Ub'^ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES -t> iii>- ( 'oimiii-siiiii ilaU-il Novrmlxr .'lO, 1;hH>— C'oMlimu'd. ' SupjMirt »>f M'liiMil^ . '-' Noriunl scIuhiIh '-' Naulinil si'liool 1^7 Military s.-liool 128 Airriiultiinil si'hool 1^8 Ti-iuK' si-liools l|i« IVstituti> iiiul rrimiiial rhiltlron >>^. l^-' . [Hirt »>f tlu> rnitctl Statt's IMiilippiiio Cominissinii, 1!)()1 l^l *■ Thi> work of tin- t'oininissioii 133 Tho oiyaiiiziition of proviiu-ial >rov('riiiiu'iitH 133 The army ami \\\v poopK' 137 Till- ciMitral pivt-niim-iif 140 Tho insular i>iiriliasiii^' a;rt'nt H^ Coniinittoi's of C'oimnissioii 143 Ctenenil theory in formation of tlu' jroviTiimi-nt 143 I Tho livil eorviV-c 147 J Fidolity Ivontls 148 L^riars' huula 148 T San .lose ColloRe oase 1 49 iTaxation loO Tho lahor probU-m 151 Tho comnnssjirv 151 ^ariff rolationn'with tho Fnitod Statos 152 Tbt' oitv of Manila 152 P'uhlio ian.ls 153 Munioipal ^lovorninonts 154 The Bon^'uet povornniont 157 Non-Christian tribes 159 ffurestry 162 I ^1 ines 1 72 Agriculture 1 73 ' Fislierien 1 74 Weather bureau 174 Public health 175 Civil hospital 178 Government laboratories 179 Philippines Constabulary - 181 Railroads 184 Hureau of c< last guard and transportation 1 90 Postal service 193 Harbor imjirovement 194 Coast and geodetic survey 195 H igh ways 196 Administration of justice 197 Reorganization of courts 200 Comments upon the jjidicial system 206 The new Code of Civil Procedure 210 Criminal Code 214 C<»sed new coinage 22S Hanks and banking TlfS ■*- Neoil fnr a mortgage bank 283 (Jenenil conrlition of the treasury 2.35 Seizee<'ial deposits in the treasury 236 Inwiar budg«'t 238 P>ndg»-t for the city of .Manila 242 |tf*ust/Miis tariff 245 I Custom- adniinistnitive bill 246 \ Tho cuytoms service 246 I Internal revenue 248 The public records 254 CONTENTS. VII Page. Report of the United States Philippine Commission, 1901 — Continueil. Public printing 256 Bureau of architecture and construction 256 h' — Organization of public instruction 257 Transportation, reception, and assignment of teachers 258 '" Manila primary schools 261 ^ The Manila trade school 26-4 Instructit)n in telegraphy 265 —-Manila Normal School 267 ^ School of agriculture 269 (-Statistics of pupils 269 — Demand for more teachers 270 ^ Nautical school - 271 "^Sending students to America 271i^ Summary of recommendations 272 Chapter 803. — An act making appropriation for the support of the army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902 275 An act providing for the organization of the departments of the interior, of commerce and police, of finance and justice, and of public instruction 275 *^^ Inaugural address of the civil governor 277 Letter from the President to Congress transmitting report of 1902 283 Letter from the Secretary of War to the President transmitting report for 1902. 283 Report of the United States Philippine Commission, 1902 L . . .x 285 Report of the civil governor, 1902 293 General conditions 293 General conditions of the Filipino proAdnces 295 The labor question 301 -f- /the friars' lands - 304 Office of the exceutive secretary 305 Pro^dncial governments 305 Civil service board 308 Insular purchasing agent 309 The city of Manila 310 Benguet 311 -'Department of commerce and police 312 Constabulary 312 Bureau of posts 315 Coast guard and transportation 316 Coast and geodetic survey 317 / I Franchises and corporations 317 *^ Coastwise trade 318 Improvement of the port 318 Consulting engineer 318 Report of the secretary of the interior, 1902 321 The board of health for the Philippine Islands and the city of Manila 321 Legislation recommended by the board - 322 Organization of provincial and municipal boards of health 322 Serum and vaccine institutes 324 Contagious-disease hospital 324 Special work of the board in Manila 324 Epidemics 325 Bubonic plague 325 The cholera epidemic 327 Cholera work in Manila 328 Cholera hospitals and detention camps 329 Opposition to cholera work in INIanila 330 Results of cholera work in Manila 331 The epidemic in the provinces 333 Death of Doctor Meacham 334 Death of Dr. J. L. Mudge - 334 Special mention of the services of other health officers 334 The quarantine service 336 Civil hospital : 337 Civil sanitarium at Baguio, Benguet 338 . / The proposed leper colony 340 *^he forestry bureau 3'*1 Increase in working force 342 YIII CONTENTS. Page. Kei>ort of the secretary of the interior, 1902 — Continued. The forestry bureau — Continued. Botanical eolleetions 342 Forestry regulations 343 -^hilijipine sawmills 343 Extent of forest lands 344 Rublx'r and gutta-i>erclia 344 Quantitii'S of fttrest products taken from public lands during the liscal '' year ending June 30, 1902 346 Mining bureau 346 Mineralogical and geological surveys 347 Legislation recommended 348 Bureau of patents, copj'rights and trade-marks 348 Bureau of government laboratories 349 The serum institute 351 Work of the chemical laboratory 352 Work of the biological laboratory 353 / Locust fungus 354 np4*ublic lands 354 Legislation recommended 355 ^Present state of agriculture 357 The bureau of agriculture 358 Soil investigation 360 • Fiber investigations 360 Work in Batangas Province 361 Farmers' bulletins 361 Experimental work at Baguio, Benguet 361 Agricultural opportunities in the Philippines 362 Future work of the bureau of agriculture 364 Weather bureau 365 New apparatus 366 Crop service 366 Eeports 366 Astronomical and magnetic work 366 Bureau of non-Christian tribes 366 Report of the secretary of finance and justice 369 Administration of justice 369 New legislation relating to courts 370 Attorney -general's office 374 Criminal code 375 Code of criminal procedure 375 /Registration of land titles 375 Insular cold-storage and ice plant 376 Currency 377 Banks and banking 385 General condition of the treasury 386 Seized funds and special deposits 387 Insular budget - 388 Budget of the city of Manila 389 Customs tariff 390\ ■ Internal revenue - 393 Financial conditions of the provinces and municipalities 395v / Report of the secretary of public instruction 399 Organization of public instruction 399 The American teachers 401 The Filipino teachers 403 Manila normal school 405 Teacher's college 406 Provincial schools of secondary instruction 407 Normal institutes 409 Municipal support of normal school students 411 Sending Filipino students to America 412 Language of the schools 412 Industrial education 413 Education of the Igorrotes 415 CONTENTS. IX Page. Report of the secretary of pnlilic instruction — Continued. Organization of public instruction — Continued. The Negritos 415 Education of the Moros 416 -Local self-help in educational affairs 416 Instruction in agriculture 418 Compulsor}' school attendance 418 Night schools 419 Nautical school 420 School of telegraphy 421 Municipal, provincial, and insular supjiort of schools 421 Construction and repair of public buildings 422 Training of workmen 425 Public printing 426 Archives 427 The American circulating library 428 The museum 429 Statistics 432 The census 483 The official gazette 433 An act temporarily to provide revenue for the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes ' 435 An act temporarily to provide for the administration of the affairs of civil gov- er^ment in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes 438 v/Mineral lands 444^ i^ —^Authority of the Philippine Islands government to purchase lands of [vv*v religious orders and others and issue bonds for purchase price 454 Municipal bonds for public improvements 455 Franchises 457 Coinage 458 Bureau of insular affairs 460 An act to establish a standard of value and to provide for a coinage system in Philippine Islands ^. 461 Annual report of the Philippine Commission. 1M3^ 465 Keport of the civil governor, 1903 475 Conditions as to tranquillity 483 The use of scouts with the constabulary 491 Reconcentration 492 Bandolerismo statute 492 Dissolute Americans and vagrancy acts 495 ■ t^riars' lands and religious questions 496 Business conditions 505 v^ ^Proposed official inspection and classification of hemp 508 Sugar 509 /Tobacco 512 The labor question 512 The effect of labor on the investments of capital 514u^ Railroad and other construction 515 Health 515 Schools. 517 The Philippine exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis. . 518 The census 520 Opium 521 Civil service 521 The coastwise laws 529 The insular revenues 531 Office of the insular purchasing agent 533 Provincial and municipal governments 534 The government of the Moro Province 534 The Christian Filipino provinces 540 Municipalities 541 Justices of the peace 544 The city of Manila 544 The port works 548 Executive bureau 549 X CONTENTS. Page. Report of the secretary of tlie interior 551 Organization of the department 551 The board of health for the I'hilippinc Islands and tlii^ city of Manila 551 Kinderpest 552 Health work in Manila 552 Death rate of IManila 553 Infant mortality 553 Deat li rate in different districts of the city 554 Lack of medical attendance 554 Birth rate 554 Need of pnblic bath houses and laundries 554 A new water supply an imperative necessity 555 Foul wells in Manila 556 Sewer system 556 Plan for improving the esteros 557 Sunken lands in Manila 557 Disposal of garbage 558 Disposition of night soil 558 Congestion in populous districts 558 The floating population of Manila 559 Sanitary markets and unsanitary fi )od shops 559 Need of a general hospital 560 Contagious disease hospitals 561 Need of insane asylum 561 Leper colony 561 Free dispensary 561 New morgue 561 Loss of property in Trozo fire 562 Unhealthful condition of Bilibid prison 562 Board of health sujiported by Manila courts 562 Sanitary laws not satisfactory 562 Legislation drafted by the board 563 The cholera eijidemic 563 Bubonic plague 565 Smallpox 565 Small number of deaths from malaria 566 Deaths from dysentery 566 Num ber of lepers in the Philippines 566 Beriberi in Manila 566 Inspection of animals 566 Prevention of rinderpest 566 Quarantining of imported animals necessary 567 Locust pest 567 Sanitary conditions in the provinces 568 The quarantine service 568 The civil hospital 570 The civil sanitarium at Bagnio, Benguet 571 Change in rates at sanitarium 572 Government cottages on sanitarium grounds 572 Reorganization of sanitarium employees 572 New sanitarium buildings needed 573 Improvement of sanitarium grounds 573 / Work of the sanitarium 573 V The forestry bureau 573 ^Modifications in forestry laws 574 New employees of the forestry bureau 574 Visit of the chief of the United States Bureau of Forestry 574 Division of inspection 575 Division of forest management 575 Need of a steamer to facilitate inspection 576 Licenses 576 Fear of extensive exploitation of Philippine forests by lumber com- panies groundless 576 Special privileges granted to the Army 577 Work of the timber-testing lal )oratory 577 Workshop of the forestry bureau 578 CONTENTS. ^I Page, Report of the secretary of the interior— Continued. The forestry Ijureau— Continued. Identification of woods by microscopic sections -^^o Botanical work Vyg Investigation of dyewoods _„„ Work of the forest reservation m Bataan ^1|^ vfrivate woodlands - - -. — - - - — ','; 'A.', --a Amount of forest products from public lands in 1902 an< I U-O., o / y .Imports and exports of forest products - -J^" Expenses of forestry bureau '^°^ The mining bureau : " ■•^V 1" L" i 'i i J.,V Reorganization of the mining bureau to tacihtate field work recom- ^^^ mended - cr>^ Active mining operations begun ''° Mineralogical map of the Philippines - - - ^^| Recommendations of chief of mining bureau oo^^ Field trips - gg2 Additions to collections r " " " "x; "I-' t^«9 Plan for exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition - o»^ Bureau of government laboratories - - __„ Opening of laboratories to the public - ^°^ Buildings - ^g^ The serum laboratory - - ^gg Library - egg New apparatus and supplies _^gg Assav v.ork . 586 Gas supply - c,on Character of chemical work done ^°" The biological laboratory - ^g^ Diagnostic work gg_ Original investigation _gg Acting director appointed ^°^ Entomological work begun - ^°° Botanical work 588 Sectioning woods - - - " ' cqq Marine biological laboratory recommended - - - ^^» The government photographer - - - - ^^^ Working force - - - - coq / Reorganization of the bureau needed - - --- ^^^ Sa'he bureau of public lands --:--; " c;qi Legislation drafted by the chiet of the bureau - - - - - ^^^ Plan for government surveys ^.^2 Spanish land titles - ^09 Draft of instructions to deputy mineral surveyors -J^- Administration of San Lazaro estate - - ^^-1 Congressional legislation needed - ^^^ The bureau of agriculture ^gg Changes in working force - j^q. Work of the clerical force ^q' Publications of the bureau ^„^ Seed and plant distribution „ Proposed improvement of native fruits ^^^ Experiments in growing coffee ^g Fiber investigations - ^gg Experiment station at IVIanila - ' Government farm at San Ramon " • Experiment station in F.atangas - ' ^ Experiments at Baguio, Benguet ^!JJ^ Agricultural college gQ^ Animal industry - ..-^.^ Care of carabaos iinported l)y the government ^J^- Government rice farm gQ^ The weather bureau gg'^ Weather stations gg^ New instruments gg^ Crop service " gg^ Establishment of storm signals XII CONTENTS. Page. Report of the pcorotary of the interior — Continued. The weather liincau — Continued. rubUeations of the bureau G05 Exliibit at tiie 1 Louisiana Purehase Exposition 605 Kepaira of instruments 605 Astrononiieal work 606 Ma,u;netie ol).«ervatory 606 Promotion without eomjjetitive examination authorized 606 The etlinolopcal survey for the PliiHppine Islands 606 Neeessity for survey 607 Transfer of tlie ehief of the bureau 607 Work of tlie survey 607 Report of the secretary of commerce and police 611 Telel,000, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Sec. 14. Any person who shall willfully and corruptly become the beneficiar}' of an act in violation of the last preceding section shall be punished as provided in that section. Sec. 15. No inquiry shall be made, and no consideration whatever shall be given to anj^ information, relative to the political or religious opinions or affiliations of persons examined, or to be examined, for entrance into the service, or of officers or employees in the matter of promotion: Provided, however, that disloyalty to the United States of America as the supreme authority in these islands shall be a com- plete disqualification for holding office in the Philipf)ine civil service. Sec. 16. Ever}' applicant for admission to the Philippine civil serv- ice shall, before being admitted to examination in the islands, take and subscribe the following oath before a ] ustice of the peace in and for the province in which he is, or before a member of the civil-service board, the members of which are authorized to administer the same: OATH OF applicant. I, , having applied for admission to the civil service of the Philippine Islands, do solemnly swear (or afiirm) that I recog- nize and accept the supreme authority of the United States of America in these islands, and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto; that I will obey the laws, legal orders, and decrees promulgated by its duly constituted authorities; that I impose upon myself this obli- gation voluntarily, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God. (The last four words to be stricken out in case of affirmation.) (Signature) • Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me this day of , 19—. The oath of the applicant shall be filed with the secretary of the board. Sec. 17. No officer or employee in the Philippine civil service shall, directly or indirectly, give or hand over to any other officer or employee in said service any money or other valuable thing to be applied to the promotion of any political object whatever, and a viola- tion of this section by the giving or receiving officer or employee shall 23181—04 2 18 REPORTS OF THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT subject the violator to a ponaltv of not exceeding $500, or to imprison- ment not exceeding six months, or both, and upon conviction he sliall be removed from office. Sec. 18. No person in the Philippine civil service shall be under obligation to contribute to a political fund or to render a political service, or be removed or otherwise prejudiced for refusing to do so. Any person soliciting political contributions from public officers or employees shall be subject to the same penalties as those provided in the preceding section. Sec. 19. In the appointment of officers and employees under the provisions of this act, the appointing officer, in his selection from the list of eligibles to be furnished him by the board, shall, where other qualitications are equal, prefer — First. Natives of the Philippine Islands. Second. All honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines of the United States. Sec. 20. The requirements of this act for entrance into the civil service, or for promotion by competitive examination, shall not apply to the selection of the treasurer for the islands; the auditor for the islands; the collector of customs for the islands; the deput}^ collector of customs for the islands; the collector of inland revenue for the islands; the director of posts for the islands; the head of the bureau of forestr}-; the head of the bureau of mines; the superintendent of public instruc- tion; the members of the civil-service board, or of one private secretary for the military governor and for each member of the United States Phillippine Commission. But, after eighteen months from the date when the board shall certify that it has a sufficient list of eligibles to supply vacancies, vacancies occurring in all the foregoing offices, except in the private secretaryships above described, shall be filled without examination from a class to be composed of the first, second, and third assistants in all the foregoing offices, the intention of this provision being that the appointing power may, b}^ virtue hereof, transfer from one office to another a person deemed competent to fill the vacancy. Sec. 21. The requirements of this act for entrance or promotion by competitive examination shall not appl}^ to the office of cashier of the collector of customs for the islands, to the captain of the port at Manila, to the collector of customs at Iloilo, and to the collector of customs at Cebu, until one year after the date when the board shall make the certificate prescribed in the preceding section, after which vacancies in such offices shall be filled b}^ promotion b}^ competitive examination as in other cases. Sec. 22. The persons now employed in the civil service of the Philippine Islands whose positions may be classified by the operation of this act and the rules herein provided for shall, unless dismissed by proper authority, continue in the service and discharge the duties OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 19 assigned them: Provided, That the board may, in its discretion, require b}' rule that all such employees shall pass examinations practically adapted to show their titness to fill the positions now held by them, and that in case of failure to pass such examinations to the satisfaction of the board they shall be dismissed from the service. Sec. 23. This act shall not apply to the selection of school-teachers of the department of public instruction, for which special legislation will be provided. Sec. 24. The rules to be prepared and certified by the board shall be promulgated by executive order of the military governor. Sec. 25. After the passage of this act no civilian shall be employed in the offices specified in section 5 of this act, except in accordance with its terms: Provided, that between the time of its passage and the date when the board herein created shall officially inform the military governor and the commission that it is ready to certify a list of per- sons eligible to appointment under the provisions of this act for any vacancy occurring, appointments for temporary service may be made to fill vacancies or newl}^ created offices to continue until such certifi- cation is made and such vacancies can be regularly filled, under the requirements of this act and the rules of the board adopted in accord- ance herewith. Persons so temporarily appointed may compete in the examinations held for regular entrance to the classified service. Sec. 26. In this act whenever a sum of money is mentioned it shall be understood to refer to the money of the United States. Sec. 27. Upon the passage of this act and the appointment and organization of the board it shall be the duty of the head of each office to which this act applies upon application by the board to certify to the board a complete list of all the officers and employees engaged therein, together with a full statement of the duties performed by them and the compensation received by them. Sec. 28. No person shall be admitted to the competitive examina- tions to be held under this act who are not either — (a) Citizens of the United States, or (h) Natives of the Philippine Islands, or (f) Persons who have, under and by virtue of the treaty of Paris, acquired the political rights of natives of the islands. Sec. 29. This act shall take effect on its passage and shall be referred to as the "Civil-service act." Enacted September 19, 1900. Wm. H. Taft, President . REPORTS TAFT PHILIPPINE COMMISSION MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TRANSMITTING A REPORT OF THE SECRE- TARY OF WAR, CONTAINING THE REPORTS OF THE TAFT COMMISSION, AND OTHER IMPORTANT IN- FORMATION RELATING TO THE CONDITIONS AND IMMEDIATE WANTS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 21 To the Spnafp avd Hou^p of Tteprps^et-ttatwes: For the information of the Congress, and with a view to such action on its part as it may deem wise and appropriate, I transmit a report of the Secretary of War made to me under date of January 24, 1901, containing the reports of the Taft Commission, its several acts of leg- islation, and other important information relating to the conditions and immediate wants of the Philippine Islands. I earnestly recommend legislation under which the government of the islands may have authority to assist in their peaceful industrial development in the directions indicated by the Secretary of War. William McKinlf.y. Executive Mansion, January ^5, 1901. 23 REPORT. January 24, 1901. To the President: I beg leave to supplement my annual report of November 30, 1900, by transmitting a report made by the Philippine Commission on that date, but only recently received at the War Department. At the same time I wish to call attention to some conditions existing in the Philip- pine Islands which indicate that the development of that country along the lines of peaceful industrial progress now requires the exercise of powers of civil government not vested in this Department, or in you as military commander, but requiring a grant of authority from the Congress. 