I Ir Ir Philippine Independence'VVhen? 5 F-0 l BY JAM'ES H. BLOUNT-, L.ATE JUDGE OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF, THE FHILIPFINE ISLANDS. * Reprited from!the North American Review of January, 18, 1907...F~IIIPIN0 PROGRESS ASSOCIATION, 150 NASSAU STRE.ET, *. ~NEw YORE.:~ PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE.-, WHEN? BY JAME ~5. BIoL NT, IT: tt(EOF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCL OF Tit,_ I( Fit iL'ttINE ISLANDS. A\FTFa sevn yars spent at the "storni-cetitre" of "Expansiott. - the first of the seveti as a volunteer officer in Cuba, the tlext two itl a like capacity in the P hilippitisc tid tile remiaitider in the last-named country as LUtited( States j ttdge. tite writer wa finally ittvalided tome last spritng, setstained in spirit at partbig( by cordltal fa rewells, oral and written, persoihal and official. Havixng now%, been invited by the Editor of tite exc to prepare an article embodying his views as to our Philippine problemt, lite natutrally enter~ upon a disctissi-on of the subject with sorne degree of iliffidlence, becauste it ittvolves calltng in question the wisdomn a'md rigehteousness of a policy inatigtirated and carried otit by, a small grouip of distinguished men, uinder whotn lie shared iti this nation's work beyond seas for a very considerable fraction of the average duration of life. H-owever, lie can truly say to all. former. fellow workers,: tIe IMC ateli \,r hrs ad ant salt, tI h. it ruik voier wrater and wine, Die deattis ve (lieit t tiave watched beside Alnd th-e toesC that vc ted were mnen. "Wa< -there aught that t did not share lIn vigil or toil orus, ffne joe or woe ttiat I (ld 0 n Dear frieiids across thesa In Charles Dicken's novel " ekHuse," there is a chapter entitled "Telescopic P atrpy," wherein is introclucllll tll fatolllusl. r,. jellylbv, tle mother of; large and interc'stil, ftalilY, "a la(dv of very remarkatlle strenth of clharacter. who dev(tes herself entirely, tllhe lpulic," who "lias lc\tedl herself to an ex-;t''i \'C \Vl riict otf Iulillic u jicct.-,;lt \ aious timies,;11l1: at llre tnlt {levo)te t t tile.u)jcct iof Africa. with:.I a:..'rl vi1w t,) tillt cultivatioll of the totffee berryi,? t'!I native'; to the gvreat prejulice of her dloestic'. 'cl) - allnd tlie nlelcct of 1he ()o\\n child(rell, the laItte( wltiti. allv,cttimr into all kinds of miischief \whlile c r attetio i-s divertd flroll home. Seeilng that tile "iPS'.'clt.\(liidm trationt I)rlo)osc to conItinue its policv oF. "be1Ivtle1t assimilatiln" ill the remote lPilipl1in;cs illefitniteli, at \\whatever cost, tle analogy betwecll its attitilld aIli:l I'rs. jelliyby's Illisplaced philanthrolpy toward ( tile peoplie f l'orrioboola-Glia, on the left alnk of tlie Nier." is bv, lno Imeans remote. MTr. Bryan tlintains, sublistatially: (2 ) Thlat. if pr,itccttd frtin the grela t laind-aciquiring P-o wers, "- I far;I their \II l 1 i1tr111tl affair ar1 collncernleld. thev l,) nlot ncr'(l t') he t' ih)jcct to;inly alien g,) rnment." (3) Thlat we liould at o ce d(isclaim;ny iltention o)f exercising perimTan en t -,('crcigilt\ (x'cr theil;r.C'ilp lag,. and declar e it to be our l)purpolse to remain l nl',l llm enllouoh to see a stable ^ovrclilllt lt.t;larlel, t. ld then I;iv\X' ti'11 to xworlk out their tMr. Taft wolld probaly have taken issue \ith Mr. Itryan on the first lpr)loositioln ill to tile tine he visited the islands in tlle summell r of 1 i05 aLccompll nied by a party of Senators iall (Colonlrcssm ll. lie will hardll do so no1w. Senator )ubois, of Idaho, who was a member of the Congressional party referred to, has since said in the News York "Independent": *Sec hi, ne\wiap;ilr. thit "C'inimoner," of April 27th and Mav 4th. 1906 'All the Filipinos, with the exception of those who weer holding positlions under and drawing salaries frons our Go' emninent, f:ivur oi government of their own. There is scarce anexceptio mn them.n.. Ttt.re is notbodv in tth ivlOOI(1. i10 organiiation of an' kind or descriptioc. wehic favors the tolicy of our G;overnm-ent toward them." Senator Newvlantis, of Nevada, 'also a mnember of the Congressionial laurty aforesaid, has declared, it the nuttber of this RE\'tew foi December. 1905, tha' practically, the whtole peolale desire independer~e. Congressman Pars-ons, also a member of the ~ttt party, has sinice said:"There is no question ya all th~ F~ilipino parties are no\\y in favor of indepeAl eiic e. Captain J. A. 'Moss, oif the, Twenty-fourth Infantry. a member of General Corbitn's staff, is quoted by 'Mr Bryan, in the "C onttnoner" of April 27th. 1906. as saying, in an Particle published in a Manila palier while MIr. Bryan was in the islands, with reference to the wvishes of "the great tmajority" of the Filipinos, that "to pslease them, we cannot get out of the islands toe) soon. M.