America’s Policy Toward the Filipinos
SPEAKING of the attitude of the United States toward the Filipinos, the Christian Advocate (Methodist) of New York, says: “When the Pilgrim Fathers, writing to John Robinson, the great Puritan preacher who gave them his blessing when they sailed from Holland, in words that the world will never let die, told him of the success they met with in slaughtering the Indians, he sadly replied, ‘I could wish that you had converted some before you had killed any.’ Both Christianity and a sagacious policy were implied in that sententious utterance. It would mitigate the situation greatly if some simple, clear, and definite statement were made of the purpose of this government toward the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands.”