Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-12-08

larger nuHDer OF TeEul3TS una NAllOTdi
guard took part than was ever before as
sembled together In time of peace. No
other civilized~nation has relatively to Its
population such a dlminutive army as
ours, and while the army Is so small we
are not to be excused II we fail to keep
1t at a very high grade Of proficiency. 1t
must be necessarily practiced. The stand
ard for the enlisted men should be kept
very high. while at the same time the
service should be made as attractive as
possible, and the standard for the officers
should be kept even higher which as re-
CARDS the upper ranks can best be done
by introducing some system of selection
and rejection into the promotions. We
should be able in the event of some sud
den emergency to put into the field one
first class army corps which should be as
whole at least the equal of any body
of troops of like number belonging to any
other nation.
Great progress has been made in pro-
tecting our coasts by adequate fortifica-
lions with sufficient guns. We should
however, pay much more heed than at
present to the development of an ex-
tensive system of floating mines for use
in all our more important harbors. These
mines have been proved to be most for
midable safeguard against hostile fleets
Medals of Honor In the Navy.
| 1 earnestly call the attention Of the con-
gress to the need of amending the exist
ing law relating to the award of congress
sional medals OF honor In the navy. so as
to provide that they may be awarded to
commissioned officers and warrant Off.
GERS as we'll as to enlisted men. These
Justly priced medals are given in the army
alike to the officers and the enlisted men.
and 1t Is most unjust that the commits
stoned officers and warrant officers of the
navy should not In this respect have the
same rights as their brethren in the army
and as the enlisted men of the navy.
Tho Philippines.
I In the Philippine Islands there has been
during the past year a continuation of the
steady progress which has obtained ever
since our troops definitely got the upper
hand OF the insurgents. The Philippine
people. or, to speak more accurately, the
many tribes and even races sundered
from one another more or less sharply
who go to make up the people of the
j Philippine Islands, contain many ele-
1 ments of good and some elements which
we have right to hope stand for prog
ress. At present they are utterly incapa-
BILE of existing in independence at all or
of building up civilization of their own.
firmly believe that we can help them to
rise higher and higher In the scale of civ
ment and l most earnestly hope that in
the end they will be able to stand If not
entirely alone. yet in some such relation
to the United States as Cuba now stands.
This end is not yet in sight, and 1t may be
indefinitely postponed II our people are
foolish enough to turn the attention OF
the Filpinos away from the problems of
achieving moral and material prosperity,
of working for stable, orderly and just
government and toward foolish and dan
gerous tntrigues for complete independ-
ence for which they are as yet totally I'M
fit.
On the other hand, our people must
keep steadily before their minds the fact
that the justification 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 in the
Pacific ocean and along its 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 islands. 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 pre-
scented to us In the Philippine Islands is
akin to but not exactly like the problems
presented to the other great civilized pow
ers which have possessions in 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 Dutch in Java
by the Russians In Turkestan, by the
Japanese in Formosa, but more distinctly
than any OF these powers we are endeav-
oring to develop the natives themselves
SO that they shall take an ever increasing
share in their own government, and as
far as is prudent we are already ad
mitttng their representatives to gov.
ernmental equality with our own. There
are commissioners, judges and governors
in the islands who are Filipinos and whe
have exactly the same share In the gov
eminent Of the islands as have their col
leagues who are Americans, while in tn.
lower ranks of course the great majorit,
OF the public servants are Filipinos
Within two years we shall be trying tn,
experiment of an elective lower house II
the Philippine legisla ture. 1t may be tina
the Filipinos will misuse this legislature
and they certainly will misuse it II the,
are rnisled by foolish persons here a
home into starting an agitation for thei
own independence or into any factious o.
improper action In such case they will
do themselves no good and will stop fo
the time being all further effort to ad
vance them and give them create
share In their own government. But 1
they act with wisdom and self restraint
II they show that they are capable O
electing legislature which in it's turn Il
capable Of taking sane and efficient par
in the actual work of government, the,
can rest assured that a full and increas
ing measure of recognition will be givel
. them Above all, they should remembe
that their prime needs are moral and in
dustrial not political. 1t is good thin,
to try tho experiment Of giving them
legislature but 1t is far better thing t,
give them schools, good roads, railroad
which will enable them to get their prod
ucts to market honest courts, an homes
and efficient constabulary and all tina
tends to produce order, peace fair deal
ing as between man and man and habit
of intelligent industry and thrift. If the.
! are safeguarded against oppression ant
II their real wants, material and spiritual
, are studied intelligently and in spiri
OF friendly sympathy much more goot
will be done them than by any effort t
give them political power, though th
effort may In it's own proper time ant
place be proper enough.
Meanwhile our own people should re
member that there Is need for the highes
standard Of conduct among the American
sent to the Philippine Islands, not onl.
among the public servants but among tn