Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-09-12

Emoral wen being 81 the F,ilipinos than
Fever before since the islands first came
within the ken OF civilized man. We have
opened before them vista OF orderly de-
velopment IN their own Interest, and mot
policy Of exploitation. Every effort Ii
being made to At the islanders Tor, sell
government, and they have already in
large measure received 1t, while for the
first time In their history their personal
rights and civil liberties have been guar
anteed. They are being educated They
have been given schools. They have been
given libraries. Roads are being built Tor
their use. Their health is being, cared for,
They have been given courts in which
they receive Justice as absolute as 1t is
N our power to guarantee. Their indi-
vidual rights to life, liberty and the pur-
suit of happiness are now by act Of con
yress jealousy safeguarded under the
American flag, and If the protection of
the flag were withdrawn their rights
would be lost and the islands would be
plunged back under some form Of vicious
tyranny We have given them more self
government than they have ever before
had, we are taking steps to increase 1t
ethi further by providing them with an
elected legislative assembly, and surely
we mad better await the results of this
experimentation 1t is a wholly new ex-
pertinent in Asia-before we make prom
lses which as q nation we might be forced
to break or which they might interpret
one way and we in another. 1t may be
asserted without fear of successful con-
tradiction that nowhere else in recent
years has there been as fine an example
OF constructive craftsmanship and wise
ana upright administration as has been
given by the civil authorities, aided by
the army, in the Philippine Islands We
nave administered them in the interest of
their own, people, and the Filipinos them
selves have prof1ted most by our presence
IN the islands, but they have also been Of
very great advantage to us as nation
80 &far from having slapped the foun-
cations of free popular government at
nome by the course taken in the Philip
pines, we have been spreading :ts knowl-
edge ami teaching its practice among peo-
pies to whom it had never been more than
an empty name. Our action represents a
great stride forward in spreading the
principles Of orderly liberty throughout
the world, Our flag has not lost it's gift
OF benediction in its worldwide journey
to their shores We have treated the
power we have gained as solemn obliga-
ton and have used it in the interest of
mankind. and the peoples of the world,
and especially the weaker peoples of the
world, are better off because Of the posi-
ton we have assumed. To retrace our
SSSpS WouAu NC " give prOO1 Ol ILL
and unstable national purpose.
> -Four years ago in his speech of &C.
ceptance President Mckinley said:
I'VE have been moving in untried
paths, but our steps have been guided by
honor and duty. There will be no turning
aside no wavering, no retreat No blow
has been struck except for liberty and
humanity, and none will be- We will
perform without fear every national and
international obligation. The Republic
an party was dedicated to freedom forty
four years ago. 1t has been the party Of
liberty and emancipation from that hour;
not of profession, but Of performance
1t broke the shackles of 100000 slaves
and made them free, and to the party Of
Lincoln has come another supreme OPP
portunity WHICH it has bravely met in
the liberation of 100000 of the hl-
man family from the yoke of imperial
ism. In its solution of great problems,
IN Its performance Of high duties, it has
had the support of members of all parties
in the past, and it confidently invokcs
their cooperation in the future
This is as true now as four years ago.
We did not take the Philippines at will,
and we cannot put them aside at will
Any abandonment of the. policy which we
have steadily pursued in the islands
would be fraught with dishonor and dis
aster. and to such dishonor and disaster
do not believe that the American people
will consent. ~
Alarm has been professed lest the Fill
pinos should not receive all the benefits
guaranteed to our people at home by the
fourteenth amendment to the constitu-
ton. AS matter of fact, the Filipinos
have already secured the substance of
these benefits. This government has been
true to the spirit Of the fourteenth
amendment in the Philippines. Can our
opponents deny that here at home the
principles of the fourteenth and fifteenth
have been in effect NULL
fed? In this, as in many other matters,
we at home can well profit by the exam 4
pie of those responsible for the actual
management OF affairs In the Philippines. 4
In our several commemorative here In the
United States we as people now face
the complex problem OF securing fair
treatment to each man regardless Of his
race or color We can do SO only If we
approach the problem in the spirit Of
courage. common sense and high minded
devotion to the right, which has enabled
Governor Taft, Governor Wright and,
their associates to do so noble work in
giving to'the Philippine people the benefit
of the true principles of American liberty
Our appeal is made to- all good citizens
who hold the honor and the interest of
the nation close to their hearts. The
great issues which are at stake and upon
which I have touched are more than mere
partisan issues, for they involve much
that comes home to the individual pride
and Individual well being Of our people
Under conditions as they actually are
good Americans should refuse, for the
sake Of the welfare OF the nation, to
change the national policy. We who are
responsible for the administration and
legislation under which this country dur
ing the last seven years has grown saa
greatly in well being at home and In hon.
orable repute among the nations Of the
earth abroad do not stand inertly upon
this record, do not use this record as an
excuse for failure Of effort to meet new
conditions On the contrary, we treat the
record Of what we have done in the past
as Indictment to do even better in the
future. We believe that the progress
that we have made may be taken as a
measure of the progress we shall continue
to make If the people again intrust the
government Of the nation to our stands.
We do not stand still. We press steadily
forward toward the goal of moral and
material well being for our own people, of
just and fearless dealing toward all 9TH
er peoples, in the interest not merely of
this country, but Of mankind. There is
not q policy, foreign or domestic, which
we are now carrying out which it would
not be disastrous to reverse or abandon
II our OprlonentSH sfo1Ild tcofne. IN ana