1. The Commission gives a gratifying account of the progress made in the pacification of the country and the gradual subsidence of guer- rilla warfare. Information received subsequent to the date of the report confirms the favorable anticipations of the Commission. A personal letter received by me from Judge Taft, dated December 14, 1900, says: Since writing you, about 3,000 insurgents in Ilocos Norte have surrendered, and 10,000 persons who were not well affected toward us in Panay have taken the oath of allegiance. I have received two papers from native priests, 18 in number, and I am told that there will be a great many other papers signed by a great many more native priests, tendering their allegiance to the United States, and promising fidelity without mental reserve. The native priests are those who have held out longest in favor of the insurgents and against the Americans, and I deem this action as of great importance. The army is hitting small but hard knocks against the insurgents everywhere. Since the election there has been a great falling off in the activity of the insurgents in aggressiveness and their sole activity has been displayed in avoid- ing the fights which small detachments of our troops have brought about. On the 2d of January the Commission as a body reenforced the views contained in their report by the following dispatch from Manila: Root, Secretary of War, WasJiington: If you approve, ask transmission to proper Senators and Representatives of follow- ing: Passage of Spooner bill at present session greatly needed to secure best result from improving conditions. Until its passage no purely central civil government can be established, no public franchises of any kind granted, and no substantial investment of private capital in internal improvements possible. All are needed as most important step in complete pacification. Strong peace party organized with defined purpose of securing civil goveriinieiit under United States and reasonably expect civil government and relief for inevitable but annoying restraints of military 25 2<> REPORTS OK THK CIVIL (SOVERNMENT rule lonjr before pubject can l)e taken np by \w\\ Conf2;ress. Time near at. hand in our opinion when distnrbances existing can better be snpi)re8S('(l by native police of a civil government with army as anxiliary force than by continuance of complete military control. Power to make change should be put in hands of President to act promptly when time arrives to give Filipino people an object lesson in advantages of peace. Quasi civil government under way — power most restricted and unsatisfying. Commission embarrassed in securing good material for judicial and other service by necessarily provisional character of military government and uncertainty of tenure. Sale of public lands and allowance of mining claims impossible until Spooner bill. Hundreds of American miners on ground awaiting law to perfect claims. More com- ing. Good element in pacification. Urgently recommend amendment Spooner bill so that its operation be not postponed until complete suppression of all insurrection, but only until in President's judgment civil government may be safely established. Conditions rapidly improving to point where civil government with aid of army will be more efficient to secure peace than military control. COMMISSION. A dispatch from Judge Taft, dated January 9, 1901, says: Conditions rapidly improving. Rifles, officers, privates are being captured or sur- rendered daily in consideralile numbers in north and south Luzon. Same conditions in Panay, where more than ;]5,000 have taken oath of allegiance. Insurgent forces completely scattered and leader, Delgado, negotiating for surrender. Work in Samar slower, because of Lucban's long uncontested occupation of interior and swollen streams early in campaign. Campaign in Samar has driven bands into Leyte, pro- ducing disturbance, but information is that condition there favorable. Federal party for peace; direct result of election. Well organized and rapidly increasing in Manila, preparing to extend organization to many provinces on pressing and numerous invita- tions from leading citizens. The .report shows that the islands are estimated to contain about 73,000,000 acres of land, of which less than 5,000,000 are held in pri- vate ownership, leaving in public lands over 68,000,000 acres; that this land is for the most part exceedingly fertile, well watered, adapted to the raising of a great variety of useful crops, much of it covered by the most valuable timber, with extensive deposits of gold, of cop- per, of high-grade iron, and of excellent coal; that more than a thou- sand mining prospectors, chiefly American, are already scattered throughout the islands waiting for the enactment of sonie law under which they may acquire rights to mining claims covering their dis- coveries of mineral; that the public lands have never been surveyed, and no facilities have been afl'orded for the Filipinos to acquire title, and that from two to four hundred thousand of the natives are now living as squatters on these lands waiting for some homestead or set- tlers' law under which they may become owners of the land they till, or still other lands; that capital is waiting ready to inaugurate the enterprises which shall develop this vast natural wealth, but there is no authority under which railroads or other means of communication can be constructed to get the products of the land to the market; that the building of 55 miles of railroad already surveyed would throw open to the inhabitantsj of the islands as an unsurpassed health resort the OF THE PHILIPPINE INLANDS, 1900-1903. 27 high table-land of Benguet in northern Luzon, free from tropical vegetation, with forests of pine, and with the cool and invigorating climate of the northern temperate zone; but there is no law under which the railroad can be built; that under all its disadvantages busi- ness has increased and the customs receipts are more than double the amount collected by the Spanish Government from the same source, but that business is hampered and endangered by the scarcity of cur- rency, and there is no law under which currency can be supplied from either public or private source. The army has brought the Philip- pines to the point where they offer a ready and attractive field for investment and enterprise, but to make this possible there must be mining laws, homestead and land laws, general transportation laws, and banking and currency laws. Such laws the military government can not supply. Broad and peremptory as are its powers for the time, it is temporary in its char- acter, and can not project its authority into the future. It can not give title to the settler or the miner, or corporate rights to the bank or the railroad. The great agency to bring industrial activity and awakened enter- prise and prosperity and contentment to the country of the Philippines must be, not a military government, Init the same kind of individual enterprise which has built up our own country. With increased activity of individual enterprise and business will come the greater revenues necessary for the performance of the proper duties of civil government, for harbor improvements and paved and sewered streets and passable highways and adequate schools and effective police. It is to the exhibition of such manifest results of good government that we must look as the chief means of convincing the people of the Phil- ippine Islands that our professions of interest in their welfare are sincere. 2. The section of the report on the liquor traffic in Manila indicates that the powers of the Commission are ample to deal with that sub- ject; that they have devoted great attention to it, and that the diffi- culties which they experience are the same as those which confront Congress in governing the city of Washington and our State legisla- tures in dealing with the same subject, while the success which they have attained will compare favorably with the results here. Many false and misleading statements have been made regarding the use of intoxicating liquors in Manila. The fact is that this traffic is more rigidly and effectively regulated and kept within bounds in the city of Manila than in any (;ity of similar or greater size in the United States. A strict high-license law is enforced, under which the native saloons or wine shops have been reduced from 4,000 at the time of American occupation to 400 at the present time, and the saloons selling American liquoi-s, including hotels and restaurants, have been reduced from 224 in February, 1900, to 105 at the date of this report and to 88 at the 28 REPORTS OF THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT present time. Of these, but 48 are permitted to sell spirituous liquors. All of these saloons are closed at half past 8 in the evening, and are prevented from makino- sales until the following day, and all are closed and prevented from soiling on Sundays. Manila has a population of over 400,000, and as against her 400 native and 88 foreign saloons for that population we have in this country the cities of — Popula- tion. Saloon Washington.. Cleveland Cincinnati ... New Orleans. Milwaukee... San Francisco St. Louis Baltimore Boston Philadelphia. Chicago New York 278, 718 381, 768 325,902 287, 104 285, ;16 342,782 575, 238 608, 957 660, 892 293,697 698, 576 437, 202 513 1,888 1,727 1,370 1,747 3,007 2,060 1,988 799 1,709 6,460 10, 832 Since the date of the Commission's report further regulations have been adopted by them, limiting the portions of the city in which the traffic is permitted, and I am satisfied that they are dealing with the subject with wisdom, firmness, and a full knowledge of the conditions. In order to bring our information down to the present time, I have recently cabled inquiries to the president of the commission and the military governor, which, together with their answers, are appended hereto. 3. Acting upon that clause of 5^our instructions which vests in the Philippine Commission authority to exercise, subject to your approval through the War Department, that part of your military authority which is legislative in its character, the Commission has adopted regular methods of legislative procedure, and regulations of a general civil character instead of being in the form of military orders now receive a form corresponding to their true character, of legislative enactments. The Commission transmit with their report the regula- tions, 47 in number, which they had adopted prior to the 12th of November, and to those 1 add from the files of the War Department 8 additional enactments, numbered 48 to 65, inclusive, received by the mail following the report. I venture to express the hope that an examination of these acts, as well as the reading of the report, will carry to your mind, as it has to mine, the conviction that the commis- sion are proceeding in accordance with the high spirit of your instruc- tions, and with zeal and discretion are pressing forward with all prac- ticable speed the establishment of civil government in conformity to American institutions, and in fulfillment of our duty to the people of the Philippine Islands. Very respectfully, Elihu Root, Secretcm/ of Wa/r, OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 29 [War Department cablegram.] January 15, 1901. Taft, Manila: Cable answer following questions: What is present condition Manila as to use of intoxicating liquors, drunkenness, and disorder? How does it compare with princi- pal American cities? Do natives frequent American saloons, or drink American liquors? How much drunkenness among American soldiers? Are houses of prosti- tution licensed, protected, or in any way encouraged by authorities? Root, Secretary War. [Cablegram received in cipher.] Manila, Jantmry 17, 1901. Root, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C: With reference to your telegram of the 15th: First. Very good. Second. Better than any American city of same size. Third. Practically not at all. Fourth. Con- siderable. Much more conspicuous than at home, because several barracks near heart of city and frequented saloons on narrow thoroughfares. New license law passed to obstruction to travel by banishing saloons to places less accessible and annoying to general public. Informed by Army authorities that actual drunkenness not much, if any, greater than at home. Absence of home influence and lack of usual amusements would naturally increase it. Marked improvement in this regard smce improved political condition in city has permitted more attention to the subject. Fifth. No; but true that in November, 1898, spread of venereal diseases among soldiers led military authorities, in order to maintain effectiveness of army, to sub- ject known prostitutes to certified examination and confinement of diseased in special hospital, expense of which paid from fund in custody of army officer derived solely from fees charged for examination, of 50 cents to $2, according to place of examination. System has greatly reduced percentage of disability from this cause. Purely army police measure, outside our jurisdiction; military necessity. Result Ijetter than futile attempt at total suppression in Oriental city of 300,000, producing greater evil. Prostitutes known not permitted to land. Number deported. General moral condition of city greatly maligned. Crimes of violence now comparatively few. Gambling greatly decreased. Native vino shops in Manila in August, 1898, 4,000; now reduced to 400. American saloons, including hotels and restaurants, reduced from 224 in February, 1900, to 88, now; of these only 48 licensed to sell spirituous liquors. Commission. [Cablegram.] Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, Janvury 16, 1901. MacArthur, Manila: Telegraph the condition of army, Manila and elsewhere Philippine Islands, with reference to drunkenness and use intoxicating liquors. Are houses prostitution licensed, protected, or in any way encouraged by military authorities? CORBIN. Manila. (Received January 17, 1901 — 12.15 a. m.) Adjutant-General, Washington: With reference to your telegram of 16th, dnmkenness this army no more noticeable here than in garrisons United States. Considering whole force as unit, probably very much less. In Manila drunken men very noticeable; effe<;t one drunkard in public place creates impression among citizens of extensive disorders throughout whole force, which is not case. Army in splendid discipline, high state efficiency, doing hardest kind service, most faithful inspiring manner. Houses prostitution not licensed, protected, encouraged. MacAbthub. REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES PHILIPPINE COMMISSION. Manila, Navemher 30, 1900. The Secretary of War, Washmgtoji, D. C. Sir: The United States Philippine Commission begs to submit its report, as follows: The Coumiission arrived in Manila on June 3 last, was courteously received by Maj. Gen. Arthur Mac Arthur, the military governor, and after about a month was furnished with comfortable offices in the Ayuntamiento. Upon its arrival an informal statement of the pur- poses of the Commission was issued, a copy of which is appended and marked ''Exhibit A." Under the instructions of the President, the commission was not to perform any official function in the military gov- ernment until the 1st of September following, but was to occupy itself solely with the duty of investigating conditions. Subjects were assigned to the commissioners, as follows: Taft: The civil service, the friars, and public lands. Worcester: Municipal corporations, forestry, agriculture, mining, and public health. Wright: Internal improvements, franchises, militia, and police and criminal code. Ide: Code of civil procedure, courts, banks and currency, and regis- tration laws. Moses: Schools and taxation. Taft, Wright, and Ide: Civil code. The Commission: Central, department, and provincial governments. Each commissioner was expected to conduct investigations and exam- inations on the subjects assigned to him. Much formal evidence was taken and transcribed, 1)ut more was gathered from informal conversa- tions when no stenographer was present. Many witnesses were examined as to the form of government best adapted to these islands and satisfactory to the people. All the evi- dence taken, no matter what the bias of the witness, showed that the masses of the people are ignorant, credulous, and childlike, and that under any government the electoral franchise must be much limited, because the large majoi'ity will not, for a long time, be capable of intelligently exercising it. 31 32 REPORTS OF THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT In July the military governor was requested, bj' petition of the rector of the University of St. Thomas, to allow the College of San Jos6 to be opened to receive medical students as a part of the uni- versity. The college had been closed by General Otis, when military governor, on the ground that it was the property of the Government of the United States, acquired by the treaty of Paris from Spain, and held for the benefit of the people of the Philippine Islands for educa- tional purposes. The petition for reopening the college was vigor- ously resisted by a delegation of prominent citizens of Manila. At a conference between the military governor and the Commission it was agreed that his action should await the result of a hearing to be had before the commission to enable it to determine whether the claim made on behalf of the Philippine people was of sufficient substance to justify the Commission, when it should assume legislative power, in enacting a law providing for the appointment of trustees to administer the trust, and authorizing and directing them b}^ proper suit in the name of the United States to test the right of the present adminis- trators to continue to manage the school and its propert3^ The hearings of the issue were begun in July and continued from time to time until late in October. Very great public interest was shown in the elaborate arguments which were made on behalf of the Philippine people by Senor Don Felipe Calderon, and on behalf of the Catholic Church, which claimed control of the property, by Arch- bishop Chapelle, the Apostolic Delegate, and by Archbishop Nozaleda, of Manila. The Commission has not yet announced its conclusion as to its duty in the premises, but expects to do so within a month. The issue is a very important one. The property of San Jose College is worth half a million dollars gold, and much the same question affects the control of at least one other institution of charity in Manila— the large hospital of San Juan de Dios. Shortly stated, the issue is whether the Spanish Government, in its admitted right to control the management of the particular trust property, was acting in its secu- lar and civil capacity, or as a mere agent of the Catholic Church under the concordat between the Pope and the Spanish Crown. On the 21st of August, in reply to your cable direction of the 17th of August, the Commission expressed its view of the general condi- tion of the islands. With the exception of one or two minor details, we wish to confirm by this the statements of that report. The asser- tion that in Negros more sugar is in cultivation than ever before is probably erroneous. It was derived from the evidence of Father McKinnon, who had recently made a visit of observation to all parts of Negros, and who made the statement to the Commission as telegraphed. The report of General Smith, as Governor of Negros, to the Mili- tary Governor, which the Commission has just seen, does not agree with this as to amount of sugar in cultivation this year, though, and OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 33 this probably explains Father McKinnon's conclusion. General Smith states to the Commission that in the character of the cane raised and the amount per acre this is the best year for many years, but that the acreage is considerably less than formerly, due chiefly to the scarcity of capital and the excessive rates of interest charged by the banks and money lenders in that island. At the time the dispatch was sent the province of Ilocos Sur was undisturbed and was supposed to be free from insurgents, but the activity of the insurgent leader Tinio and the missionary work of certain Tagalogs in the towns between August and November, with the impetus furnished by the report of the American electoral campaign, gathered a considerable force of insurgents in the mountain range east of the coast and by the usual methods produced unsettled conditions in that province. In Septem- ber reports of contemplated formidable movements on the part of the insurgents in pacified provinces induced what may properly be called a flurry of fear and excitement among the natives. There was one or two insurgent incursions, for spectacular purposes, along the line of the railroad, which, as stated in the dispatch, had not been molested for more than five months previous. The amount of damage done to the railroad was embraced in cutting some telegraph wires, in tearing up the track for a short distance, and in ditching one train. We are informed by the manager of the rail- road that his confidential agent has discovered that all the work was done by the people of a barrio near the railroad. That it was done by them reluctantly under the threat of Tecson, an insurgent leader, hiding in that neighborhood; that unless they did this he would burn the village. The impression of great disturbance in the country in September and October, caused in the way described, considerably aflected the business between Manila and the country. Two unfor- tunate reverses of the United States troops, one near Siniloan and the other m Marinduque, served to render the insurgent leaders more defiant and boastful, and possibly to postpone the collapse of the insur- rection, predicted in our dispatch as likely to occur within sixty days, after the election, for a somewhat longer period. From all the information we can get it seems clear that a great majority of the people long for peace and are entirely willing to accept the establishment of a government under the supremacy of the United States, They are, however, restrained by fear from taking any action to assist the suppression of the insurrection which has for its indis- pensable support a conspiracy of murder. Without this, armed resis- tance to the United States authority would have long ago ceased. Anyone suspected of giving information to the Americans concerning the insurgents is immediately marked for assassination. The nuui- fications of the conspiracy are so wide that it has efl'ccted the terror- ism of an entire people. It is a Mafia on a very large scale. 23181—04 3 34 KEPOKTS Oii THE CIVIL (lOVERNMEKT The clitHculty the people have in comniunicatiiig with the Americans, betau.se of a want of knowledge of their language, character, and cus- toms, would have a tendency to make them silent in any event, and when this is accompanied by the very present prospect of })eing abducted, boloed, or tortured if au}^ disclosure is made, it is not remarkable that the insurgents are al)le to assume the role of amigos when pressed and hide themselves in barrios of the towns if driven out of the mountains where the}^ have their headquarters. Not infre- .juently the municipal officers assume a double dut}^ one to the Ameri- cans and one to the insurgents, though this is not generally true except in those provinces near to which an active insurgent head- quarters is situated. Nor does his double part indicate that the sym- pathy of the municipal officer is with the insurgent, but only that pun- ishment for failure to render service to the insurgents will be much more bloody and severe than for infidelity to the Americans and the viola- tion of the oath of allegiance. We have already made provision out of the public civil fund for the widows and children of two municipal officers assassinated by order of the insurgents for loyal civil service to the United States, and there are others with similar claims likely to seek the same relief. We do not intend to establish a system of pen- sions, but we think that in such cases, when clear, it is a wise public polic}^ to give all who are risking their lives for the United States and the best interests of their country to know that in the unfortunate case of their murder their families will be taken care of by a grateful Government. In southern Luzon the conditions have impoved in the provinces of Cavite, Batangas, and Laguna during the last month. The province of Tayabas is peaceful. The towns are full of people, a sure indica- tion of freedom from disturbance, and houses are difficult to secure. In the Camarines and Albay the conditions are not so satisfactory, but they are growing better. In the Visayans and Mindanao the con- ditions are much the same as reported in our dispatch of August 21, except that in Leyte much improvement has been made. Any statement of the conditions prevailing in these islands during the last six months which ignores the effect of the American election as a controlling element in the situation is necessarily inadequate. Since the result was announced there has been a great decrease in insur- gent activity. The most intense interest was felt by the insurgents before the election in the issue, and the most intense disappointment since, which will certainly effect the collapse of the insurrection in the near future. Capital and all business interests hung upon the predic- tions of success of the one party or the other. No one breathed more freely and took more enjoyment in the result as announced than the con- servative Filipino people who had anything to lose from the anarchy OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 35 which it was sure would follow in the abandonment of these islands under the policy of the defeated party in the late election, as that polic}'' was understood here b}'^ the insurrectos and other Filipinos. From now on conditions in these islands will grow steadily better, and however formidable the difficulties really are, the possibilities that present themselves of improving the condition of the peopls in educa- tion, wealth, comfort, and in the knowledge of how to govern them- selves can not but awaken the deepest enthusiasm on the part of every friend of civilization familiar with the actual conditions. On the 1st of September the Commission began its legislative and executive duties under the instructions of the President. It adopted the policy of passing no laws, except in cases of emergenc}', without publishing them in the dail}^ press, after they had passed a second reading, and giving to the public an opportunity to come before the Commission and suggest objections or amendments to the bills. The Commission has likewise adopted as part of its regular procedure the submission of all proposed bills to the Militar}" Governor for his con- sideration and comment before enactment. We think that the holding of public sessions furnishes instructive lessons to the people, as it certainly secures to the Commission a means of avoiding mistakes. The announcement of the Commission on this subject is appendecJ, marked " Exhibit B." The Commission has now passed fortj^-seven laws of more or less importance. These laws have been forwarded to you as passed. A complete file also accompanies this, marked ' ' Exhibit L." A municipal code has been prepared and forwarded to you for the consideration of one or two critical matters and has not yet ])een adopted, pending your consideration of it. A tariff bill, hereafter to be referred to more in detail, has been prepared modif}' ing the Span- ish tariff and arranging the schedule so as to secure an adequate rev- enue with the least burden upon those least able to stand it. It has not been disposed of in the Commission, and will not be adopted until all the interests in Manila and the islands shall have had an opportu- nity to be heard on its various provisions and until it shall have been forwarded for consideration in America and approval by you. A judicial and civil procedure bill is nearly completed. The same thing is true of a bill for provincial-government organization. A new internal-tax law must then be considered. The wealth of this country has largely been in agricultural lands and thej^ have been entirely exempt. This enabled the large landowners to escape any other taxa- tion than the urbana, a tax which was imposed upon the rental value of cit}^ buildings only, and the cedula tax, which did not in any case exceed 137.50, Mexican, a person. We think that a land tax is to be preferred, but of this there will be found more detailed discussion below. 