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Show PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. The president's Independence day speech at Philadelphia was the noble expression of a just man 's ideals. He states in language of great force and beauty the highest aspirations of Americans. Here and there, however, how-ever, he failed to draw the necessary distinction between the different races of the earth. It is becoming common among university savants to question the existence of any moral standard ! acceptable to all people, but this is not ' the president's view. He believes that! there are eternal principles of morality ! which are as true in Mexico as in the j United States, and he believes that the United States should do nothing in j Mexico that it would not do at home. ! Accepting the president's basis of morality mor-ality and .this is the basis that has been accepted through the ages there is a distinction between those who understand un-derstand the fino points of national morality and honor and those who do ' not. Th A nrpi el pnr cava - I "The way to suc-.'ss in America is to show you are not afraid of anybody i except God and his judgment. If I did not believe that I would not believe in democracy. If I did not believe that the moral judgment would be the last and final judgment in the minds of men as well as at the tribunal of Cto. I could not believe in popular government. govern-ment. But I do believe these things, and therefore I earnestly believe in the democracy, not only . of America, but in the power of an awakened people to govern and control its own affairs. It is not necessary to believe that the people will always adopt the moral judgment in order to believe in popular government. It is only necessary to believe that the people adopt the moral judgment as often as any other government. govern-ment. The president declares that it is an easy thing to decide between what is right and what is wrong, but sometimes some-times it is necessarj' for nations to decide de-cide between two things that are equally right. In Mexico, for example, the people adopted a constitution in conformity con-formity with the constitution of the United States and then proceeded to j forget it. The constitution was, rif.-ht, i but, according to the notion of the rul- 1 ing class, it1 would not work, and there- ' fore they gave to Mexico siich a government gov-ernment as they thought practicable in view of the low intelligence and lack of education of the vrst majority of the people. TJk.v argued that it oj better to have some kind of a government that would work rather than a popular government gov-ernment that would not work.- Is it possible to say offhand that they were wrong morally? Is it possible to say that a constitutional government which will operate successfully in the United States will operate successfully in Mexi- I co 9 It is not a question of right and ; wrong; it is a question of deciding be- j tween two things equally right. Is it : abandoni ng American principles to say that some peoples are fitted for self-government self-government and others are not? It is the view of the Democratic party that the people of the Philippines, cannibals and otherwise, are fitted for self-government. It is the view of others that such people as the Filipinos are the white man's burden. They must bo treated gently and considerately, but must be governed firmly just as children chil-dren are governed. By an awakened people the Dresident probably means the constitutionalists of Mexico. If we adopt his uremiscs we will argue that the constitutionalists easily distinguish between what is right and what is wrong, what is a just govei anient and what is an unjust government, gov-ernment, and that they will be able to establish a constitutional government which will work as well as our corsti-tutiocnl corsti-tutiocnl government. In this country we have contended from the beginning that our popular government depended for its permanency upon the continued intelligence and education of the people. peo-ple. In Mexico there is little education among the masses and little interest in the government. We may contend that the Mexican people will get just as good a government as they deserve if constitutional con-stitutional forms aro given free scope, but if thoy get what they deserve they may still be far from the point where they can maintain a stable government, preserve life and property and give every individual, whether native or foreign, for-eign, his due. It recalls the old story of tho man who was deploring that his case was to bo tried in a certain court. "You will get justice there," said his friend. "That's what I am afraid of," replied the complainer. In Mexico, under un-der constitutional forms, the people maybe may-be able to get the kind of govcriimout they deserve, but that may be something some-thing to be afraid of. |