23 8 Presidential Addresses 



in letter but in spirit. It would have been a betrayal 

 of our duty to have given Cuba independence out of 

 hand. President McKinley, with his usual singular 

 sagacity in the choice of agents, selected in General 

 Leonard Wood the man of all others best fit to 

 bring the island through its uncertain period of prep 

 aration for independence, and the result of his wis 

 dom was shown when last May the island became 

 in name and in fact a free Republic, for it started 

 with a better equipment and under more favorable 

 conditions than had ever previously been the case 

 with any Spanish-American commonwealth. 



Finally, in the Philippines, the problem was one 

 of great complexity. There was an insurrectionary 

 party claiming to represent the people of the islands 

 and putting forth their claim with a certain specious- 

 ness which deceived no small number of excellent 

 men here at home, and which afforded to yet others 

 a chance to arouse a factious party spirit against the 

 President. Of course, looking back, it is now easy 

 to see that it would have been both absurd and 

 wicked to abandon the Philippine Archipelago and 

 let the scores of different tribes Christian, Moham 

 medan, and pagan, in every stage of semi-civiliza 

 tion and Asiatic barbarism turn the islands into a 

 welter of bloody savagery, with the absolute cer 

 tainty that some strong power would have to step 

 in and take possession. But though now it is easy 

 enough to see that our duty was to stay in the isl 

 ands, to put down- the insurrection by force of arms, 

 and then to establish freedom-giving civil govern- 