3G REPORTS OF THE CIVIL OOVKliNMENT TllK CIVIL SEKVICE. The fifth law adopted by the Commission was an act pi-oviding for the oroanization of a civil service on the basis of merit. It was the purpose of the Commission in passing the civil service bill to provide a S3^stem which, after it should begin to work, would secure the selection and promotion of civil servants solely on the ground of merit, and would permit anyone by a successful competitive exam- ination to enter the service at the lowest rank and, by the efficient dis- charge of his duties and further examinations for promotion, to reach the head of an}^ important department of the government. The difficulties in securing a good civil service in the islands are formidable. There are two classes of applicants, one the Americans and the other the Filipinos. The Filipinos have had no training except from being in the Spanish service or observing its workings. That service was notoriously corrupt. The salaries paid were palpably inadequate for the support of life and were a plain intimation to the civil servant, in their inadequacy, that, if he could, he was expected to add to his official income in illegal ways and ])y peculation. This is not only characteristic of Spanish civil service, but also of that of all oriental governments, and in the outset it is not too severe to say that the percentage of Filipinos who can be trusted to handle mone}^ in public office or to exercise any direct official control over their fellow- residents without peculation or the imposition of illegal charges is comparatively small. They must be tai^ght by better salaries and by the example of the Americans a different standard of integrity. On the other hand, the Americans who come to these islands come eight or ten thousand miles, come with a venturesome spirit, come with the idea of amassing a competence by their stay in the islands. They are exposed in any important official position where there is opportunity for defeat- ing the rights of the Government to constant temptations offered them b}'^ interested persons seeking to escape lawful burdens or to obtain fraudulent advantage, and who have no other conception of a public officer than of one who is to be reached 1)}^ bribery if the sum offered be large enough. Men may leave the United States honest, but with the weakening of moral restraints of home associations and with the anxious desire to make so long a trip result successfully in a pecuniary way, demoral- ization and dishonesty are much more likely to follow than at home. To avoid the dangers presented by these conditions, it is necessary, first, to banish all favoritism and political considerations from the selection of civil servants and rigidly to enforce the requirements of a competitive examination and a satisfactory showing by the applicant of his good moral character; second, to pay adequate salaries and to allow liberal leaves of absence, adapted to preservation of health in OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 37 the tropics, thus securing- that contentment with the service without which good work is not possible; and, third, to awaken an enthusiasm in the service b}^ offering as a reward for faithful and highly efficient work a reasonable prospect of promotion to the highest positions in the Government. It is essential that the system be administered with the utmost rigidity and impartiality, liccause in no part of the world does rumor of injustice, of fraud, and of underhand methods in the admin- istration of public office receive so much credit as in the Orient; and if dissatisfaction, produced by a sense of injustice, finds place in the civil service of the islands, it will greatly diminish its efficiency. The commission has passed a law which it believes goes further than any civil-service law of any State or of the United States in carrying out the theory of the merit system, and it takes this opportunitj' to testify to the earnest assistance and cooperation in maintaining pure the civil service of these islands received from the President and 3^ourself . We are directed in our instructions to prefer the Filipino for office when other qualifications are equal, and we have by the act imposed this as a mandate upon the appointing power. We have also pre- ferred in the same manner discharged soldiers and sailors of the United States. We could not for ol^vious reasons introduce provisions discriminating against the Filipinos because of the tendency of their previous training, already referred to. To secure appointments from the two races according to their capacitj^ and qualifications, we must rel}^, not only upon the examinations, but also upon the discretion of the appointing power in its selection from the list of eligibles pre- sented by the civil-service board, and upon the power of removal which remains fully vested in the appointing power, unhampered by any provisions of the statute. The difficulties in selection presented by the education and tendency of the Filipino will gradually grow less and less as the service grows older and as the Filipino learns a different official standard of integrity and sees upon what promotion in the civil service depends. A present question in the civii service is the high cost of living in Manila. There are not enough houses in Manila to make comfortable places of residence for the civil servants who come here from the United States. The high prices of lumber and the rise in the cost of la})or and materials have all retarded building. Shortly after the tim- ber regulations were issued by the military government there was a reduction in the pri(;e of lumber, and it was hoped that the reduction would continue, but the demand for it was so great that the supplies of cut lumber on the coast awaiting shipment to Manila were rapidly exhausted, and the means for cutting it in the mountains, due to dis- turbed conditions, are so limked that it may be some considerable time before the price is reduced to a normal figure. It has been proposed, and it seems a practical suggestion, that the American civil servants 1. 'if: 218 38 REPORTS OF THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT perfect an organization and work out, with the assistance of the gov- ernmental authorities, a plan for a cooperative civil-service hotel or boarding house, and possibh' a cooperative store. If one is well housed in Manila, it is a very pleasant city to live in. If he is not thus fortunately placed he can but have an unpleasant impression of life here and impart it to others. It is the duty of the Insular Government to look after its employees and to see that they are comfortable; for only under such conditions can the best work be obtained from them. The question of what kind of examination or what kind of a system of selection shall be used for school teachers has not yet been decided, and the Commission awaits the recommendation in this regard of Mr. Atkinson, the General Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Commission has appointed as members of the Civil Service Board, Mr. Frank M. Kiggins, for years a skilled examiner of the United States Civil Service Commission, Mr, W. L. Pepperman, also for a long time an efficient member of the examining staff of the United States Civil Service Commission, and Chief Justice Arellano, who has had considerable knowledge of the workings of the Spanish civil service. The Chief Justice declined to accept any compensation, and would take the office only temporarily in order to set the system going and to assist in the first and most important function of the board, the adop- tion of rules for the execution of the act. The rules have not as j^et been completed and issued, and it will probably be from thirty to sixty da3^s before the regular system of examinations can be begun. The law contemplates the holding of examinations both in the United States and in the Philippine Islands, and requires that the examinations shall cover the Spanish and the English languages where the applicant seeks a x>osition in which a knowledge of the two languages is essential. It W'as impossible, in applying the merit system to a civil service already formed and carrjdng an an extensive government, to end the terms of those at present employed and to require them to seek their places anew by competitive examinations. This would have demoral- ized the service and created paralyzing confusion. We deemed it wiser to empower the civil service board in its discretion to require employees in the service at the time of the passage of the act to take examina- tions, but subject to this restriction — to treat them as if they had come into the service regularly and as entitled to stand for promotion. Upon the recommendation of the Civil Service Board and the Militar}" Gov- ernor, we have also provided that soldiers detailed to perform duties in the civil service shall stand upon the same footing when discharged from the army as if they had regularly entered the service when detailed. The Civil Service Board, which has been investigating the personnel of the service, reports that the soldiers who have been detailed to clerical positions have been carefully selected from the large number available and are on the whole the best clerks now employed. OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 39 One of the problems confronting the Commission is the substitution of civilians for army officers and enlisted men now detailed for the discharge of civil duties. In "Exhibit C " there is shown a memoran- dum of the number of officers, enlisted men, American civilians, natives, Spaniards, and Chinese, engaged in the civil service, also a comparative percentage statement of the Americans and natives engaged in the service. Under the amendment to the civil service act already referred to, permitting officers and enlisted men detailed for civil service to retain their positions on receiving their discharge from the Army, it is thought that many of the volunteer officers and men will be glad to continue in the service as civilians. The other places the Commission will probably be able to fill from the list of eligibles to be furnished by the Civil Service Board, which will be probably by Februar}^ next. THE FRIARS. (^rdinarjiV, the Government of the United States and its servants -^ have Tittle or no concern with religious societies or corporations and their members. With us the Church is so completely separated from the State that it is difficult to imagine cases in which the policy of a church in the selection of its ministers and the assignment of them to duty can be regarded as of political moment, or as a proper subject of comment in the report of a public officer. Klin the pacification of the Philippines by our Government, however, it is impossible to ignore the very great part which such a question plays. Excepting the Moros, who are Moslems, and the wild tribes, who are pagans, the Philippine people belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Total number of Catholic souls shown by the church regis- try in 1898 was 6,559,998. To care for these in that year there were in the Archipelago 746 regular parishes, 105 mission parishes, and 116 missions, or 967 in all. Of the regular parishes all but 150 were administered by Spanish monks of the Dominican, Augustinian, or Franciscan orders. Natives were not admitted to these orders. There were two kinds of Augustinians in these islands, the shod and the unshod. The latter are called Recolletos and are merely an oft'shoot from the original order of St. Augustine. By the revolutions of 1896 and 1898 against Spain, all the Dominicans, Augustinians, Recolletos, and Franciscans acting as parish priests were driven from their parishes to take refuge in Manila. Forty were killed and 103 were imprisoned and were not all released until by the advance of the American troops it became impossible for the insurgents to retain them. Of the 1,124 who were in the islands in 1896, but 472 remain. The remainder were either killed or died, returned to Spain, or went to China or South America. There were aiso m the islands engaged in missions an^. missionary 40 EEPORTS OK THE (UVIL (JOVKKNMKNT parishes 42 Jesuits, 10 Capuchins, and 6 Benedictines, and while many of these left their missions because of disturbed conditions, they do not seem to have been assaulted or imprisoned for an}' length of time. In addition to the members of the monastic orders, there were 150 native secular clergymen in charge of small parishes who were not disturlied. There were also many native priests in the larger parishes who assisted the friar curates, and they have remained, and they have been and are acting as parish priests. The burning political question, discus- sion of which strongly agitates the people of the Philippines, is whether the members of the four great orders of St. Dominic, St. Augustine, and St. Francis, and the Recolletos shall return to the parishes from which they were driven by the revolution. Colloquiall}^ the term " friars" includes only the members of these four orders. The Jesuits, Capuchins, Benedictines, and the Paulists, of whom there are a few teachers here, have done only mission work or teaching, and have not aroused the hostility existing against the four large orders to which we are now about to refer. Archbishop Chapelle, of New Orleans, Apostolic Delegate, called on the Commission soon after its arrival and requested that in any inves- tigation into the matter of the friars which the Commission might deem it wise to institute, the provincials of the orders, and the five bishops, including the archbishop of Manila, who were all of them friars, should be given a hearing. Accordingly the commissioner to W' horn the subject was assigned was enabled by the courtesy and assist- ance of Archbishop Chapelle to take the statements of the provincials of all the monastic orders resident in Manila, and of the archbishop of Manila, the bishop of Vigan, and the bishop of Jaro. The bishop of (!!ebu had returned to his diocese. So too had the episcopal adminis- trator of the diocese of Nueva Caceres. These two gentlemen were not therefore examined. The questions asked covered all the charges which had been made against the friars, the feeling of the people toward them, the extent of their propert}^ the part the}^ took in the politics and government of the islands under Spain, and the possibility of their return to their parishes. Other witnesses, Philippine laymen, American Catholic priests, army officers, Catholic and Protestant, and newspaper correspondents, were examined in great number, though all their statements could not be taken in writing. We have attempted without bias to reach a conclusion as to the truth, and shall now state it. The friar as a parish priest was usually the only man of intelligence and education who knew both the native dialect and the Spanish lan- guage well in his parish. His position as the spiritual guide of the people necessarily led to his acting as intermediary between them and the rest of the world in secular matters. In only a few of the parishes was there any other Spanish representative of the Government of OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-190.*?. 41 Spain than the friar priest. At first actuall}', and afterwards by law, he came to discharge man}^ civil functions and to supervise, correct, or veto everything which was done or sought to be done in the pueblo which was his parish. The provincial of the Franciscan order de- scribes his civil functions as follows: The following may be mentioned as among the principal duties or powers exer- cised by the parish priest: He was inspector of primary schools; president of the health board and board of charities; president of the board of urban taxation (this was published lately) ; inspector of taxation; previously he was the actual presi- dent, but lately the honorary president of the board of public works. He certified to the correctness of the cedulas, seeing that they conformed to the entries in the parish books. They did not have civil registration here, and so they had to depend upon the books of the ijarish priest. These books were sent in for the purpose of this cedula taxation, but were not received by the authorities unless vised by the priest. He was president of the board of statistics because he was the only person who had any education. He was asked to do this work so that l:)etter results could be obtained. It was against the will of the parish priest to do this, but he could only do as he was told. If they refused they were told that they were unpatriotic and not Spaniards. If they had declined they would have been removed from their charge. He was president of the census taking of the town. Under the Spanish law every man had to be furnished with a certificate of character. If a man was imprisoned and he was from another town they would send to that other town for his antece- dents, and the court would examme whether they were good or bad. They would not be received, however, unless the parish priest had his vise on them. The priest also certified as to the civil status of j^ersons. Every year they drew lots for those who were to serve in the army, every fifth man drawn being taken. The parish priest would certify as to that man's condi- tion. * * * Every year they would go to what they call the sacramental books and get the names of all those who were 20 years of age. This list being certified to by the parish priest the names were placed in an urn and then drawn out. Every fifth man was taken. * * * They disliked the service. Many of them would take to the woods and the civil guard would have to go after them and bring them back. They would Ije put in jail and guarded until they could be taken to the capital city. There were many cases of desertion. * * * By law the priest had to be present when there were elections for municipal offices. Very often the parish priest did not want to go, but the people would come to him and say, "Come, for there will be disturbances and you will settle many difliculties." He was the censor of the municipal budgets before they were sent to the provin- cial governor. He was the president of the prison board and inspector (in turn) of the food provided for the jirisoners. lie was a member of the provincial board. Besides the parish priest, there were two curates who served on this board. Before the provincial board came all matters relating to public works and other cognate matters. All estimates for public build- ings in the municipalities were submitted to this l)oard. He was also a member of the board for partitioning Crown lands. After the land was surveyed and divided and a person wanted to sell his land he would present his certificate, and the board would pass on the question whether or not he was the owner. * * * In some cases the parish priests in the capitals of the provinces would act as audi- tors. In some of these places there would be only the administrator, and then the curate would come iu and act as auditor. 42 KKPOUTS OF THE CIVIL (iOVKKNMKNT A givat many of tlic duties 1 am now eimmoratinji; were jjivon U^ the prieata by the municipal law of JNhuira. Ho was also counselor ior the municipal council when that body met. They would notify him that they were goins to hold a meeting and invite liim to be present. ■ The }>riest was the supervisor of the election of the police force. This also had to be submitted to the provincial governor. He was the examiner of the scholars attending the first and second grades in the public schools. He was the censor of the plays, comedies, and dramas in the language of the conn- try, deciding whether they were against the public peace or the public morals. These plays were presented at the various fiestas of the people. Besides the above, there were other small things which devolved upon the priests. It is easy to see from this that the priest was not only the spiritual guide, but that he was in every sense the municipal ruler. It further appeared from evidence of other friars that whenever a resident of anj^ pueblo was suspected of being a disturber of the peace or a plotter against the Government, or a dangerous character in other respects, no action was taken until the parish priest was consulted by the head of the insular government. During the j^ears immediately preceding 1898, there- were many deportations of residents of the various puelilos to the far distant southern islands of the group, and whether unjustly or not the parish priests were charged by the people with being instrumental in bring- ing these about, and it is said by antifriar witnesses, though denied by the friars, that in most of these cases the deportations were initiated by the friars, who for this reason came to be looked on by the people as having the power of life and death over their parishioners. The archbishop and bishops formed part of what was known in Manila as the board of authorities. The duties of this board were principally to investigate matters of urgent moment and in times of crises to advise the governor-general. The archbishop and bishops constituted the section of the board on " government and fomento" (analogous to our Department of the Interior). The archbishop and bishops and provincials of the religious orders also formed a part of the council of administration, a body analogous to the council of State of Spain or France, charged with advising the governor-general. Each order had a loading officer resident in Madrid, through whom the court of Spain could be quickly and directly reached by the order in the Philippines without the intervention of the civil or military authorities of the islands. .