g^- JS*^ aeL^"^ ' , 9-^ i*?a_ YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY LIBERTY TRACTS. ^remestati^^Jlllr.^u&ttiBBer Will the United States Withdraw from the Philippines? By lohn Foreman. Wt^m "twwKwn, ffttKWOt fftvitV*.* The "Single Tribe" Fiction Bv- Edward C. Pierce. (Reprinted from the Springfield Republican. ] ** Mr. John Foreman is conceded to be the prime authority on thc Philippine Islands. A resident in the archipelago for eleven years ; continuously acquainted with the natives for twenty ; a frequent visitor to various islands of the group ¦; possessed of a more intimate knowledge of Filipino character and a larger circle of friends and correspondents among the inhabitants than any foreigner livings the historian par excellence of land and people, he is a qualified expert to whom we are bound to listen. Certainly there is no need to labor this point with Republicans. He is their own witness, and they dare not try to discredit him. Professor Worcester, of both Philippine Commissions, constantly bows in his own book to the authority uf Foreman, He was especially summoned to Paris by our Peace Commissioners as the very man to puide their uncertain steps aright. ' ' — The Nation. CHICAGO : American Anti-Imperialist League 1900 American Anti-Imperialist League Office of the Executive Committee 164 Dearborn Street, Room 517 CHICAGO Gborge S. Boutwell, President. William J. Mizb, Secretary. Frederick W. Gookin-. Treasurer. VICE-PRCStDCNTS , Andrew Carnegie. Donelson Caffery. Richard T. Crane. Carl Schitrs y. Sterling Morton. Rufus B. Smith. John J. Valkntine. FINANCE COMMITTEE Daniel M. I^ord, Chairman, Chicago. Herbert Welsh, Philadelphia. Dana Estes, Boston. I^ouis R. Ehrich, Colorado Springh^ Robert Fulton Cutting, New York. EXLCUTIVE COMMITTEE Edwin Burritt Smith, Chairman. President, Secretary, Treasurer, Ex-Officio. Edgar a. Bancroft. lyOuis R. Ehrich. William H. Fleming. George G. Mercer. Frank H. Scott. Winslow^ Warrbn. Charles B. Wilbv. Erving Winslow. Sigmund Zetslkr. Charles M. Sturges. Geo. I^. Paddock Ernest H. Croshy. This League is organized to aid in holding che United States true to the principles of the Declaration of Independence. It seeks the preservation of the rights of the people as guaranteed to them by the Constitution. Its members hold self-government to be fundamental, and good govemment but incidental. It is its purpose to oppose by all proper means the extension of the sovereignty of the United States over subject peoples. It will con tribute to the defeat of any candidate or party that stands for the forcible subjugation of any people, CORRESPONDENCE IS SOLICITED. l4 WILL THE UNITED STATES WITHDRAW FROM THE PHILIPPINES? The United States campaign in the Phihppine Islands, orig inally proclaimed to have been undertaken " for the sake of humanity," has, so far, conferred no benefits on the Filipinos in particular, nor on mankind in general. After an eighteen months' trial, American Imperialism has achieved nothing of advantage tp anyone concerned in those islands, save the few officials hold ing lucrative appointments and a handful of speculators who have profited by the circumstances of the new situation. To fully understand the relative position of parties, it will be well / to briefly recall some of the chief past events which have a bear ing on the present condition of affairs. The Philippine rebellion against Spanish rule broke out in August, 1896, and the Spaniards being unable to crush it, after < fifteen months of bloodshed, concluded a treaty in December, 1897, with the rebel chiefs, who retired to Hong Kong. The Spanish Governor-General undertook to pay to those rebel leaders in exile a cash indemnity, by instalments, and to introduce cer tain reforms into the administration of the colony. The first in stalment of $400,000 was duly paid, but, on the refusal of the Madrid Government to ratify the compact in its entirety, the in surrection, which was always smouldering, again burst forth with greater vehemence under fresh leaders. The suzerainty was sorely menaced and the rebels insisted that, without extran eous interference on either side, the expulsion of the Spaniards was only a question of time. Anarchy, undoubtedly would have reigned over the islands for a long period, but whether the rebels, unaided, would have eventually forced the Spaniards to evacuate the colony is very problematical. At this crisis- -four 4 THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. months after the withdrawal of the first rebel chiefs to the neighboring British colony — it coincidentally happened tha:t hostilities broke out between the United States and Spain (April, 1898). Through the intermediary of certain American officials in the Far Eastern ports, Emilio Aguinaldo, the supreme rebel chief, came under the notice of Admiral (then Commodore) Dewey, and under a verbal agreement with this officer, Aguinaldo and his staff were conveyed from Chinese waters in an American warship and landed at Cavite. Aguinaldo and his inexperienced followers were so completely carried away by the humanitarian avowals of the greatest republic the world has seen that they willingly consented to co-operate with the Americans on mere verbal promises, instead of a written agreement which could be held binding on the United States Govemment. America, at that time, had no definite policy regarding the Philippines. In the numerous proclamations and political utterances high-sound ing phrases, such as ' ' the cause of civilization ' ' and ' ' for the sake of humanity," were freely used, and, relying on the assur ances of irresponsible politicians, the Filipinos, under Aguinaldo, regarded themselves as allies of Spain's foes. What Washington might hereafter decide anent the Philip pines was not the naval and military commanders' concern. They had before them solely the task of destroying the Spanish fleet and taking Manila. In the accomplishment of the first part of their programme the attitude of the natives was of little consequence, but, although Manila might have been forthwith reduced to ruins by bombardment, a military occupation of the wrecked capital would have been an extremely difficult and bloody enterprise if the natives had thrown in their lot with the Spaniards. The neutrality of the natives was out of the ques tion. Thirty thousand Filipinos were already under arms. fighting, or ready to fight, for the cause of liberty, and their chiefs were beguiled into the belief that the Americans had come to aid them in that cause. The American commanders, in fact, never intended to do more than utilize Aguinaldo's prestige with the natives to check their possible excesses and avert anarchy pending the contest with the Spamards. If the American com manders had frankly undeceived Aguinaldo and his staff, great complications would have arisen in consequence, for the Filipinos THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. 5 in rebellion against the Spaniards (and thousands of others) would either have temporarily joined their old masters against the common enemy or they would have, at once, formed an in dependent third party in the conflict. There can be no doubt on this point, because Pedro Paterno, the very man who after wards became president of the first native congress, strongly urged them, in a pubUc manifesto, to oppose the American.s' landing, on the grounds that, otherwise, they would fall under the American yoke. But in the rebel camp they would not believe it. The leading Filipinos in arms seem to have been more influenced in their appreciation of America's intentions by the persuasive language of United States officials, who had no authority to speak in the name of their Government, than they were by the commanders' overt acts which, to shrewder minds, would have belied the idea of alliance or partisanship. For instance, the Filipinos were ordered not to attempt to take Manila by assault, to haul down their republican flag in the Bay, to evacuate one point after another, to give up their trenches to the American troops, to abstain from co-operating against the Spaniards the day Manila was taken, and (under threat of force) to remove their outposts farther and farther away from the city. When Manila, which they themselves might have captured, fell into the hands of their so-called allies, the gates were closed against them. "The Philippine Repubhc," proclaimed by General Aguinaldo, held its Congress at Malolos (in the province of Bulacan, a few miles from Manila). A ministry was formed, laws were passed, taxes were collected, local presidents were appointed in the provinces, and decrees were issued, but the whole proceedings, as well as the existence of the titular native govemment, were ignored by the Americans. But, notwith standing these and many other snubs, they still clung, during five months (between August, 1898, and Febraary, 1899), to the vain delusion that their independence would be secured through the medium of American intervention. It was merely a hope in which they received repeated encouragement from several United States officials in the Far East, but, in reality, at no time up to the present has there existed any formal and binding compact between the titular Philippine Republic (or Philippine represent atives) and the RepubUc of the United States. 