Chapter LXXVII: Section IV (4)

"ARTICLE 54.
It shall be the duty of commanding officers of military
districts, immediately after the publication of this order, to
recommend to the office of the military governor in which towns
within their commands municipal governments shall be
established, and upon approval of recommendations, either
personally or through subordinate commanders designated by
them, to issue and cause to be posted proclamations calling
elections therein. Such proclamations shall fix the time and
place of election and shall designate three residents of the
town who shall be charged with the duty of administering
electors' oaths; of preparing, publishing, and correcting,
within specified dates, a list of electors having the
qualifications hereinbefore set forth, and of presiding at and
making a due return of the election thus appointed. The
proclamation shall specify the offices to be filled, and in
order to determine the number of councilors the commanders
charged with calling the election shall determine, from the
best available evidence, the class to which the town belongs,
as hereinbefore defined; the classification thus made shall
govern until the taking of an official census. The first
alcaldes appointed under the provisions of this order shall
take and subscribe the oath of office before the commanding
officer of the military district or some person in the several
towns designated by said commanding officer for the said
purpose; whereupon the alcalde so sworn shall administer the
said oath of office to all the other officers of the municipio
there elected and afterwards appointed. The election returns
shall be canvassed by the authority issuing the election
proclamation, and the officers elected shall assume their
duties on a date to be specified by him in orders.

"ARTICLE. 55.
Until the appointment of governors of provinces their duties
under this order will be performed by the commanding officers
of the military districts. They may, by designation, confer on
subordinate commanding officers of subdistricts or of other
prescribed territorial limits of their commands the
supervisory duties herein enumerated, and a subordinate
commander so designated shall perform all and every of the
duties herein prescribed for the superior commanding officer.

"ARTICLE. 56.
For the time being the provisions of this order requiring that
alcaldes be elected, in all cases shall be so far modified as
to permit the commanding officers of military districts, in
their discretion, either to appoint such officers or to have
them elected as hereinbefore prescribed. The term of office of
alcaldes appointed under this authority shall be the same as
if they had been elected; at the expiration of such term the
office shall be filled by election or appointment.

"ARTICLE 57.
The governments of towns organized under General Orders No.
43, Headquarters Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army
Corps, series 1899, will continue in the exercise of their
functions as therein defined and set forth until such time as
municipal governments therefor have been organized and are in
operation under this order."

_United States, 56th Congress, 1st Session,
House Document Number 659._

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 (April).
Appointment of the Second Commission to the Philippines and
the President's instructions to it.
Steps to be taken towards the establishment of civil
government, and the principles to be observed.

On the 7th of April, 1900, the President of the United States
addressed the following communication to the Secretary of War,
appointing a Second Commission to the Philippines, "to
continue and perfect the work of organizing and establishing
civil government" in the Islands, and defining the principles
on which that work should proceed: "In the message transmitted
to the Congress on the 5th of December, 1899, I said, speaking of
the Philippine Islands: 'As long as the insurrection continues
the military arm must necessarily be supreme. But there is no
reason why steps should not be taken from time to time to
inaugurate governments essentially popular in their form as
fast as territory is held and controlled by our troops. To
this end I am considering the advisability of the return of
the commission, or such of the members thereof as can be
secured, to aid the existing authorities and facilitate this
work throughout the islands.'

"To give effect to the intention thus expressed I have
appointed the Honorable William H. Taft of Ohio, Professor
Dean C. Worcester of Michigan, the Honorable Luke I. Wright of
Tennessee, the Honorable Henry C. Ide of Vermont, and
Professor Bernard Moses of California, Commissioners to the
Philippine Islands to continue and perfect the work of
organizing and establishing civil government already commenced
by the military authorities, subject in all respects to any
laws which Congress may hereafter enact. The Commissioners
named will meet and act as a board, and the Honorable William
H. Taft is designated as President of the board. It is
probable that the transfer of authority from military
commanders to civil officers will be gradual and will occupy a
considerable period. Its successful accomplishment and the
maintenance of peace and order in the meantime will require
the most perfect co-operation between the civil and military
authorities in the island, and both should be directed during
the transition period by the same executive department. The
commission will therefore report to the Secretary of War, and
all their action will be subject to your approval and control.