--The participation of the friars in the affairs of the parish, provincial, and insular governments was much more effective to secure entire control of the political situation than if the priests had been merely secular and not bound together with the close association of the monastic orders. The truth is that the whole Government of Spain in these islands rested on the friars. • To use the expression of the provincial of the Augustinians, the friars were "the pedestal or foundation of the sov OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 43 ereignty of Spain in these islands," which being removed, "the whole structure would topple over." The number of Spanish troops in these islands did not exced 5,000 until the revolution.' The tenure of office of the friar curate was permanent. There was but little rotation of priests among" the parishes. Once settled in a parish, a priest usually continued there until superannuation. He was, therefore, a constant political factor for a generation. The same was true of the arch- bishop and the bishops. The civil and militarv officers of Spain in the islands were here for not longer than four j^ears, and more often for a less period. The friars, priests, and bishops, therefore, constituted a solid, powerful, permanent, well-organized political force in the islands which dominated policies. The stay of those officers who attempted to pursue a course at variance with that deemed wise bj^ the orders was invariabl}' shortened hy monastic influence. Of the four great orders, one, the Franciscans, is not permitted to own property except convents and schools. This is not true of the other three. The}^ own some valuable business propert}" in Manila and have large amounts of monej" to lend. ,But the chief property of these orders is in agricultural land. The total amount owned by the three orders in the Philippin i-^ approximately 403,000 acres. Of this 121,000 acres is in the province of Cavite alone. The whole is distributed as follows: Luzon : Province of — Acres. Cavite , 121,747 Lagima 62, 172 Manila .^. 50, 145 Bulaciln 39, 441 Morong , 4, 940 Bataan 1, 000 Cagayan 49, 400 Cebu, island of 16, 413 Mindoro, island of 58, 455 Total 403,713 - The Augustinians were granted b}" the Spanish Government a large estate in the sparsch' settled province of Cagayan in northern Luzon in 1880 with the hope that they might invest capital there and improve the country. The Recolletos acquired in the same manner and for the same purpose even a larger estate in the wild and unsettled island of Mindoro in 1894. With these exceptions the lands held by the friars have been theirs for more than a generation, and the}^ have owned most of the valuable estates for one or two centuries. In few instances, it is believed, can their ownership be successfully attacked in law, for prescription has supplied any defect which might have been in their original titles. This is the concession of Don Felipe Calderon, one of the brightest of the Filipino lawyers and most prominent in his oppo- 44 REPORTS OF THK CIVIL (U)VKRNMENT sition to the friar.'^, though ho suggests that the friars had such power to defeat ehiinis against thein under the Spanish regime as to furnish a just reason for suspending the operation of prescription. The suggestion is, however, not believed to be a tenable one. Moreover, no adverse claimants to agricultural lands held by the friars have appeared before the Commission or the Courts, except cer- tix'm tenants of an estate lying near Calamba in the province of Laguna, and the issue made b}' them can be readily settled in the ordinary tribunals. In the older provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Manila, and Bulacan, the haciendas of the friars were very well cultivated before the war and w^ere quite valuable. On some of the estates large amounts of mone}' were invested b}" the orders in furnishing proper irrigation and other improvements. Of the total number of acres of all the land held, the Dominicans have 161,953; the Augustinians, 1.51,742; and the Recolletos, 93,035. The annual income of the Dominicans from their lands before the war was $211,356 (Mexican), and that of the Augus- tinians was $150,000 (Mexican). The income of the Recolletos must have been considerably less, so that it is unlikely that the annual income from all their agricultural land ever exceeded 1450,000 (Mexi- can). The land was rented on shares in small holdings. Leases were given for three years, and no assignment was permitted without the consent of the order. Tenancy usually continued in the same family and the tenant right seems, sometimes, to have been considered valu- able. It is understood that for the last two j^ears the friars have not attempted to collect rents from persons occupying their lands. On the other hand, agents of the insurgents, claiming title to the land by virtue of confiscation acts of the so-called Malolos government, have, from time to time, made collections from the tenants. -The friars were exempt from trials for ofl'enses, except the most heinous, in the ordinary civil courts of the islands under the Spanish rule, and were entitled to a hearing before an ecclesiastical court, and even in the excepted cases trials must first T>o had in the latter tribunal. - It hr-s been frequently charged that there was much immorality among the friars, and that to this is duo the popular hostility against them. The friar witnesses denied the charges of general immorality, admitting only isolated cases, which they said were promptly disci- plined. The evidence on this point to the contrary, however, is so strong that it seems clearly to establish that there were enough instances in each province to give considerable ground for the gen- eral report. It is not strange that it should have been so. There were, of course, many educated gentlemen of high moral standards among the friars. The bishops and provincials who testified were all of this class. But there were others, brought from the peasant class in Andalusia, whose training and education did not enable them to OF THE PFIILIPTINP: islands, U)00-1903. 45 resist temptations which, under the peculiar conditions, were excep- tionally powerful. As the bishop of Jaro said: You must bear in mind it would be very strange if some priests should not fall. To send a young man out to what might be termed a desert, the only white man in the neighborhood, surrounded by elements of licentiousness, with nobody but the Almighty to look to, with the climatic conditions urging him to follow the same practices as surround him, it is a miracle if he does not fall. Fur instance, you take a young man here in the seminary, who is reading his breviary all the time in the cloister, under discipline all the time, seeing nobody, and suddenly transplant him to a place where he is monarch of all he surveys — he sees the women half clothed, and as he is consulted on all questions, even of morality and immorality, his eyes are opened, and if he is not strong he will fall. But while the charges have considerable truth in them, another fact clearl}^ appeared which makes such iinmorality as there was largely- irrelevant to the issue we are considering. This was that the immo- rality was not the chief ground for hostility to the friars. The com- mon people are not generally licentious or unchaste, but the living together of a man and woman without the marriage ceremon}^ is not infrequent and is not condemned. It did not shock the common people or arouse their indignation to see their curate establish illicit relations with a woman and have children by her. The woman generally did not losetcaste on that account, but often prided herself on the relation to the chief authority in the village and on the paternity of her chil- dren, who were apt to be better looking, brighter, and more successful than the pure Filipino children. Of course there may have been instances in which a friar used his autocratic power to establish a rela- tion of this kind against the will of the woman and her relatives, and these cases have lent themselves to deepen the colors of the lurid and somewhat overdrawn pictures painted by antif riar writers, speakers, and witnesses concerning the abuses of the friars. But it is conceded by the most intelligent and observant of the witnesses against the friars that their immorality, as such, would not have made them hate- ful to the people. On the contrary, the Filipino priests who have taken their places are shown to be fully as immoral as the friars, but the people do not feel any ill will against them on this account. \ We must look elsewhere, therefore, for the chief ground of the deep feeling cherished against the friars by the Filipino people. It is to be found in the fact that to the Filipino the government in these islands under Spain was the government of the friars. Every abuse of the many which finally led to the two revolutions of 1896 and 1898 was charged by the peo|)lc to the friars. Whether they were in fact to blame is perhaps aside f I'om our purpose, but it can not admit of contra- diction that the autocratic power which each friar curate exercised over the people and civil officials of liis parish gave them a most plausible ground for belief that nothing of injustice of cruelty, of oppression, 40 UKPOKTS OF TlIK (UVIL (K)VKRNMKNT of narrowino- restraint of liberty Avas imposed on tlieui for wiiich the friar Avas not entirely responsible. His saeredotal functions were not in their eyes the important ones, except as they enabled him to clinch and make more complete his civil and political control. |i^ The revolutions against Spain's sovereig-ntj' bei^an as movements a^^ainst the friars. Such was the tenor of Rizal's chief work, "Noli me tangere." The treaty of Biacnabato, which ended the first revolution, is said to have contained the condition that the friars should ho expelled. In the sec- ond revolution, as already said, at least 40 friars were killed, and over 400 were imprisoned. Having in view these circumstances, the state- ment of the bishops and friars that the mass of the people in these islands, except onl}" a few of the leading men of each town and the native clergy, are friendly to them, can not be accepted as accurate. All the evidence derived from ever}^ source, but the friars themselves, shows clearly that the feeling of hatred for the friars is well-nigh uni- versal and permeates all classes. In the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, and Bulacan, as well as in the countr}^ districts of Manila, the political feeling against the friars has in it also an element of agrarianism.^ For generations the friars have been lords of these immense manors, upon which since 1880 they have paid no taxes, while every "hombre" living on them paid his cedula, worked out a road tax, and if he were in business of any kind paid his industrial impost. It is significant that it was in Cavite that the two revolutions broke out, and that each in its beginning was merely a protest against the aggressions of the friars. In the light of these considerations it is not wonderful that the peo- ple should regard the return of the friars to their parishes as a return to the condition before the revolution. The common people are utterly unable to appreciate that under the sovereignty of the United Sttites the position of the friar as curate would be difl'erent from that under Spain. This is not a religious question, though it concerns the selec- tion of religious ministers for religious communities. The Philippine people love the Catholic Church. The solemnity and grandeur of its ceremonies appeal most strongly to their religious motives, and it may be doubted whether there is aiiy country in the world in which the peo- ple have a more profound attachment for their church than this one. The deptn of their feeling against the friars may be measured by the fact that it exists against those who, until two years ago, admin- istered the sacraments of the church upon which they feel so great, dependence and for which they have so profound a respect. The feeling- against the friars is solely political. The people w^ould gladly receive as ministers of the Roman Catholic religion any but those who are to them the embodiment of all in the Spanish rule that was hateful. If the friars return to their parishes, though only under the same police protection which the American Government is bound to extend to any OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 47 other Spanish subjects commorant in these islands, the peojjle will regard it as the act of that Government. The}- have so long- been used to have eveiy phase of their conduct regulated b}- governmental order that the coming again of the friars will be accepted as an execu- tive order to them to receive the friars as curates, with their old, all- absorbing functions. It is likely to have the same effect on them that the return of General AVeyler under an American commission as gov- ernor of Cuba would have had on the people of that island. Those who are charged with the duty of pacifying these islands may, therefore, properly have the liveliest concern in a matter which, though on its surface only ecclesiastical, is, in the most important phase of it, political and fraught with the most critical consequences to the peace and good order of the country in which it is their duty to set up civil government. We are convinced that a return of the friars to their parishes will lead to lawless violence and murder, and that the people will charge the course taken to the American Government, thus turning against it the resentment felt toward the friars. It is to be remembered that the Filipinos who are in sympathy with the American cause in these islands are as bitterly opposed to the friars as the most irreconcilable insurgents, and they look with the greatest anxiety to the course to be taken in the matter. It is suggested that the friars, if they returned, would uphold American sovereignty and be efficient instruments in securing peace and good order, whereas the native priests who now fill the parishes are many of them active insurgent agents, or in strong sympathy with the cause. It is proba- bly true that a considerable number of the Filipino priests are hostile to American sovereignty largely because they fear that the Catholic Church will deem it necessary on the restoration of complete peace to bring back the friars or to elevate the moral tone of the priest- hood by introducing priests from America or elsewhere. But it is certain that the enmity among the people against the American Gov- ernment caused by the return of the friars would far outweigh the advantage of efforts to secure and preserve the allegiance of the peo- ple to American sovereignty which might be made by priests who are still subjects of a monarchy with which the American Government has been lately at war, and v/ho have not the slightest sympathy with the political principles of civil liberty which the American Government represents. We have set forth the facts upon this important issue, because we do not think they ought to be, or can be, ignored. We earnestly hope that those who control the policy of the Catholic Church in these islands with the same sagacity and provision which characterizes all its important policies, will see that it would be most unfortunate for the Philippine Islands, for the Catholic Church, and for the American Government to attempt to send back the friars, and that some other 48 KEPOKTS OF TllK CIVIL GOVKKNMKNT solution of the difficulties should be found. The question for the prelate and statesman is not whether the bitter feeling toward the friars is justilied or not, but whether it exists. It does not seem to us, therefore, to aid in reaching" a conclusion to point out tliat all the civ- ilization found in the Philippines is due to the friars. Be it so. Ought the)' on this account to return to their parishes in the face of a deep, popular feeling against them? A popular bias or prejudice, deep seated in an ignorant people, is not to be disregarded ]>ecause it can not stand the test of reason or evidence. It must be reckoned with. It would, of course, be of much assistance to the American cause if the Catholic Church were to send among the people American priests with the love of their country that they have always shown, and with their clear understanding of civil liberty and conservative popular government; but it is said that such priests are not available for the work. This is a question of purely church policy with which we have nothing to do. It is enough to say that the political question will be elinunated if the friars are not sent back. The friars have large property interests in these islands which the United States Government is bound by treaty obligations and ])y the law of its being to protect. It is natural and proper that the friars should feel a desire to remain where so much of their treasure is. Nearly all the immense agricultural holdings have been transferred by the three orders — by the Dominicans to a gentleman named Andrews, by the Recolletos to an English corporation, and by the Augustinians to another corporation; but these transfers do not seem to have been out-and-out sales, but only a jiieans for managing the estates without direct intervention of the friars, or for selling the same when a proper price can be secured. ■ The friars seem to remain the real owners. It would avoid some very troublesome agrarian disturbances between the friars and their quondam tenants if the insular government could ]>uy these large haciendas of the friars and sell them out in small holdings to the present tenants, who, forgiven for the rent due during the two 3'ears of war, would recognize the title of the government without demur, and gladly accept an opportunity, by payment of the price in small installments, to become absolute owners of that which they and their ancestors have so long cultivated. With the many other calls upon the insular treasury, a large financial operation like this could probably not be conducted to a successful issue without the aid of the United States Government, either by a direct loan or by a guaranty of bonds to be issued for the purpose. The bonds or loan could be met gradually from the revenues of the islands, while the proceeds of the land, which would sell readily, could bo used to constitute a school fund. This object, if declared, would make the plan most popular, because the desire for education by the Filipinos of all tribes is very strong and gives encouraging promise of the future mental develop- ment of a now uneducated and ignorant people. OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-11)03. 49 The provincials of the orders were understood in their evidence to intimate a willingness on the part of the orders to sell their agricul- tural holdings if a satisfactory price should be paid. What such a price would be we are unable, without further investigation, to state. If an agreement could not be reached, it is probable, though upon this we wish to express no definite opinion, that there would be ground in the circumstances for a resort to condemnation proceedings. As the Catholic Church is and ought to continue a prominent factor in the life, peace, contentment, and progress of the Philippine people, it would seem the wisest course, wherever it is possible to do so without infringing upon the principle that church and State must be kept separate, to frame civil laws which shall accord with views con- scientiously entertained by Catholics — priests and laymen — and which shall not deal unfairl}^ with a people of a different faith. It would seem clear that any government organized under the sovereignty of the United States can not devote public money to the teaching of any particular religion. -Tt has been suggested, however, that in any system of public education organized in these islands it would be proper to afford to every religious denomination the right to send religious instructors to the public schools to instruct the children of parents who desire it in religion several times a week, at times when such instruction shall not interfere with the regular curriculum. This is what is understood to be the Faribault plan. It is not certain that this would meet com- pletely the views of the Catholic hierarchy, but it is likely that it would avoid that active hostility to a public-school system which might be a formidable obstacle in spreading education among these Catholic people. The Commission has reached no definite conclusion upon the matter, but only states the question as one calling for solution in the not far distant future. PUBLIC LANDS. The total amount of land in the Philippine Islands is approximately 29,694,600 hectares, or 73,345,415 acres. Of this amount it is esti- mated that about 2,000,000 hectares, or about 4,040,000 acres, are owned by individuals, leaving in public lands 27,694,500 hectares, or 68,405,415 acres. The land has not been surveyed, and these are merely estimates. Of the public lands, there are about twice or three times as much forest land as there is waste land. The land is most fertile and for the greater part naturally irrigated. There was a very great demand for this land, but owing to the irregularities, frauds, and delays in the Spanish system, the natives generally abandoned efforts to secure a good title and contented themselves with remaining on the land as simple squatters, subject to eviction by the State. In 1894 the Minister for the Colonies reported to the Queen of Spain that there were about 200,000 squatters on the public lauds, but it is 23181—04 1 50 KKl'OUTS OK TIIK CIVIL (iOVERNMENT ' thought bj' employees in the forestry burcjiu, who huxc. boeii in a position to know, that there are fully double that numl>er. In the various islands of the Archipelago the proportion of private land to public land is about as stated above, except in Mindanao, Mindoro, and Palawan, where the proportion of public land is far greater. The insufficient character of the public-land system under the Spanish Government in these islands makes it unnecessary to refer in detail to what that system was. It is sufficient to say that there were no sur- veys of any importance whatever, and that the first thing to be done in establishing a public-land system is to have the public lands accu- rately surveyed. This is a work of years, but it is thought that a system of the laws of public lands can be inaugurated without waiting until the survey is completed. The Commission has received a suffi- cient luimber of appliciitions for the purchase of public land to know /that large amounts of>American capital are only awaiting the oppor- tunit}^ to invest in the rich agricultural field which may here be devel- oped. In view of the decision that the military government has no power to part with the public land belonging to the United States, and that that power rests alone in Congress, it becomes very essential, to assist the development of these islands and their prosperity, that Con- gressional authority be vested in the government of the islands to adopt a proper public-land system, and to sell the land upon proper terms. There should, of course, be restrictions preventing the acqui- sition of too large quantities by any individual or corporation, but those restrictions should ydnly be imposed after giving due weight to the circumstances that dapital can not be secured for the development of the islands unless the investment may be sufficiently great to justify the expenditure of large amounts for expensi ve machinerv and equi p- ment . Especially is this true in the cultivation of sugar land. The Commission, of course, is not restricted from instituting a survey, and has had some communication with the head of the Coast and Geodetic Survey in regard to the matter. It proposes in the near future to inaugurate such a system. CrVIL GOVERNMENT. The restricted powers of a military government referred to in dis- cussing the public lands are also painfully apparent in respect to mining claims and the organization of railroad, banking, and other cor- porations, and the granting of franchises generally. It is necessary that there be some body or officer vested with legislative authority to pass laws which shall afford opportunity to capital to make investment here. This is the true and most lasting method of