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Messages and Papers of William McKinley V.2. by William McKinley

W >> William McKinley >> Messages and Papers of William McKinley V.2.




That no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without
due process of law; that private property shall not be taken for public
use without just compensation; that in all criminal prosecutions the
accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted
with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his
defense; that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted; that no person
shall be put twice in jeopardy for the same offense, or be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against himself; that the right to be
secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated;
that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist except as a
punishment for crime; that no bill of attainder or _ex-post-facto_
law shall be passed; that no law shall be passed abridging the freedom
of speech or of the press, or the rights of the people to peaceably
assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievances; that
no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and that the free exercise and
enjoyment of religious profession and worship without discrimination or
preference shall forever be allowed.

It will be the duty of the Commission to make a thorough investigation
into the titles to the large tracts of land held or claimed by
individuals or by religious orders; into the justice of the claims and
complaints made against such landholders by the people of the island or
any part of the people, and to seek by wise and peaceable measures a
just settlement of the controversies and redress of wrongs which have
caused strife and bloodshed in the past. In the performance of this duty
the Commission is enjoined to see that no injustice is done; to have
regard for substantial rights and equity, disregarding technicalities so
far as substantial right permits, and to observe the following rules:

That the provision of the Treaty of Paris pledging the United States
to the protection of all rights of property in the islands, and as
well the principle of our own Government which prohibits the taking of
private property without due process of law, shall not be violated;
that the welfare of the people of the islands, which should be a
paramount consideration, shall be attained consistently with this rule
of property right; that if it becomes necessary for the public interest
of the people of the islands to dispose of claims to property which the
Commission finds to be not lawfully acquired and held disposition shall
be made thereof by due legal procedure, in which there shall be full
opportunity for fair and impartial hearing and judgment; that if the
same public interests require the extinguishment of property rights
lawfully acquired and held due compensation shall be made out of the
public treasury therefor; that no form of religion and no minister of
religion shall be forced upon any community or upon any citizen of the
islands; that, upon the other hand, no minister of religion shall be
interfered with or molested in following his calling, and that the
separation between State and Church shall be real, entire, and absolute.

It will be the duty of the Commission to promote and extend, and,
as they find occasion, to improve the system of education already
inaugurated by the military authorities. In doing this they should
regard as of first importance the extension of a system of primary
education which shall be free to all, and which shall tend to fit the
people for the duties of citizenship and for the ordinary avocations of
a civilized community. This instruction should be given in the first
instance in every part of the islands in the language of the people.
In view of the great number of languages spoken by the different tribes,
it is especially important to the prosperity of the islands that a
common medium of communication may be established, and it is obviously
desirable that this medium should be the English language. Especial
attention should be at once given to affording full opportunity to all
the people of the islands to acquire the use of the English language.

It may be well that the main changes which should be made in the system
of taxation and in the body of the laws under which the people are
governed, except such changes as have already been made by the military
government, should be relegated to the civil government which is to be
established under the auspices of the Commission. It will, however, be
the duty of the Commission to inquire diligently as to whether there
are any further changes which ought not to be delayed, and if so, they
are authorized to make such changes subject to your approval. In doing
so they are to bear in mind that taxes which tend to penalize or repress
industry and enterprise are to be avoided; that provisions for taxation
should be simple, so that they may be understood by the people; that
they should affect the fewest practicable subjects of taxation which
will serve for the general distribution of the burden.

The main body of the laws which regulate the rights and obligations of
the people should be maintained with as little interference as possible.
Changes made should be mainly in procedure, and in the criminal laws to
secure speedy and impartial trials, and at the same time effective
administration and respect for individual rights.

In dealing with the uncivilized tribes of the islands the Commission
should adopt the same course followed by Congress in permitting the
tribes of our North American Indians to maintain their tribal
organization and government, and under which many of those tribes are
now living in peace and contentment, surrounded by a civilization to
which they are unable or unwilling to conform. Such tribal governments
should, however, be subjected to wise and firm regulation, and, without
undue or petty interference, constant and active effort should be
exercised to prevent barbarous practices and introduce civilized
customs.

