The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1904-10-06


Chis plea for Filipino self-government
comes from an Opposition. which in
the South, where it is strongest( to-
day denies self-government to a nil
lion black men in defiance Of the
Constitution of the Nation.
Stand by the Teacher.
Fellow Americans, we and every
Christian nation have q civilizing duty
to perform. God has given US a mis-
sion in the world. Today part of the
American peoples work, as an up
lifting force among mankind, is in
the Philippines. We are to do 1t de-
voutly. reverently; but we are to do
it practically and with common sense.
And that Is how we are doing 1t. We
established peace-that peace we will
maintain Wherever our forces went,
schools were opened before their arms
were stacked; and our soldiers taught
the people they protected. And today
one thousand selected teachers from
every State in the Union are instruct.
ing Filipino teachers in the art Of edu-
eating their millions. And that work
we will continue. We will stand by
the American teacher In the Philip
pines today as we stood by the Ameri-
can soldier in the Philippines four
years ago.
What We Are Doing.
Everywhere we are building roads;
In every town we have established
poetoffices; we have knit community
to community by eight thousand miles
of telegraph and telephones, by high
way and railroad. by postal service
and ship lines. We are bringing that
forgotten people into touch with all
mankind and pouring the current of
the worlds intelligence through the
awakening nerve and brain of our
Oriental wards. We have placed the
ballot in the hands of the people of
every province, who today elect their
provincial governor, council and muni-
cipal officers; we have provided for a
legislature to be selected by the peo-
pie, which the American administra-
tion may instruct in practical govern
ment; we have given the large major
ity of the Offices to the ablest Fill
pinos themselves, teaching them by
experience the meaning of law-regu-
lated liberty. We have gone faster
than any nation with a similar task
has ever gone-God grant that We
have not gone too fast. Shall we de-
stroy this progress by deserting our
duty in the very midst of it's dis
charge?
Why Not Give Up All?
Does the Opposition favor American
withdrawal from Porto REQ and Ha-
wall? Why not? If they would re-
treat from the Philippines, why not
from all our possessions? If they OBJ
iect to possessions on principle, the
principle is the same In the Gulf of
Mexico as In the Pacific If the OBJ
lection is not on principle, 1t cannot
be on business. Before we took them
we sold Porto Rico. Hawaii and the
Philippines about six million dollars
worth of American goods each year.
Today we sell them nearly twenty
eight millions of American goods each
year. Will the Opposition tell the
American farmer and workingrnan
that they will give up that commerce?
And it has only begun to grow. Our
sales to Porto Rico have increased
nearly six hundred per cent; to Ha-
wall four hundred per cent; to the
Philippines nearly five thousand per
cent. Before we took them we sold
about one hundred thousand dollars
worth of American products to the
Philippines annually. In spite of war,
pestilence and famine during recent
years we today sell them nearly five
million dollars worth of American
products each year. not including the
supplies to our army In spite of
conditions that destroy commerce, we
have in five years increased the trade
Of the Philippine islands with the world
from $35,00O,0O0 to $66,00O,000 annu-
ally. When we adopt the recon-
mendations of Governor Taft-which
we will dc at the next session of
Congress-our sales to the Philippines
alone will ultimately increase from
$5.000,000 to $50. .OOO, 900 year, as they
have already increased from 100000
to $5.000,000 year. 1t will not be
long, historically speaking, until our
sales to our possessions reach the
total of a hundred million dollars
every year. What does that mean?
England today sells about $500, 600, 900
of exports to her possessions. With
out that trade England's factories
would close, her workingmen be idle
Increased markets means continued
employment to American labor. Let
American labor think of that.
Our exports to our possessions does
not fully measure their commercial
value. Our purchases from them are
nearly as important. These posses
sions are tropical lands. We buy
$500, ,000. 900 oftropical products every
year. We pay for them in American
gold. Why not buy of our own terri
tories and pay for them In American
products. And when developed the
Philippines with Porto Rico and Ha-
wall will supply at least half the
tropical products we now buy from
foreign lands
And American exports to Oriental
countries contiguous to the Philip
pines have increased from $4,000, 900
to $107. .000, 900 since those islands be-
came American possessions; and our
Asiatic commerce is only in its begin
nings. Upon this growing trade
- ho