"You will instruct the commission to proceed to the City of
Manila, where they will make their principal office, and to
communicate with the Military Governor of the Philippine
Islands, whom you will at the same time direct to render to
them every assistance within his power in the performance of
their duties. Without hampering them by too specific
instructions, they should in general be enjoined, after making
themselves familiar with the conditions and needs of the
country, to devote their attention in the first instance to
the establishment of municipal governments, in which the
natives of the islands, both in the cities and in the rural
communities, shall be afforded the opportunity to manage their
own local affairs to the fullest extent of which they are
capable, and subject to the least degree of supervision and
control which a careful study of their capacities and
observation of the workings of native control show to be
consistent with the maintenance of law, order, and loyalty.
The next subject in order of importance should be the
organization of government in the larger administrative
divisions corresponding to counties, departments, or
provinces, in which the common interests of many or several
municipalities falling within the same tribal lines, or the
same natural geographical limits, may best be subserved by a
common administration. Whenever the commission is of the
opinion that the condition of affairs in the islands is such
that the central administration may safely be transferred from
military to civil control, they will report that conclusion to
you, with their recommendations as to the form of central
government to be established for the purpose of taking over
the control.

{390}

"Beginning with the 1st day of September, 1900, the authority
to exercise, subject to my approval, through the Secretary of
War, that part of the power of government in the Philippine
Islands which is of a legislative nature is to be transferred
from the Military Governor of the Islands to this commission,
to be thereafter exercised by them in the place and stead of
the Military Governor, under such rules and regulations as you
shall prescribe, until the establishment of the civil central
government for the islands contemplated in the last foregoing
paragraph, or until Congress shall otherwise provide. Exercise
of this legislative authority will include the making of rules
and orders, having the effect of law, for the raising of
revenue by taxes, customs duties, and imposts; the
appropriation and expenditure of public funds of the islands;
the establishment of an educational system throughout the
islands; the establishment of a system to secure an efficient
civil service; the organization and establishment of courts;
the organization and establishment of municipal and
departmental governments, and all other matters of a civil
nature for which the Military Governor is now competent to
provide by rules or orders of a legislative character. The
commission will also have power during the same period to
appoint to office such officers under the judicial,
educational, and civil service systems and in the municipal
and departmental governments as shall be provided for. Until
the complete transfer of control the Military Governor will
remain the chief executive head of the Government of the
islands, and will exercise the executive authority now
possessed by him and not herein expressly assigned to the
commission, subject, however, to the rules and orders enacted
by the commission in the exercise of the legislative powers
conferred upon them. In the meantime the municipal and
departmental governments will continue to report to the
Military Governor, and be subject to his administrative
supervision and control, under your direction, but that
supervision and control will be confined within the narrowest
limits consistent with the requirement that the powers of
government in the municipalities and departments shall be
honestly and effectively exercised and that law and order and
individual freedom shall be maintained. All legislative rules
and orders, establishments of Government, and appointments to
office by the commission will take effect immediately, or at
such times as it shall designate, subject to your approval and
action upon the coming in of the commission's reports, which
are to be made from time to time as its action is taken.
Wherever civil Governments are constituted under the direction
of the commission, such military posts, garrisons, and forces
will be continued for the suppression of insurrection and
brigandage, and the maintenance of law and order, as the
military commander shall deem requisite, and the military
forces shall be at all times subject, under his orders to the
call of the civil authorities for the maintenance of law and
order and the enforcement of their authority.

"In the establishment of Municipal Governments the commission
will take as the basis of its work the Governments established
by the Military Governor under his order of Aug. 8, 1899, and
under the report of the board constituted by the Military
Governor by his order of January 29, 1900, to formulate and
report a plan of Municipal Government, of which his Honor
Cayetano Arellano, President of the Audencia, was Chairman,
and it will give to the conclusions of that board the weight
and consideration which the high character and distinguished
abilities of its members justify. In the constitution of
Departmental or Provincial Governments it will give especial
attention to the existing Government of the Island of Negros,
constituted, with the approval of the people of that island,
under the order of the Military Governor of July 22, 1899, and
after verifying, so far as may be practicable, the reports of
the successful working of that Government, they will be guided
by the experience thus acquired, so far as it may be
applicable to the conditions existing in other portions of the
Philippines. It will avail itself, to the fullest degree
practicable, of the conclusions reached by the previous
commissions to the Philippines. In the distribution of powers
among the Governments organized by the commission, the
presumption is always to be in favor of the smaller
sub-division, so that all the powers which can properly be
exercised by the Municipal Government shall be vested in that
Government, and all the powers of a more general character
which can be exercised by the Departmental Government shall be
vested in that Government, and so that in the governmental
system, which is the result of the process, the Central
Government of the islands, following the example of the
distribution of the powers between the States and the National
Government of the United States, shall have no direct
administration except of matters of purely general concern,
and shall have only such supervision and control over local
Governments as may be necessary to secure and enforce faithful
and efficient administration by local officers.