Upon all officers and employees of the United States, both civil and
military, should be impressed a sense of the duty to observe not merely
the material but the personal and social rights of the people of the
islands, and to treat them with the same courtesy and respect for their
personal dignity which the people of the United States are accustomed
to require from each other.

The articles of capitulation of the city of Manila on the 13th of
August, 1898, concluded with these words:

"This city, its inhabitants, its churches and religious worship,
its educational establishments, and its private property of all
descriptions, are placed under the special safeguard of the faith and
honor of the American Army."

I believe that this pledge has been faithfully kept. As high and
sacred an obligation rests upon the Government of the United States to
give protection for property and life, civil and religious freedom, and
wise, firm, and unselfish guidance in the paths of peace and prosperity
to all the people of the Philippine Islands. I charge this Commission
to labor for the full performance of this obligation, which concerns
the honor and conscience of their country, in the firm hope that through
their labors all the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands may come to
look back with gratitude to the day when God gave victory to American
arms at Manila and set their land under the sovereignty and the
protection of the people of the United States.


Coincidently with the entrance of the Commission upon its labors I
caused to be issued by General MacArthur, the Military Governor of the
Philippines, on June 21, 1900, a proclamation of amnesty in generous
terms, of which many of the insurgents took advantage, among them a
number of important leaders.

This Commission, composed of eminent citizens representing the diverse
geographical and political interests of the country, and bringing
to their task the ripe fruits of long and intelligent service in
educational, administrative, and judicial careers, made great progress
from the outset. As early as August 21, 1900, it submitted a preliminary
report, which will be laid before the Congress, and from which it
appears that already the good effects of returning order are felt; that
business, interrupted by hostilities, is improving as peace extends;
that a larger area is under sugar cultivation than ever before; that the
customs revenues are greater than at any time during the Spanish rule;
that economy and efficiency in the military administration have created
a surplus fund of $6,000,000, available for needed public improvements;
that a stringent civil-service law is in preparation; that railroad
communications are expanding, opening up rich districts, and that a
comprehensive scheme of education is being organized.

Later reports from the Commission show yet more encouraging advance
toward insuring the benefits of liberty and good government to the
Filipinos, in the interest of humanity and with the aim of building up
an enduring, self-supporting, and self-administering community in those
far eastern seas. I would impress upon the Congress that whatever
legislation may be enacted in respect to the Philippine Islands should
be along these generous lines. The fortune of war has thrown upon this
nation an unsought trust which should be unselfishly discharged, and
devolved upon this Government a moral as well as material responsibility
toward these millions whom we have freed from an oppressive yoke.

I have on another occasion called the Filipinos "the wards of the
nation." Our obligation as guardian was not lightly assumed; it must not
be otherwise than honestly fulfilled, aiming first of all to benefit
those who have come under our fostering care. It is our duty so to treat
them that our flag may be no less beloved in the mountains of Luzon and
the fertile zones of Mindanao and Negros than it is at home, that there
as here it shall be the revered symbol of liberty, enlightenment, and
progress in every avenue of development.

The Filipinos are a race quick to learn and to profit by knowledge.
He would be rash who, with the teachings of contemporaneous history in
view, would fix a limit to the degree of culture and advancement yet
within the reach of these people if our duty toward them be faithfully
performed.

The civil government of Puerto Rico provided for by the act of the
Congress approved April 12, 1900, is in successful operation. The courts
have been established. The Governor and his associates, working
intelligently and harmoniously, are meeting with commendable success.

On the 6th of November a general election was held in the island for
members of the Legislature, and the body elected has been called to
convene on the first Monday of December.

I recommend that legislation be enacted by the Congress conferring upon
the Secretary of the Interior supervision over the public lands in
Puerto Rico, and that he be directed to ascertain the location and
quantity of lands the title to which remained in the Crown of Spain
at the date of cession of Puerto Rico to the United States, and that
appropriations necessary for surveys be made, and that the methods of
the disposition of such lands be prescribed by law.

