The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902, December 15, 1898, Page 8, Image 8
Conservative. TIIK JIKM , OF WAll ANI > ITS HY KDWAKl ) ATKINSON , OI" JlOSfOX. President McKinley said rightly tluit to allow n war undertaken in the name of humanity to be perverted into a war of conquest would be a crime , but I doubt if he was fully aware of the pen alty which would at once be met by the criminal nation. A war of conquest or any permanent occupation of tropical countries by white troops brings not only fevers and malaria upon them of well-known kinds , but yet worse , more fatal and more cer tain to bring moral and physical degen eration upon them is the infection of venereal disease. There are many good people whoso sympathies have been aroused by the anticipation of being enabled to carry the benefits of Protestant Christianity and of personal liberty to the oppressed in the West Indies and the Philippine islands. We may even admit all that is urged in favor of making the conquest of these islands upon those grounds , but before we undertake this philanthropic enterprise may it not be judicious to count the cost ? I do not mean the money cost and the necessity which has lately been made very plain of adding new taxes even to the war revenues now being collected. That burden we can bear if we must. The greater cost will be the conniption of the blood through the infection of every force that will be annually called out to main tain our rule. It may be well to ask all who are im bued with this missionary sympathy , how many young men of our own brother hood are you willing to sacrifice for each convert ? How many of your own sons will you expose to sure infection and degeneration in the conduct of your philanthropic purpose ? Or will you sat isfy your own consciences by consenting to the necessary conscription of other people's sons when it presently becomes impossible to maintain our armed forces in these islands without a draft ? I know that this is a very unsavory subject and that I am using terms which are not commonly spoken aloud , but it happens that in the course of my social studies my attention has been called to this social evil , and I think I should bo wanting in my duty if I did not call public attention to the dangers in the plainest possible way. To that end I lately addressed a letter to President McKinley , of which the fol lowing is a slightly condensed copy : "PiiKsiDENT WILLIAM MCKINLKY : Sir : I venture to present a protesl against any longer occupation of the Philippine islands , of Cuba , and oi Porto Rico , or the use of any larger forces than are needed to enable the people ple of these islands to frame and fonn a method of government under which personal liberty and individual rights nay be established , and to enter upon his undertaking. Whether or not they ire capable of maintaining such gov- rmnents after their being enabled to dose so by the removal of the Spanish rule islet lot a matter with which we have any permanent concern. "I present this case , as hereinafter stated , in my personal capacity , pending ; he organization of what will probably jecome a great national Anti-Imperialist Jeague , founded on the principles of Washington's Farewell address , for which the preparations are being made and the consultations are being had hroughout the country. "To the extent named the burden of ; emporary occupation must be assumed ; bej'ond that , any exercise of dominion or sovereignty would be as unwarranted .11 principle and as inconsistent with the naintenance of our republican institu- : ions as it would be dangerous to the irmed forces required. "The political wrong of assuming sovereignty by force over any part of : hese islands after a war undertaken in ; he name of humanity has becnsoforce- 'ully stated by yourself that no words of mine could bring out the iniquity of such a course more plainly , but it is feared that your hand may be forced again , as it was apparently , into a pre mature declaration of war by the acts of senators whose apparent judicial re ports of what they thought they saw in uba were disproved a week later by one of the constituents of the one who liad the most influence who followed after him , and has since been fully dis proved by the facts of the case. It is therefore now the right and duty of every true and patriotic citizen to sup port you in resistance to these evil in fluences by bringing out in the plainest terms the physical and social dan gers and evils which must and will en sue if large armed forces are kept upon land for any length of time upon any of these islands and from which naval forces can only be protected by keeping them off the land. "Tho greatest and most unavoidable danger to which these forces will be ex posed will bo neither fevers nor malaria ; it will bo venereal diseases in their worst and most malignant form. It is this which has reduced the population of Hawaii to a degenerated remnant , four per cent , of whom arc isolated under sentence of death from leprosy ; a disease of a similar type , perhaps not from the same cause , which gives evi dence of the utter degeneracy of these poor people. It is fortunate , on the testimony of one of the highest judicial 1 officers of the Sandwich Islands lately in Boston , that no largo armed force will be required in Hawaii , admitting that none such could be sustained with out infection. His view is that one hundred and fifty to two hundred mid dle aged men of established character would suffice for all the exhibition of force that may bo needed to maintain order. "The records of the British army in [ ndia and China , and the condition of : he English troops in Hong Kong , lately reported to me by an English gentleman tvho has been studying social conditions : hroughout the world , are horrible in ; he extreme. He stated that fifty per ; ent of the English troops in Hong Kong were infected with venereal dis ease every year. It is well known that while there may be an apparent euro ; his disease works corruption of the jlood to the third and fourth generation , ending in degeneracy. "The records of the medical depart ment and the testimony of visitors to our own camps in this country , coupled with the observations of members of congress with whom I have consulted , prove that this phase of the hell of war liad taken firm hold of our troops even before they had been exposed to the greater hazard at their points of des- ; ination in Cuba , Porto Rico , and Manila. "The precautions reported to me by : ommercial men who are thoroughly familiar with the conditions of these places , especially Manila , made neces sary even on the part of private persons lest the infection should bo carried from lavatories and the like , indicate the utterly corrupt condition of all the prin cipal cities in these islands. ' 'It is no time to mince words or to forbear plain speech under a false sense of delicacy. These words must be spoken. This danger must bo publicly named and those facts must bo widely known , and the exposure to the corruption of the young blood of this nation must be stopped. It is not a pleasant duty , but I shall as sume this duty. The final responsibility will rest upon yourself and all who have authority. Unless you would invite the execration of the mothers of our land and cause your administration to stand recorded in history with utter condem nation you cannot ignore or slight these facts and tin's danger , which is an evil worse than death , worse than war ; to try to ignore it and not to provide against it in every possible manner by avoiding the inclusion of these islands in our domain will bo to the disgrace of those who shall bring this danger of corruption of the blood upon our coun try a greater disgrace than all other losses of honor combined. "Measures are being taken to bring conclusivo'evideuce of the facts which I have stated before congress at the earliest possible dote. I have sent to England for the medical records. I trust that you will order the commission now engaged in the investigation of the war to deal with this subject. "I pledge to you the support of every right-minded man and woman in your effort to carry out your declared pur pose of limiting the exercise of force by