"The many different degrees of civilization and varieties of
custom and capacity among the people of the different islands
preclude very definite instruction as to the part which the
people shall take in the selection of their own officers; but
these general rules are to be observed: That in all cases the
municipal officers, who administer the local affairs of the
people, are to be selected by the people, and that wherever
officers of more extended jurisdiction are to be selected in
any way, natives of the islands are to be preferred, and if
they can be found competent and willing to perform the duties,
they are to receive the offices in preference to any others.
It will be necessary to fill some offices for the present with
Americans which after a time may well be filled by natives of
the islands. As soon as practicable a system for ascertaining
the merit and fitness of candidates for civil office should be
put in force. An indispensable qualification for all offices and
positions of trust and authority in the islands must be
absolute and unconditional loyalty to the United States, and
absolute and unhampered authority and power to remove and
punish any officer deviating from that standard must at all
times be retained in the hands of the central authority of the
islands.
{391}
In all the forms of government and administrative provisions
which they are authorized to prescribe, the commission should
bear in mind that the government which they are establishing
is designed not for our satisfaction, or for the expression of
our theoretical views, but for the happiness, peace, and
prosperity of the people of the Philippine Islands, and the
measures adopted should be made to conform to their customs,
their habits, and even their prejudices, to the fullest extent
consistent with the accomplishment of the indispensable
requisites of just and effective government.

"At the same time the commission should bear in mind, and the
people of the islands should be made plainly to understand,
that there are certain great principles of government which
have been made the basis of our governmental system which we
deem essential to the rule of law and the maintenance of
individual freedom, and of which they have, unfortunately,
been denied the experience possessed by us; that there are
also certain practical rules of government which we have found
to be essential to the preservation of these great principles
of liberty and law, and that these principles and these rules
of government must be established and maintained in their
islands for the sake of their liberty and happiness, however
much they may conflict with the customs or laws of procedure
with which they are familiar. It is evident that the most
enlightened thought of the Philippine Islands fully
appreciates the importance of these principles and rules, and
they will inevitably within a short time command universal
assent. Upon every division and branch of the government of
the Philippines, therefore, must be imposed these inviolable
rules: That no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law; that private property
shall not be taken for public use without just compensation;
that in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the
right to a speedy and public trial, to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the
witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance
of counsel for his defense; that excessive bail shall not be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishment inflicted; that no person shall be put twice in
jeopardy for the same offense, or be compelled in any criminal
case to be a witness against himself; that the right to be
secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be
violated; that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall
exist except as a punishment for crime; that no bill of
attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed; that no law
shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or of the
press, or the rights of the people to peaceably assemble and
petition the Government for a redress of grievances; that no
law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and that the free
exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship
without discrimination or preference shall forever be allowed.

"It will be the duty of the commission to make a thorough
investigation into the titles to the large tracts of land held
or claimed by individuals or by religious orders; into the
justice of the claims and complaints made against such
landholders by the people of the island or any part of the
people, and to seek by wise and peaceable measures a just
settlement of the controversies and redress of wrongs which
have caused strife and bloodshed in the past. In the
performance of this duty the commission is enjoined to see
that no injustice is done; to have regard for substantial
rights and equity, disregarding technicalities so far as
substantial right permits, and to observe the following rules:
That the provision of the treaty of Paris pledging the United
States to the protection of all rights of property in the
islands, and, as well, the principle of our own Government,
which prohibits the taking of private property without due
process of law, shall not be violated; that the welfare of the
people of the islands, which should be a paramount
consideration, shall be attained consistently with this rule
of property right; that if it becomes necessary for the public
interest of the people of the islands to dispose of claims to
property which the commission finds to be not lawfully
acquired and held, disposition shall be made thereof by due
legal procedure, in which there shall be full opportunity for
fair and impartial hearing and judgment; that if the same
public interests require the extinguishment of property rights
lawfully acquired and held, due compensation shall be made out
of the public Treasury therefor; that no form of religion and
no minister of religion shall be forced upon any community or
upon any citizen of the islands; that, upon the other hand, no
minister of religion shall be interfered with or molested in
following his calling, and that the separation between State
and Church shall be real, entire, and absolute.