\,r. Bryan's secottd laroposition, with whic'h Mr. Taft takes issue, is tlsat "so far as their own internal - affairs are concerned, they -do not need to be subject to atty alien government," provided, of course, theyaire larotected f ront the danger of annexation by some one of the great nations. If this laroposition be sound. s;ubject to the proviso, the proviso can easily be met. The foremost citizen of the world to-day, the man who brought the Japattese-Russian war to a conclusion and thereby won the high regartd of all mankind, can, and if so reqltestedl by theCongress probably will, within a cotmparativelv short period, negotiate a treaty''with lthe gYreat nations, securin' the neutralization of _ the islands, aind the recognition of their independence whenever- the sairne shall be granted to 'theni by.- the United States. If the Powers should thus agree. to consider the Philippines neutral territory forever', Mr. Roosevelt would have done for them exactly what has (alreadx been done for Belgium and Switzerland by treaty between the great Powers of Europe. When tlhe resolution iof' Congressman McCall, of Massacl hsetts, proposing, this.;vas under consideration betore tile House Commlittee on Philippine Affairs on \pril 7th 9, I96, imet twith a very considerable degree of sympathy. as is manifest fromn the official report of tihe helarln'g, the main objection apparently being that. / ecatue there are a nunmber of different dialects, the lI'lilinos are a heterogentous lot, and there is no spirit of P'hililppine natinality. Governo)r Taft saidl to the Senate Committee in Februarv, ()o2: "While it is true t-hat ther' are a numbter of Christian tribes, ) ca1tllehd. that speak different languages, there is a homiogencity in tle people in appearance, in habits, and in many avenuestt of thought. To begin with, thlcy arc (,ll Catholics."' The Philippine Census, pIubllished by the War Department in M\arch, 1905, says ( \Vol. I, p. 447) ''. to\wn in the Cagayan ' iallev presentts the same style of.Irchitecture, the lame,urrkinding barrios,* ha, the same i,lnd of store, anti silil;l1rly (dre-sed peoptle. as a Christian municipality of the island of Mindanao.^ And says the same Government publication ( Vol. II, p. 9), in drawing a colmparison between itself and the schedules of the twelfth census of the L'nited States: "Those of the Philippine Census are somewhat simpler, the differences being due mainly to thi' maore homogcineous chari(ctr of the popIulation of the' Phliippine Islands'" The existence of a general and conscious aspiration for'a national life of their own, the Real Presence of a universal longing to be allowed to pursue happiness in their own was and n-ot in sotmebody c 'sc's zway, is, to the best of such knowledge and belief as the writer obtained after two years' service in the arimy that subjugated them, and four years in the In-ular Judiciary, *Suburban settlements or rural hamlets. olne (f the l)o>t ovx iol.s and patetic acl in the whole situaticon. I)ulring the o-rgfzed figiting, in( \n1erican ever discov\ered that the e nenmy \-as cri)tled', or his effective\nelli (lilllilishled, 1)y the lack i) I -". C n11111i01 lalltglage. \1ll;al t fr the National Spirit. | tholse 1)Ceople 11\ e i)een \\cl lcdl into al)solute uiitty bi the 've\ nts of.thic last ci'lit l' ' s. Rizal w\as shot foi r \wrtill, a 1l)x itical no()\' il hi'ch tle S'l)aniard tlloughlt - tlere was t(-o i1iuct l reo t iti(ol of ile "Nati(llalist i(lea..\nl(l if \\ sillill et iiito a war w i ith a firsclas, Pwer. ad(l A\uiiald,. or Juan Caiilles, he i-iiii W\lih ciruillllplel tlii,ll alllit l'ifteenth nfi try it 1901. ihoildl laie tlie,t;iidarl oi f re;olt, let tlhe implartial;ra'(d r a-, any.\llt'ric;I \ i l tie -Philippines, or 11-i.\lnc i ain in ls sil)enit lucih time there, ho\x iiaii natixves l(t\\cc n Ap.\arri and CaLgai.an de MisaI is o'ild, fail to understaind and rallvy to' the cry "i': '( 1.ii l ' iii,t/ici i/i iiit." Let Ius hope that ii the Mlc(.Call resorltiio, e\er coleiles 1i) again, the Cominittuco will lhave 1)ecomne satisfied. leyond the peraiventure (f t ( dlil)t, tlit there does. in fact, exist among all tlhc peplIle of the lPhilippine Islands, a con — sciOultsiess (/' rci 1(l iii(it v, whlih draws themn together:as agaillst ill mltsidelrs, llndi is inot mlarred by anll race probclm si/t1 l as c.vis. s il ( Culrba. hIlil in(lepenildlncc of tle Philippines should conle alb:hut withilt a ifew vears-that is. as soon as practictllc —leccaiise it is best for botli countries.. We are governing. thlm agaiInst their consent and at an enormoll(is cost to both peonles. If the untold millions we