Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-28

bill of rights. save the right of trial by jury
and the right to bear arms, and that IT he
will assert his right 1t will be secured him.
1T may be that in the province of Cavite.
where ladronsm is so ingrained that IL has
been necessary at times to declare martial
law and to suspend the writ of habeas cor
pus this is not true. Everywhere else II Is
the fact. Now, the question is asked. Are
not people arrested for exhibiting seditious
plays? My answer to that is that they have
been. In Manila the exhibition Of a play in
which the American flag is stamped upon
and spit upon, and American soldiers are
represented as being killed and the Ameri-
can nation as overwhelmed by violence ia
an invitation to force and violence against
the government by the ignorant pepulace,
and its suppression by arrest of the insti-
gators is no violation OF the bill of rights.
Independence of the Islands.
THE question is asked whether a man
may advocate the independence Of the
islands by a peaceable means and he free
from prosecution and persecution by the
government. My answer is that he may.
There is a party-the nationalist party-a
plank in whose platform is the obtaining OF
independence by peaceable means. | do
rot mean TO say that where suspected In
surrecto. one suspected of membership in
the physical force party is loud in his adj
vocacy of independence, that he may MOI,
by the secret service bureau of the police.
be subjected TO surveillance. but that is an
Incident from which even citizenship I'm this
country is not free. 1t sufiices that he cam
not be prosecuted or convicted for advocat-
ing independence by peaceabe means"
Mr.. Taft surveyed historically the work
of the religious orders in the Philippines,
the great influence they obtained in the
islands through self-sacrifice and loving
devotion to duty the the Spanish dd-
ministration made of the friars. the hostil-
ity to them that followed, and the long con-
troversy over the ownership OF lands. Con-
corning Aglipay, a former Roman Catholic
priest and the schism that he has organized
IN the church called the independent Fill
pino Catholic Church" Mr.. Taft said:
"Aglipay a priest rather favored by
the Spanish hierarchy. He was made the
grand vicar of the diocese of which Vigan
is the head, the diocese of Neuva Ssgpvia.
and exercised the functions of the +1shop
at times. When Aguinaldo went to Malolos.
however. and thence to Tarlac. Aglipay ap-
peared and acted as his chief religious adj
wiser. He called to Manila by the
archbishop, and declining to go, was ex-
communicated Subsequently he was given
a guerrilla command In 1locos Norte and
as a guerrilla leader acquired a rather un-
enviable reputation. His generlissimo.
directing that he be seized and captured
wherever found and turned over TO the
military authorities for punishment as
bandit. However, he surrendered among
others. and gave over his forces to the
United States and then devoted his atten-
ton to church matters.
AS to the future Mr.. Taft thought IT
ence that should wean the people away
from the Importance Of the present gov
eminent.
II am in favor of teaching the people how
to govern themselves" said he, "dnd can
not assume that such a lesson, so difficult
to learn, can be taught to a people 30 per
cent OF whom grossly ignorant today,
without any political experience whatever.
in five years. some OF our opponents
say, or in twenty years, as others suggest.
/ regard the learning of English as one of
the important steps in the education of
these people, important in creating solid
arity among the people and in enabling the
people to understand each other, impot tant
in bringing them into touch with the Anglo
Saxon world, where they shall drink In the
principles of civil liberty.
The government in the Philippines was,
Mr.. Taft said, non-partisan and included
about as many democrats as republicans.
The policy of the United States was The
Philippines for the Filipinos" If ultim Itely
the FilDinos were taken in behind the
tariff wall as l hope and pray they may,
IL would tend TO develop the islands In such
way that the Filipinos might prefer to
maintain some sort Of bond so that they
may be within the tariff wall and enjoy the
markets rather than separate themselves
and become independent"