pacification. Now the only corporations here are of Spanish or English origin, with but limited concessions, and American capital finds itself completely OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 51 obstructed. Such difficulties would all be removed by the passage of the Spooner bill, now pending in both Houses. The far-reaching effect upon the feeling of the people of changing the military government to one purely civil, with the army as merely auxiliary to the administration of civil law, can not be too strongly emphasized. Military methods in administering quasi-civil govern- ment, however successful in securing efficiency and substantial justice, are necessarily abrupt and in appearance arbitrary, even when they are those of the Army of a Republic; and until a civil government is established here, it will be impossible for the people of the Philippine Islands to realize the full measure of the difference between a govern- ment under American sovereignty and one under that of Spain. The relation between the post-office department in the Philippines and the insular government has not been as clearly defined as it might be. At present the director of posts considers that by virtue of the orders of the War Department and the Post-Office Department he has the right to appoint employees in the department and to fix their sala- ries, and that the Commission has no function except to make the appropriations out of the Treasury to meet the obligations which he thus incurs. During the incumbency of the present director of posts, it must be said that his efficient administration and his anxious desire to cooperate in every way with the government has relieved the doubtful questions of much embarrassment; but, in the opinion of the Commission, it would be much wiser either to give to the insular gov- ernment complete control over the post-office department or to trans- fer it to the United States Government for its sole management and support, as has been done in Porto Rico. Assuming that it had legislative and executive control of appoint- ments in the post-office department, the Commission brought it within the operation of the civil-service act, and it now recommends that the selection of post-office employees be made subject to that act, the importance of which has already been discussed. The Commission was requested to appropriate money for the con- struction of a post-office in the city of Manila and to devote certain public land to that purpose. It was entirely willing to make the appropriation both of the land and the money, but declined to do so until it should be definitely settled whether it was to assume control of the post-office department and pay the expenses thereof or whether the control and cost were to be assumed by the United States Government. A similar question has arisen in regard to the Marine-Hospital Serv- ice. This, it seems to us, ought to be under the insular government, and the officers in charge should be subject to orders by the insular government. Now, the anomalous condition is that the insular gov- ernment has been obliged to appropriate |30U,<)00 to uiake improve- 52 UKl'OKTS OK THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT nieiits for the hospital service Avithout exercising- the slig-htest control over the expenditure. The hospital service is efficient doubtless, but occasion niiyht arise when it would be exceedingly embarrassing to have a branch of the government here entirely independent of the control bj'^ the chief executive and the legislature. Certainly there is nothing about the quarantine service that requires that it should be administered from the Treasury Department, 10,000 miles distant, rather than by the insular government, for even in the States of the United States the quarantine service, l)y inaction of Congress, is usually permitted to be a part of the local police government of the the States instead of being solely a Federal function. REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, AND SURPLUS. The revenues of the islands have increased so remarkably under the military government that with the result of the election and the assurance which it gives of the continuance of the present policy it may be reasonably prophesied that the income for each month will exceed $2,000,000, Mexican. For the month of October it exceeded this amount by $200,000, Mexican. During the present month and the two following months it will probably fall below the two million maisk by two or three hundred thousand dollars, but in the months thereafter there is the strongest probability of an increase. The present ordinary expenditures of the government aggregate more than 11,100,000, Mexican. This amount will increase in the future, as the civil service is enlarged and as the military officers and soldiers who are now detailed for the discharge of civil duties shall be supplanted by civilians whose salaries must be paid out of the public funds. The Commission has made one krge appropriation of 11,000,000, gold, by your direction, for the building of roads under the supervision of the military governor, and another appropriation of $1,000,000, gold, for carrying on the improvements of the Manila Harbor works. The improvement of the harbor can probably not be completed without the expenditure of at least a million and a half «iore, gold. The appropriation which the general superintendent of public instruction has recommended for school purposes for the coming year from the insular treasury will amount to more than $1,500,000 in gold. There is now on hand in the Treasury, not covered by appropria- tions, $2,500,000 in gold, and this sum will increase for the present at the rate of not less than $300,000 a month, if only the ordinary appro- priations are made. One very serious question which we desire to present to you, and upon which we have already had some correspondence, is whether the policy should not now be adopted of spending nothing from the pub- lic civil funds for purely military or naval purposes. The amount spent for purely military and naval pui'poses in these islands from the OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-190.3. 53 1st of July to the loth of September is approximate!}' $800^000 Mex- ican, or about $160,000 gold, a month. In view of the very great bur- den which will be placed upon the public civil funds the moment a satis- factory school system is inaugurated and the needs for internal improve- ments are supplied, the revenue, unless materially increased, will be insufficient. We think it a much better policy that everything that comes from the islands to the public civil funds should l)e expended for purely civil purposes. In this view we are glad to be able to say that Maj. Gen. Arthur Mac Arthur, the military governor, fully concurs. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. In obedience to the instructions of the President, the Commission took up the matter of the establishment of municipal governments very shortly after its arrival at Manila. It was learned that General Order, No. 40, which provided a much more elaborate form of municipal government than that prescribed in General Order, No. 43, had not at that time been put into operation, although a number of towns had applied for organization under it. Their requests had been granted b}' the military governor, and the necessary preliminary steps toward organization were being taken. The order had been translated into Spanish. Tagalog, Visayan, and other native dialects, had been widely circulated among the inhabitants of the Archipelago, and the leading men in many of the more important towns had been requested to familiarize themselves with it. It was deemed that criticisms of the provisions of this order from those who would be called upon to cany them into effect, or to live subject to them, would be helpful, and a number of conferences were according!}^ held with Filipinos from different parts of the Archipelago, at which they were invited to criticise it freely and to suggest any changes which they deemed desirable. In this way a considerable amount of valuable information was gained, and it soon became evident that while many of the provisions of General Order No. 40 could be advantageously incorporated into the new code, important changes, as well as exten- sive additions, would be necessary. At this time conditions were such as to lead to the belief that a large number of towns would be read}^ for organization when the Com- mission began the exercise of its functions on the 1st of September, and in view of the difficulty and confusion likely to result from the putting into effect of one form of municipal government and the replacing of it a little later by another, it was thought best to suggest on July 26, for the consideration of the military governor, the question whether it might not be well to suspend the carrying into effect of General Order No. 40. He replied that all new applications for organ- ization under this order would ])e refused, but that, where permission to organize had already been granted, he believed that the difficulties 54 REl'OKTS OF THE CIVIL OOVERNMENT arising from a withdrawal of that permission would bo greater than those involved in the change from one form of municipal organization to the other. After hearing all who expressed a desire to be heard on the subject, and summoning numerous witnesses, the Commission drafted a new municipal law, based on General Order No. -±0. For the reason here- inbefore stated, this law has not yet been enacted. Meanwhile the Commission is getting the benefit of the result of* practical experience through the actual workings of General Order No. 40, under which, according to reports furnished the Commission by the militar}^ gov- ernor, fifty-five towns have been organized. It is proposed to under- take the active work of organizing municipalities under the new law at an early date. While it is unnecessary to discuss in detail the new measure, the text of which has been forwarded to you, explanation of certain of its provisions may be useful. The "pueblos" of these islands sometimes include a hundred or more square miles. They are divided into so-called barrios, or wards, which are often ver}' numerous and widely separated. In order that the interests of the inhabitants of each ward may be represented in the council, on the one hand, and that that body may not become so numerous as to be unwieldy, on the other, it is provided that the councilors shall be few in number (18 to 8, according to the number of inhabitants) and shall be elected at large; that where the wards are more numerous than are the councilors, the wards shall be grouped into districts, and that one councilor shall be in charge of each ward or district, with power to appoint a representative from among the inhabitants of every ward thus assigned to him, so that he may the more readily keep in touch with conditions in that portion of the township which it is his duty to supervise and represent. General Order No. 40 gave the suffrage to all persons 23 or more years of age who had held municipal office under Spanish sovereignty, or who annually paid 30 pesos or more of the established taxes, or who could speak, read, and write English or Spanish. The new law further extends it to all owners of real property to the value of 500 pesos, so that only those are excluded who can not read, write, and speak English or Spanish, or who do not pay 30 pesos of taxes, or who do not own 500 pesos' worth of real property, or who have never held municipal office. The Commission has every reason to believe that this liberal provision will prove entirely satisfactory to the people. General Order No. 40 further restricted the suffrage by providing for the disqualification of defendants in criminal cases pending trial; of those who had been gubernativcly corrected three or more times for misconduct or who have been subjected to corporal punishment or OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1000-1903. 55 disqualification; of those who were subject to civil interdiction or the vigilance of the authorities through the sentence of a court of justice; of debtors to any treasury or municipal fund; of those who had con- tracts with the municipal council to be finished within the municipal term; and of those who had a suit with the municipality to which they belonged, as well as of insane or feeble-minded persons. Most of these restrictions were deemed unwise, and under the new law only those will be disqualified who are delinquent in the payment of public taxes assessed since August 13, 1898, or who have been deprived of the right to vote by the sentence of a court of competent jurisdiction since August 13, 1898, and insane or feeble-minded persons. The subject of taxation has been made the object of especially care- ful attention. The effect of the old Spanish system was to throw practically the whole burden on those who could least afford to bear it. The poor paid the taxes, and the rich, in many instances, went free, or nearly so, unless they were unfortunate enough to hold office, and thus incur responsibility for the taxes of others which they failed to collect. There was a considerable number of special taxes, many of w^hich were irritating and offensive to the people, and yielded, at the best, a pitifully small revenue. The continuation of some of these objectionable taxes was provided for by General Order No. 40, while, in case the revenue resulting should not prove sufficient for the necessities of the municipality, the council was authorized to make ' ' a general division among the resi- dents and property owners, in proportion to the means and resources of each, to cover the expenses of the ser\dce of the municipality, or of such part thereof as is unprovided for by receipts from the preceding sources." This last provision was deemed by the commission highly dangerous and has been abolished. In dealing with the question of taxation it has been our purpose, first, to do away with all taxes which, through irritating those from whom they were collected or through the small amount of resulting revenue, were manifestly objectionable; second, to remove the so-called industrial taxes, except where levied on industries requiring police supervision; third, to abolish special taxes, such as the tax for lighting and cleaning the nuniicipality and the tax for the repair of i-oads and streets; fourth, to provide abundant funds for the legiti- mate needs of the township by a system which should adjust the bur- den of contribution with some reference to the resources of those called upon to bear it. To this end provision has been made for a moderate tax on land and improvements thereon. It is reasonably certain that at the outset there will be more or less opposition to this tax. This opposition will come from the rich, who have thus far escaped their fair share of the burden of taxation and who will naturally be more or less unwilling to assume it. It is 56 REPORTS OF THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT believed, however, that this opposition will bo transient and will dis- appear as the people come to realize that the payment of taxes results in direct benefit to the communities in which they live and to them- selves individually. The exact rate of taxation on land and improvements is left to the several municipal councils within certain limits. They may reduce it to one-fourth of 1 per cent of the assessed valuation or raise it to one- half of 1 per cent; but in any event they must spend the amount accruing from a tax of at least one-fourth of 1 per cent on free public schools. Education is the crying need of the inhabitants in this coun- try, and it is hoped and believed that the funds resulting from the land tax will be sufficient to enable us to establish an adequate primary school system. Careful and, it is believed, just provisions have been made for the determination of values and for the protection of the rights of property owners. In the matter of collection of revenues a complete innovation has been introduced, which, it is believed, will be productive of satisfac- tory^ results. It is intended to create for the islands a centralized sys- tem for the collection and disbursement of revenues, the head ofiicer of which shall be the insular treasurer of Manila. It is proposed to establish subordinate offices in the several departments, and others subordinate in turn to the several departmental offices in the various provinces. All revenues within any given province, whether for the municipal, provincial, departmental, or insular treasuries, will be col- lected by deputies of the provincial treasurer, who will immediately turn over to the several municipalities all funds collected for them. It is believed that by this means a much higher degree of honesty and efficiency can be secured than would be the case were the collectors appointed by the municipalities or chosen by suffrage, while it will be a great convenience to the taxpayer to be able to meet his obligations to all departments of the government at one time, and thus escape annoyance at the hands of a multiplicit}' of officials, each of whom is collecting revenue for a diflE'erent end. Furthermore, the provincial treasurer will know the exact amount paid in to each municipal treas- ury, and will thus have a valuable check on the finances of every town in his province. Corruption in the management of public funds has been and still is one of the crying evils in this country, and it is believed that if an honest and efficient man is put at the head of the financial system of a province and is given large control over the deputies who serve under him a much-needed lesson can be taught to the municipal officials. In order to meet the situation presented by the fact that a number of the pueblos have not as yet been organized since the American occupation, while some 250 others are organized under the compara- tively shiiple form of government provided by General Order JSos. 4:3 OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 57 and 55, under the much more complicated form provided by General Order No. 40, on which the new law is based, the course of procedure which must be followed in order to bring these various towns under the provisions of the new law has been prescribed in detail and every effort has been made to provide against unnecessary friction in carry- ing out the change. In view of the disturbed conditions which still prevail in some parts of the Archipelago, it has been provided that the military governor should be given control of the appointment and arming of the muni- cipal police, and that in all provinces where a civil provincial govern- ment has not been established by the Commission the duties of the provincial governor, provincial treasurer, and provincial "fiscal" (prosecuting attorney) shall be performed by military officers assigned b}^ the militar}^ governor for these purposes. It has been further pro- vided that in these provinces the military governor shall have power, through such subordinates as he may designate for the purpose, to inspect and investigate at anj^ time all the official books and records of the several municipalities, and to summarily suspend any n icij)al officer for inefficiency, misconduct, or disloyalty to the United States. If, upon investigation, it shall prove that the suspended officer is guilty, the military governor has power to remove him and to appoint his successor should he deem such a course necessary in the interest of public safety. It is thought that where the necessity still exists for active inter- vention on the part of the military governor it will ordinarily be desirable to allow the towns to retain their existing organization until such time as conditions shall improve; but should it prove necessary or desirable in individual instances to put the new law into operation in such provinces, it is felt that the above provisions will give to the military governor ample power to deal with any situation which can arise, and he has expressed his satisfaction with them. There are at the present time a considerable number of provinces which, in the judgment of the Commission, are ready for a provincial civil government. It is believed that in the majority of cases it will be possible to organize all the municipalities of a province, creating at ■ the same time a civil provincial government. So soon as civil govern- ment is established in any province, power to remove officials for ineffi- ciency, misconduct, or disloyalty, and, should public safety demand it, to fill the offices thus made vacant, is vested in the civil authorities. The law does not apply to the city of Manila or to the settlements of non-Christain tribes, because it is believed that in both cases special conditions require special legislation. The question as to the best methods of dealing with the non-Christian tribes is one of no little complexity. The number of these tribes is greatly in excess of the number of civilized tribes, although the total 58 REPOKTS OI* THE CIVIL OOVF.RNMENT numlior of Mohammedans and paefan.s is much loss than the numl)erof christianized natives. Still, the non-Christian tribes are very far from forming an insignilieant element of the population. They differ from each other widely, both in their present social, moral, and intellectual state and in the readiness with which they adapt themselves to the demands of modern ciAnlization. The necessity of meeting this problem has been brought home to the Commission b}^ conditions in the province of Benguet. The Igor- rotes who inhabit this province are a pacific, industrious, and rela- tively honest and truthful people, who have never taken any part in the insurrection, and who have rendered our forces valuable service b}'^ furnishing them with information, serving as carriers, and aiding them in other waj^s. They certainly deserve well of us. They are, however, illiterate pagans, and it is stated on good authority that there are not three Igorrotes in the province who can read or write. They are uncomplaining, and when wronged lly to the mountain fastnesses in the center of the island instead of seeking redress. The wonderful climate of their province, as well as its great min- eral wealth, make it well-nigh certain that there will be in the near future a large influx of Americans and Europeans. The situation is further complicated by the fact that there are living among the Igor- rotes a considerable number of civilized Ilocanos, who display a tend- ency to take undue advantage of their less civilized neighbors when opportunity offers. It is necessary, on the one hand, that the present inhabitants should be granted the protection which they have well earned, and on the other, that they should be gradually accustomed to the ways of civilized people, which it is believed they will readily adopt. They should also be given an opportunity for elementary instruction, which they earnestly desire if they can have it without being forced to change their religious beliefs. The conditions in Benguet may bo taken as fairly typical of those which prevail in many other provinces, populated in whole or in part by harmless and amiable, but ignorant and superstitious, wild tribes. The Commission has already passed an act for the establishment of township governments in this province, and it is believed that this measure will serve as a model for other acts necessitated by similar conditions in other provinces. The division of the province into town- ships and wards is provided for. The government of each township is nominally vested in a president and council, the latter composed of one representative from each ward of the township. The president and vice-president are chosen at large by a viva voce vote of the male residents of the township 18 or more years of age, and the councilors are similarly chosen by the residents of the several barrios. The difficulties arising from the complete illiteracy of the people are met by providing for the appointment of a secretary for each town, OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 59 who shall speak and write Ilocano, which the Igorrotes understand, and English or Spanish. He is made the means of communication between the people and the provincial governor, makes and keeps all town records, and does all clerical work. The president is the chief executive of the township