liave spelt on "henevoln t assimilation" since Febru-;ar 4th, IS()), had been spent on Rivers and Harbors anil Catnals. and the inmprovenment of our interior water tranlsportatinl geiierally, the railroad-rate question would have solved itself without the need of a rate' bill..And this is not the only one of Mrs. Jellyby's ne-lectedt children. not the only domestic problem tich presents a subject for strenuous altruism sufficlt to c,)cutl)- all tile patriotism and statemanship of iis oreaIt Co'lllt-rv\ with its eighty milions of people..i all the splendiI ii alilit- rlld g-iim fortitude that have i)cen concenltrlate(l clurinll the lat few years upon "telescopic phlilanthropy" il the Philippines had been -teadily.fociuse(1 upon tilhe econolliC iand social probll.. \\l ich ar( CltlllamoIil ever amloire loudly( and omlilouStlv 1(,ir.(llitioil att illme. I lcarst and I learstisiIm \\,'!ll ile'Cr lliax'c risCl to vU\ice It i trofoundl and wvidespread d<liscionitenlt llhaviin ill it ill cIcmllenit of riglhteouness. -- Blut. Irtulllll g t tilte c'ure I'.\II. I lr\I s. ll -.Secotild )ruop( sition, lllamli'. thiti t '',O n tlr;i1 tllheir oivti internal afftail-rs ari COiCCrIllCt(l tiC( (1do il iit l'eed to hle sulbjct to a1v alien guvcrnmeiii t lie furtlher sa ys: '"''l;'hc r i~': \iit, ldit'2l'rnict. it ii true. l IctC\e\ien t ile eneral ilclli;i 'c,)t. >f l te c.'tuca (l Il iii ll, and the laborer on the itrccit anilI ill tih!I.c. l.it ii;. i- lt:t a I; lirricr to self-govern-:llt.lt l 'Ltliii 'it' c cul lltr'il', ill e'iI\ ' it)gov ernment, except w\\ ere iti - lilr.c'.e l 1.)C lliiit;lr l.... Niie-tell t-ll A1nd liere is tlte teCti molic of one ofi the iiosClt is-, tinluisledl Cogt ressmen who hall vl it ild thle iland l:i 'I havel little ( (lllt t(l hat 1t r';te(l ti lt- I etio isi fmh1 ' -. ane d it.. i tl l ()t <gui ltqtc r lil til t';t ~ [ )1 )l\t'll ti lt' ea trelilt.'. govi ernlmen1t in tie Philipl,pinc -. til;ht \\ i il Icii, Lre iI liiberalit:iidl eff'e tivenI eC - \\itll;1 \ver!,rt'ea llilan o(f lle go)r\' rnmlelnit 1ha1t ihave icei iI IlICC" C-lill ' irti ll Tfor i Ccillttir ir illore Edmunld Burke once saidl iI a sl) eIch I for whicl.-kiericans have lonC deli'lhtc(d tto lionotr his IlmenmoryC: "The general claracter anlld sitluatiln)lii, a peoplle must leterminei wh\\Ctt c oirt oif -o\vernmclllellt is fitted for theil. Thalt, Iltlll-' eCl'e hc;I (lri ilht to dletermine." "'Commoner," April l"ill. 1906 The Congressman last above quoted talks of togrJc years as a safe period of tutelage, ~enators Ne 1kc) t(o and Dubois of th'irty years, Mr. Bryan of five, or l~ or fifteen. But the gentleman last named insisted tO the Convention of i904, atid still insists, that we should makc them a definite promise of independence 11otLe, the sante to be -executed as soon as practicable. T1,o this, the proposition of the Democracy, Mr. Traft's answer is: "The gentlemen that are looking for office under so in4~ —,/ pendent governmuent, have very little concern about independence that is to colle after titev are dead: and if you permlit, their independence, anld make it a definite promiec. you will have a continued agitation titere as to when they ought to have independence."* The imputation of selfishniess put by this statement upon all Filipinos who desire independence is uncalled for. "The gentletten that 'ire looking for office under an ineetdn overnmnent" could undoubtedly get office uttcer the present goverrninttt if thev -would ottil. stop zcatttilng I~ndcpcindcncc. And "if you permit their indeputidence, and make it a definite promise," Voit WI'II have no agitatioti to hasten the (lay, provided Itce Prooiilsc itself fix tite doy. During Piearly four years of searvice on the bench in the Philippines, the writer htetrd as much genuitte, impassioned and effective eloquence from Filipino lawyers, saw exhibited in tlte trial of catses as much ittdustrious preparation. and ze-alotis, 1l'yal advocacy of the rights of clients. as atty ordinary iisi pritis itidge at home is likely to meet with in the sante lettgth of time. -Some of these lawyers are ex-officers of the insurgent army. Each of them tao \ is clients, and is the centre of a circle of influence. 