On the 25th of July, 1900, I directed that a call be issued for an
election in Cuba for members of a constitutional convention to frame a
constitution as a basis for a stable and independent government in the
island. In pursuance thereof the Military Governor issued the following
instructions:

Whereas the Congress of the United States, by its joint resolution of
April 20, 1898, declared--

"That the people of the island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be,
free and independent.

"That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to
exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said island except
for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that
is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the island to
its people;"

And whereas, the people of Cuba have established municipal governments,
deriving their authority from the suffrages of the people given under
just and equal laws, and are now ready, in like manner, to proceed to
the establishment of a general government which shall assume and
exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, and control over the island:

Therefore, it is ordered that a general election be held in the island
of Cuba on the third Saturday of September, in the year nineteen
hundred, to elect delegates to a convention to meet in the city of
Havana at twelve o'clock noon on the first Monday of November, in the
year nineteen hundred, to frame and adopt a constitution for the people
of Cuba, and as a part thereof to provide for and agree with the
Government of the United States upon the relations to exist between that
Government and the Government of Cuba, and to provide for the election
by the people of officers under such constitution and the transfer of
government to the officers so elected.

The election will be held in the several voting precincts of the island
under, and pursuant to, the provisions of the electoral law of April 18,
1900, and the amendments thereof.


The election was held on the 15th of September, and the convention
assembled on the 5th of November, 1900, and is now in session.

In calling the convention to order, the Military Governor of Cuba made
the following statement:

As Military Governor of the island, representing the President of the
United States, I call this convention to order.

It will be your duty, first, to frame and adopt a constitution for Cuba,
and when that has been done to formulate what in your opinion ought to
be the relations between Cuba and the United States.

The constitution must be adequate to secure a stable, orderly, and free
government.

When you have formulated the relations which in your opinion ought to
exist between Cuba and the United States the Government of the United
States will doubtless take such action on its part as shall lead to a
final and authoritative agreement between the people of the two
countries to the promotion of their common interests.

All friends of Cuba will follow your deliberations with the deepest
interest, earnestly desiring that you shall reach just conclusions, and
that by the dignity, individual self-restraint, and wise conservatism
which shall characterize your proceedings the capacity of the Cuban
people for representative government may be signally illustrated.

The fundamental distinction between true representative government and
dictatorship is that in the former every representative of the people,
in whatever office, confines himself strictly within the limits of his
defined powers. Without such restraint there can be no free
constitutional government.

Under the order pursuant to which you have been elected and convened you
have no duty and no authority to take part in the present government of
the island. Your powers are strictly limited by the terms of that order.


When the convention concludes its labors I will transmit to the Congress
the constitution as framed by the convention for its consideration and
for such action as it may deem advisable.

I renew the recommendation made in my special message of February 10,
1899, as to the necessity for cable communication between the United
States and Hawaii, with extension to Manila. Since then circumstances
have strikingly emphasized this need. Surveys have shown the entire
feasibility of a chain of cables which at each stopping place shall
touch on American territory, so that the system shall be under our own
complete control. Manila once within telegraphic reach, connection with
the systems of the Asiatic coast would open increased and profitable
opportunities for a more direct cable route from our shores to the
Orient than is now afforded by the trans-Atlantic, continental, and
trans-Asian lines. I urge attention to this important matter.

The present strength of the Army is 100,000 men--65,000 regulars and
35,000 volunteers. Under the act of March 2, 1899, on the 30th of June
next the present volunteer force will be discharged and the Regular Army
will be reduced to 2,447 officers and 29,025 enlisted men.

In 1888 a Board of Officers convened by President Cleveland adopted a
comprehensive scheme of coast-defense fortifications which involved the
outlay of something over one hundred million dollars. This plan received
the approval of the Congress, and since then regular appropriations have
been made and the work of fortification has steadily progressed.

More than sixty millions of dollars have been invested in a great number
of forts and guns, with all the complicated and scientific machinery and
electrical appliances necessary for their use. The proper care of this
defensive machinery requires men trained in its use. The number of men
necessary to perform this duty alone is ascertained by the War
Department, at a minimum allowance, to be 18,420.

