Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 6.djvu/374

350 ment. Cleveland has published a very strong paper against imperialism and, as far as I can see, among the Democratic leaders the sentiment prevails. The Administration seems to have become somewhat alarmed at this new demonstration and is sending Secretary Taft around to make speeches in which he tries to convince people that independence ought not to be promised to the Filipinos, and that at any rate it should not come in less than something like one hundred and fifty years. These speeches are not without effect, for Secretary Taft enjoys general esteem as a sincere man and is believed by many people to understand the Philippine question better than anybody else, but the feeling in favor of independence seems to have been growing and spreading of late and developing into a great force. The efforts he has made to induce capitalists to invest money in the Philippines have so far been unavailing. 



&emsp; Thanks for your kind letter. I am very glad to learn that Mr. Parker is in favor of the Philippine independence resolution. Did he say anything with regard to civil service reform?

Yes, I have a suggestion to make. Do you not think that President Roosevelt's letter to the Cuba dinner, in which he assumes police power over the whole American continent, deserves more attention than the press has so far given it? I have seen your paragraph about it, which was very good. But does not the matter call for the heaviest artillery? Of all of Roosevelt's pronunciamentos this seems to me the most alarming. It is almost