11 of themn, without exception, want independclgnce. fi course the law of self-preservatioit precludes thent from 'proclaiming- thits from the housetops, especially if they are lsolding office under the *Speech-atCincinnati, February 22nd, 1904, Government. But in their heart of hearts, the dearest hope that each of them cherishes is that he may live o see the Star of the Philippine Republic risen in the Far East. Let a date be fixed by the United States 'Congress for turning over the government of the Archipelago to its people, a date which will afford to the great majority of the present generation a reasonable expectation of living to see the independence of their country, and all political unrest, including most of the brigandage in the islands, will at_ once cease. The news will spread "like wildfire,' to borrow a famous phrase of our sunsihiny Secretary of W\ar. We shall have exchanged a balking horse for a willing one. The sullen submission of a conquered people will give place to genuine and universal gratitude toward America. The unborn National Life will leap for joy in the Womb of Time. fe' Deums will be celebrated in every church of every town in the Archipelago from Aparri to Zamuoanga. Aglipay himself may even say: "Now, Loid, let my schism depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." The great ocean steamship companies of the world publish the sailing-dates of their vessels a year ahead. Everything else hinges upon this point of departure. All preparations, whether by crew, shippers or prospective passengers, are shaped to that end. Why cannot the same be done in the matter of the launching of a Ship,.of State? If three strong and able men, familiar with insular conditions, and still young enough to undertake the task-say, for instance, Gen — eral Leonard Wood, of the Army; Judge Adam C. Carson, of the Philippine Supreme Court; and W. Morgan Shuster, Collector of Customs of the Archipelago; or three other men of like calibre-were told by a President of the United States, by authority of the Congress: 'Go out there and set up a respectable native government in ten years, and then come away," they could and would do it. and tlhat government would be a success; and one of the greatest m-oral vicories in tlle annals of free government would have been written by the gentlemen concerned upon the pages of their country-'s histor,:. To understand tle causes of the present discontent, and how'incurable it is except by a promise of independence at a fixed ldate. let me review this tragedy of errors which we have written in blood and selfish legislation in that unhappy land, as rapidly as may be consistent with clearness and commensurate wvith the ability of an inconsiderable person, —an individual whose only claim to be heard ulpon a great question like this must rest upon tlle circullstance that he was an eve-witness to tle tragedy. WVhen troblle began to brew in the Philippines after the signing of tll treaty of L'aris. the Scllurman Conmission. it will lie r-emen1tielred, was sent out, bringing' the (olive branch. It accomplished nothing. It was too late. \\ar ensued. \\hen the writer reached Manila ealrly in Noveimber, 18)9, he was detailed to the command of a comprany of Maccabebe scouts, to develop fire for General Lawton's Division, their commanding officer, Lieutenant lottelle,- of the Artillery, having been killed the (lav before. On the way to join them, he met General Lawton's Adjutant-e_ neral at a place called San Isidro. The Colonel said: "We took this town last spring, after a pretty stiff fight. T'hen, as a restlt of the negotiations of the Schurman (ommliisision, (;enera- l ()tis lad us evacuate this place;itn( fall back. \ e jhisc iLt had to take it again." The Sclhurman ('olnm1Siissio;1 h11oped that the Filipinos cotull lie perstuaedl to giv\e ui1 their idea of independ-enlce. lThe -rmnv Iknic bcttl -. In the first half of 1899, (,clleral Ctis inexcusably postponed recolmmending to I'resident McKinley the call for.ederal-l \ollinteeCrs. lie dlid noot really under stand the seriousness of the situation. He conducted the campaign all the time he was there from a desk in Manila, and never once took the field.-' The Volunteer.Arlm of 1899 was to last, under tlle-act of Congress, for two years only-that is, until ' the close of the fiscal year. ending June 3oth, I9OI. l'he insurrection had to he over at that time, whether. r no. To use an expression of the theatrical man/ agers, that date wlas to be "positively its last appearance." The \'olunteers began their.work in the fall of I89T twenty-five h regiments of the. and, shoulder to shoulder with the Regulars, pegged away cheerfully at the war, doiing their country's work; and thev had heen vigorously convincing the Filipinos of the benevolence of omr intentions for about nine months. \\when the idea of a second Philippine Commission, a second -olive branch, was conceived at Washington. l'he Presidential election was to occur in the following November, and men high in the councils of the Republican party at home believed that the success of the party would be seriously imperilled if the situition did not soon clear up 'or at least improve, in the I'hilippines. The public press of that period contains interviews with such men, of