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Show THAT DREADFUL IMPERIALISM. Anti-Imperialism is going to be one of the Democratic war cries this year, especially with Mi. Bryan and his school of freedom shriekers. It will be echoed, too, by the mugwumps "of New England of the superfine, inbred class. Of course if the Democrats should win that would end the cry with them. They would no more give up the Philippines than they would have given up California after it was taken by conquest, and then as "a conscience fund a-few dollars were turned over to Mexico as a payment for it. There is no record of the Democracy surrendering anything that they had obtained, no matter how, if we accept the fiasco and the stupidity of Mr. Cleveland when he sent his special envoy, Mr. Blount, to Hawaii to haul down the flag, and the chances are one hundred to one that he would never have done that had his predecessor been a Democrat and had left the business as President Presi-dent Harrison left it to him. But of course a party that has been out in the cold as long as the Democratic party has been will multiply and magnify every possible charge against their opponents this year, for with them it will be a case of getting the ground hog or no meat for breakfast. And it is the duty of all Americans who have 'a ballot to cast to analyze every charge and see what is in it or what would be if it were true. If the Filipinos were a civilized, educated, in-telligent, in-telligent, peaceable and liberty-loving race like the Poles or Fins, then there would be no debate in this country about their rights to be free and to possess their own country. If they were a Pagan, Pa-gan, semi-barbarous homogenious race that whatever what-ever their attitude towards the world outside were united and peaceable at home then their status would be a matter of debate. But the truth is they are divided into more than thirty tribes; the stronger of these have preyed upon the weak with unspeakable cruelty for centuries and the idea which those devils have of liberty is merely the Indulgence of unbridled un-bridled abuse. The work of the United States has been to subdue those murderers, to establish order, peace; to give protection to life and property, prop-erty, to establish schools .to give the poor wretches the rudiments of an education and the decencies of life. The man who advocates the present surrender of those islands, knowingly or not, advocates the wholesale murder of men and the perpetual degradation of women in those islands. But the high school of Christian statesmen in the east wants the government of the United States to record a pledge that it will at the earliest possible date after peace is established and order becomes the rule in the islands, give back to the islanders their island home. Why cumber the records with such a pledge? When the islanders reach that point who knows whether they will H have the least desire for such a change? They H will be as free as Mr. Bryan or Mr. Charles' Francis H Adams is today; they will practically have H local self-government; they never were an inde- H pendent nation, they are not now and will not be H for a long time to come be fitted to carry on a H government without a steadying hand, and were H they given full independence today they would be H gobbled up by Japan within a month after she H makes a settlement with Russia. H Our government made a pledge to restore Cuba H to her own people. It was a foolish pledge, H though Cuba has a great many educated and en- H lightened citizens. But nine-tenths of all these held it as a day of mourning when they saw the H Americans furl their flag and sail away. We sus- B pect that could a fair vote be obtained a large ma- B jority of all the voters of Cuba would vote, for an- B nexation to the United States as a state of our B Union. Shut up five hundred politicians there for B a day and order an election on that question of B annexation and the ayes would have it by a prac- B tlcally unanimous vote. ' B There is no prospect that the Filipinos will be B fitted for self-government during this generation. B Why not leave their case to the next generation of B your own people. Can we not trust our children f B to do the right thing? Anti-Imperialism will do for a campaign cry. B After the next election it will not be heard any Hj more, and should Democracy, in the province of B God, that our nation may be punished for its sins, B triumph, elect the President and gain control of B both houses of congress, we should. hear no more B about giving freedom to the poor Filipinos than B we heard about -smashing the trusts during Mr. B Cleveland's last term as President. B |
