The development of Philippine politics

248 THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHILIPPINE POLITICS

Our authority could not be less than our responsibility,
and wherever sovereign rights were extended it became the
high duty of the Government to maintain its authority; to
put down armed insurrection and to confer the blessings
of liberty and civilization upon all the rescued people. The
largest measure of self-government consistent with their
welfare and our duties shall be secured to them by law.
The Republican national convention nominated President McKinley without difficulty. As for the Democrats,
there was never a doubt as to who would be the nominee.
Mr. Bryan had no rival.. He was generally accepted as a fit
spokesman for anti-imperialism. Some of the strong Republican, and even Democratic anti-imperialists, however,
were disgusted with his support of the Paris treaty, without
which, they thought, its ratification would not have been
possible. On this account Senator Hoar refused to support
him for the Presidency. "He made it the law of this land,"
Senator Hoar said, "that the American Congress should
dispose of that distinct, alien people, whether they liked
it or not."
But aside from his intervention in the ratification of
the peace treaty, his ideas on coinage, the issue of 1896,
lost Mr. Bryan the support of many who would otherwise
have opposed Mr. McKinley because of his Philippine policy.
Though a staunch anti-imperialist champion, Mr. Bryan still
remained earnestly for the free coinage of silver. Prominent Democrats impressed upon him the necessity of renouncing the silver platform altogether, making imperialism the main issue of the campaign, and thus securing the
full support of the gold Democrats and the anti-imperialist
Republicans; but Mr. Bryan would not agree to this plan. (1)
This question was debated in the Committee on Resolutions
of the Democratic convention, but it was finally agreed to
respect Mr. Bryan's wishes.
Judging from the enthusiasm manifested in the Democratic convention over the anti-imperialism plank of the

(1) Stanwoode A Histom of th PreAdenp 1897, 1909, VoL. U, P. 67.