the tenor indicated. In this state of the case, the Taft Commission was sent out. Things looked dismal. Philippine stock was going down. Optimism was devoutly to be wished. Judge Taft did not disappoint his friends at home. lie was not then a judge. He was a partisan of the Republican party, an advocate. And, like many another able advocate, he persuaded himself that the witnesses whose testimony militated against his' client's interest were, if not mendacious, at least blinded with prejtudice. I-e accepted the views of natives not in arms, as against that of the army. In June, 1900, when the Taft Commission arrived, the military authorities had not forgotten the Schur nmar Conminssion. na the folly of its efforts to mix1 peace with w\ar: and thex (did( not look forward with( t'!ti;ti;l,!II to the coIn i (r) oi the new otutfit. ThestJ lattter )roughlt ithl tl h lll, like the Schilrman Comis>ii)l, tilI tieor- t t i ol theo phateoplt. -)veCr; ald tihev a t ol'e i)rcclede to act cnfornmabl)l to that alialie icdelsi(. O ()f co(;rse it was not lon1' hefoire thevi foilllt ahulindat evid nce to supiport thei'<c: )Ireconccixl - thleol..\Acordlinglv. ol' NovembI" x 3othl. Ilo, tihe 1I i -le tlhe i fist reit ort to( the Secretars n \\ Warii \x hicrh, aPntl it other tlingc,s they alorliluncid' tilli traiteal ly o lx it ( tin c co-tnclICusion:( "\ ilr;t El:iji,rlil >l" t'l.( i:eo le long for peace, and are cntirel\ r I '11;iv ' t,:ic.-e t lhe cist;l 1ilimentt of a governmer i rn'ldcr thc -utiprllmacy i, f tii L nit i sl States." The iarmy entertainted a \idiiametricallv opposite opinion. Tlhe military view.of the situation about the illame timle \was thus satirically \expressed in Genera! Mlac.\rthulr's Annual Report to-t te Secretary of V'ar..le ic people sleem: to lie actua ted byi the idea that in '1 (tli,,ui tfil mattere- of pi litic or xva tr en are never nearer Tril!,t thx:n,l hen, -, in' w\itih their onii ith and kin.... " Allusionl i then m:ltle to the "ali ost complete unity of action iof the entire niative poptlation. That such. Iluit\-is a1 fact ii too ov!)itIus to adllnit of discussion. Then follot s this Ihuor11 Os thrust' "... The adhes'ive pri ci:)!e comesil fro 'll Cllithlolo ical hoomogeneitv. which indtuces rimen to re-pi)ond for tinme to the appeals of coinstnguinteotus lcadcrship.' If the V\olunlteers xwh, se term of enlistment was tch eluledl to expire with the fiscal year, June 30th, io-)I. shmld leave to be replaced by anything like an equal lnutmbi r of other troops, a call or further approiriatirion to conduct a long-drawn-o-it and unpopular w\ar. oxxrl(l sure'v try the patience of the American pe )ple. a(nd enlangler the ultimate fortunes of the ieipDtblican~ party. Everything had to be shaped to avoid sugs'F catastrophce. \Vhether t e country should, 12 - be ready for civil government on that date or not, it had to be. \N\hen Joel Chandler Harris's creation, "Uncle Remus," tells his little friend the story of Brer Rabbit's climbing the tree to elude the dogs, and the, acd interrupts: "But, Uncle Remus, a rabbit can't climb a tree," the resourceful narrator very promptly replies: "Oh, but, honey, dis-rabbit des 'biccred ter climb dis tree." The Administration was 'bl/ce!ed to / climb the tree of Civil Government. Civil' Government was therefore duly inaugurated on July 4th, 1901. Within less than six months thereafter, the flames of insurrection broke out anew in Batangas and the adjacent provinces, and it became necessary to give the military a free hand. General J. Franklin Bell accordingly invaded Batangas and the region round about, with an ample force, a brigade, and proceeded to wage wlar-the sort of war General Sherman described, only more so; for General Sherman did not practise reconcentration. 'General Bell went there to nake those people "long for peace." And he did mlake them "long for peace," or, to use his own language, "want peace and want it badly." General I ell is.not to be blaned for this. He is a brave and skilful soldier, one of the best in our own or any other army. He was simply doing his dlutv, obedient to orders. This Batangas insurrection of I901-2 wvoull never have occurred had not Governor Taft persisted in believing that the Filipinos could be genuinely satisfied with something less than independence. This error led him to re(uce, most imprudently, the army of occupation and the number of army posts, against military advice, thereby giving the insurrection a chance to get its second wind. If the army of occupation had not been so reduced, recohcentration;o'iould never have'been necessary, in Batangas or elewhlere. Reconcentration tactics are born of numerical weak ness. If you hasve troops enough thoroughly to police, a -1ven