and its treasurer as well. He is also the presiding officer of a court consisting of him- self and two councilors chosen b}^ the council to act with him. This court has power to hear and adjudge violations of local ordinances. It also has jurisdiction in civil cases involving not more than $200, pro- vided the parties to the suit make written application for a trial of their case and agree in writing to abide by the finding. The president has power to direct the making of arrests in criminal cases for misdemeanors not within the jurisdiction of the court, to carry out a preliminary investigation into the facts, and if the guilt of the prisoner appears probable, to send him, together with the findings in the case, to the governor of the province. One police officer (con- stable) is allowed to each township, but it is provided that the question of any additional police force shall be left to the military governor, as well as the question of what arms shall be allowed to the police and to other township officers or residents. Rules are laid down for the organization and work of the council, which is given considerable power, but its acts are made subject to the approval of the provincial governor, and it is further provided that, should any given council prove unfit to exercise the power given it, or fail to do so, the pro- vincial governor may adopt suitable measures for the carrying out of the provisions of the law. It is believed that, by encouraging the municipal councils to attempt to make ordinances and then giving them the benefit of the criticism and suggestion of the provincial governor with reference to such attempts, they may be gradually taught much needed lessons in self- government, while sufficient power is given to the governor to enable him to nullify harmful measures and to take the initiative when a council fails to act. The Igorrotes are tillers of the soil, and a few of the inhabitants of each township have acquired very considerable wealth. It is provided that they shall be allowed to declare the value of their property before the presidents of the several townships and that their declaration shall })e accepted as true, unless called into question by the provincial inspector or by some resident of the province, in which case the matter shall be determined by a board consisting of the provincial governor, the provincial secretary, and the president of the township. Those who own property to the value of 200 pesos or more are taxed annually one-half of 1 per cent of its estimated value. Males 18 or more years of age whose total property is worth less than 200 pesos are excused from the payment of a property tax, and in lieu thereof pay u liat 60 KEVOUTt^ OF THE riVTL (JOVERTSMENT annual tax of 1 peso each. All the funds thus raised go into the township treasury, and are expended bj"^ the president for the benefit of the township, on order of the council, subject to the approval of the provincial governor. As a check upon the necessaril}^ wide powers given to the provin- cial governor, it is provided that a popular representative shall be annually elected, whose privilege and duty it shall he to communicate directly with the chief executive of the insular government, should the provincial governor abuse his powers. It is hoped and believed that under this system the governor of the province of Benguet will be able rapidly to improve the condition of its inhabitants. In the past thej^ were in many instances practically enslaved by the Spaniards as "polistas" and were forced to render involuntary services, for which they received no compensation. It has been learned that, even at the present time, the municipal author- ities in some of the Ilocano towns, in the plains below, lay hold of every Igorrote who passes through and compel him either to carry a heav3^ burden into the mountains or to pay twenty cents (a day's wages) for immunity; while formerly not only were the Igorrotes compelled to work on the roads without pay, but they were even forced to serve in the houses of Spaniards and civilized Filipinos without compensa- tion. In some cases they were not even given food. In view of the foregoing facts, the compelling the inhabitants of the province to render involuntary service, either as "polistas" or in any other capacity, has been absolutely prohibited, except for the satisfac- tion of unpaid taxes, license fees, or fines. A violation of this provi- sion has been made a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars Mexican, or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. A CIVIL PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT FOR BENGUET. It is proposed to create a civil provincial government before organ- izing the townships of Benguet under the act just described, and the Commission has passed a law providing that this government shall consist of a provincial governor, a provincial secretary, and a provin- cial inspector. The governor is the chief executive of the province, and will act as its treasurer until such time as the appointment of a provincial treasurer shall become necessary. Until a departmental government shall be established which includes the province of Benguet, he will report directly to the military governor of the islands. It is his duty to make known to the people of his province all gen- eral laws or governmental orders which concern them, and to pass upon the ordinances and acts of the several township councils. Should the council of any township fail to enact measures necessary to carry OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 61 out the provisions of the law for the organization of such townships, the governor is authorized to issue suitable orders to this end. He has power to siLspend any township official charged with misconduct or with disloj^altj' to the United States, and after proper notice and hearing to remove or reinstate him; but such suspension, removal, or reinstatement must be reported to the Commission, who may approve or revoke the same. The governor is made ex officio a justice of the peace, and has power to issue warrants for the arrest of persons charged with the commis- sion of offenses, to make preliminary examinations, and to commit the accused for trial b}^ court of first instance for the provinces of Union and Benquet, if the facts warrant such action. He is also empowered to take bail from accused persons if the cases are bailable. He is the presiding officer of a board of assessors for determining, for purposes of taxation, the value of real estate in regard to which dispute arises, and he has general control of all constabulary and police forces in the province, subject to the supervision of the chief executive of the insular government. The provincial secretary is the custodian of all official records and the interpreter and translator for the provincial governor, as well as the recording officer in all judicial and official proceedings over which the provincial governor presides. It is the Huty of the provincial inspector to visit and inspect the several townships of the province at stated intervals and on special occasions, as the provincial governor may direct, and to report to the latter the result of his investigations. As the province of Benguet is extensive and it takes some two weeks to make the round of the town ships, the office of inspector is important, for the governor must keep in touch with conditions in the several townships without absenting himself too frequently and for too long periods from the capital. The capital of the province is changed from Trinidad to Baguio. The site oi the latter town is in every way suitable, while Trinidad is situated at the bottom of what was once a volcanic crater and clouds are constantly caught and held in the valley where it lies, causing a great deal of fog. On this account the Spaniards had under con- sideration the changing of the capital to some other and more suitable point. Furthermore, it is anticipated that Baguio would be the terminal of a branch railway connecting Dagupan or Sual with Benguet, an additional reason for the transfer. It should be clearly understood that the provincial and municipal governments provided for Benguet are special measures designed to meet the needs of a primitive and illiterate people. They are in no sense indicative of what it is intended to give the civilized tribes. It is proposed to establish a school for English and rudimentary manual training at Baguio in the near future, and to provide for the vaccination of the entire population of the province. 62 KKl'OliTS (.)F TUK CIVIL GOVKUNMKNT THE MANILA LIQUOR TRAFFIC. The only locrislation thus far uudcrtakcn by the Commission which bears directly on the conduct of municipal ati'aii's in the city of Manila is a law regrulating the sale of spirituous, malt, vinous, or fer- mented liquors. It has proved difficult to obtain accurate information as to the number and character of places at which liquor was sold in this city prior to American occupation. According to the best information available, there were 14 "cantinas," corresponding more or less directly to our saloons or bars. It has been definitely ascertained that there were 2,206 shops where the so-called native wines were sold at retail, audit is believed that there were not less than 4,000 such shops. Practi- cally all drug stores and groceries sold wines and liquors. No munici- pal license was required, the payment of an industrial tax conferring the right to sell intoxicating beverages. Until January 4, 1900, there was, strictly speaking, no liquor- license law in Manila. All licenses to sell liquor, of whatsoever class, were general business licenses, the fee for which was only $3 plus a |1 license stamp. On June 30, 1899, such business licenses had been issued to 214 saloons. Fourteen of them had been canceled, leaving 200 outstanding. Up to February 1, 1900, there were issued 28 more business licenses to saloons, of which 4 were canceled, leaving outstanding a total of 224. On January 4, 1900, a general order was issued by the military gov- ernor providing regulations for the issue of saloon licenses, properly so called, to take effect February 1, 1900, and all outstanding saloon licenses were canceled on January 31. Under the provisions of the above-mentioned order there were issued between February 1 and June 30, 80 licenses for wine, liquor, and beer saloons and 87 licenses for wine and beer saloons, making a total of 167 licenses issued. Of these, 12 were revoked or surrendered, leaving 155 outstanding on June 30. This number includes hotel and restaurant liquor licenses. On November 23, 1900, the following licenses were in force: First-class bar licenses (wine, liquor, and beer) 43 Second-class bar licenses (wine and beer) 41 First-class bar licenses, with hotel privilege 17 Second-class bar licenses, with hotel privilege 7 making a total of 108, as against 155 on June 30 and 224 on Febru- ary 1. Meanwhile the number of shops at which the so-called "native wines" were sold at retail had been reduced from approximately 4,000 at the time of the American occupation to 408 on November 23, 1900. It wiU be seen, therefore, that since February 1, 1900, there has been OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1<)0()-H)n3. 63 a steady and material reduction in the number of institutions which could be properly classed as saloons, while the number of retail shops for the native ""wines" has been reduced since American occupation by approximately 3,600. This last fact is especially important, as the so-called wines (vinos) are concocted by mixing strong and often impure alcohol with various oils and flavoring extracts, and are, in most instances, harmful in the extreme if imbibed in any considerable quantity. In fairness to the native it should be stated that he ordi- narily uses his "vino" very temperately, and consequently suflers comparatively little harm. In the law above referred to the Commission has imposed many new restrictions on the sale of intoxicants, and has forbidden saloons, after April 1, 1901, on certain of the principal streets and plazas, namely, the Escolta, Calle Rosario, Plaza Moraga, Plaza Cervantes, Calle San Fernando, and a part of Calle Nueva. The following licenses and fees are provided for: Name of license. Liquors allowed sold. Cost per year. First-class bar Fermented, vinous malt or spirituous Pesos. 1,200 700 Second-class bar Fermented, vinous or malt Theater 1,600 1 000 First-class hotel do Second-class hotel 600 Druggists' liquor Fermented, vinous, malt or spirituous 100 Grocery liquor do 100 Brewers' Brewery products 1 ''00 Distillers' 600 First-class wholesale liquor 1 200 Second-class wholesale liquor Fermented, vinous, or malt.. 600 Third-class wholesale liquor Fermented, vinous 52 Kative-wlne license 3 All laws and regulations heretofore governing the issue of licenses for the sale of liquor are repealed. Violations of the minor pro- visions of the law are punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding 200 pesos, or imprisonment for six months, or both, in the discretion of the trial court, for each offense. A violation of any provision of the act may subject the offender to having his license revoked, in the discretion of the provost-marshal-general, while, if he is convicted of selling, giving away, or otherwise disposing of any liquor not allowed by his license, or during the hours wherein the sale of such liquor is prohibited, or of selling, giving away, or otherwise disposing of any intoxicating liquor to any intoxicated person, the license becomes null and void as a consequence of conviction. It is provided that none of the so-called native " wines " shall be sold except by holders of native-wine licenses and that such holders shall not be allowed to sell intoxicants of any other sort whatever. The license fee for dealers in native wines has been placed at what might seem a ridiculously low figure, because the capital invested in the busi- ness amounts to but a few dollars and because experience has showu 64 RKTOKTS OF 'I'lIK CIVIL (iOVKKNMKNT that direct control of the provost-marshal-gencral is the most efficient means for holdino- this traffic in check. The selling of native "wines" to soldiers of the United States, under any circmiistances, is strictly prohibited, because the soldiers are inclined to indulge in these inju- rious beverages to excess, with disastrous results. As already stated, the Filipino ordinarily uses them moderately, if at all. Fortunately he does not to any considerable extent frequent the American saloon. With a view to preventing his being attracted there, the pla3'ing of musical instruments or the conduction or opera- tion of any gambling device, phonograph, slot machine, billiard or pool table, or other form of amusement in saloons, bars, or drinking places is prohibited. License fees are now imposed for the first time on apothecary shops, drug stores, and groceries which sell liquor. The granting of licenses for the sale of any intoxicating liquor in the public markets, " kioskos," booths, or stands situated in the public streets or plazas, or bj' street venders or peddlers, is prohibited. It is further provided that no application for a license or for a renewal thereof to conduct a first or second class bar shall be received until the applicant shall have published, at his own expense, a notice in six consecutive editions of one Spanish and one English newspaper, to be designated by the provost-marshal-general. The object of this provision is to give property owners and residents in the vicinity where it is desired to establish such bar or saloon an opportunity to protest to the provost-marshal against the granting of the license. The provost-marshal will not grant licenses in the face of protest on the part of such property owners or residents. It is confidentl}^ anticipated that the increased charges imposed on the liquor traffic, the restriction as to streets on which a liquor busi- ness may be conducted, and the wide discretionary powers given to the provost-marshal-general will materially reduce the number of places in the city at which intoxicants are sold. MINERAL WEALTH AND THE MINING INDUSTRY. It is difficult at the present time to make any accurate general state- ment as regards the mineral resources of the Philippine Islands. There has never been any mining, properly so-called, in this archipelago up to the present time. The mining fields have never been thoroughly prospected, and even where very valuable deposits were known to exist they were worked, if at all, in a haphazard and intermittent fashion. Present indications are that the near future will bring a great change in the mining industry. According to the chief of the mining bureau there are iww some twelve hundred prospectors and practical miners scattered through the different islands of the archipelago. Of these, OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 65 probably 90 per cent are Americans. They are for the most part men of good character. They are pushing their way into the more inaccessible regions, furnishing their own protection and doing pros- pecting of a sort and to an extent never before paralleled in the history of the Philippine Islands. The result is that our knowledge of the mineral resources of the group is rapidly increasing. When all due allowance is made for prospectors' exaggerations, it is not too much to say that the work thus far done has demonstrated the existence of many valuable mineral fields. The provinces of Benguet, Lepanto, and Bontoc in particular form a district of very great richness. COPPER. In the province of Lepanto, at Mancayan and Suyoc, there are immense deposits of gray copper and copper sulphide, and running through this ore are veins of gold-bearing quartz, which is more or less disintegrated and in places is extremely rich. This copper ore has been assayed, and the claim is made that it runs on the average 8 per cent copper, while gold is often present in considerable quantities. The deposits are so extensive as to seem almost inexhaustible. The Commission has been unable to verify the statements as to the extent and richness of these copper deposits through its own agents, but the authority for them is such that they are believed to be sub- stantially correct. As early as 1856-57 two concessions were granted to the Cantabro Philippine Mining Company, and an attempt was made to exploit them and market their product. Rude methods of mining, ruder methods of extracting the metal, and still more rude and primitive methods of transportation, combined with lack of sufficient capital and suitable labor, led to the abandonment of this attempt, and for more than twenty years the property, which in itself is a small claim upon the immense ledge above referred to, has been occupied only to the lim- ited extent required by the Spanish mining laws to prevent the cancel- lation of the concession. The officer at present in charge of the min- ing bureau characterizes this deposit as an "undoubted bonanza." The main thing necessary for its exploitation is the opening up of a short line of communication with the coast. COAL. Lignites are known to exist in Luzon, Bataan (the island, not the province), -Mindoro, Masbate, Negros, Cebu, Mindanao, and other islands. Some of the deposits are very extensive. As yet, they have })cen worked only at or near the surface. It is therefore remarkable that the samples thus far obtained should prove to be as good as is shown by actual analysis. A comparative table follows, giving analyses of Car- diff, Australian, and Wyoming coals, as well as some of the Philippine 23181—04- 5 66 UKl'OKTS OF TlIK CIVIL COV KKNMKNT oojils, in order thai tlio latter may be eonipared Avith the former. In this table Mill be found the famous Rock Springs commereial and locomo- tive eoals; the Union Pacific; the Frcemont, Elkhorn and Missouri Val- ley (C. and N. W. K. R.); the Burlington and Missouri in Nebraska (C, B. and Q. R. R.), and the Cambria Coal Mining Company's coking coal, all of them lignites and all of them successful steam coals. Anali/sin of PhUipplvc coah, coinparrd vUh Oirdiff, Auslrnlian, and Wyoming coah. Name of mine. Location. *-< " O) -1=. OS Cardiff Newcastle and Sidney Santa Rosa Van Dyke ■. Sweetwater Coal Co. Union Pacific No. 1 . England Australia Cebii Rock Springs, Wyo. do .do Caridad . Dillon... Esperanza . Magallanes Union Pacific No. 1 ... Union Pacific No. 2 ... Deer Creek Coal Co . . . Grinnell Burgess Antelope M. and M Jumbo Inez Coal Co . Cataingan Bulalacao. Becker Union Pacific No. 1 . . Cebii .... Rawlins . Cebii .. do. Almy.Wyo Carbon, Wyo ... Glenrock, Wyo . Sheridan, Wyo.. do Cambria, Wyo . Buffalo,Wyo... Cambria, Wyo . Inez, Wyo Masbate Mindoro Sheridan, Wyo Hanna Per cent. 83.00 71.45 57. 94 66.50 55.70 55.60 5-1.56 54.00 51.96 49. 50 48. 75 48.30 47. 75 44.75 44.70 44.25 44.20 43. 65 42. 50 41.40 41.06 38.75 38.70 Per cent. 8.00 16. 25 31.75 34.50 36.95 36.42 34.53 32. 85 37.56 35.03 34.88 35.43 33.03 33.18 37.55 39.38 34.30 40.13 36.05 43.31 42. 40 44.37 Per cent 4.50 2.90 9.23 6.25 5. .55 5.38 9.60 6.65 7.80 11.18 7.37 7.42 13.82 Pa cent 3.90 9.40 1 2.75 1.80 2.60 1.31 6.60 2.68 3.62 9.00 8.85 5.40 13. 05 4. 70 6. 72 9. 65 14. 70, 6. 80 5.72 10.50 14. 65 6. 80 10. 50 12. 50 8.72 4.38 4.30 8.21 842 432 674 7,530 6,205 5,353 1,369 5,643 1,632 1,491 5,829 5,490 91.60 fuel. 87.70 fuel. Mixed. 89.69 fuel. 91.00 fuel. Commer- cial Rock Springs. 92.65 fuel. Commer- cial Rock Springs. 92.02 fuel. Union Pa- cific R. R. Rock Springs. 89.09 fuel. 86.85 fuel. Commer- cial steam. 89..52 fuel. 84.53 fuel, 0.67 foreign matter. 83.63 fuel. Central Pa- cific and Union Pa- cific R.R.locomotive 83.73 fuel. Union Pa- cific R. R. locomo- tive. 80.78 fuel. Fremont, Elkhorn and Mis- souri Valley R. R. locomotive. 77.93 fuel. Burlington and Missouri River R. R. in Nebraska locomotive. 82.25 fuel. Commer- cial steam. 84.63 fuel. Black Hills coke. 78..50 fuel. Commer- cial steam. 83.78 fuel. Black Hills 78.55 fuel. Fremont, Elkhorn and Mis- souri Valley locomo- tive. 84.71 fuel. 0.41 sulphur. 83.20 fuel. 83.12 fuel. Commer- cial -steam. 73.95 fuel. Union Pa- cific R. R. locomo- tive. Testimony is unanimous to the fact that the Philippine coals do not clinker, nor do they soil the boiler tubes to any such extent as do Japanese and Australian coals. Some of them have been given prac- tical tests in steamers engaged in the coasting trade of the archi- pelago, with very satisfactory results as regards their steam-making properties. OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1!K»0-1903. 67 The extensive fields near Bulacacao, in southern Mindoro, are within 4 to 6 miles of a harbor which gives safe anchorage throughout the year and which has water deep enough for the largest ocean-going vessels. Some of the Cebu deposits are also conveniently situated with reference to harbor facilities. It is to be confidently expected that the coals will play a very important part in the future development of the archipelago. GOLD. The outlook as to gold mines grows more favorable as the opera- tions of prospectors are extended. Modern gold-mining machinery has never been used in the Philippines. Igorrote miners in the Benguet-Lepanto-Bontoc district discard all rock in which there is not visible a considerable quantity of free gold. Prospectors in this region claim to have located very extensive deposits of low-grade, free-milling ore, which will yield large and certain returns as soon as concessions can be secured and machinery put in place. Unless the statements of those who have been working in this region are utterly false, it is true that very valuable deposits have been located and that extensive oper- ations will be undertaken as soon as claims can be granted and machin- ery placed. At all events, it is certain that the men who have located •these deposits have sufficient faith in them to camp on them and wait month after month for the time to come when they can establish their claims. IRON. Extensive deposits of high-grade iron ore are known to exist, but it would seem that their development must be preceded by the develop- ment of the coal fields. NECESSITY FOR MINING LAWS AND FOR SETTLEMENT OF EXISTING CLAIMS. There can be no question that it is to the interest of the inhabitants of this archipelago to have its mineral resources developed. It is equally certain that the men who have faced manifold dangers in locat- ing valuable mineral properties, and who are ready and anxious to develop them, should be given an opportunity to do so at the earliest practicable time. Although, as has been stated, the character of the prospectors and miners in the archipelago is above the average, the presence of a con- siderable body of such men who have found mineral deposits, but are forced to endure a long period of inactivity, pending the time when they can establish their claims and begin active operations, is not a desirable factor in the present situation. The reports which are being sent out are of such a character as to make it highly probable that the 68 REPORTS OK THK CIVIL (K>VKKNMENT uiuiil)or of })rospectors and miners will be greatly augmented in the near future. It seems, therefore, most important tliat immediate steps should be taken to make it possible for the government established in these islands to grant mining claims. There is, furthermore, necessity for some tribunal empowered to decide questions arising in regard to Spanish mining grants and so- called ''titles," although the word "title" is in this case a misnomer, for under Spanish law only concessions were granted, the title being continued in the Crown. The ownership of the concessionary was limited to a license of indeterminate length, allowing him to extract certain minerals and to dispose of the same and to convey to others his rights by deed. This "title" was at all times subject to eleven general conditions, and failure to comply with any one of them made it possible for the Crown to cancel the concession. Endless questions are arising as to the status of concessions granted by the Spanish Government to which the titles had been perfected or were in process of perfection. For purposes of convenience, claims are here referred to as "first-class claims" where title has been per- fected, and as "second-class claims" where title was in process of perfection. FIEST-CLASS CLAIMS (SPANISH GRANTS RECORDED). Of such concessions there were recorded and uncanceled upon the records at the time the Philippine Islands were ceded by Spain to the United States no less than 481. These claims were embraced in 152 " expedientes " (or petitions); in other words, there were 152 different mines. They were distributed among the various minerals as follows: Claims. Gold Coal Copper Iron Sulphur... Marble.... Petroleum Kafilin Guano Total Square meters. 338 19,974,512.26 116 17,400,000 2 166, 849. 24 9 1,137,571.09 3 180, 000 4 80,000 4 600, 000 4 80,000 1 20, 000 491 39, 638, 932. 58 Some of these grants are doubtless invalid because of long abandon- ment, but the formal entry of cancellation has not been made upon the records. SECOND-CLASS CLAIMS (INCOMPLETE SPANISH GRANTS). When the Philippine Islands were ceded to the United States there were proceedings pending in toe department of mines for the survey and official demarcation of 113 claims, embracing 10,yttl,014.71 square OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 69 meters, and contained in 37 petitions, and divided among the minerals as follows: ( Claims. Area. Gold 61 49 1 2 Square meters. 3,531,614.71 Coal 7,360,000 20, 000 40.000 Total 113 10,941,614.71 These claims had not 5^et reached a stage where they could be closed by a concession, since, by the terms of the Spanish law, the act of demarcation, based on a definite official survey by a public surveyor, was a condition precedent to the granting of a title, and was the only means by which the lands could be segregated from the public domain. THIRD-CLASS CLAIMS. There remains a third class of claims, viz, those which it was attempted to establish through the mining bureau at Manila by the filing of petitions there between May 4, 1898, and March 30, 1899. It would appear that there was no warrant of law for the filing of such petitions, and that they have no legal value. Nevertheless, they number 1,618 and embrace 149,288,13'4.37 square meters. They are divided among the minerals as follows: Claims. Area. Qold 1,006 467 108 16 3 10 4 4 Square meters. 60,348,134.37 Coal 70,050,000 15,160,000 2,400,000 450, 000 200,000 80, 000 600, 000 Total 1,618 149,288,134.37 As already stated, it is of great importance that some tribunal should be established at the earliest possible date by which the legal status of these claims may be determined. In many if not all instances the disturbed conditions which have prevailed in the archipelago since 1896 have prevented the owners of claims of the first class from ful- filling all the conditions precedent to keeping their titles clear. They desire to pay the taxes due on this property, if it be held that they are the rightful owners on the one hand, and on the other they can hardly be compelled to pay them unless their ownership is recognized. They also, and very naturally, desire to prevent others from squatting on their claims. Similarly, those who had begun to perfect titles to 70 REPORTS OP THE OIVIL GOVERNMENT iiiinuig- concossioiis prior to the change of sovereignty are anxious to learn what their rights are. The island government is interested in the clearing up of titles to these^ mining properties on account of the revenue which would result. The owners, or would-be owners, are interested on account of the possible profit to themselves. The people at large are inter- ested on account of the increased opportunities for the employment of labor which would accompany the active development of mineral deposits. There is every reason, therefore, why a mining code should be enacted for these islands at the earliest practicable time and suit- able provision made for determining the rights of all claimants to mining properties. It is believed that this whole matter should be dealt with here by the legislative body at present existing in the islands, but the Commission has held that it can not determine ques- tions arising as to existing claims nor consider applications for new concessions until duly authorized by Congress. In view of the importance of the interests involved, such authorization is urgently requested. FORESTRY. The timber of the Philippine Archipelago forms one of its most important natural sources of wealth. The timber-producing trees have been classified in order of their commercial value as follows: Superior group, 12 species; first group, 17 species; second group, 49 species; third group, 74 species; fourth group, 200 species; fifth group, 33 species; total species, 385. It is certain that there still remain more than 50 species not yet classified. Included in this list are very hard woods, capable of taking a beautiful polish; woods that resist climatic influences and are proof against the attacks of white ants; woods especially suited to use for sea piling, on account of their imper- viousness to the attacks of Teredo nwvalis^ or for railroad ties, because they last extremely well when placed in the ground; in short, there are woods for every imaginable use. There is a great variety of trees yielding valuable gums, and rubber and gutta-percha are abundant in Mindanao and Tawi-Tawi. At least 17 dyewoods are produced within the limits of the archipelago, while other trees yield valuable essential oils or drugs. It has been esti- mated by the present head of the Forestry Bureau, from such data as he has been able to secure, that there are not less than 40,000,000 acres of forest lands in the archipelago. Under the Spanish administration a force of QQ expert foresters and 64 rangers, with 40 other subordinates, such as clerks, draftsmen, etc., formed the personnel of the forestry department. The service was organized in 1863, and throughout its history the higher officials were selected from the Spanish corps of engineers. No Filipino was per- OF THE PHlLIi'PINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 7l mitted to hold any of the more important positions. In addition to the care of the forests, the department had in charge the surve}^ of all public lands. The annual income during the last years of the Spanish regime was approximately $150,000, Mexican. The present forestry bureau was organized on the 14th of April, 1900, under General Order No. 50, which placed Capt. George P. Ahern, Ninth United States Infantry, in charge, making no specifica- tions whatever as to his duties. He received authority to employ 4 foresters, 2 rangers, a stenographer, and a translator. This force was gradually increased until, on the 18th of September, it consisted of a translator, a stenographer, a chief assistant, 7 assistant foresters, 1 head ranger, and 13 rangers. On July 1 regulations prepared by the forestry bureau and gov- erning the utilization of the forest products of state lands were pub- lished as General Order No. 92. These regulations were based on those in force under Spanish sovereignty, but the latter were some- what condensed and a few changes were introduced. The old blank forms were kept and additional ones provided for. Under the new rules the prices per cubic foot charged by the Government for timber cut on public lands are as follows: Superior group, 7 cents; first group, 5 cents; second group, 4 cents; third group, li cents; fourth group, 1 cent; fifth group, i cent (United States currency). There are given lists of the trees of the several groups, with their common names and their scientific names, so far as the latter have been ascer- tained, together with rules governing the cutting and measuring of timber and the payment of the charges thereon, as well as provisions as to how the various gums shall be gathered. It seemed extremely important that an order allowing the cutting of timber should be put into force at the earliest possible time, as there was practically a lumber famine at Manila and other important points in the archipelago, while the destruction of buildings incident to the war, and the increased demand for good dwelling houses, resulting from the large influx of Americans, made it imperative that provisions should be made so that the felling of trees and marketing of lumber might lawfully begin. The regulations were, therefore, necessarily somewhat hastily compiled by those having the work in charge. The Commission is now able to profit by the practical results obtained through putting them into force, and is of the opinion that the clerical work connected with the cutting and marketing of timber can be simplified considerably with profit to all concerned. It seems probable that the rates charged, which are greatly in excess of those charged under the Spanish tariff, should be somewhat reduced. The whole matter will be made the subject of careful investigation and legislative action in the near future. 72 REPORTS OF THE CIVIL OOVEKNMENT Early m September the Commission investigated the affairs of the forestry bureau and learned that no attemi)t had l)eon made to enforce the forestry' regulations outside the island of Luzon, even in such great commercial centers as Iloilo and Cebu. With a view to the immediate increase of its efhcicncy, the forestry \>ureau was i-(H)rgan- ized, so as to consist of an officer in charge, an inspector, a botanist, a chief clerk and stenographer, a translator, a law clerk, a record clerk, 10 assistant foresters, and 30 rangers, the existing force of foresters and rangers to be augmented gradually, as occasion might require, until the number above indicated was reached. Active steps are now being taken toward the location of foresters and rangers at important points throughout the archipelago as fast as circumstances will permit. The present monthly collections of revenue from forest products are about $8,000 (Mexican). This sum should be largely increased in the near future. If the statements of the chief of the forestry bureau are correct, the forests of the Philippine Islands are more extensive and more valuable than those of India. It is of the utmost importance that the wanton destruction of valuable timber which has been allowed to go on here in the past should be checked at the earliesfc practicable time, while, with the exercise of proper supervision over the cutting of timber and the construction of better roads, the annual revenue from the sale of forest products should soon become a very important source of income. The chief difficulty which confronts us at present is the lack of honest and active subordinate officials. It is absolutely necessary that the men who occupy these posts should be familiar with the more important of the different kinds of woods, so that they may be able to survey consignments of timber and make proper collections thereon. The men at present used for this work were, almost without exception, formerly employed for it under the Spanish regime, and in the view of the chief of the bureau many of them are corrupt. They are exposed to severe temptation, for it is a simple matter to transfer a wood from the class in which it belongs to a lower class, thereby saving a considerable sum to the owner, who is often only too willing to give a part of what he can make in this way to the forester or ranger with whom he is dealing in order to escape the payment of the full amount due. It is believed that competent men should be trained on the ground for these positions as speedil}^ as possible, and that meanwhile a close inspection should be maintained over the work of the present incum- bents in office, who have been informed that if they are detected in dishonesty they will not only be dropped from the service of the for- estry bureau, but will be ineligible for appointment to any office which falls under the civil-service law. OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 73 Great difficulty has been experienced in securing the services of a competent man for inspector, but it is hoped that such a man may soon be found. ' The Commission has cabled to Washington for four experienced foresters with a knowledge of Spanish and of tropical botany. These men, upon their arrival, will enable us to put the service in a much more satisfactory condition. It is very important that responsible and fully qualified white men should be stationed at the more impor- tant centers of the lumbering industry in these islands if the forests are to be exploited intelligently and the Government is to receive proper compensation for the timber cut on public lands. It is believed that nine-tenths of the timber standing in many of the forests of these islands might be removed with great profit to the Gov- ernment and actual improvement to the forests, inasmuch as this would give opportunity for rapid growth to the trees left standing. MARKET FOR AMERICAN PRODUCTS. It is a remarkable fact that, in spite of the disturbed condition of the country and the consequent interference with business, there has been a steady and rapid increase in the customs receipts, culmina- ting with the month just past, during which they reached a total of $1,888,837.12 Mexican. This, too, in spite of numerous drawbacks apart from those occasioned directly by the war. The tariff has been such as to inflict a practically prohibitory duty on some important imports. The number of cascos and lighters has been inadequate for the prompt discharge of vessels arriving in port, and the custom-house facilities for the storing of goods has proved insufficient, so that much delay and heavy expense have been caused to importers. The custom- house facilities are being increased as rapidly as possible, and it is believed that they will soon become adequate, while the building of cascos and lighters is progressing more and more rapidly as time goes by. The completion of the breakwaters inclosing the new port of Manila and the dredging of the basin thus formed will be a very great advan- tage to importers in this market. At present vessels are sometimes compelled to lie idle for weeks during the typhoon season, owing to the roughness of the bay. This difficulty will be obviated when the break- waters are completed and the basin is dredged. Anything that favors reduction in freights and a consequent lowering of the prices at which American goods can be placed on the market here will greatly increase their use among the common people. It is highly desirable that goods should be shipped directly to Manila. When they are transshipped at Hongkong it is reported that there is considerable loss from careless handling, and freight rates from Hong- kong to Manila are exorbitant. Yet many importers are obliged to 74 REPORTS OF THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT order their goods sent by this route at present, as the long delays at Manila in unloading make shipowners unwilling to send their vessels here, or lead them to charge very high freight rates in order to com- pensate themselves for the time lost in port. The Commission has already provided for the completion of the work outlined on the new port at the earliest possible time. The coasting trade of the islands is at present in the hands of a few large companies; in fact, the bulk of it is in the hands of a single con- cern. Lack of competition enables the owners of vessels engaged in this trade to fix freight rates, which are so high as to interfere consid- erably with the marketing of imported goods at moderate prices. The coasting trade is extensive, and is certain to increase rapidly as order is restored and means of inland communication are improved. There is at present a strong demand here for light-draft vessels, suitable for entering the smaller ports of the archipelago, and for large steam launches and tugs, and this demand seems likely to continue for some time. The bringing of such vessels here would result in the increased use of imported goods through the consequent cheaper rates at which the}' could be placed on the market, and at the same time would yield a handsome profit to their owners. American exporting houses can not be too strongly urged to stud}^ carefully the Philippine market and to familiarize themselves with the tastes and prejudices of the people rather than to ship their goods here haphazard and take chances on their proving acceptable. It is believed that this country will eventually afford a good'market for American agricultural implements and machinery. Agriculture is in its infancy here, and the tools and machinery in use are, for the most part, crude in the extreme. While there are some steam sugar mills in Luzon and Negros, yet the machinery employed is out of date when compared with that in use in the Hawaiian Islands. In very manj' instances cane is still crushed between stone or wooden rollers turned by draft animals. If sugar can be advantageously grown and marketed with such machinery and methods as are at present employed, it is certain that profits would be enormously increased were thor- oughly modern machinery and methods to be introduced. For the successful cultivation of large sugar estates, steam plows must be employed in considerable numbers. The sugar land is admi- rably adapted for their use, being for the most part level and free from stones. The water buffalo, which is at present used for plowing, is a ver}'- unsatisfactory sort of draft animal at the best, while the mortal- ity among buffaloes from rinderpest has recently reached 60 to 80 per cent of the total number in many provinces. Other epidemics of rinder- pest in the past have produced similar or worse results. In many prov- inces the people have been unable to plant their crops during the present season through lack of draft animals for plowing, and were OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 75 steam plows available now their owners might make handsome profits by breaking up land at a fixed price per acre. The plows now in common use are wretched affairs, and the harrows are little better. Such things as our disk harrows, horse cultivators, etc., are entirely unknown. There are no good hoes to be had in the islands, the implements in common use being more like adzes. Native planters are already more or less alive to the necessity of portable tramways for bringing cane to their crushes, and some of the more important sugar plantations have them, but there will be need of many more. The Filipinos are to a considerable extent an imitative people. ■ Were modern implements and sugar machinery of the sort mentioned to be simply placed upon the market and offered for sale here, they would probably not purchase; but were a few modern sugar estates established here, native planters would be quick to appreciate the advan tages of improved machinery and implements. Similarly, the methods employed in planting, cultivating, and har- vesting rice are of the crudest. The rice is planted and harvested by hand. Most of it is threshed under the feet of men or animals. The hull is removed by pounding in wooden mortars, and winnowing is usually accomplished by tossing up grain and chaff in flat wooden baskets and allowing the wind to carry the chaff away. Improvement in the method of harvesting and in the implements used for the purpose is most important, as quantities of rice often spoil in the fields at har- vesting time for lack of sufficient labor; while portable threshing, pearling, and winnowing machinery would speedily find its way into general use. A large steam pearling mill recently established on the line of the Manila and Dagupan Railway proved a very profitable investment. The amount of drugs and chemicals imported is considerable and will increase. American exporters will have to compete with the German trade, but they ought to be able to do so successfully. It would seem that there was an especially good opportunity for the importation of manufactured drugs in the form of pills, pellets, etc., which hardly exist in the market to-day. American horses have done quite well here when fed on imported hay and grain, but mules have done better. There can be no doubt that the mule is the most satisfactory draft animal which has ever been introduced into this country, and is destined to supplant the compara- tively weak and slow-moving water buffalo on large estates. It is believed that the market for wheat flour will greatly increase with the return of prosperity to these islands and the proposed reduc- tion in the duty on it. The natives like bread when they once become accustomed to it, and the probable shortage of rice during the coming year will lead to the more extended use of flour. 76 REPORTS OF THK CIV II. OOVERNMENT It is considered certain that there will ])c a heavy increase in impor- tations of American preserved meats and canned fruits and vegetables, although some very good canned fruits are at present imported from Spain. There will be a market for these commodities in provincial towns where they have been introduced by the troops, and it is confi- dently anticipated that changes in the tariff law, which will enable the marketing of them at a materially reduced price, will greatly increase their sale. The people of these islands are very fond of jewelry, which should be somewhat gaudy to suit their taste. The watches at present mar- keted here have, as a rule, showy cases and dials and wretchedly poor works. It is not uncommon to find a native with a collection of a dozen watches, none of which will go. Good American watches, with suitable dials and cases, ought to supplant the cheap affairs which at present monopolize the market here. These islands produced cotton in some quantity before the days of the Spanish Government tobacco monopoly, when the cultivation of cotton necessarily fell into neglect. It is now raised in a very small way in some of the northern provinces of Luzon, but tobacco is still the important crop in this region, and the people are slow to abandon an industry which is yielding them steady returns and embark in a new one with which they are not familiar, so that it is hardly likely that there will be much increase in the local cotton crop in the near future. It can be profitably woven into fabrics here, however, on account of the abundance of suitable and cheap labor, and the Com- mission is informed that there are several projects on foot for the establishment of extensive cotton mills in the islands, those interested intending to import American raw cotton. Cotton cloth is one of the most important imports, and it would seem thut there is no good reason why there should not be a good market for American goods. The German cloth at present brought into the islands looks well in the piece, but is very heavily clayed, poorly colored, and of inferior quality. The English cotton fabrics are of better quality, but are also claj^ed. The new customs tariff' will be so adjusted as to place honest goods at a considerable advantage, and American manufactures will thus be favored. It is particularly important that the tastes of the natives should be studied and met. When cotton goods of a certain kind have once proved acceptable and have come into general use, the call for them is steady, and the natives are apt to insist on having the particular qual- ity and pattern with which they are familiar rather than something else which may be quite as good or even better, so that the difficulty comes in the initial introduction of the goods. The iron and steel used in the Philippines must be imported for some time to come, for, although there are very extensive deposits of tine OF THE I'HILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 77 iron ore in some of the islands, their development must be preceded by the development of the coal fields. A number of electric or steam railway lines are projected, and sev- eral of them will doubtless be built as soon as concessions can be secured. This will create a market for railway iron and rolling stock. There should be a good market here for tanned hides and for the manufacture of leather. The leather obtained by tanning the hides of water buffaloes is porous and soon rots in this moist climate; in fact, leather of any sort lasts a comparatively short time. It is chiefly used at present for harnesses, carriages, and boots and shoes. American boots and shoes are as yet hardly to be had here, but should find a ready sale. The natives are very fond of patent-leather and other showy shoes for state occasions, and although they may not use them enough to wear them out rapidly, the climate makes comparatively short work of them. The tastes of the people should be consulted by our exporters and suitable lasts made, as shoes shaped on American lasts would hardly be suited to the feet of these people. Many of the shoes at present used are made here by Chinese cobblers. Those that are imported come chiefly from Spain and Germany. There will be a steadily increasing call for American electric machin- ery. At present Manila is the only city in the islands which has electric lights, the small plant at Iloilo having been burned. There are no electric railways in the islands, and it seems certain there will be a great future for them here. Hand sewing machines are in steady demand. The bulk of the machines imported during the past year have come from Germany. The German machines are cheap, but not good. Cheap and well-made American machines ought to drive them out of the market. The Filipinos are born musicians, and, under normal conditions, buy a good many pianos. Instruments intended for use in these islands should be so constructed so as to resist dampness. Other musical instruments are sold in some numbers. At present the bulk of them come from Germany. There are considerable importations of paints and colors, but those in use here are, for the most part, very poor. The largest shipments received are from Hongkong, so that it is not possible, from the cus- toms returns, to ascertain the countries from which they originally come. Germany and England seem to be the largest direct exporters to this country. American edged tools are proving very acceptable to the people here, and the market for them is steadily growing. Petroleum is one of the most important imports. It has been sub- ject to an extremely high tariff, which will be materially reduced in the near future. The Manila representative of the Standard Oil Company states that he will, reduce the price of oil by whatever 78 UKTOUTS OF TIIK CIVIL (U)VKRNMENT amount may be removed f I'om the existing* duties. He expresses the convietion that a reduction of 20 cents per case in the present market price would triple its use here. The steady increase in the price of cocoanut oil makes it cheaper in the end for the natives to sell their cocoanut oil and buy petroleum to light their dwellings and towns. A heavy increase in the importations of petroleum is confidently to be anticipated. There is a steady demand for liuttcr, cheese, and refrigerated meats, and it is likely to continue. It is believed that a market might be developed here for California wines. At present the largest importations of wines come from Spain. Bicycles are being imported in constantly increasing numbers, and the market for them is sure to grow steadily better. European bicy- cles were introduced about 1890, but were purchased only by wealthy residents, and the total number reached, it is said, was only about 200. Last year American bicycles were introduced, and there are now some 2,000 of them in this city alone. Projected improvements in the roads ought to exert a strong influence on the sale of bicycles. The demand for tires will be disproportionately large, as rubber does not last well in this climate. At present prices it would seem that American coal might be imported at a fair profit, if it were shipped direct. The increase in the coasting trade and in the import and export trade which is confi- dently to be anticipated, the establishment of factories and sugar mills, the construction of new railways, the establishment of electric-light plants, refrigerating plants, etc., will create a constantly increasing demand for coal. While the coal fields of these islands are extensive, they are as yet undeveloped, and their development will take both time and capital. PUBLIC HEALTH. It is believed by this Commission that no tropical islands in the world enjoy a better climate than do the Philippines. While this is true, two classes of diseases have to be reckoned with here. These are, first, diseases common to temperate and tropical countries, and, second, diseases especially characteristic of the latter regions. Under the former head would fall smallpox, choltra, bubonic plague, and leprosy. Smallpox is endemic in these islands. The natives have very little fear of it, and are apt to neglect the necessary precautions to prevent its spread, unless compelled to adopt them. Experience has shown, however, that it can be stamped out by thorough vaccina- tion. A particularly effective virus is obtained from the water buffalo in a laboratory established at Manila for this purpose by Dr. Frank S. Bourns. Similar laboratories will be established at convenient points fmt. 0¥ THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 79 thj oughout the archipelago and a vigorous attempt made to vaccinate the whole population. There have been more or less destructive epidemics of Asiatic chol- era in the Philippines in the past, but they have occurred at long intervals. The last was in 1888-89. Cholera has not appeared in the islands since that time, but we are near China, which is a breeding ground for disease, and danger from epidemics imported from that country can be avoided only by the maintenance of a strict quarantine service. Bubonic plague appeared in Manila in December, 1899, but has never made any considerable headway. The largest number of cases in any one week was 17, and the largest number of deaths 14. The disease was almost entirely confined to Chinese and natives. At the present time rare sporadic cases occur at long intervals. The suc- cess which has been met with in holding it in check bears eloquent testimony to the efficiency of our quarantine service and of the Manila board of health, and is in striking contrast with what has taken place in the neighboring port of Hongkong. No systematic effort has ever been made to stamp out leprosy in these islands. There is a leper hospital at Manila and another at Cebu, but there has never been any comprehensive plan for segregating those afflicted with this disease. This state of affairs should be rem- edied. The military authorities have already undertaken the inspec- tion of the smaller islands of the archipelago with a view to the selec- tion of one suited to the needs of a leper colony and the ultimate isolation there of all lepers. This is a matter of considerable impor- tance, and as soon as a suitable site shall have been decided upon the necessary legislation will be enacted. We now come to a class of diseases which, while not confined to the tropics, are apt to occur in their severest and most dangerous form in hot countries, such as diarrhea, dysentery, malarial troubles, and beri- beri. While many of the islands of this group are extremely health- ful, they vary widely in this particular, as do different localities on the same islands. Mindoro and Balabac, for instance, have a deservedly bad reputation, while Sibuyan, Guimaras, Siquijor, and Cebu are con- sidered especially healthful. That health conditions are, on the whole, surprisingly good in the Philippines is conclusively demonstrated by comparing the sick reports of our troops while in camp in the United States with the reports for the time during which they have been engaged in active service in the Philippines. While it may be confidently anticipated that the establishment of a well -organized department of public health in these islands will lead to a general improvement in sanitary conditions, it will doubtless remain true that troops which are forced to campaign in the dam£ 80 REPORTS OF THE CIVIL CiOVKKNMENT lowlands, or to garrison towns which have sprung up in situations where towns should never have been built, will sull'cr more or less sovoroly from diarrhea, dysentery, and malaria. Beri-l)cri is com- mon among the natives of certain localities, but very seldom attacks our soldiers. In the treatment of these last-mentioned ailments it is well known that a suitable change of climate is often far more effective than are any drugs which can be administered. Recuperation from severe wounds or wasting diseases takes place slowly in this tropical region. Thus far it has proved necessary to send a considerable number of sick soldiers either to Japan or to the United States for recuperation. This involves very heavy expense and frequently loss of life as well, for, even with the most perfect transports and hospital ships, it is impossible during a rough sea voyage to give sick men the care which they can have on land. Experience has shown that an occasional change to a cooler climate is very desirable, even for those who live in the more healthful parts of the archipelago. Especially is this true of white children, who usually do very well here up to the age of 8 or 10 years, and then often seem to require a change. In view of the facts above set forth, it becomes a matter of great practical importance to ascertain whether or not there exists within the limits of the archipelago any accessible region presenting suitable climatic and other conditions for the speedy recuperation of sufferers from wounds, tropical diseases, wasting illnesses of any sort, or from the injurious effects of long-continued residence in a hot climate. Such a region should have cool, pure, bracing air and a plentiful supply of good water. It should be sufficiently extensive to allow of the erection of hospitals for the sick and of summer homes for a con- siderable population. It should, if possible, be suited to the pasturing of cattle and the growing of fruits, vegetables, and grains. It is a well-established fact that no such region exists in the central or southern islands of this archipelago, with the possible exception of Mindanao. Mindoro has very unhealthful lowlands, and although several moun- tain chains extend outward from Mount Halcon, which is one of the highest peaks in the archipelago, there is no elevated plateau or table- land. With the exception of Mount Halcon, the rocky summit of which rises above the tree line, the mountains are covered with dense vegetation to their very tops. The islands of Romblon, Sibuyan, Panay, Guimaras, Negros, Mas- bate, Burias, Ticao, Siquijor, Bohol, Cebii, Samar, Le3^te, Marinduque, Catanduanes, Basilan, and Palawan all have hills or mountains, which are in some instances low, in others of very considerable height. For tiie most part, they end like the mountains of Mindoro in sharp peaks OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1!)00-1903. 81 or narrow forest-covered ridges, and in no one of these islands is there an extensive, open, and sufficiently elevated table-land or i^lateau. The great island of Mindanao is still, to a considerable extent, a terra incognita, but Jesuit priests have carried on quite extensive explorations in its interior. The result has been the discovery of long chains of high mountains, but, so far as the Commission is able to ascertain, no elevated table-land has as yet been found, nor does it seem probable that any exists. An expedition which climbed nearly to the top of Mount Apo, believed to be the loftiest peak in the Phil- ippines, found it covered with the densest vegetation, and, apart from its inaccessibility, wholly unsuited for a health resort. Luzon remains. While the mountains in the provinces south of Manila and in Laguna, Infanta, Bulacau, Bataan, Zambales, and Tarlac are of the character already described for the central and southern islands and are therefore unsuited to the purpose in question, it has long been known that in northern Luzon there are extensive highland regions with a strictly temperate climate, which have the great advantage of being within comparatively easy reach of Manila, the largest city of the islands and the center of all important lines of communication for the archipelago. BENGUET AS A HEALTH RESORT. The southernmost of these regions, and therefore the most accessi- ble from Manila, is comprised in the province of Benguet. For a somewhat detailed description of the topographical characteristics of this province reference is made to exhibit "The Igorrotes of Ben- guet." Baguio, the present capital of the province, is about 132 miles from Manila in a straight line. By the Manila and Dagupan Railway to the town of Dagupan, and by the shortest practicable route for a railroad from this point to Baguio, the distance is about 177 miles. The Spaniards were familiar with the remarkable climatic condi- tions found in Benguet, and before the departure of the Commission from the United States the essential facts, which were matter of com- mon report in Manila, were brought to your attention. In obedience to your verbal instructions the Commission, soon after its arrival here, undertook to obtain full and accurate information as to the suitable- ness of Benguet as a health resort. As a preliminary step to this end a thorough search of the old Span- ish archives was made, with a view to gathering together all available data. It was soon learned that a very full and extensive report had been published by a Spanish commission consisting of Don Henrique Hore, colonel of artillery; Don Rafael de Arilar y Castafieda, major of engineers, and Don Elias Con y Tres, first surgeon of the military department, sent by General Blanco to report on the cUmatic and health conditions of this province. 23181—04 6 82 UKroUTS OF THE CIVIL OOVKKNMKNT A i-arot'ul st'im-h of the aroliivos made it evident that all the original copies of this report, of which there were three, had ))een removed; but wo evcntuall}' ascertained that it had been published in full in a Spanish medical journal and, through the courtesy of the Jesuit fathers and of Dr. Joaquin Gonzales, the Connnission secured posses- sion of nearly the full text. This report is a very extensive document, discussing at length the desirability of a military sanitarium to be erected at some place with suitable climatic conditions, and then going on to demonstrate that the township of Baguio, in the province of Benguet, is such a place. It enters into an elaborate discussion of the geographical situation of this township, its topography and the means of communiipation with it, the character of its soil, seismic phenomena, products; fauna, and climatic conditions, including atmospheric pressure; temperature, prevailing winds, humidity, rainfall, frequency of clouds, electric phenomena, and number and length of storms. The sources of water supply are discussed and shown to be adequate. Thermal mineral springs are also described. There is some description of the native Igorrotes, with measurements, and an attempt at determining the death rate among them and the causes of death. There follow general conclusions from the data obtained, with a discussion of the probable physiological effects of the conditions found. The translation of this report is forwarded herewith as Exhibit H. While the original document is diffuse and somewhat bombastic in style, it nevertheless contains a great deal of valuable information. The data as to temperature and humidity, secured during the sixty days' sojourn of the Spanish commission at Baguio, were of so sur- prising a character as to suggest reasonable doubt concerning their accuracy. In view of the importance of the question at issue it was decided that nothing short of personal investigation could satisfactorily settle the matter. Commissioners Wright and Worcester were appointed a committee to gather all available information on the subject, and were directed by the Commission to proceed to the province of Benguet and investigate the conditions existing there. Their report, which is given in full as Exhibit D, demonstrates con- clusively that in the vicinity of the town of Baguio there exists an extensive region admirably suited to serve as a health resort for these islands and for the neighboring China coast. They found an extensive highland region, peopled by a friendly, harmless tribe;' with pure, cool, invigorating air and abundant water; free from tropical vegetation; affording pasturage in plenty, and suited to the production of many of the fruits, vegetables, and grains characteristic of the temperate zone.^ ^See Exhibit F, "The Igorrotes of Benguet." ^See Exhibit G, "Agricultural notes on Benguet." OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1900-1903. 83 They took with them a trained meteorological obacrver, who will be kept at Baguio until the latter part of next May, when his records, together with those of the Spanish commission, previously referred to, will cover every month of the year. Detailed meteorological data for the months of August, September, and October have already been received, and will be found set forth in tabular form in the report of this committee above referred to. The remarkable character of the climate of Benguet will be better appreciated if a brief comparison is made between it and the climate of Manila. Comparison between the temperature, relative humidity of the atmosphere, and rainfall at Baguio and Manila during the montfis of August, September, and October, 1900. August. September. October. Manila. Baguio. Differ- ence. Manila. Baguio. Differ- ence. Manila. Baguio. Differ- ence. Temperature. 9.5.3 72.4 81.4 87.0 75.8 17.2 4.9 11.3 95.0 81.0 86.9 Inches. 28.5 76.8 59.0 66.9 69.3 63.5 12.6 0.9 5.46 97.4 83.6 91.6 Inches. 37.04 18.5 13.4 15.5 17.7 12.3 4.6 4.0 6.84 2.4 2.6 4.7 Inches. 8.54 91.1 72.7 81.5 87.0 75.6 15.6 3.9 11.5 93.3 78.3 86.3 Inches. 11.32 o 76.6 61.2 66.9 71.5 63.2 13.7 0.9 7.88 96.6 81.8 89.4 Inches. 12.16 14.5 11.5 14.6 16.5 12.4 1.9 3.0 3.62 2.3 3.5 3.1 Inches. 0.84 91.8 71.3 81.0 88.0 73.0 20.1 4.7 15.3 96.4 72.6 83.2 Inches. 6.9 75.9 56.8 67.4 72.4 62.1 16.2 6.2 10.28 92.0 70.2 83.1 Inches. 4.96 15.9 14.5 13.6 Mean daily maximum Mean daily minimimi Greatest daily variation — Least daily variation Mean daily variation Humidity. Maximum 16.6 10.9 3.9 1.6 5.02 4.4 2.4 Mean 0.1 Rainfall Inches. 1.94 These facts speak for themselves. It is hard to conceive of a region affording a more delightful temperature than Baguio, where it is always cool and yet never cold. The highest temperature recorded during August, September, and October is 76.8°. The observations of the Spanish commission began on the 24th day of May and lasted until the 22d day of July, the maximum temperature recorded during this period being 75.2°. These data, taken together with those secured by us, cover the hottest part of the year, and the absolute maximum temperature is probably very close to 77°. From the best available data it would seem that the absolute minimum was about 45°. The lowest temperatures occur during that period of the year Avhen the skies are clear and the air is dry. The mean temperature for the entire period covered b}^ our observa- tions was 66.86°, that at Manila was 81.3°, giving a difference of 14.44° in favor of Baguio. The minimum temperature recorded by the Spanish commission for the sixty days of their observations was 52.7°, and the mean tempera- ture was 65.66°. A striking feature of the temperature at Baguio is its uniformity, the greatest daily variation recorded for the three months being 13.7° 84 KKTOKTS OK 'I'llK CIVIL (}(>^• IIUNMENT aiul the Irtist daily variation boiny- nim'-tentlisol" a dog-rcc. At Manila the greatest daily variation during the same period was 20.1° and the least was 3.9°. The mean daily variation foi the three months at Manila was 12.6° and at Bagnio was 7.87°, or •1.73° less than at Manila. The bracing- character of the atmosphere is attested by everyone who has visited the province of Benguet, and its purity is shown by the fact that fresh meat keeps without ice for from three to six days, accord- int»- to the season. This last fact is of especial significance in connec- tion with surgical operations and the treatment of wounds. Our record shows that the relative humidity was slightly greater at Baguio during the months of August and September than at Manila, but during the month of October was 0,1 degree less. The rainfall was greater at Baguio during August and September, but was less during October. In considering rainfall and humidity it should be remembered that an unusually large number of typhoons were felt in Northern Luzon during the period in question, and that one crossed the island just to the southward of Benguet. These storms are almost invariably accom- panied by heavy and long-continued rain and by extreme moisture. The dry season has now begun at Baguio, and rainfall and humidity will probably be less there during the present month than at Manila. In this connection it may be worth while to insert a brief table, borrowed from the report of the Spanish commission, in which a com- parison is made between the temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall for the year at Baguio and Manila: Yearly. Maximum lempeniturc ° F- Miniiuiim temperature do. . , Mean temperature .do. . , Mean barometric pressure - inches. , Relative humidity— mean degree do. . Days of rain— mean number do . . Quantity of rainfall do... Manila. 96.8 75.2 60.8 46.4 77.0 62.6 29.7 25.2 64 60 160 160 78 to 118 59 to 78 Baguio. There is nothing in the report of this Commission to show that their observations extended over a longer period than the sixtv days of which we have the detailed record, but the Commission has been informed by Col. Cristobal de Arilar, a brother of Col. Rafael de Arilar, who was a member of this Spanish commission, that the latter gentleman remained at Baguio for nine months, taking full observa- tions throughout this entire period. It is inferred that his results form the basis of the comparison made in this table. It would seem that not only is the temperature much lower and more uniform at Baguio than at Manila, but the rainfall and relative humidit}^ are materiall}^ less as well. Baguio is especially well situ- ated to escape fogs, which are infrequent, considering the altitude, as Mean Daily Temperature at Manila and BAGufo, based on the Observations MADE DURING AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, AND OCTOBER, 1900. 12 mn 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 Q\^ 3 a a a md p p P P\ 85° F. 80° 75' 70° 65" 60" ' y "^-v^ N A /'b r \, V, \^ ^^ ^ . ^"^ ^ X N ) ""--. •»^ s \ / /^ \— ^ / / ^^^ v^ / / / / is -K ^ Co 1 1 >"0 5^ CD K ^ l-:, ^ ^ fVj - '::3 ■^ C\J ^ M- ■o ^ K 00 CJi / / •V- "^ ^ \ \ / X '^s X V [ \ \ > } ^ •k: "5 K ^I Si Co \ ^^v • X * / / _^, -'■ -• ** ^^' -., .^^ \ "^ \ ^-- -* ^ ,-- _^ ^ ^ ' \ » / <« \ y V ^ J 7 ■^ \ \ / / ^ J / 1 1 1 s \ \ \ V / f / / / / 1 1 1 1 t 1 N \ ^ .0 \ • 1 1 1 1 1 7 r \ \ \ I / / ./ / / / > \ \ A \ \ > / / \ s, ^^ 1 1 1 1 1 ^ ^ ^ / / ' \ \. **-j "^v • y \ > / _>* y / \ \ \ N, A .'' ' i Qo K Co >o M- ^