Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 6.djvu/378

354 How right I am in this assumption has recently been proved by the astonishing demonstration of the best representatives of the intelligence and the moral sense of the country—churchmen from the highest rank to the lowest, presidents and professors of universities and colleges, judges, members of all the learned professions, prominent citizens of all callings—a demonstration of a quality unmatched in the history of this country urgently demanding of the great political parties that they should pronounce themselves in favor of treating the Philippines as Cuba has been treated. There is not the slightest doubt that, were the pressure of partisanship removed, such a demand would upon its own merits to-day be joined by an overwhelming majority of the American people.

And what has been the response of those in power and of the ruling party? The member of the Government having the Philippine business in charge simply tells those high and low dignitaries of the churches, those presidents and professors of colleges, those judges and members of the learned professions and other prominent citizens to hush; that they should not presume to discuss Philippine independence; that in fact Philippine independence should not be discussed at all by the people; that the Government should be let alone to deal with it.

This is a significant spectacle. We call ours a democratic government. Democratic government is essentially a government by free discussion. As soon as it ceases to be a government by free discussion it ceases to be democratic government. And what kind of subject is this that we are told we must not discuss? Is it not a question involving the very principles upon which this Republic rests? Does it not involve the justice and general morality of our dealings with foreign peoples? Does it not involve in the largest sense our character as a