territory, no need for reconcentration WillI arise there. Reconcentration is 4n adiiission that you are i.oL~ble constantly to l)roV (le protection for all the p~eople;. As a corollarV of -lie futndamental mistake indicated, a constabulary orce was organized, ' wvhich, it was believed, could ontrol the situation. That it has never been able to do so is a matter of rec()rd in the offcinal publications ho h of the Manila and of the Washi~~gton Government. The fact is solemnly admitted in the recital of a laov' now Onl the statutebooks of the Philippinle lslands~ Section 6' of Act numhered 78I of the Philippine Commission, alpproved June ist. I903, providing for re oncentration, hegins thus: 'to Provinces which arc infested to such (in extent suith ladroncs or- solowa-Ls thoIt -the lie aid Property of residents I~n the outliving barrios are r,~~eoerse wholliy insecure by continoed predatory raids, and such o ring harrios thus furnish to the ladrones or outlaws their. rces, of food-supply, and I~t i's not possille. -wiIth the avai le police forces constantly [tot i/'1d Pr-otcctioti, etc.'' Such are the cn iclh to-dlay warrant reconcentratio i the Phlippines-whenever "it is not possi with the available police forces"- to pro, bect e peaceably inclined people. It will thus be seen atwe are nowv doing in the Philipp~ines the very thing forwhich we drove W'evler and his Spsaniards front the Western Hentishere. Reconcentration under the military authorities is bad enough, even with the superb equip)ment of the commissary and qluartermaster departments of the army'. But reconcentration conducted by utifrienclly civilians and unfriendly constblayis sipyutnsportsmanlike. Caring for the peaceably inclined people, or pacificos; as they were called in Cuiba,-those who VOL cLXXXIV -No 607 upon being told to do so voluntarily come within the zone or radius prescribed in the order for reconcentration-is not the only problem which- can be competently handled by the military alone. There'are the prisoners brought in by the policing force, from time to time, because found outside the prescribed radius, and put in the provincial jail. An ordinary jail, with,400 to 800 people crowded into it within a short period uv time, cannot be properly handled by inexperienced hands. The sanitary conditions are sure to become bad and foul, and more or less disease and death is certain to.ensue..In the latter part of 1903, about the middle of November, the writer was sent to hold court in the province of Albay. where quite a formidable insurrection had been in progress for about a year, without suspension. of cizil goZ'crnimcnt. There had been as many as 1,500 men in the field on each side, at times. Reconcentration under the law quoted had been resorted to. There had been as many as 700 or 800 prisoners in the provincial jail at one time, so he was told. Toward the close of the term, just after Christmas, when most of the docket had been disposed oz. and there was time for matters more or less perfunctory in their nature, the prosecuting attorney brought. in rough drafts of two proposed orders for the court to sign. One was headed with a list of fifty-seven names, the other with a list of sixty-three names. Both orqders recited that the foregoing persons had died in the jail-all but one between Mlay 20th and December 3rd, 1903 (roughlfy six and one-half months), as will appear from an examinationi of the dates of deathand concluded by directing that the indictments against them be quashed. The writer was only holding an extraordinary term of court there, and was about to leave the province. The regular judge of the district was scheduled soon to arrive. He did not 15 sign the proposed orders, therefore, but kept them'as le'al' curios. A correct translation of one of them -il)eanrs l)elo)n, follow-cl hv the list of namses whici i heatledl the (,ther (identical) order.* If the nilitarv authorities had had charge of thots lrisoners, it is safe to say that the mortality arnmolit - tih. ll\vould have beenl far less. that possily half, or exeTl tllreel)urths, o.f those \ho.lied, wouldl hav^ lived. I',litical necessitv. inherent in our form of.(c'vernment. lkept the Larmly fromt acting then, and:'lps it from talking nTos. "'TilE L'NTI'LI) sT.ATES OF ANMEICA I'11![I'I'INE: II-.\ANIDE-!(; 1TH J L'1)1(i.1L DISTRICT IN rillL; (.,Lir' OI: FIR^T INSTANCE OF ALBAY. OIIE UNITE!r) cT\TES )led Diied. 1 4:l. 1903. ( nrnelio RTigor,a....... E.. o l 'vadan....... ug l I M:! I:in [;a-O;lO t.......... -'.- I,,rldr(to lRebtsi...N....ov. i2 IulI!:m N acl." ( 1 f ll;cn Riolmldi.......... O ct. r: linc-c) O I c\':-r:l......... ()c:. Ro......... Oct. 23 onaclto.Il:ln,....... nacleto l,.. "......\.n e:1 rico NBa.i n........ Selt. 27 I\, ci....... ' 1ll Regidor..................July 23 I:elix S a l.l........ Sep'. 2 \F(rlel (le ns.. a n.2.....Stul 28 M.M.tcela n h I..,...... i: e l-u aquio Mapula.......ov. 18 Mlarclo P'ati'MgO.......... o\... -]O F eio Lomibao........ Nov. I Juan IRa.anllte..........'c: 7 I ';,'~co [.una......... Aug. ' [):'(i 1;. (ll,ml.l ( )Ig.........()ct I (;'i.r) Si,-t e...........OCt. 31 e lce N;O r I.... 1.........ro ting........Nov. 21:......i '..i.l.., 'l 2, 'I,lor-ico T -...S.... ept. 03 1,1;lflih, N'i(,,l.: 3 ( c.e,'mS. Oc'ia........Nov. 1o [ III...I.. I N.....'........... e a mp, os.......Sept. 12,.eoncmlo:,:ll,t,:,,... Nov. 2(J t. Icllpc Bonifaci(o.. Nov. r, Cat.llr l Si,!e,'(.rt. I..... 1, '?. ' I:llhazar lun di..........Oct. lMarcel o.iri,,la.....s... )c! s' 6 Ilisan Locot.;........Oct. 1I [:rancicc (....:.. Nov. 2C, I'rancisco de ta k Pun a... Aug. 2o Blartin ()1lague......... 1 I'ediro adrid..........Au. 24 lu.n Neric.............. Nov. I ielipe Pusi ui.......... v Fifemio 1Bere.......... N, 1 IRufor Mansalan...........ul 4 14 i 11u.:1 S otero.......: I1io T Iitano......... une 0 luin Payadan........ Sept, \lfrmn;o T.ocot..........l une 9 Benedicto lMilla........lult. t 3 t;il l.ocot...............Mv 23 Placido Porlage.......... l ne 1:: Rteino Bitn-rra.........Sept. 7,audencio Oiita.....(ct. 11 Bonifacio Bo...........Aug. 2 Alberto Cabrera.........ept. 8 Francisco de Belen.....Sept. 29 Julian Payadan.........Aug. 4 When the civil government was set up in July, 90oI, the army took a back seat, and looked on with more or less impatience, ready to say, "I told you so-'-eager, DECREE. The defendants above named, charged with divers crimes, having died in the Provincial Jail lb reason of various ail\ ments, upon various dates, according to official report of the '-..jailer. it is. ORDERED by this court that the cases pending aga;int tlle said deceased pars-ons ie anl the isane are herebyvquashed. the costs to be charged agarint thie government. Albay, December 25, 1903................. Judge of the 12th District.\cting in the Sth. The foregoing order contains fifty-seven names. A- indicated in the text. tl. (-esrd- order w\as like the first. It conta.ined the 'names of sixty-three other deceased prisoners, a, follows, to wit: Died. 19SJ3 Anacleto Avila..........Sept. 2 Gregorio Saquedo........ulv 21 t:rancisco Almonte.......Oct. 11 i:austi no Sallao........()c'..eoca1io Pfia.........(. 1 rtuan lanuco...........()c. 1C E-teban de I.ima........Feb.. Estanislao Jacoba........ Oct Nlacario Ordi'les........(ct. 1v l.aureano ()rdeale...... ()ct. 7: Reimundo Narito........()ct. 9 Antonio Polvorido.......uept. 1I Norverto Mdalgar........ June I Bartolomne rco........Av. 8 Simon Orrinale......ept. 1.; Candido coa........Sept. 2 Saturnino Vuelvo......(iet. 18 Vicente Belsaida.........a. v 2s; Felix Canaria........... une 1?c Pedro Cu( a.............'. l 1v 2 Evaristo Dias........... Til,: 2 Felix Padre.............' uly.4 Alberto 'Mantes.......... \g. loarlin l iaam ot........Se p.., Santiago Cacero......... lay 28 Ililario Zalazar.......t.. Tlv: 2c, Tomas. Odsinada........'Oc. I lulian Oco-....... ()ct. I )ulias Lontac............ 'g. Ambrosio Rabosa..' '.. 19 Mariano Garcia........ St. ept1 Ramon Madrigalejo.....Aug. 10 i )IC:let La'3 Albino Oyardo........(ct. 1 lelipe Rlotarla.......... Sept.?.) 'rbano Sarall e.........()ct. 5 (;il ediavil lo........... Tune 1: Egidio lediavill..... line 16 Mauricio Losano........()ct 5 Bernabe Carerin...... Sept. 7 Pedro Sagay s a....... ept. 29 I.aurcano bo............ug. 5 Vicente.anosi-.a........u 17 tIrancisccr lor:,nl.....une 10 Anatolio Sadullo....... Spt. 16 I.ucio Rcbeza...........\ ug. 27 Eugenio Sanbuena....... \ug. 13 Nicolan (bero-..........\ug. 2f Fuasebio taE nl 11,.. Sept. 13 Tomaas Reinpilli.... Aug. 19 Daniel Patasin......... g. 19 Ignacio Bundi..........Sept. 7 Tuan Locot........... May 23 Zacarias David Iliia'.... Aug. 7 uian A.rinazar........Sept. 12 Riufino Quipi........ Tne 3.Antonio nrio.....Tune 13 riminoteo Encio.........Sept. 12 lTilario Palaal..........Aug. 28 Ventiira Prale......... ay 24 Aleiandro.