ior which there is no warrant in our Constitution or our laws. Even the ar- te it and who ~ument that this earth belongs to those who desire to cultivat have the physical power to acquire it cannot be invoked to justify the appro- priation of the Philippine Islands by the United States. ay If the islands were uninhabited, America citizens would not be willing to oo there and till the soil. The white race will not live so near the equator, Other nations have tried to colonize the same latitude. The Netherlands have controlled Java for 300 years, and yet today there are less than 60,000 people of European birth scattered among the 25,000,000 natives. : After a century and a half of English domination in India, less than one-twentieth of 1 per cent of the people of India are of English birth, and it requires an army of 70,000 British soldiers to take care of the tax collectors. Spain had asserted title to the Philippine Islands for three centuries, and yet when our fleet entered Manila Bay there were less than 10,000 Spaniards residing in the Philippines. A COLONIAL POLICY MEANS THAT WE SHALL SEND TO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS A FEW TRADERS, A FEW TASKMASTERS AND A FEW OFFICE-HOLD- EKS, AND AN ARMY LARGE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE AUTHORITY OF A SMALL FRACTION OF THE PEOPLE WHILE THEY RULE THE NATIVES. IF WE HAVE AN IMPERIAL POLICY WE MUST HAVE A GREAT STANDING ARMY AS ITS NATURAL AND NECESSARY COMPLEMENT. THE SPIRIT WHICH WILL JUSTIFY THE FORCIBLE ANNEXATION OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS WILL JUSTIFY THE SEIZURE OF OTHER ISLANDS AND THE DOMINATION OF OTHER PEOPLE, AND WITH WARS OF CONQUEST WE CAN EXPECT A CERTAIN IF NOT RAPID GROWTH OF OUR MILITARY ESTADRLISHMENT. That a large permanent increase in our regular army is intended by the Republican leaders 1s no mere matter of conjecture, but a matter of fact. In his message of December 5, 1898, the president asked for authority to increase the standing army to 100,000. In 1896 the army contained about 25,000. WITHIN TWO YEARS THE PRESIDENT ASKED FOR FOUR TIMES THAT MANY, AND A REPUBLICAN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMPLIED WITH THE REQUEST AFTER THE SPANISH TREATY HAD BEEN SIGNED AND WHEN NO COUNTRY WAS AT WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES. IF SUCH AN ARMY IS DEMANDED WHEN AN IMPERIAL POLICY IS CONTEMPLATED BUT NOT OPEN- LY AVOWED, WHAT MAY BE EXPECTED IF THE PEOPLE ENCOURAGE THE RE PUBLICAN PARTY BY INDORSING ITS POLICY AT THE POLLS? DANGER OF BIG STANDING ARMY. A large standing army is not only a pecuniary burden to the people and, if accompanied by compulsory service, a constant source of irritation, but it is ever a menace to a republican form of government. The army is the personifi- cation of force: and militarism will inevitably change the ideals of the people and turn the thoughts of our young men from the arts of peace to the science of war. The government which relies for its denfense upon its citizens is more likely to be just than one which has at call a large body of professional soldiers. A SMALL STANDING ARMY AND A WELL-EQUIPPED AND WELL-DISCIP- LINED STATE MILITIA ARE SUFFICIENT AT ORDINARY TIMES, AND IN AN EMERGENCY THE NATION SHOULD IN THE FUTURE AS IN THE PAST, PLACE ITS DEPENDENCE UPON THE VOLUNTEERS WHO COME FROM ALL OCCUPA- TIONS AT THEIR COUNTRY’S CALL, AND RETURN TO PRODUCTIVE LABOR WHEN THEIR FERVICES ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED—MEN WHO FIGHT WHEN ty NEEDS FIGHTERS AND WORK WHEN THE COUNTRY NEEDS ) “RS. : The Republican platform assumes that the Philippine Islands will be re- tained under American sovereignty, and we have a right to demand of the Re- publican leaders a discussion of the future status of the Filipino. Is he to be a citizen or a subject? Are we to bring into the body politic 8,000,000 or 10,- 6
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers