New-York tribune., 1916-02-11

setting Of a fixed date. and th"V ~
uyos hecouse Of his pretty direct inter
vcntion that the bill was subsequently
modified by the omission of the da'e'
and. indeed, Of the promise Of scut'llhe'
and WAS left with merely the dlsihReh-
nous assumption in the preamble thaV
the United States had always meant 10
make the islands independent. BY thus
"sittinr on the lid" President Wilson
has until the present moent kept the
SCENE within bounds OF moderation
doubtless much 10 the disgust Of Mr..
Jones. who is really about the most
radical and extreme Of all the scuttlers
and treaty scrappers. The Clarke
amendment 70 the Hitchcock bill, in
the baldest form of its cynical I'm
morality. accords with his actual senti-
ments far better than the compara-
lively colorless draft which bears his
name.
With this reputed record Of conserv-
stisn the President was supposed, down
10 fortnight ago, TO be firmly opposed
to the fixing Of date for scuttling.
ss also to absolute and indiscriminate
scuttling al any time; and to be far
more desirous OF perfecting the exist
ing government OF the islands than
Of throwing it, together with the treaty
OF 1895 and the islands themselves,
upon the scrap heap There was there
fore much surprise and regret when
word was passed around the Capitol
that all Administration Senator'S were
to support the Clarke amendment THIS
seemed to imply reversal Of the Pres
ident's former policy which 1t was
not easy 70 justify or 20 explain IN
an agreeable manner. There were, at
is true. suggestions that be was giving
his assent 20 the Philippine abandon
ment proposal in order 20 secure sup
port Tor his shipping bill; but Il was
obviously unpleasant 70 impute 70 the
President Of the United States so fla
grant piece Of log rolling and so vain
an endeavor to make two wrong seem
Il right. IL will. therefore, be peculiarly
gratifying to have him repudiate his
falsely reputed reputation Of policy,
and reshirm his adherence 70 the saner
principles which formerly prevailed.
There are other reasons for vel
coming his disapproval Of scuttling
The Presiden, has put himself explicit
ly and emphatically against any such
performance as that which is contem-
plated in the pending legislation. These
are his own words upon the subject
The Philippines are ours, but not
10 DO what we please with. We must
administer them for the people who
live in them. and with the same degree
of responsibility 70 them as toward our
own people IN our domestic affairs
Now. that, in its affirmation Of IN
disputable sovereignty, is in exact ac-
cord with the earlier declarations OF
Mckinley. Roosevelt and Taft, leaving
no hint OF anv possible flaw IN our alb
solute and perpetual title TO the ISL
ands Il is in equal accord with them,
too. in It's reminder Of the humanity
and altruism Of our motives. But II
Is more. or does more. than that. Il
adds emphasis in that final and su-
premely significant clause. We owe
the PHILIPPINE Islands. says the Presi-
dent, the same duty that we owe our
selves. Our responsibilities TO their
inhabitants are as great and as bind
ing as those 10 our own people. Our
pledges and contracts concerning them
are as valid as those concerning the
United States itself. II was we'll TO
Rave Mr.. Wilson make that point. II
is well 20 have him now call renewed
attention 10 il. For il touches closely
the pith and the heart of the whole
matter.
Nor Is that all. Mr. Wilson has
made other equally significant declara-
tions concerning the Philippines. They
we're made, some of them, before he be-
came President. B It was only