disinter-
ested support of our public servants IN
the Philippines by good citizens here in
the United States. Unfortunately hither-
to those OF our people here at home who
have specially claimed to be the cham
pions Of the Filipinos have in reality