\levan,.o....a.. M?av Rufino Pelicia........... Mayv? Alejo.Bruqueza......... l Tlv 19 Prudencio Estrada.... Sept. 13 of course, to get a chance to fight again. Gentlemen of the military profession have a l)redilection that way The writer was, of course, entirely il s Nympathy witl the civil authorities, having been p r(moted ---froml. le_ army to the judiciary, aidt rather enjoyed seeing the;arm'y behave with becomingll sullordination, according' \ to orders, even if it (lid not like to (do so. It is humanl, nature to enjoy the posssssion of power. Nor did he rver give mu.chl thought onle wav or the other to the (luestion ot)ftlle originall w\isdlom of setting up the civil gdvernment againlst military advice, until he became aware of, the leath (if these 1 o prisoners in the Albav jail. This gave him '])ause. It was impossible to escape the relection that just about that number had lied in the I1lack Hole of Calcutta. After that, however, he labored all the Iharlter to uplhold the civil governiment by spleedy trials of perslons incarcerated, with a view to minimizing the necessity for the suspension if the writ of hlbcas corpus; and, finally, early in November,-1904, in the province of Samar, broke completely down lin health fr'om trying to dispose lroperly of overcrowded jails, l)efore the people awaitung trial (lied. The provit.ce of Samar was at that time being (verrun by several thousand. brigands,'* and in less than one lhundred cays more than 50,000 people had been made Ihomleless by their depredations, according to the sworn testimony of a constabulary officer of the. province. wlhr'appeareld as a witness before the court plreside(l( oxve by the author of this paper.t Why was not the situation turned over to the military authorities I? It was, later. But is an ambitious Chief of Constabulary of t civil government going to admit, on the eve of a Presidential election in the United *Reprisenting primarily the embers if the late war, fanned into flame by the exactioln of the tax-gatherer and the usurer..tThis witness lid not attempt to estimate the number that had been killed, wounded or kidnapped,1 .;ta.'es, that the _public disorder in the Philippines is oo great for him and his ctsrps-the- right arm of the ivii governmnint-to handlle When the constabulary cannot protect the peaceably p dined coast people, these latter are compelled, even Jthey are not already in active sympathyv sxth t,,,ir jardier brethren of the highlands, to get uip a ino! us 5.'rcndi, wvhercbv they becomne, ipso facto, accessories fothe crime of~ "1?rigancdage,''-tcchnicallv, at lciat The writer (lid not meet this ugly proposition in encrete form, in the case of any specific defendant. ''ti it would have come, sooner or later, had hie remained in Samar. I-le left that ill-fated island, November 8th, 1904, determined, if hie could get wvell, to ask to be stationedl in Manila. For, as Edmlund Burke said in his spelch onl "Conciliation with America,'' "I do not know the method of drawing an indictment against a whole people." Looked at from the Oriental end of the line, the governippg of the Philippines by thieir supposed friends f romil 4,~ antipodes has been not-iunlike a rgame of battledore and shuttlecock between rival political creeds, ait home,. in which the unfortunate inhabitants have been the shuttlecock. Space does not 'ilemain suifficie4 to o more than briefly suggest hpv true this is, aljso 'of the W\ashing-ton end of tl1e line. For the benlefit of American cotton manufacturers, cheap English textiles, previously worn by and satisfactory to millions of poor natives, have been shut out of the Philippines by a practically prohibitive import (lutv, a Stirtax of ioo per cent., inllosed by Ithe I.7nited States Congress (Act of Febrtiaryv.-5th, ipo6.)'1 *For the benefit of American shipping interests, the.Philippines have teen treated by our mariti-me legisla*Anl eloquent andc indigttant protest against this by Rev. Charles 1-. Brent;. Epia;copal Bishop of the Philippines, appeared in "The Outlook" for July 19th, 1906. tion as pairt of the Unit d States, by extension of t coastwise shipping laws to the Archipelago. For the:benefit of the Amleri~ani sugar and toba:o interests,, the Philippines have been treated by 4r defeated Yhfe effort to tyive to the islands the benefip I areductioni of the dbuy onl Philippine products:A twenty-fivel per cent. of the Dingley Tariff, their' resentative! insisting before the Committee, on WaS and Mleans, almost in the language of Mrs. Jellyby's critics;' "I believe ouir ow\n children have more claimi upon us." T1'he 1'eading Filipinos percei-ve, \as clearly,us we Americans (10. that In the! iature oft.gs this sort of argument will always __~ anl obstacle in the path of -flhi~r progress, so lon1g as I ukan nature retains a'modicuml of selfishness. \6 The' instinct of self-preservation of our own sugar and tobaccp producers would surely be satisfied with and lend their support to a free-trqxde —or at least a lower tariff-measure tbetween 'this -country and -the Philippinesb~ if the same wei'e coupled with a promise of independence within a -lecade. This seems to be the only solution that is at once righteous and practicable. Itlis the only lever' that will lift the Philipp'ine Ship of State upon 'the ways, and launch her suc~ess\nlly upon Ithe voyage of national life. JAUSEs H. BLOUNTr. 1, If, uz