The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1904-08-26
The PHILIPPINE Question.


1t is difficult to understand how
any citizen of the United States,
much less descendant of revolu-
tionary stock, can tolerate the
thought Of permanently denying
the right of self government to the
Filiplnos, Can we hope to instill
into the minds of our descendants
reverence and devotion for a gov
ernment by the people, while deny
ing ultimately that right to the in
habitants of distant countries,
whose territory we have acquired
either by purchase or by force? Can
we say to the FilipinOs, Your
lives, your liberty and your prop
erty may be taken from you with
out due process of law for all
times, and expect we will long
glory in that feature of magma
charta, which has become iucor-
porated, in substance and effect,
into the constitution OF every State
as well as into the fourteenth
amendment TO the Constitution of
the United States?
Can we hope for the respect of
the civilized world, while proudly
guaranteeing to every citizen of
the United States that no law
shall be made or enforced
which shall abridge the privi-
leges or immunities OF citizens Of
the United States or deny to any
person the equal protection of the
laws, and at the same time not on
ly deny similar rights to the inhab-
itants of the PHILIPPINES, but take
away from them the right of trial
by jury and place their lives aud
the disposition of their property in
the keeping of those whom we send
to them to be their governorst We
shall certainly rue it as nation if
we make any such attempt. View
ing the question even from the
standpoint of national selfshness,
there is no prospect that the S20.-
600, 900 expended in the purchase
OF the islands and the $Gj0, ,00O, 900
said to have been since disbursed
will ever come back to us. The
accident Of war brought the Phil.
lipines into our possession, and we
are not at liberty to disregard the
responsibility which thus came to
us, but that responsibility will he
best subserved by preparing the
islanders as rapidly as possible for
self government and giving them
the assurances that it will come as
soon as they are reasonably pre-
pared for it.
There need be no fear that the
assertion so often made of late,
that we have now become world
power, will then he without sup
port. Ours is world power, and
as such it must he maintained, but
| deny that il is at all recently
that the United States has attained
that eminencc, Our country be-
came n world power over a century
ago, when having thrown off for.
eign domination, the people cstab-
llshed free government, the
source of whose authority sprung,
and was continuously to proceed,
from the will of the people them
selves. 1t grew as Il world power
as its sturdy citizens, to whose
natural increase were added immi
grafton from the old world, seek
ing to obtain here the liberty and
prosperity denied them in their
own countries, spread over the
face of the land, reduced the prair-
les and forests to cultivation, built
cities, constructed highways and
railroads, till now n nation which
at the formation of the govern
ment numbered only 5000. 600 in
population, has become 10000
900, and from ocean to ocean and
the lakes to the gulf, the country
is the abode of free and prosper
Gus people, advanced in the high
est degree in the learning of arts
and arts Of civilization. 1t is the
liberty, the advancement and pros
perity of It's citizens, not any ca
reer of conquest, that make the
country world power. This con-
dition we owe to the bounty of
providence, unfolded in the great
natural resources Of the country,
to the wisdom OF our fathers mani
tested in the form of government
established by them, to the energy,
industry, moral character and law.
abiding spirits of the people them
selves.