6 THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. In December, 1898, the Treaty of Peace between America and Spain was signed in Paris, and Article 9 says : — " The United States Congress will decide, in due course, all that con cerns the civil rights and political status of the natives who in habit the ceded territories. ' ' The question of the treaty ratifica tion was hotly debated in Washington. A week before the vote was taken it seemed doubtful whether the necessary two-thirds majority would uphold the treaty. It is a notable coincidence that just when the republican party were straining every nerve to secure the two or three wavering votes, the first shots were exchanged between a native and an American outpost in the suburbs of Manila. Each side insists that the other opened hostiUties, and, if the Filipinos were the aggressors, it is very remarkable that the American troops should have been so well prepared for an unforseen event as to be able to immediately and simultaneously attack, in full force, all the native outposts for miles around the capital. This occurred on the 4th of February, 1899, and the Americans continued the slaughter the next day, particularly in the parish of Paco, where they inflicted on the ^natives a loss of 400 killed. The news being at once cabled to Washington had the desired effect of drawing the doubtful votes to the Govemment side, and the treaty was ratified by the two- thirds majority on the loth of the same month. Thenceforth the Filipinos were dubbed rebels, and the American policy of conquest was inaugurated under the new name of "benevolent assimilation." From the 4th of Februarj^ 1899, the Filipinos and the Americans became declared enemies. For a few months the American troops marched in several directions up country, fight ing battles on the way and driving the natives before them. The Phihppine Congress was dispersed, and fled from Malolos. When it was reconstituted at San Femando (Pampanga Province), farther north, the Americans followed on and again broke it up, and it has not since been re-established. In the numerous encounters there has been great slaughter on both sides, but, in the end, General Aguinaldo's troops have been forced to evacuate every position they held. For a while there was dissension between the native commanders, and General I,una, Aguinaldo's rival, was assassinated. General Aguinaldo requested an audience THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. 7 of General Otis to discuss the situation, but Otis declined to receive him, demanding -an unconditional surrender. The Filipinos attribute their failure to cope with the Americans to want of artillery, which they cannot smuggle into Luzon whilst American cruisers frequently patrol the coasts ; and in view of their inability to meet their enemies in the open field, the Philippine forces were, a few months ago, divided into guerrilla detachments, with orders to harrass the Americans everywhere. The Americans at present hold Manila, the principal ports, the Pasig River, and the Lake of Bay, with the villages around it. The total area of the archipelago is computed at 52,500 square miles, of which the Americans barely occupy one five hundredth part in places inaccessible by water. Small detach ments are stationed here and there, but the troops so employed do not dominate a radius larger than the range of their muskets. They are constantly, watched by armed natives, and troopers who have ventured alone a mile outside the village have seldom retumed ahve. On the 4th of last month a report reached Washington that an entire party of engineers, under a lieutenant, fell into the hands of the natives, those who were not killed having been taken prisoners. A letter which I received from the govemment in Manila, dated January 3rd last, refers to "the establishment of civil govemments throughout the islands," but, so far, they have not been able to carry this into effect, owing to the tenacious op position of the natives. The Americans occupy, in fact, just as much as they can defend by force of arms. When troops were sent up country from their military centre in Panay Island in order to establish advance posts, they were obliged to hasten back to defend what they already held. The once flourishing island of Negros (the largest sugar-producing district) is grad ually becoming a waste, and the local mihtary govemment there exercises merely nominal authority. In some districts the Americans appointed native local presidents, but the system proved to be impracticable, because these functionaries were invariably assassinated. The wealth of the islands is agriculture, and the total staple produce last year fell off more than 50 per cent, as compared with. 1896 — the year of the revolution. Of cour.se, the local 8 THE LTNITED ST.\TES AND THE PHILIPPINES. import trade in Manila in no way indicates the real prosperity of the islands, because it is much influenced by transactions between foreign merchants and the American authorities and troops. Man}' of the plantations are producing only a small fraction of what they yielded under Spanish rule. One of the largest native landowners in Luzon, whose name was closel}"^ associated with the rebelhon, and who is, at present, residing in the Faubourg Montmartre, Paris, has now to depend on his Manila house rents and cash investments for an income. Only last month I met other FiUpino acquaintances on the Continent, living in voluntary exile upon their rescued capital, because their lands cannot be safely worked under the present conditions. It would appear that the United States Govemment entered upon the conquest of the PhiUppines under a misconception of many points. In this, their first attempt at colonial expansion, they might have advantageously studied our methods of bringing Asiatics to accept our rule and Uve in peaceful submission to it. To suc cessfully achieve such an end two conquests must needs be made simultaneously — the miUtary and the moral. In the PhiUppines the latter was apparently either overlooked or not even thought of. The conduct of the boistrous, undisciplined indi\-iduals who formed a large percentage of the first volunteer contingents sent to Manila has had an ineffaceably demoralizing effect on the proletariat, and has inspired a feeling of horror and loathful con tempt in the affluent and educated classes who guide Philippine public opinion. From the outset it was a mistake to treat the Christian Philippine population like savages ignorant of Westem civilization, considering that there are thousands of Filipinos mentally equal to the invading forces, and comparable, in intel lectual training, with the a\-erage middle-class European. I would point out that the Philippine Christian population includes not only those of pure Malay descent, but a large admixture of sagacious Spanish and Chinese half-castes educated in the uni versity and colleges of Manila, in Hong-Kong, Europe, and other places. Within a fortnight after the capitulation of Manila the drinking saloons had increased fourfold. .\ccording to the latest advices there are at least twenty to one existing in the THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. 9 time of the Spaniards. Drunkenness, with its consequent evils is rife all over the city among the new white population. The orgies of the new-comers, the incessant street brawls, the insults offered with impunity to natives of both sexes, the entry with violence into private homes by the soldiery, who maltreated the inmates and laid hands on what they chose, were hardly calcu lated to arouse in the natives admiration for their new masters. Brothels were absolutely prohibited under Spanish rule, but since the evacuation there has been a great influx of women of ill fame, whilst native women have been pursued by lustful tor mentors. During a certain period after the capitulation there was indiscriminate shooting, and no peaceable native's life was safe in the suburbs. Adventurers of all sorts and conditions have flocked to this center of vice, where the sober native is not even spoken of as a man by many of the armed rank and file, but, by the way of contempt, is called a ' 'yuyu. ' ' A few miles from Manila, the villages of Mandaloyan and Santa Ana were looted by the victors, much of the spoil being brought up to the capital and included in auction sales or sold to the Chinese. In Taal the houses of famihes, with whom I have been long acquainted, were ransacked, effects of little value, or too difficult to transport, being carelessly strewn about from sheer wantonness. And presumably no greater respect for pri vate property was shown in the other numerous villages overrun by the invaders. I do not criticize the acts themselves, but I draw attention to the bad policy of their commission. I do not for a mement, suggest that the United States governing classes approve of this state of things. It is due to a miscalculation, born of inexper ience, to have supposed that the peaceful submission of a peo ple so far Advanced in civilization could be obtained under such circumstances. The silently observant native sums up the situ ation in his own mind, and finds nothing attractive in the new social disorder. He has a positive repugnance for inebriety and a contempt for the inebriate. Family attachment is, perhaps, more intense and more extended than in Europe, and the viola tion of a native's home or any distant relation's is, with him, ' unpardonable. And although he may not practice all the high est forms of social refinement himself, he not only admires them IO THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. in others, but, impreceptibly to himself, he is influenced and subdued by them. Every student of the Philippine question knows that the fundamental cause of the rebelUon was monastic interference in the ci^-il govemment, and that the chief reform for which the natives shed their blood was the expulsion of the friars. Spamsh priests