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pendence, he purposed to give that instrument a wider and richer meaning than its signers ever dreamed. Washington, in his Farewell Address, said: "The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize." This "main pillar" was exactly what the Filipinos did not have, namely, unity of government, and until they could secure it, real independence and liberty were unobtainable. By his sagacious application of the principles of genuine philanthropy, President McKinley brought the United States for the first time to the fulfillment of the noble aspiration of Washington: "It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period a great nation to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence." Those who sneer so lightly at McKinley's policy of "benevolent assimilation" should give ear to these prophetic words of the father of his country. Obeying Washington's injunction to "observe good faith and justice toward all nations" and to keep out of entangling alliances, President McKinley successfully inaugurated a policy of helpful

influence in the development of the world and placed the United States at the head of all the nations as the chief uplifter of less fortunate peoples. The power subsequently wielded by the United States in the settlement of affairs in China, the reëstablishment of peace between Japan and Russia so skillfully handled by his successor, and the enlarged respect of other nations in the broader movements of the world's civilization, were all the direct results of President McKinley's exalted vision of the fundamental duty of this nation to make itself a power for righteousness.

CHAPTER XXX

THE NEW GOVERNMENT IN THE ANTILLES

HE treaty of peace between the United States

TH

and Spain provided that the former was to occupy the Island of Cuba, and so long as this occupation should continue was to "assume and discharge the obligations that may under international law result from the fact of its occupation, for the protection of life and property." The United States Commissioners,1 under the terms of the protocol of August 12, fixed upon January 1, 1899, as the date for the final evacuation by the Spanish forces. In preparation for the new responsibility the President created the Division of Cuba in the United States Army, and on December 13, 1898, appointed Major-General John R. Brooke to the command, with headquarters at Havana.

The altruistic spirit of the people of the United

1 In accordance with the fourth article of the peace protocol, the President appointed Major-General James F. Wade, RearAdmiral William T. Sampson, and Major-General Matthew C. Butler as the American Commissioners to superintend the evacuation of Cuba. A similar commission, consisting of Major-General John R. Brooke, Rear-Admiral Winfield S. Schley, and BrigadierGeneral William W. Gordon, completed the evacuation of Porto Rico on the 18th of October, 1898.

States and that of President McKinley in waging war for the freedom of Cuba without the purpose of annexation was never quite comprehensible to the Spaniards or to the Cubans, who were continually looking, with suspicion, upon every movement, seemingly expecting some trick or subterfuge, notwithstanding the clearly expressed disavowal of such intentions in the so-called "Teller Resolution." It was no wonder they expected the United States to annex Cuba. Jefferson had included it as a part of his dream of expansion; John Quincy Adams considered it "indispensable to the continuance and integrity of the Union"; the South coveted it; Polk tried to purchase it; and the Ostend Manifesto proposed to steal it. If the doubters could have seen the following confidential letter from the President to General Brooke, their suspicions must have melted away, for sincerity of purpose and genuine altruism shine out in every paragraph. It must be borne in mind that this letter was not intended or used for effect, but was simply the private and unofficial instructions of the Executive to the officer who had been selected to carry out his plans. It has a kind of apostolic flavor, and one almost expects the closing exhortation: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are

lovely, whatsoever things are of good report . . . think on these things."

Confidential.

MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN R. BROOKE.

December 22, 1898.

SIR: In designating you to fill the office of Military Governor of Cuba, the President is committing to you a responsibility of great importance, and is confiding to you a trust the administration of which will require the exercise of the highest qualities of judgment, tact, firmness, and integrity.

Believing that you are possessed of these qualities, the President has chosen you for this service. Entertaining no doubt but that your long experience and training as an officer will enable you to form a just and comprehensive appreciation of the importance of your task and of the means by which it should be accomplished, I nevertheless have thought it proper, inasmuch as you will exercise your authority in Cuba as the direct representative of the Commander-in-Chief, to make a few unofficial suggestions with respect to the policy to be followed and the measures to be employed by you in dealing with the delicate and perplexing conditions that will confront you.

The foundation of our authority in Cuba is the law

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