Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1913-01-03

|
their own destiny. We are seeking
to arouse national spirit and not. as
under the older colonial theory, to
suppress such spirit The character
Of the work we have been doing Is
keenly recognized in the Orient, and
our success thus far followed with not
a little envy by those who, initiating
the same policy. find themselves hamp-
cred by conditions grown up In ear
lier days and under different theories
of administration. But our work is
far from done. Our duty to the Fill
pinos is far from discharged. Over
half a million Filipino students are
now In the Philippine schools helping
to mold the men of the future into a
homogeneous people, but there still
remain more than million Filipino
children of school age yet to be reach
ed. Freed from American control the
migrating forces of a common edu-
cation and common language viii
cease and the educational system now
well started will slip back into inefl-
cheney and disorder.
An enormous increase in the COM
mercial development of the islands
has been made since they were vir-
tually granted full access to our mar
kets three years ago, with every pros
pect of increasing development and
diversified industries. Freed from
American control such development
is bound to decline Every observer
speaks of the great progress In public
works for the benefit Of the Filipinos.
OF harbor improvements, Of road and
railways, of irrigation and artesian
wells. public buildings, land better
means Of communication. But large
parts of the islands are still unreach-
ed, still even unexplored. roads and
railways are needed in many parts,
irrigation systems are still to be in
stalled and wells to be driven. Whole
| villages and towns are still without
means Of communication other than
almost impossible roads and trails.
Even the great progress in sanitation,
which has successfully suppressed
smallpox, the bubonic plague, and
Asiatic cholera, has found the cause
of and a cure for beriberi. has segre-
gated the lepers, has helped to make
Manila the most healthful city In the
Orient, and to free life throughout the
whole archipelago from its former
dread diseases. is nevertheless incom-
plete in many essentials of perma-
nence in sanitary policy. Even more
remains to be accomplished. II freed
! from American control sanitary prog
ress Is bound to be arrested and all
that has been achieved likely to be
lost.
II the task we have undertaken Is
higher than that assumed by other
nations. its accomplishment must de-
mand even more patience. We must
not forget that we found the ,Fflipinos
tc our advent all other experience
sought to repress rather than encour-
age political power. It takes long
time and much experience to ingram
! political habits of steadlness and eff
cheney. Popular self-government ulti-
mately must rest upon common habits
of thought and upon a reasonably de-
veloped public opinion. No such foun-
dations for self-government, let alone
independence, are now present In the
Philippine Islands. Disregarding even
their racial heterogeneity and the lack
of ability to think as a nation, 1t is
sufficient to point out that under lib
., In ks@rs Q
per cent of the Filipinos vote and
only 5 per cent of the people are said
to read the public press. To confer
independence upon the F1lipinos now
is, therefore, to subject the great mass
of their people to the dominance of an
oligarchical and, probably. exploiting
minority. Such a course will be as
cruel to those people as It would be
shameful to US.
Our true course is to pursue stead
ily and courageously the path we have
thus far followed; to guide the Fill
pinos into self-sustaining pursuits; to
continue the cultivation Of sound poll
teal habits through education and po-
litical practice; to encourage the d.
versification of industries, and to real
lie the advantages Of their industrial
education by conservatively approved
cooperative methods, at once check
ing the dangers of concentrated
wealth and building up sturdy, in
dependent citizenship.
Regulation Of Water Power.
There are pending before congress
a large number of bills proposing to
grant privileges OF erecting dams for
the purpose of creating water power
in our navigable rivers. The tendency
of these bills has brought out an i'm
portant defect In the existing general
dam act. That act does not, in my
opinion. grant sufficient power to the
federal government in dealing with
the construction of such dams to exact
protective conditions In the interest
of navigation. It does not permit the
federal government as condition of
fits permit. to require that a part of
the value thus created shall be ap-
piled to the further general improve
ment and protection of the stream. |
believe this to be one of the
most Important matters OF
internal improvement now confront
ing the government Most of the nav
igable rivers Of this country are com
paratively long and shallow In or