There are fifty-eight or more military posts in the United States other
than the coast-defense fortifications.

The number of these posts is being constantly increased by the Congress.
More than $22,000,000 have been expended in building and equipment,
and they can only be cared for by the Regular Army. The posts now in
existence and others to be built provide for accommodations for, and if
fully garrisoned require, 26,000 troops. Many of these posts are along
our frontier or at important strategic points, the occupation of which
is necessary.

We have in Cuba between 5,000 and 6,000 troops. For the present our
troops in that island cannot be withdrawn or materially diminished, and
certainly not until the conclusion of the labors of the constitutional
convention now in session and a government provided by the new
constitution shall have been established and its stability assured.

In Puerto Rico we have reduced the garrisons to 1,636, which includes
879 native troops. There is no room for further reduction here.

We will be required to keep a considerable force in the Philippine
Islands for some time to come. From the best information obtainable we
will need there for the immediate future from 45,000 to 60,000 men.
I am sure the number may be reduced as the insurgents shall come to
acknowledge the authority of the United States, of which there are
assuring indications.

It must be apparent that we will require an army of about 60,000, and
that during present conditions in Cuba and the Philippines the President
should have authority to increase the force to the present number of
100,000. Included in this number authority should be given to raise
native troops in the Philippines up to 15,000, which the Taft Commission
believe will be more effective in detecting and suppressing guerrillas,
assassins, and ladrones than our own soldiers.

The full discussion of this subject by the Secretary of War in his
annual report is called to your earnest attention.

I renew the recommendation made in my last annual message that the
Congress provide a special medal of honor for the volunteers, regulars,
sailors, and marines on duty in the Philippines who voluntarily remained
in the service after their terms of enlistment had expired.

I favor the recommendation of the Secretary of War for the detail
of officers from the line of the Army when vacancies occur in the
Adjutant-General's Department, Inspector-General's Department,
Quartermaster's Department, Subsistence Department, Pay Department,
Ordnance Department, and Signal Corps.

The Army cannot be too highly commended for its faithful and effective
service in active military operations in the field and the difficult
work of civil administration.

The continued and rapid growth of the postal service is a sure index
of the great and increasing business activity of the country. Its most
striking new development is the extension of rural free delivery. This
has come almost wholly within the last year. At the beginning of the
fiscal year 1899-1900 the number of routes in operation was only 391,
and most of these had been running less than twelve months. On the
15th of November, 1900, the number had increased to 2,614, reaching
into forty-four States and Territories, and serving a population of
1,801,524. The number of applications now pending and awaiting action
nearly equals all those granted up to the present time, and by the
close of the current fiscal year about 4,000 routes will have been
established, providing for the daily delivery of mails at the scattered
homes of about three and a half millions of rural population.

This service ameliorates the isolation of farm life, conduces to
good roads, and quickens and extends the dissemination of general
information. Experience thus far has tended to allay the apprehension
that it would be so expensive as to forbid its general adoption or make
it a serious burden. Its actual application has shown that it increases
postal receipts, and can be accompanied by reductions in other branches
of the service, so that the augmented revenues and the accomplished
savings together materially reduce the net cost. The evidences which
point to these conclusions are presented in detail in the annual report
of the Postmaster-General, which with its recommendations is commended
to the consideration of the Congress. The full development of this
special service, however, requires such a large outlay of money that
it should be undertaken only after a careful study and thorough
understanding of all that it involves.

Very efficient service has been rendered by the Navy in connection with
the insurrection in the Philippines and the recent disturbance in China.

A very satisfactory settlement has been made of the long-pending
question of the manufacture of armor plate. A reasonable price has been
secured and the necessity for a Government armor plant avoided.

I approve of the recommendations of the Secretary for new vessels and
for additional officers and men which the required increase of the Navy
makes necessary. I commend to the favorable action of the Congress the
measure now pending for the erection of a statue to the memory of the
late Admiral David D. Porter. I commend also the establishment of a
national naval reserve and of the grade of vice-admiral. Provision
should be made, as recommended by the Secretary, for suitable rewards
for special merit. Many officers who rendered the most distinguished
service during the recent war with Spain have received in return no
recognition from the Congress.

The total area of public lands as given by the Secretary of the Interior
is approximately 1,071,881,662 acres, of which 917,135,880 acres are
undisposed of and 154,745,782 acres have been reserved for various
purposes. The public lands disposed of during the year amount to
13,453,887.96 acres, including 62,423.09 acres of Indian lands, an
increase of 4,271,474.80 over the preceding year. The total receipts
from the sale of public lands during the fiscal year were $4,379,758.10,
an increase of $1,309,620.76 over the preceding year.

The results obtained from our forest policy have demonstrated its wisdom
and the necessity in the interest of the public for its continuance and
increased appropriations by the Congress for the carrying on of the
work. On June 30, 1900, there were thirty-seven forest reserves, created
by Presidential proclamations under section 24 of the act of March 3,
1891, embracing an area of 46,425,529 acres.

During the past year the Olympic Reserve, in the State of Washington,
was reduced 265,040 acres, leaving its present area at 1,923,840 acres.
The Prescott Reserve, in Arizona, was increased from 10,240 acres to
423,680 acres, and the Big Horn Reserve, in Wyoming, was increased from
1,127,680 acres to 1,180,800 acres. A new reserve, the Santa Ynez, in
California, embracing an area of 145,000 acres, was created during this
year. On October 10, 1900, the Crow Creek Forest Reserve, in Wyoming,
was created, with an area of 56,320 acres.

At the end of the fiscal year there were on the pension roll 993,529
names, a net increase of 2,010 over the fiscal year 1899. The number
added to the rolls during the year was 45,344. The amount disbursed for
Army pensions during the year was $134,700,597.24 and for Navy pensions
$3,761,533.41, a total of $138,462,130.65, leaving an unexpended balance
of $5,542,768.25 to be covered into the Treasury, which shows an
increase over the previous year's expenditure of $107,077.70. There were
684 names added to the rolls during the year by special acts passed at
the first session of the Fifty-sixth Congress.

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We do not know the women's names, but their voices are quite distinct. All are pregnant. But while the first woman awaits the birth of her baby with a moon-like serenity, the other two are not so lucky. One, whose previous pregnancies have failed to go to term, is experiencing a heartbreaking late miscarriage; the other is a young student whose accidental pregnancy will end in her child being put up for adoption.

Sylvia Plath's only play was never intended for the stage, being broadcast instead on BBC radio in August 1962. Less than six months later, Plath killed herself, but not before the burst of astonishing creative energy that produced her extraordinary, terrifying Ariel poems.

Anyone who knows Plath's poetry will see the connection between Three Women and Plath's subsequent poems, particularly in the way she talks about the agony of childbirth, the rush of love for this tiny alien being, and both the wonder and wounded rawness of motherhood. It is a beautiful piece, full of startling imagery that draws you in through the sheer intensity of its femaleness, and because it so precisely articulates the emotions that are often thought but seldom voiced by women - certainly not in the early 1960s - about men, motherhood and our relationship to our bodies.

It's been 20 years since there has been an attempt at a professional stage version and - in a theatre world that happily accepts the poetic offerings of Sarah Kane and Debbie Tucker Green, or the staged possibilities of The Waves, one of Plath's own inspirations for the piece, I see no reason why it shouldn't be brought to life. Sadly, it doesn't breathe here, in a production by Robert Shaw that is clearly a labour of love, but which never finds a way to give the internal a physical reality. Plath's poetry, like most babies, is more robust than it appears - and won't break if treated with a little less reverence and considerably more grit.

Instead, what we are offered is tinkling piano music, mournful mood lighting, an innocuous pale setting, as well as three perfectly good but indisputably ladylike performances that capture none of the wounded redness of Plath's poetry, and do her the disservice of making her sound bleached and somewhat prissy. It's a pity. What might have been a wonder ends up a mere curiosity.

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