The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1904-12-07

10 SPEAK more dstlt dtSits tES AHeiAf
tribes. aud even races. snnaered from
one another more or less sharply
who 90 10 make up The people az The
Philippine islands. contain many ele-
ments of good. anc some elements
which We have a right 20 hope stand
for progress. At present they are ut
terly incapable of existing in indie
pendence at all or of building up a
civilization Of their own. | firmly
believe that we can help them 10 rise
higher and higher in the scale OF civ
ilizatoin and Of capacity for self-goy-
eminent 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
IS not yet in sight, and il may be in
definitely postponed If our people are
foolish enough TO turn the attention
of the Filipinos away from the prob
lens of achieving moral and material
prosperity. of working for a stable,
orderly, and just government, and to-
ward foolish and dangerous intrigues
for a complete independence 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. | do not over
look the fact that in the development
Of our interests in the Pacific ocean
and along it's coasts, the Philippines
have played and will play an import
ant 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 10 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 Philippine islands is akin to,
but not exactly like, the problems
presented to the other great civilized
powers which have possessions in
the Orient There are points OF re-
semblance in our work to the work
which is being done by the British in
India and Egypt, by the French in
Algiers, by the Dutch in Java. by the
Russians in Turkessan, by the Japan
ese in Formosa; but more distinctly
than any of these powers we are en-
deavoring to develop the natives
themselves so that they shall take an
eyerincreasing share in their own
government, and as far as is prudent
We are already admitting their repre-
sentatives to a governmental equality
with our own. There are commissions
ers. judges, and governors in the ISL
ands who are Filipinos and who have
exactly the same share in the govern
ment of the islands as have their
colleagues who are Americans, while
In the lower ranks, Of course, the
great majority of the public servants
are Filipinos. Within two years we
elective lower house in the Philippine
Legislature II NAV be that the Fill
pinos. viii misuse this legislature, and
they certainly will misuse it If they
are misled by foolish persons here at
home into starting an agitation for
their own independence or into any
factions or improper action. In such
case they will do themselves no good
and will stop for the time being all
further effort to advance them and
give them a greater share in their
own government But if they act with
wisdom and self restraint. If they
show that they are capable of elect
ing legislature which in it's turn is
capable of taking a sane and efficient
part in the actual work of govern
ment, they can rest assured that
full and increasing measure of recog-
milton will be given them. Above all
they should remember that their
prime needs arc moral and industrial,
not political. 1t is a good thing to
try the experiment of giving them
Legislature; but it . is far better
thing to give them schools, good
roads, railroads which will enable
them to get their products TO market,
honest courts, an honest and efficient
constabulary, and all that tends to
produce order, peace, fair dealing as
between man and man, and habits of
intelligent industry and thrift II
they are safeguarded against opposi-
ton, and if their real wants, material
and spiritual, are studied intelligentW
and in a spirit of friendly sympathy,
much more good will be done them
than by any effort to give them polit-
ical power, though this effort may in
its own proper time and place be
proper enough
Meanwhile our own people should
remember that there is need for the
highest standard of conduct among
the Americans sent to the Philippine
islands, not only among the public
servants, but among the private indi-
viduals who go to them 1t is because
feel this SO deeply that in the adj
ministration of these islands | have
positively refused TO permit any dis
elimination whatsoever for political