CHAPTER XVIII.

Turning - Point For Mankind.

1.

Do not Go On.

What further devolves on the nation in this conflict and crisis? Realize again the whirlwind of autocratic events that has swept us down and the future is clear. The Paris treaty of peace outlined no policy toward the Philippines; it is not granted to the president by our system of government to initiate a policy in such affairs without consulting congress and receiving its sanction; and congress in this must register the people's will. Failing to execute the people's wish spoken through a truth-telling congress would make a president the usurper of powers not his and a criminal before the supreme nation. McKinley assumed this role. He could have inquired of the old congress for directions; he could have convened the new congress and asked its advise; he could meanwhile have laid the whole matter before the people with his own preferred policy, for discussion and instruction: none of these things did he do, but he issued an insulting proclaimer to the Filipinos on his own authority, arrogating sovereignty over them and initiating the creed of sovereignty, an extra-constitutional act for him as mere executive. These omissions and commissions, every one of them unconstitutional and usurpatory, brought war and pitched us into that expansion from which the president's flunkeys tell us we cannot withdraw. The issue that this hurls full-sized into the Anglo-Saxon world is whether the people are to govern themselves, as

heretofore, or one man is to ravish self-government forcibly from them and arbitrarily govern alone. Every other problem becomes infinitessimal when this emerges, and the people can re-establish their supremacy only by undoing all the usurper's acts, repudiating his every move, terminating the war, drawing out of the Philippines, and closing the insolent chapter of expansion. There is no other way to re-enthrone popular sovereignty, for if expansion goes on it firmly achieves all the measures that will render one-man sovereignty invulnerable. The peo

ple owe it to themselves to undo what was carpentered in despite of them by victorious rascality, unless there is some clear advantage in letting it stand. But letting this stand is the certain ruin of popular freedom, which is everything. They must unwrite this crimson history, for republican salvation.

For this reason it is that what is now done is the turning point for mankind. Compared with loss of freedom every argument for more war is not alone mere sound and emptiness, but reacts against its own cause. These familiar arguments are that we must prosecute the war until the 'rebels' give up to vindicate our dignity, that we owe it to other nations-as an international obligation— to do so, that we owe it to the Filipinos themselves to do it in order to set up and maintain an orderly government there, that we must proceed until congress meets to decide whether we shall proceed, that we must proceed because it is already decided without congress that

we

must proceed, that it is necessary to go on in order to bring ourselves into the rank of great world powers and take our proper place in the universe, that going on will not bring us into entanglements with the world powers or the universe, and that trade demands it. This medley of mountebank monstrosities and selfslaughtering contradictions is enough to harry up derision, but when we follow the steps which have forced

imperialists to base their glum cause on such arguing we have a much stronger feeling. We forced a war upon the Philippines purely to compass ends of spoliation, and now we enumerate dignity, international duty, obligation to those warred against, doubt what congress will do, knowledge what congress will do, national ambition, freedom from national ambition, Christianity, diplomatic scorn of christianity, and a secure platform for spoliation, as reasons for carrying the licking of the innocent Filipinos on to perfection. The most prominent and serviceable of these arguments just now as given in the latest words of the ever-blatant aspirant for the presidency in 1904 is,

"What the people have to do is to resolve to back up the President to the fullest extent, in seeing that the outburst of savagery is repressed once and for all," and to see that these new tropic islands "are governed primarily in the interest of the inhabitants and therefore ultimately for the honor and renown of America.' Rusevelt.

The gist of this and all the naively vapid pleadings is the same, and is said in two words, Go on. But the argument is shivered when you look at the reasons for going on: 'to repress the outburst of savagery once for all.' We merely ask whose savagery, and who burst out? and that shivers the argument into splinters. To govern in their own interest those who do not want to be governed by us, and to obtain the authority to do it by conquering them; that shivers the argument to atoms. And every single reason amounts merely to 'Go on,' that the results of going on inaugurated by presidential fight and fiat may achieve themselves: setting in transcendent authority the millionaire vampires ruling through their cut-throat tool, defiant of the people and popular forms of government.

So that the one thing to say and act on is, Do not go on! End the war by renouncing the traitor syndicate claims of sovereignty. Renounce all thoughts of annexation. Help the natives as best we may according to their desire in self-government, but give them independence, and give it now.

We cannot otherwise vindicate and

save ourselves. Will we only persevere in conquest and then with imperialism no millionaire will care a tick if we impeach, imprison, or hang McKinley, for the millionaire ends will be gained. Caesar was killed to save liberty, but it did not save it, for all the apparatus of monopoly was left standing, and another Caesar was soon ready, whom the people saw it was neither worth while nor possible to kill. Tyranny is not defeated by merely removing a tyrant, it is necessary to destroy the machinery of tyranny. The doctrine of Go on is for our tyrants all-inclusive and all-sufficient. It will unfailingly lead in the next congress to a new bill liberally enlarging the army and navy. We are cynically assured of this by those who know best. "If," says the future aspirant for the presidency,

If the people let their representatives in Congress hamper the administration, as they did last winter when they refused to put the army upon a proper footing as to size, permanence and organization, then the people have themselves to thank if the war lingers, and difficulties and danger increase.

What more do adolescent billionaires require than this? Here's the whole crashing climax, everything aimed at from the alpha, and shouted from the housetops without a flinch by one of their trusty henchmen. Go on, that is all you have to do, and you satisfy us; when the outburst of savagery is subdued keep a large force afield for use in minor outbursts; enough for us if the army is on a proper footing as to size, permanence and organization, and expansion marches.

Now that the secret is brazenly told from the fountain head we shall be Australian Bushmen or Otaheites if we do not grasp the deadly import of it and act. It cries out across the land in tones that ought to pierce and thrill the dullest heart, Awake! Awake! The knell of liberty has been struck! Come forth to its rescue or perish!

Do you dare to tell me after all the treasonable things that have been done to pave the way to a proper army that self-government will survive if we 'Go on'?

2. Withdraw From The Philippines.

The two points now made the most of by the million

aire coterie are these: Where the flag has gone up it must never come down; Because the Filipinos are half savage half child they cannot govern themselves and we must govern them.

Bragging of our wonderful conquest of dead Spain the reeking Alger expressed the first of these sentiments creditably to his personal exploits: "We went through the struggle and came out victorious. We transported across the sea more than 150,000 men without accident. We fought battles in the Philippines, Cuba and in Porto Rico, and we never lost a battle, a color, a prisoner or a gun. Wherever the American flag was planted by the American soldier, there it stands, and there it shall stand forever."* This flatulent argument has been disposed of by reminding all swollen heads that raining fierce blows upon a wormy carcass does not establish bravery, and a business man who plants his sign in a bad location is only an arrant fool if he does not take it down. Except for the benefit of generals, politicians, millionaires and kings, there is no mundane reason for keeping common sense and national affairs eternally divorced.

When this is answered the same fallacy wobbles up in another gown. Yes, they say, it was folly to have planted the flag, knowing all we now do, But it has been assailed, so now we must keep it stuck in the mud, in the name of Pride. Does the business-man who has raised his sign in a bad place think it necessary to keep it there simply because competitors assail him with competitive volleys and try to drive him out? This occurs every day, and the only question the true business man asks is whether there is a business reason for staying. He does not bullheadedly determine to injure himself and everybody. else just for fun or for Pride's sake, as the nation is implored to do. The folly of corrupt politico-military reasoning reaches its height in this argument. For instance a brigadier-general who is not yet locked in a mental asylum calmly segaciates to his countrymen: "Of course we sustained none of the heavy losses experi

*Speech on his pseudo-triumphal return to Detroit, Aug. 2, '99.