were driven out of every provincial parish, and many of them retumed to the peninsula, whilst others are stiU hovering about in the neighboring colonies of Hong Kong, Macao, and Singapore, awaiting events. During the brief session of the Philippine Congress at Malolos, the Deputy Tomas del Rosario introduced and carried his Bill for Church DisestabUshment, not with any irreUgious sentiment, but because the whole commu nity recognized that their tardy development in the past was due to retrogressive ecclesiastical tutelage. The eamest desire of the FiUpinos is to appoint exclusiveh- secular clergy to the in cumbencies. Yet, strange to say, one of the first important acts of the American authorities in Manila was to favor the return of the monks to the islands, and there is still a movement on foot to restore to them their former status and the possession of lands to which they cannot show a good title. The FiUpinos fail to see how the restoration of the source of all their past miseries can possibly harmonize \^•ith professed benevolent intention towards them. Such open defiance of their legitimate aspira tions is not likely to lead to peace in the present generation. Under the circumstances explained, the probabiUty of the Americans ever gaining the sympatlix- and acquiescence of the natives is ven,- remote. Unless the .\mericans are prepared to maintain a large permanent amiy in the islands, there seems to be no prospect of their ever being able to administer the interior of the archipelago. Their whole s>stem of govemment, which might appear to the Anglo-Saxon mind reasonable enough in principle, clashes ever> where -svith the instincts, ideas, traditions and aspirations of the Filipinos. A commission, under the presidency of Dr. Schurman, was sent out from \A"ashington during General Otis' administration to stud\' the Philippine problem, but nothing visibly practical has resulted from it. A couple of months ago a second commission, .composed of two judges, two uni\'ersit>- professors, and one other person, arrived THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. 1 1 in Manila for the same purpose. This would seem to imply that some sort of policy regarding the Philippines is still being tossed about on the political waves at Washington. I am privately informed that the commissioners do not speak Spanish; and, if that be so, I fail to see how they can make full inde pendent enquiry. The Overland China Mail of the 26th May last, says : ' ' Some prominent Americans tried to organize a little demonstration of friendly natives to welcome the commis sioners, but could not get a dozen natives to co-operate, so they had to give up the project." There are, of course, a great many natives in Manila who are temporarily friendly enough with the Americans to earn a living in their service, for not all are able to live on their means and wait for better times. Amongst others, a half-caste lawyer and ex-cabinet minister in Aguinaldo's short-lived government, whom I have known for a number of years, has accepted office under the American administration. But the high commissioner of the titular Philippine Republic, Senor Felipe Agoncillo, with whom I have been acquainted for over fifteen years, assured me last month in Paris that there is not an educated Filipino who will be really satisfied with any settlement short of absolute in dependence. Necessity and many other reasons, he added, will always induce a certain number to bow their heads to the domi nant power, the same as weakness of character, personal interest, or fear created many partisans of the monks until it was safe to throw off the mask. "Independence or death, or perpetual war fare, ' ' exclaimed Senor Agoncillo, ' ' is the only concise answer I can give to any conditional peace overtures. ' ' I pointed out to him that ijiilitary occupation of Manila and the chief ports being 2ifait accompli, a great nation like the United States could not suffer the ignominy of appearing to suddenly abandon the islands under compulsion. I then submitted to him a scheme of compromise. But Senor Agoncillo, who is a well informed man, and shrewd diplomatist, sees pretty clearly that the force which will eventually compel the Americans to leave the Philippines to the Filipinos will come from the United States themselves. In due course it will have its influence far beyond the lines of po litical parties. Anti-imperialism will remain the party cry of the democrats, but the majority of American electors, independ- 12 THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. ently of party theories, will not consent to a vast fruitless ex- expenditure for permanently maintaining fifty thousand men in arms, to hold in forced subjection for years an unwilling popu lation of six millions of Asiatics, without glory or profit in re turn