| Show THE philippines TO BE KEPT it is stated on apparently good authority that the american peace commission will on friday definitely demand the cession of the entire philippine group to the united states this has the rare merits of definiteness and coming straight to the point it is a demand which can only be properly answered by an affirmative or a negative and it is to be hoped our representatives senta tives will not permit the matter to be sidetracked side tracked or delayed which tactics are at present the spanish stock in trade the fact that the islands are to be demanded means simply that they will be taken with consent if possible but taken in any event and it is useless to mince matters or dally with the situation any further it has been understood in a general way that there could be no other legitimate outcome to that branch of the controversy and that all delays in reaching it were simply so much sparring for wind or because of a desire to secure something in the way of a concession before reaching the foregone conclusion something of the kind seems to have materialized in the spanish demand that this country assume the cuban debt reinforced with the foolish intimation that spain will resume hostilities if no concessions are made it looks very much ks as if the dons were fooling themselves with the iata that because the americans have agreed to arbitrate at all we are thereby irresolute and not sure of our ground under which circumstances cum stances all they have to do is to be firm put on a bold front and get at least a a part of what they ask for it would be as well for cor the spanish nution nation to understand at once since it affects nut ito have understood it yet that the americans are not blin d or irresolute but only merciful and generous spain was waa not only whipped but crushed had the victor been any other nation on earth there had been no peace commission on and not noi vexatious oon the terms of settlement would not have been reached in the form of a protocol but as a demand which would have been enforced with but little delay and our del demands mands are the very essence of mildness and forbearance compared with what england france germany or russia a would have exacted it is now fondly hoped and behaved beli aved that our commis realize that temporizing with the spaniards means an interminable squabble and that the only way to secure a settlement is to put kneir feet down hard and firm and make the other people come to terms guam has been selected as a the island of the ladrone group to pass linbo into the possession of the united states and as this was agreed to in the pro protozoa proto tocoa coil perhaps a longwinded long winded discussion of that subject may thus be obviated the island is already in possession with our emblem floating over it and has been so alnee the charleston landed there so ao the in the matet of ownership should be a very tenuous formality it to Is now the cuban debt and tho philippines constitute the groundwork of controversy and a is trying very ery harl hard to tj aley one agat the other abber and by bi such means see beci something not nominated nomi nailed in the bog with the almost certainty now be bean us that the bhe philippines are to b become and iain territory of the united A states we might as well shaping our plans plan land and purposes lew cordio cordingly gly first and foremost of tao questions to be dealt with is the 1 ment necessary to be made with 19 natives or at least the better part c of them those nearest the centers of edyk the inhabitants of the perlor teri or are chiefly naked savages sav aea W r y whom the change of ownership in itt islands will be an unrealized uy for a long loing time to come but to thear and to all the best of treatment aoa sistena with good order maintenance j of justice and advancement of tion lugt be extended witha with a firra firm habl 1 kindly hand undoubtedly there ault be collisions probably wi A 1 more ot or less of unrest sad and sporadic i volts but with a sufficient force vw land and water and the disarm ame J of so many of the natives as cark can reached such troubles should nofa betl very serious or prolonged EV ly things will be smoothed out wad M 4 aeed thereafter without jarring J undoubtedly the annexing of i philippines means the retention of forces already there greatly to IT disappointment of many of them iri hoped they might be able to ret return ura a few m months at the most pe p there may be exchanges means of which those would prefer to bo be re can be but not L everything is stable and be beyond domain of uncertainty for the f tua N the boys must realize that boim have soldiers duties too to perform i they are honorably ho released andl and A possess their souls in peace until f fa 11 1 day of deliverance arrives v |
