Show AN UGLY BIT OF BUNCOMBE In the House of Representatives on Friday last during the consideration or the urgent deficiency bill Representative Represen-tative Padgett of Tennessee offered the following amendment Tim Government of the United States ornment < hereby declares Its policy nnd purpose Is to relinquish tho sovereigntY oc tho Island Isl-and of tho Philippine nrchlpoIciRO acquired ac-quired under the terms of the treaty o Paris and to rrstoro the sovereignty thereof onc the people of saId Island so soon as they shall mako manifest their mao tltnesa and capacity for selfgovernment The offer of this amendment to the oIer urgent deficiency bill with which it had nothing to do merely displayed the Democratic purpose of obstruction The amendment Itself is of the same character aH that very unwisely adopted in regard to Cuba and which threatened at one lime to leave CUba free to undo all the work of the United States for the people there and to defy the Monroe doctrine and every other American Idea To repeat In the Philippines the blunder we committed In respect to Cuba would be a folly ao egregious that It would hardly seem possible for a sane man to advocate It We do not believe that Mr Padgett would make the declaration himself that he asks Congress to make If he and his party were to bo responsible for the outcome With the passage of that resolution the Insurgent Filipinos would immediately declare that they arc now fit for and capable of selfgov ernment they would demand the instant in-stant withdrawal of the United States forces and their demand would have a plausibility that would win to their side many who are now peaceful and friendly to the United Staten These would say that Inasmuch as the United States has determined to let the Filipinos pinos shift for themselves they might as well begin now that no ono cvor learned to swim without going Into the water and that no peoplecan build up selfreliant independence while held under tutelage The effect QC a declaration dec-laration such as Mr Padgett seeks to arton PadGelt have made would be to fan tho flame mac0 of insurrection to a fierceness never known even In the first fervor of the fighting Even the offering of it will have an effect to encourage tho resistance re-sistance to the restoratloa of peace and order for the Insurrcctionnrlcs do not understand American politics and arc apt to believe that a party l which will stand for such deblafatlonas s Mr Padgett offers Is able and l willing to give them substantial help toward their purpose They do not understand that neither Mr Padgett nor his party has any conception of what the Filipino Fili-pino purpose is and if I they did they would recoil from It n from a near glimpse of the burning pit Mr Pad get thinks of the Filipino a a courteous libertyloving gentleman gentle-man who would establish an orderly lawabiding commonwealth I such as we see in this country The Filipino thinks of the great day of freedom coming to him when ho can kill his enemies murder defenseless women and children not of his party slay all the friars confiscate tholr property and loot all tho wealth insight in-sight Mr Padgetts dream Is of a peaceful prosperous community where equal rights would prevail the Filipinos pinos Idea is of a community where the masses would be slaves to the rulers and where the ruler would rule as a despot and wax fat and rich The European dream Is of a time when the United States will let tho Philippines go EO that they will be fair game for thc strongest hand to seize Uncle Sams purpose is to keep the islands restore peace In thorn enforce freedom and equal rights and establish there the great exchange emporium for the Oriental trade |