for the immense sacrifice of blood and treasure. The struggle might last for a generation if America unanimously chose to utiUze her energy and resources to sustain it, but before long her citizens will clamor for peaceful possession or evacuation of the islands, and make these alternatives the chief plank in the political platform of the day. To hold the islands by force, it might become necessary, in the near future, to employ a regu lar army instead of a volunteer corps. The discontent in the volunteer ranks is common talk, and, in connection with this fact, it is interesting to read the following extract from the Overland China Mail of the 26th May last. It says: "Over three hundred volunteer officers have handed in their resignations to escape the rainy season in the Philippines, but all the resig nations were refused. If all who wanted were permitted to re sign there would not be fifteen officers left to a regiment. . . . . There is not a brigadier who does not want reinforce ments." America is undoubtedly in a dilemma over the Philippine question, and we do not want to see her become the laughing .stock of Europe. I believe there are thousands on both sides of the Atlantic who would gladly see her extricate herself with honor. * * ***** The war with Spain could have been just as successfully carried to the same issue, as regards Cuba, without interfering in the PhiUpinesat all. Spain's rotton fleet in Far Eastern waters could never have safely reached the theatre of war in the Atlan tic, nor could a single Spanish soldier in the islands have been spared elsewhere whilst the Tagalog rebellion lasted. Admitting the wisdom of destroying the Spanish fleet at Cavite as a meas ure of precaution, the taking of Manila was not its unavoidable sequel. The world was given to understand that the Philippines were attacked "for the sake of humanity," to help a people struggling for freedom, as the invaders' forefathers had done generations before. After the Spanish evacuation, the Filipinos expected to be put in po.ssession of their country- under American THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. 1 3 protection from foreign aggression while working out their destiny. Their capability for immediate self-government was seriously doubted, but even this difficulty might have been met if the United States Government had chosen to define its policy (subject to the ratification of the treaty). At least the poUcy of attraction — the conquest by moral force to which I have aUuded — might have been adopted without detriment to any future settlement. If this did not appeal to American sentiment as apparently it did not, then the only alternative was coercion in earnest, supported -by a hundred thousand men, if America were bent on conquest or still considered it her mission to inter vene any longer in Phihppine affairs. But, seemingly to appease the Washington political wiseacres, ignorant of the conditions of the archipelago or its Asiatic inhabitants, a wavering policy was initiated, and we are now witnessing a sorry spectacle of useless bloodshed, which, "for the sake of humanity," we should be glad to see brought to a speedy close through any legitimate channel.* *McKinley says it shall go on. Bryan says it shall stop. What say the Anierican people, now for the first time consulted ? 14 THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. THE "SINGLE TRIBE" FICTION. Edwin C. Pii;rce of Providence, R. I., in the Springfield (Mass.) Republican. In a letter in the Republican of September 17, I showed the falseness of the pretense of Mr. McKinley in his letter of accept ance that a majority of the Filipinos welcome American rule, refuting the claim by evidence contained in the letter of accept ance itself. The letter of acceptance asserts the same false claim in another form, as foUows : ' ' The American people are asked by our opponents to yield the sovereignty of the United States in the PhiUppines to a small fraction of the population, a single tribe out of the eighty or more inhabiting the archipelago. . . ." Both Mr. McKinley and Gov. Roosevelt have repeatedly spoken of the adherents of the Aguinaldo govemment as a single tribe, sedulously conveying the impression by the use of the word tribe that the Tagalogs, who are intended by the "single tribe" reference, are like a tribe of -unld American Indians. ' It is proper to speak of the civilized Filipinos as consisting of tribes only as it is permissible to speak of the Anierican or British people as composed of different tribes, referring to" their various descent. The people of Luzon and the Visaj'an group "have been civilized and Christian for centuries, the only excep tions to-day being a very small number of mountaineer savages, SpUt up, indeed, into numerous tribes. Nor is it true at all that the civilized Filipinos are not a homogeneous people, constitut ing for all practical purposes one people. For proof of this statement I refer to the testimony of Prof. Dean C. Worcester, one of the President's Philippine commission. Prof. Worcester spent several years in the Philippines before the Spanish war, and in 1898 was published his book entitled " The Philippine Islands and Their People." At page 475 Prof. Worcester says : THE UNITED ST.