THERE WILL BE NO RETREAT. I M In the platform which Senator Gorman pre- t 'M pardti for the Maryland Democratic convention, are these words: ;H "There is no rightful place under our system H of constitutional American liberty for the con- H quest, subjugation and ' government of alien races H in remote islands of the sea and for the dangers H and evils of colonial and imperial expansion, and H we pledge ourselves to the adoption of all conser- H vative and practicable measures to rescue the H Government from the evil consequences of so de- H plorabie a departure from the fundamental prln- H ciples of the Constitution. To this end we de- H maird at the earliest possible moment independ- ' once shall be granted to the Filipinos, with the $M same general relationship to this country as that jH now enjoyed by the people of Cuba." ' VH There is authority under the Constitution for H this nation' to do any rightful thing. That au- H thority is a natural law which has always existed Bj among men and nations. If anything is being donq in the Philippines that was not done when H the Louisiana purchase acquisition came to us, flfl or when California was annexed, both Democratic ': ' H achievements, then no one is aware of the facts. wM Law and order were established, savage tribes H were subdued and progress inaugurated. Senator H Gorman will hardly go to the World's Exposition i jH at St. Louis and publicly bewail the violation of j M the Constitution in bringing about the changes H west of the Mississippi during the past century. , H He will hardly go to Portland next year and pub- jfl licly deplore the miracles that have been wrought M in California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and tH Arizona since 1847. If anything sinister is being , H planned, if there is any purpose to enslave or rob j M or oppress the Filipinos, there is no evidence of H it. Rather it has been made clear that every ef- 1H fort is being made to give them added securities H for life and property, to advance them in knowl- !, edge to kindle where all before was darkness, IjH the clear light of civilization. H Senator Gorman would have a pledge made ' H that the islands shall "at the earliest posaihje f H B $M' moment be granted independence," even as Is H Hfjffl enjoyed by Cuba. That is but a convenient cam- Hi t JL paign cry. We have a right lo hold it as insin- B jifMi cere for tne reason that were five hundred poii- B ' i( J ticians removed from Cuba for a week and a vote B 'j ordered to test the sentiments of the people, an B II t overwhelming majority would favor annexation B i (f , to the United States. Then the situation is alto- B ;f fti gether different. The Cubans are one people. HH fH ' The FiHpinos are divided into two score tribes, B , not one of which is capable cf self-government B m or able to maintain peace and order The prom- B fjj ' '! ise should not be made, because it Would be an B f 1 implied admission that there would be blessings B j under independence which are not now enjoyed B ff by the people, and there would be no more sense B 1 in making the promise than ther would be to B '' make ii to the Sioux Indians. Native Filipinos B 4 , are in office there, more will be added as they be- B Vj come capable of performing official duties; there B L is nothing being done to restrict any Filipino B ' i I from doing any legitimate thing, from aspiring to B j'j ' any honor, and it is the first time in the history B '; of that people that they have been thus blessed. IB ! H ! Nearly one million people come from foreign B i'iP I lands annually to merge with and become a part IB Mi Of our own people, and to raise children which, B ' from birth, will be Americans. Is it such a hard- B ship to draw the protection of our flag around B the property and lives of helpless Filipinos and B to open to them the book of knowledge? There B ; are still further considerations. Without the pro- B A taction of the United States, the Philippines IB would be taken by conquest by some foreign B Jj power within a year. Then fhe way those islands H f came to us -and our own position among the com- B (t i mercial nations are certain signs that our people B i ! cannot, if they would, shirk their just responsi- K jis I bilitles. Our standard upreared there is already m Ipgg warming the east. A nation cannot stand still. B fy It must continue to advance or it will retrograde. B '. No nation of Asia has ever enjoyed free govern ment. Those peoples have passed from depotlsm to despotism since before the first page of written History was recorded. One man has been everything, every-thing, the masses nothing. The guns of Admiral Dewey's fleet in Manila Bay wore the first answer an-swer to the prayers of oppressed millions that had been rising through the ages, and Senator Gorman cannot, brilliant as he is, re-erect the barriers which Destiny, by cannon shots, broke down. .