Why We Cannot Conquer the Filipinos.
THI

From The New York Evening
harbo not conquer the Filipinos because
'HE problem of Philippine conquest is people because they will be better off for be-
not a military one.
This country
ing ridden"; cannot, with McKinley leading
doubtedly has the physical force us, do what he said would be an act of “crimi-
make the islands a desolation and call it peace. nas aggression”; cannot welcome and applaud
We can harry their coasts. We can ravage Deyey while going in the teeth of his saying,
their fields. We can drive their fleeing in- "Bisher than make a war of conquest of this
habitants to mountain fastnesses and dash people,
would up anchor and sail out of the
their little ones against a stone. If it is a
mere question of brute strength - of money We ces
and men and ships and guns - we can employ we cannot kise any of our historic battle-cries
it without limit. We can kill and burn and in the fight against them; cannot allow our
destroy like avengers of God. No one doubts soldiers to gieone countersign of liberty,
that. Mr. McKinley, in boasting of the new while pursuing that cannot arm our officers
forces he has got together for bending the and men with the triple armor of a just cause;
Filipinos to his will, is only glorying as a full- cannot nerve our troops with a hatred of the
grown man might in his ability to break every enemy nearly as intensely their hatred of the
bone in the body of the street waif. The dis- cruel and repellant work are set to do;
parity is too glaring. If we exert our giant's cannot look upon a victory soept with shame
strength to crush the Filipinos, we can un- that it is won over a foemat so Anworthy of
doubtedly do it. But what we assert is that our steel; cannot ask a beaten army to surren-
it is not a question of mere force majeure. der and trust to our good faith, leo tube taunt
There are moral obstacles in our path more be thrown in our face, as it was in President
terrible than an army with banners. If we Schurman's by a Filipino envoy, that American
wage a war of extermination against the Fili- good faith is not a thing to be considered
pinos, they will have invisible allies mightier seriously.
than all the battalions that tread the earth, so We cannot conquer the Filipinos because the
that they that be with them are more than they country and Congress will not give the President
that be with us, and we can never conquer the money necessary to pursue his ruthless
them.
work; because an outraged public sentiment
We cannot conquer the Filipinos because will demand that he quit doing what we went
we cannot, as a nation, place ourselves in a to war with Spain to stop her doing; because
pillory to become the hissing of mankind; burdened taxpayers will protest against being
cannot justify the bitter taunt of the Spaniard made to pay for shot and shell to do the work
that our pretended unselfishness and humanity which wise statesmanship should be able to do
were but thinly veiled greed and cruelty; can- without the firing of a gun; because we are too
not give fresh edge to the sneers of Germans great a nation to trample on the weak, too free
at our vaunted purpose to set a captive race a people to permit chains to be riveted on
free, and to the cynicism of Frenchmen at the another race by our agents and in our name,
expense of our mission of justice and liberty ; and too jealous a republican commonwealth
cannot make our best friends in England hang to see our blood and treasure poured out in
their heads in shame; cannot put it in the distant lands for the benefit of a favored
power of the civilized world to say that our few.
generous professions were a hollow mockery And if, in spite of all, the war of conquest
and our plighted faith no better than a harlot's and extermination is pushed to its bloody end;
vow.
if the last Filipino town goes up in smoke and
We cannot conquer the Filipinos because flame; if the last armed native is brought to
we cannot march over the dead bodies of our bay in swamp or pass, and falls under our vol-
national leaders and prophets and heroes; can- leys; it is not the Filipinos who will be con-
not look into the grave and troubled face of quered; they, even as they die before the piti-
Washington bidding us remember that “the less hail of our bullets, may well exclaim:
basis of our political system” is the right of a “ Americans, you have not conquered us, you
people to make its own government, and urg- have conquered yourselves; in our ruin you
ing us to exhibit to the world the “too novel have pulled down the pillars of your own
example of a people always guided by an temple of liberty ; in beating us down you have
exalted justice and benevolence”; cannot, in trampled upon your own history and prin-
Lincoln's presence, “ask a just God's assist- ciples; in destroying our republic you have
ance" in the effort to "bestride the necks of a destroyed your own.'
WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH.
MONTREAL, Aug. 29. - Dr. Mariano Ponce, private secretary to Emilio Aguinaldo, is here
en route from London to Manila. In an interview he said:
“My country fights and will fight
for her independence, because she is fully convinced that
it is a duty imposed by Providence. The ambition of a powerful nation is not enough to make
her renounce her destiny. She is ready to make every sacrifice for the defence of the freedom
#cof the land. The last word in the question has been said by my nation. The Philippines will
become an American possession only when there are no more Filipinos."
Are you in favor of this bloodshed and extermination? If not, please read
carefully and circulate this statement.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Oy
D
679
3 9015 09573 0613
W49
1854
Univ of
Mion.
Library