\TES AND THE PHILIPPINES. 15 The important questions which intimately concern the future of the Philippines result from the character of the five milUons of civiUzed natives, and the conditions existing in the regions which they now inhabit." "They belong to three tribes, the Tagalogs, the Uocanos and Visayans. Some attempt has been ' made to draw fine distinctions between the Tagalogs and Visayans, rather to the discredit of the latter people, but I confess that it seems to me a Uttle far-fetched. . . . Some differences will inevitably be found between the inhabitants of different islands, or even of different parts of the same island, yet I think that the civilized natives show sufficient homogeneity to be treated as a class." The civihzed FiUpinos are as homogeneous as the Swedes and Norwegians. There are about eighty tribes in the Phihp pine islands, but they mostly inhabit small islands, many hundreds of miles distant from Luzon, having remained almost entirely untouched by Spanish civilization or govemment, and are not a practical factor in the Philippine question. Does not Mr. McKinley know of the opinion of his own com missioner. Prof. Worcester, that ' ' the civilized nati\-es show suffic ient homogeneity to be treated as a class ?' ' And Prof. Woijces- ter says these homogeneous people number five millions. In the September number of the Review of Reviews there is an article on "Pressing Needs of the Philippines," by Maj. John H. Parker, 39th infantry. United States volunteers. Maj. Parker says : — The preconceived ideas of Americans about them are nearly aU wrong. I. Although they are fighting in a manner generally con trary to the laws of civilized warfare, yet they are not an uncivilized people. They are uniformly polite, both to each other and to foreigners; they are intelligent, and generally able to read and write ; they are a very religious people ; they have always been accustotned to a system of law and legal settlements of disputes ; they have produced generals, poets, lawyers, painters and business men of recognized ability — some of world wide reputation ; and they are eager to learn the ways of advanced civilization. 2. Like ourselves, they are a mongrel race, formed by the survival of the hardest-lived traits in a varied and cosmopoUtan (Oriental) ancestry. 1 6 THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES. From Address of Indianapolis Liberty Congress : ' 'The struggle of men for freedom has ever been a struggle for constitutional Uberty. There is no liberty if the citizen has no right which the legislature may not invade, if he may be taxed by a legislature in which he is not represented, or if he is not protected by fundamental law against the arbitrary action of executive power. The policy of the president offers the inhabitant pf Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippines no hope of independence, no prospect of American citizenship, no constitu- tutional protection, no representation in the congress which taxes him. This is the govemment of men by arbitrary power without their consent ; this is imperialism. "We, therefore, in the belief that it is essential at this crisis for the American people again to declare their faith in the universal application of the declaration of independence, and to reassert their will that their servants shall not have or exercise any powers whatever other than those conferred by the consti tution, earnestly make the following recommendations to our countrymen : " I . That, without regard to their views on minor questions of domestic policy, they withhold their votes from Mr. McKinley in order to stamp with their disapproval what he he has done. "2. That they vote for those candidates for congress, in their respective districts, who will oppose the policy of imperialism. "3. While we welcome any other method of opposing the re-election of Mr. McKinley, we advise direct support of Mr. ¦Bryan as the most effective means of crushing imperialism. "We are convinced of Mr. Bryan's sincerity and of his earnest purpose to secure to the Filipinos their independence. His position and the declar atior^ contained in the platform of his party on the vital issue oi the campaign meet our unqualified approval." YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 02441 5052 -•^^f ...-f ¦ .,/>¦ __ '¦*tl«t-^< ,..g#9*S* ¦¦ 'T^-^.-.:::,r^.rj^„„.^. ^^r«* w^. % ,-5^^: