10 Cbc Conservative ,
THE LITTLE MAID ORDERS A SONG.
"O write 1110 a song , " said a little maid ;
"O write mo n song , I pray ,
To sing whim under the elm tree's shade
I swing on n summer day.
And put in words
That tell of birds
And speak of the hum of bees ,
And butterfly wings
And flying things
O do say much about thcso !
Of them all I'll sing
In my elm tree swing. "
"And toll how tassels in corn husks grow ,
How I slide down the great hay mows ;
How Rover runs when each night I go
To watch while ho brings the cows ,
And say 'tis plain
The peacock's vain
Of strutting to show its fan ;
And say the sky
Is blu and high
O , please write all that you canl
And the words I'll sing
In my elm tree swing. "
"And then , you may tell of the roses sweet
And lilies that grow up tall ;
How little lambs in the pastures bleat
And hens to thir chickens call.
.Tush write in rhyme
Of summer time
And say that I love each day ;
And pick out a tune
To sing in June ,
A happy tune for my play.
With the birds I'll sing
In my elm tree swing. "
MAKY FKENCH MOIITON.
nil. HKRKON'S ADIEU.
DccsliiroH the Cuban and Philippine Cam-
a JMsgraco to America.
Cheering crowds greeted Prof. George
D. Herrou's denunciation of President
McKinley's Philippine policy Monday
noon at Central Music hall , as the
teacher from Iowa College addressed
himself to an arraignment of "Imperial
ism. " He lives at Grinnell , Iowa.
He said in part :
"A few months ago this nation had
the master opportunity of the ages , so
far as politics goes , to initiate an alto
gether now sort of international politics
and diplomacy. But never in history
was a nation falser to its opportunity ;
never did a nation more shamefully Mid
ignobly fail , and that in the face of such
light as few peoples on earth have
known. The attempt to liberate Cuba
has resulted in American imperialism
and the exploitation of Cuba. The war
was unnecessary. The Cubans could
have attained their own freedom if it had
not been for the influence of the holders
of Spanish bonds and their agents in
America. There were many ways in
which the Cubans could have achieved
liberty without t' o incubus of American
interference. The war was decided
purely on commercial grounds , notwith
standing the chivalry and patriotism of
our people who were deeply generous
and sincere in seeking to liberate the
Cubans.
Arraigns the Government.
' But the war came on. The people
were moved by noble impulbcs. The
administration gave assurance to the
world in opera bouffo language that it
was a war of 'humanity. ' Spectacular
language of every sort was employed to
declare that fact to the world. We
stood before the nations of the world
solemnly pledged to disinterestedness.
We stood pledged if wo are represented
by our government to a war in which
there should bo no appropriation , no ag
gression , no forcible annexation , but
simply the liberation of the people from
the oppressors of the islands of the sea.
Never did any nation stand more sol
emnly pledged to a particular course
than we did , and I repeat that we have
as a nation , if we are represented by our
government , today placed ourselves be
fore the nations of the world as a per
jured nation Every pledge made has
been broken. No single thing promised
has been unqualifiedly fulfilled. Amer
ican honor , because of our speculation
and the wrongs wo have inflicted enrich
rich and poor alike , is a scandal and a
byword in every nation of Europe today.
"The war from start to finish has be
come merely a dress rehearsal of the
great tragic drama of greed that is tak
ing place in every industrial center of
America. Our sons have not been slain
upon the field of battle , but by the
hordes of speculators and politicians
having army 'pulls' and contracts.
American greed and commercial de
bauchery have slain their tens where
Spaniards have slain twos.
"Then , again , the Cubans are not
free. We have driven out Spain , but
the secretary of war is proceeding to
divide up Cuba among American specu
lators and corporate interests. We have
driven out rnediarval Spain , but Ameri
can exploitation has gone in. There is
not the slightest intention on the part of
this administration , moreover , to set
Cuba free. It is a foregone conclusion ,
so far as the existing order of things is
concerned , that Cuba shall be annexed
and , if necessary , civil strife induced in
order that we shall come in to preserve
the order by which we shall annex the
island. Annexation is the purpose and
craft of the present moment to keep all
we can get ; to get all that we can. It is
absolutely certain that this administra
tion never had any policy or principles
beyond pleasing its masters. I do not
doubt for one moment that President
McKinley is a sincere man a man who
piously tliiuks that the well-being of
this nation depends on the government
of America being administered for pri
vate corporations but the most danger
ous man in any crisis of the world is the
well-meaning man without principles ,
who becomes merely characterless putty
in the hands of his masters.
The Philippine Question.
"It is to the Philippine islands , how
ever , that wo must turn when the ques
tion of imperialism is raised. What did
we find there ? a people who had for a
long time struggled for their liberties ; a
patriot leader whom Americans at that
time were wont to parallel with Wash
ington ; a people in reality almost on the
verge of victory. Their exiled leaders
were invited to return. They came
back , trusting us. They helped us con
quer the Spaniard in the archipelago.
They were victors as well as we. We
invited them to renew their struggle
upon the expectation that wo would
gain for them their freedom. Their
congress met. A provisional govern
ment was adopted , far in advance of
any provisional government adopted
during the American revolution. Then
what did America ? First of all , we
shamefully and persistently misrepre
sented the Filipinos to the people of
America. What next ? We refused to
treat with their envoys. It is said we
have killed more Filipinos in three
mouths than Spain killed in three cen
turies. Whether that be true or not , wo
have been guilty of shooting down men
and women seeking for nothing except
a chance to assert their liberty. Think
of it the country of Jefferson and Lin
coln and Philips and Garrison , moved
by gigantic commercial interests , today
engaged in striking at the heart of a
people who are in the springtime of the
first dawn of national liberty.
"Corporate interests have their way
of denying the right of these people to
even attempt self-government. I say to
you that if you follow blindly in that
ruthless slaughter of the first birth of
liberty , your turn will come. Further
more , it is the premeditated and deliber
ate purpose that your turn shall come.
"Then there comes the ghastly de
mand of the pulpit that expansion is the
thing because it will enable us to carry
the gospel to these people. If anything
could ten thousand times justify the
criticisms I have made of the attitude of
the Protestant pulpit , this cry for the
carrying of the blessings of American
civilization is that justification. It
should be the day and the night prayer
of every one who bears the name of the
lowly Christ that the islands of the sea
should be delivered from the hideous
devil-worship that we call Christianity. "
When Professor Herrou's address was
ended , President Wheelock of the
Christian Citizenship league put a mo
tion to arrange for a great public ex
pression of anti-imperialism , and it was
adopted with a noisy affirmative vote.
During the high temperature of April
12 , 1809 , enervation , inactivity and som
nolence made every animal organism
feel as wilted and weak as a free-silver
democrat in the populist party.
Personal antagonisms should swerve
no man in his endeavor to see that jus
tice is uuperverted and fairly adminis
tered in the community where he lives.