Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1904-12-14

result would mean an immediate recrude,
f G OF barbarism in one form or another.
Onuer any circumstances a sufficient arma-
ment would have to be kept I'D to serve
Tue purposes of international police: and
u f international cohesion and the sense
VI international duties and rights are far
more advanced than at present. a nation
oesirous both of securing respect for itself
ana ana OF doing good to others must have a
force adequate for the work which if feels
IS allotted to it as its part of the general
world duty. Therefore it follows that
sef-fespecting, just, and far-seeing nation
nnoula on the one hand endeavor by every
various movements which tend to provide
substitutes for war, which tend to render
aations In their actions toward one another
m Ili of humane and civilized man,
s hlad; and on the other hand that it
louSly avoiding wrongdoing ITSELF to repel
any wrong, and in exceptional cases to take
iactlon winch In more advanced stage Ut
the head OF the exercise of the international
ponce A great free people owes it to it.
ser and to all mankind not to sink into
helplessnesS before the powers Of evil
ARBITRATION TREATIES.
IN we e,i are in every way endeavoring to help
when Mnlch Will tend to bring us into more
friendly relations with the rest of mankind
IN IN pursuance Of this policy 1 shall shortly
i2y before the Senate treaties of arbitrat,n11
with all powers which are willing TO enter
INTO these treaties with US. 1t is not possi-
PIE at this period of the worlds deTelop-
menu TO agree to arbtrate all matters bur
| there are many matters of possible differ,
ence between US and other nations which
can be thus arbitrated.
SECOND HAGUE CONFERENCE.
Furthermore, at the request Of the Inter
parliamentary union, an eminent body com
posed OF practical statesmen from ali conn
tries, have asked the powers to join with
| this government in a second Hague confer
ence, at which it is hoped that the work
already so happily begun at The Hague NAV
| be carried some steps further toward com
pleton; This carries out the desire ex-
pressed oy the first Hague conference ITSELF
THE PHILIPPINES.
In the Philippine islands there has been
during the past year continue ton of the
steady progress which has obtained ever
since our troops definitely got the upper
h nin OF the Insurgents. The Philippine peo-
| pie or, to speak more accurately, the many
trlDeS, and even races, sundered from one
another more or less sharply, who go to
make up the people of the Philippine is
lands, contain many elements Of good and
some elements which we have right to
nope stand for progress: At present they
are utterly incapable of existing in indie
| pendence at ali or Of building up a civiliza-
! ton OF their own [ firmly believe that we
can help them to rise higher and higher
ID the scale of civilization and of capacity
| Tor self-government, and I most earnestly
nope that In the end they will be able to
stand II not entirely alone, yet in some
such relation to the United States as Cuba
now stands. This end is not yet in sight
and it may be Indefinitely postponed if our
people are foolish enough to turn the atten.
ton OF the Filtpinos away from the prob
Iems OF ach1eyelng moral and material pros
perlty OF working for a stable, orderly, and
just government, and toward foolish and
dangerous lntr1gueS for a complete independ-
ence for which they are yet totally I'M
! fit.
On the other hand our people must keep
stead!ly before their minds the fact that the
Justlncatlon 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 il the Pacific ocean and
| along It's 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 island.
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
not exactly like, the problems presented to
the other great civilized powers which have
possessions il the Orient. There are points
| of resemblance in our work to the work
which is being done by the British in India
and Egypt by the French in Algiers by the
| DulcQ III Java, Dy the Russians IN Iurke-
stan, by the japanese in Formosa; but more
distinctly than any Of these powers we are
endeavoring to develope the natives them
selves SO that they shall take an ever-in-
creasing share in their own government,
and far as is prudent already
! admitting their representatives to govern
mental equality with our own. There are
commissioners, judges and governors in the
islands who are Flipinos and who have ex-
actly the, same share In the government 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 Filpinos. Within two years
elective lower house in the Philippine leg
islature. 1t may be that the Filipinos will
misuse this legislature, and they certainly
persons here at home into starting agi-
tation for their own independence or into
any factious or improper action. In such
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-re-
straint, If they show that they are capable
Of electing a legislature which in its turn
is capable of taking sane and efficient
can rest assured that full and increasing
measure of recognition will be given them.
prime needs are moral and Industrial, not
political. 1t is a good thing to try the .ex-
pertinent of giving them a legislature; bu.
! it is a far better thing to give them schools,
good roads, railroads which will enable
them to get their products to market, hon
est courts an honest and efficient cOnstabu-
| lary. and all that tends to produce order,
peace, fair dealing as between man and
man, and habits of intelligent indus
| trv and thrift. If they are safeguarded
against oppression, and If their real wants,
material and spiritual, are studied intelli-
gently and in spirit of friendly sympathy,
much more good will be done them than by
any effort to give them political power,
though this effort may In its own proper
| time and place be proper enough.
| Meanwhile our own people should remem-
her that there is need for the highest stand
ard of conduct among the Americans sent to
the Philippine islands, rot only among the
public servants but among the private indi-
| yiduals who go to them 1t is because l
feel this so deeply that in the administra-
| tion of these islands | have positively re-
| g mi ti0p w