The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-10-03
The Philippines.

+ In his article published in the Saturday
Evening Post, of Philadei9hia. Feb 90
1904 President Grover Cleveland spoke
Of the Philippine problem in these words:
When our government entered upon
war for the -Drofessed purpose OF aid
ing 10 seif-governmeut and releasing from
foreign rule a struggling people whose
cries Tor liberty were heard al our very
doors. Il rallied 60 its enthusiastic. sup
port a nation OF freemen, In whose hearts
and minds these was deeply fixed Dy
heredity and tradition the living belief
that All just powers of government are
derived from the consent Of the gov
erned.
'.It was the mockery of fate that led
TO an unexpected and unforeseen incident
IN this conflict and placed in the path
of our government, while processing ma
ti9nal righteousness. representing an nom
est and interviewing people, and intent
on a benevolent self-sacrificing errand,
the temptation Of sordid ACKNOWLEDGMENT
and the false glitter of world power
No sincerely thoughtful American can
recall what followed without amazement.
nor without sadly realizing how the
apathy of our peoples trustfulness and
their unreflecting acceptance of allurlng
representations can be played u9on.
National Fall From Grace.
mo greater national fan from grace
was ever known than that Of the gov
tlIlIlelL OF Inc UiLtQ Otblt-s NINA ia
the midst of high designs. while still
speaking words of sympathy with the
weak who struggled against the strong.
and. while still processing TO eNempiiiy
for self-gUvcrnment and its impulse 70
stay the bloody hand of oppression ana
conquest ii embraced an opportunity Oh
fered by the exigencieS OF its beneficent
undertaking. TO possess itself Of terri
tory thousands of miles from our coast,
and TO conquer and govern, without pre-
tense of their consent, millions or re-
sisting people-a heterogeneous population
largely mixed with clements hardy
within the LIGHT of civilization. and all
far from the prospect OF assimilation
with anything American.
''In one bard the party in power held
aloft before our people the dazzling ana
misleading promise of commercial adj
vantage and the glory OF rivaiing mon
archical expansion, while with the other
il slaughtered thousands of the abJect
sent messages of. death and disease to
thousands of American homes.
Shallow Republican Pretense-
Tn the widest exhibition of partisan
rancor the Democratic Darty cannot be
accused of reactiOnary opposition TO any
movement within the lines fixed by our
national mission and traditions that TENDS
to increase our -So0nUys greatness. II
demands. however. that this mission ana
these traditions shall above all things be
inviolably preserved as guides to our ma
tOnal activity and standards for the
measurement of every national achieve
ment Democracy will not be cajoled IN
to silence by the transient appearance OF
manufactured or Needless public sen
timent. but will speak and trust for It's
Vindication to the sober second thought
of our people Refusing TO accept the
shallow and discrediiable pretense that
our conquest in the Philippines has gone
so far as to be beyond recall or correc-
ton. we insist that a nation as well as
an individual is never so magnanimOus
or great as when false steps are re-
traced and the path of honesty ana VIZ
tue is regained.
''The message of the Democracy to the
American people should courageousiy en-
join that in sincere and consistent COM
pliance with the spirit and profession or
our interference in behalf of Cuba 3 SELF
government our beneficent designs to-
ward her should also extend to the lands
which. as an incident of such Interior
eDce, have come under our control mat
the people of the Philippine islands should
be aided in the establishment Of govern
ment of their own: ard that when TINS
is accomplished our interference in their
domestic rule should cease.