Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1905-06-23
sentaion or being governed without their

sentaion or being governed without their
consent.
Whatever the wisdom of taking the
Philippines, that question has passed.
We have the Philippines. The question
is, How are we going to administer our
great trust? Every American not only
has right, but duty, to see that we
discharge it honorably. There are three
things that throw light on our discharge
of that trust, First, every writer, Eng
lish and American, that has had expert
ence in Oriental affair agrees land indie
pendently) that we have begun in the
wrong way. Our own reports agree in
the same thing.
We govern the Philippines at WASH
ington, by Congress which is interested
primarily in maintaining the privileges
of the tariff beneficiaries of this country,
and secondarily in furthering political
party schemes in domestic politics. 1t
refuses to heed the recommendations Of
our Philippine administrators. Second.
every army officer that has been in the
islands has come back talking that same
way-our governmental system is all
wrong. Outside the educational depart
ment and that of public improvements
we are simply making confusion and dis
trust. Third there is the example of
Egypt, and here comes Lord Cromer's
last report. Following is an extract
from it:
In deciding what general policy is to
be adopted in countries such as Egypt,
and the Soudan, low taxation should be
the keystone of the political arch. 1t
brings general tranquility in its train.
1t is an essential preliminary to steady
and continuous moral and material i'm
provement. 1t allows, either at once or
eventually, of the adoption, without
serious danger to the state, of policy in
other matters which is in general con-
formity with liberal views and traditions
of the British government and British
nation. Expenditure on objects, how
ever desirable in themselves, should,
venture to think, be rejected, or at al
events postponed, rather than that the
principle of maintaining taxes at low
figure should be in any degree infringed
That is the policy which, for more than
twenty years, has been adopted in
Egypt and for some seven years in the
Soudan.
On this as bearing directly on oul
Philippine trouble as quoted in oul
Washington correspondence is the fol.
lowing from the London Spectator:
To make men good subjects they mus
be contented; but no Oriental will be
contented merely because Of roads, rail
ways and other public Improvements
even though these in reality confer grea
benefits upon him. The one thing tha
he cares for, and in a sense is grateful
for, is low taxation. If you give al
Oriental population reforms and i'm
provements you may give them what il
, good for them, but you will not be Civ
ing them what they want. If you giv'
them low taxation, you are certain to b,
giving them what they want and wha
they understand.
For those whoI have ears to hear i
seems to us that nothing more need b
said. If we are going to make success
of our administration of the Philippines
we must be willing to learn from ex
perience of those who have successful,
grappled with the problem of dealing
with Oriental peoples and keeping then
contented indianapolis News.