Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-31
TAFT DEFENDS
POLICY IN CUBA
AND PHILIPPINES
Shows the Wisdom Of
Taking Islands
Secretary Of War Delivers Address at
ST. touls in Which He upholds
Course Adopted by Ad-
ministration
Rv Associated Press.


ST LOUIS, Mo. May SO-Before an
audience of millers from all parts of the
country attending the mass convention
and making the largest convention Oh
millers ever held in this country, Secre-
tarv of War Taft this afternoon maze
an address at the Odeon on the topic
s'Recent Instances Of National Altru-
ism" a.,
The assembly constituted the maj
session of the convention OF the 1eoera-
tion. which had invited Secretary Ta1t
to address the body. President j. w.
Burke of Springfield. o.. presided ana
introduced former Governor q. o. stan
nard. a miller of st. Louis, who in turn
made a brief speech, introducing Secre-
tary Taft. He spoke In part as follows:
I ask YOUR attention to the page OF
the nations history covering the last
nine wears. with the hope OF showing
that there never has been on the part OF
any country q greater exhibition OF pure
altr1,ism than that exhib1ted py tne
United States from the beginning OF the
Snsrtsh war down to the present day,
-s,,o.s NJ the peoples who were lmme-
sss.slv affected. a study of the con-
ssv,ct ~ our ma ton with respect to Cupa,
Porto Rico and the Philippines, covering
now nearly decade, ought 10 I'LL every
American with pride.
THAT which the American people be-
lisved 10 be the oppression of the CUBAN
peov1e. the disagreement of that beau.
-sS-sl island and the continued failure OF
Susin to restore any kind of order
cor,pelled the United States to interfere
10 ,7reveut a continuance of that which
seemed 10 our people to be an inter-
national scandal at the doors or TINS
country, and as we went into 1t IN order
that we might free ourselves from the
charge of land grabbing or spirit or
CONQUEST, we made the declaration that
we would not retain Cuba but would
make her an independent republic ds
soon as circumstances would permit
Bio Expense Incurred
1--WE expended in the Cuban war up
ward of 5000, 100000, and we never nave
invited from Cuba the return of single
cent. We offered up in deaths and
wounds and disease in that war the
lives of 14S officers and over 4lOO en-
listed men. We paid $20,O0O,OOO to Spain
under the treaty of peace. The exact
consideration for this sum 1t may be dlt-
ficult to state, but the result of the pay
ment was the treaty, and by treaty was
secured a concession of Cuba and Porto
Rico, and the Philippines were freed
from the debts which Spain had in
Cured in their maintenance.
when the Spanish army left Cuba
the cities were crowded with thousands
of refugees and reconcentrados. 1t
was necessary to furnish immediate re-
lief for the prevailing distress. Five
million four hundred and ninety-three
thousand rations, at a cost of S1,5OO,0OO
to the United States, were issued to dis
tressed persons throughout the agency
Of the officers of the army.
"The subject of sanitation of the ISL
and, from one end to the other, was
taken up with thoroughness, and in the
course of this effort one of the greatest
and most useful discoveries known to
medical science, to wit:
"The transmission of disease by the
MOSQUITOES was added to the sum of
human knowledge. For four years this
santiago went on, and under American
occupation the amount expended for
this out of the Cuban treasury reached
$40, ,0OO At the end of the first six
months of American occupation the
public school enrolment of the island
numbered $4,000, and this was increas-
ing until the island was turned over to
Cuba in May, 1903, when it had reached
100000, or 163,694 more than under
Spanish rule.
N,Iba Her Own Ruler