The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1905-05-05
The PHILIPPINE CASE.
Trouble Of the Whole Matter Lies At
the Door Of Protected In-
terCsts.

The Washington Star Is disposed TO
resent criticism Of Secretary TAFT jun.
Ret 10 me Philippines with senators and
representatives. hissummor. The money
cost 10 the government. IL says, will be
small. and If il were ten times as large
II would be money well invested, ii
thinks. II all the members Of congress
could go and look around, the Star thinks
II would be To the interest OF every body
The Star further says.
Now when it is sought TO gather and
spread hrst-hand Information howl
goes up about squandering money on ex-
pensive junkets. Judge TAFT as usual.
Is on the right track, and the end viii
amply Justify the means"
Does The Star really think, asks the
indianapolis News Ond), that what our
congress lacks is information? Ii SO. is
not thai rather severe indictment Of our
system OF government? Ii, with all our
machinery, civil and military, with gov
erncrs and commanders and boards all
these years our national legislature is
still lacking in intelligent information.
then, surely, 10 use a slang phrase. we
are not on TO our job Fancy The Brit
ish parliament pleading the necessity
OF a personal acquaintance with india IN
order to legislate for ii inteligenuy.
We find in this statement by the Star
i characteristic If much that is said in
the press about the PHILIPPINES. namely.
an assumption that all that we have
done Is right, and that if things have not
some as they should something in the
Philippines Is at fault Nowhere is there
an admission that we may not have the
right machinery or may not be managing
II in the right way. And there is more
over resentment Of any suggestion OF
this kind as il il were traitorous. Ii must
be assumed that we are doing things ex-
actly as they should be done in the Phil
ippnes; the person that dares suggest
the contrary is an enemy TO his country
at least
And set we DO not have TO 20 back TO
our own official reports to learn that we
are not doing things right but wrong.
To this Is TO be added the testimony OF
every person that has written on the sub.
Jet from an Independent standpoint.
An expert sent there hy the Chicago uni
versity Enelishmen who have visited
there and who are familiar with co.
lonial government. all put their hands
on the same faults Yet we persist and
talk about the benefits 70 be derived by
personal inspection on the part Of cur
legislators, Congress knows very well
" bat is the matter. and so does all the
world The protected interests that con
troll congress Will not permit that body
10 enact the commercial legislation that
every governor and every national board
has declared Is necessary That IS enc
fault The other Is that congress per
sists in keeping he control of the islands
in its hands instead OF letting this be in
hands of men on the spot So what hap
pens is that the natives know that the
real government is at Washington, not
in the Islands and that the board thai
governs them can do nothing but look dig
nifed and forward requests 20 congress
TO have them turned down in almost
every case
There is the whole Philippine case as
IL exists today II all lies al the doors
of the protected interests Of this coun-
try They will not permit congress to
legislate for the good OF the islands or 10
adopt the system Of government that
will be for the highest interests OF the
governed JustOor example. as they
will not permit railroad rate legisla lion
for this country That is an there is to
the whole question OF Philippine gov
ernment-or for the matter OF that. 9th
err questions Of popular government in
the United States