"It will be the duty of the commission to promote and extend,
and, as it finds occasion, to improve, the system of education
already inaugurated by the military authorities. In doing this
it should regard as of first importance the extension of a system
of primary education which shall be free to all, and which
shall tend to fit the people for the duties of citizenship and
for the ordinary avocations of a civilized community. This
instruction should be given in the first instance in every
part of the islands in the language of the people. In view of
the great number of languages spoken by the different tribes,
it is especially important to the prosperity of the islands
that a common medium of communication may be established, and
it is obviously desirable that this medium should be the
English language. Especial attention should be at once given
to affording full opportunity to all the people of the islands
to acquire the use of the English language. It may be well
that the main changes which should be made in the system of
taxation and in the body of the laws under which the people
are governed, except such changes as have already been made by
the military Government, should be relegated to the civil
Government which is to be established under the auspices of
the commission. It will, however, be the duty of the
commission to inquire diligently as to whether there are any
further changes which ought not to be delayed, and, if so, it
is authorized to make such changes, subject to your approval.
In doing so it is to bear in mind that taxes which tend to
penalize or to repress industry and enterprise are to be
avoided; that provisions for taxation should be simple, so
that they may be understood by the people; that they should
affect the fewest practicable subjects of taxation which will
serve for the general distribution of the burden.

{392}

"The main body of the laws which regulate the rights and
obligations of the people should be maintained with as little
interference as possible. Changes made should be mainly in
procedure, and in the criminal laws to secure speedy and
impartial trials, and at the same time effective
administration and respect for individual rights. In dealing
with the uncivilized tribes of the islands the commission
should adopt the same course followed by Congress in
permitting the tribes of our North American Indians to
maintain their tribal organization and government, and under
which many of those tribes are now living in peace and
contentment, surrounded by a civilization to which they are
unable or unwilling to conform. Such tribal governments
should, however, be subjected to wise and firm regulation;
and, without undue or petty interference, constant and active
effort should be exercised to prevent barbarous practices and
introduce civilized customs. Upon all officers and employés of
the United States, both civil and military, should be
impressed a sense of the duty to observe not merely the
material but the personal and social rights of the people of
the islands, and to treat them with the same courtesy and
respect for their personal dignity which the people of the
United States are accustomed to require from each other. The
articles of capitulation of the City of Manila on the 13th of
August, 1898, concluded with these words: 'This city, its
inhabitants, its churches and religious worship, its
educational establishments, and its private property of all
descriptions, are placed under the special safeguard of the
faith and honor of the American Army.' I believe that this
pledge has been faithfully kept. As high and sacred an
obligation rests upon the Government of the United States to
give protection for property and life, civil and religious
freedom, and wise, firm, and unselfish guidance in the paths
of peace and prosperity to all the people of the Philippine
Islands. I charge this commission to labor for the full
performance of this obligation, which concerns the honor and
conscience of their country, in the firm hope that through
their labors all the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands may
come to look back with gratitude to the day when God gave
victory to American arms at Manila and set their land under
the sovereignty and the protection of the people of the United
States.
WILLIAM McKINLEY."

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 (April).
Speech of Senator Hoar against the subjugation and
retention of the Islands by the United States.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1900 (APRIL).

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 (May).
Filipinos killed, captured and surrendered from the breaking
out of hostilities with them to May, 1900.
Losses of American army.

In response to a resolution of the United States Senate, May
17, 1900, the following report, by cable, from Manila, was
made by General MacArthur:

"Filipinos killed, 10,780;
wounded, 2,104;
captured and surrendered, 10,425;
number prisoners in our possession, about 2,000.

No systematic record Filipino casualties these headquarters.
Foregoing, compiled from large number reports made immediately
after engagements, is as close an approximation as now
possible, owing to wide distribution of troops. More accurate
report would take weeks to prepare. Number reported killed
probably in excess of accurate figures; number reported
wounded probably much less, as Filipinos managed to remove
most wounded from field, and comparatively few fell into our
hands. Officers high rank and dangerous suspicious men have
been retained as prisoners; most other men discharged on field
as soon as disarmed. Propose to release all but very few
prisoners at early date."

_56th Congress, 1st Session,
Senate Doc. 435._

For returns of casualties in the American army during the same
period,

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1900 (JUNE).

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 (May-November).
The question in American politics.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 {July).
Appeal of citizens of Manila to the
Congress of the United States.

An appeal "to the Congress of the United States," dated at
Manila, July 15, 1900, and signed by 2,006 of the inhabitants
of the city, who were said by Senator Hoar and Senator Teller
to be "the leading people of that section of country—lawyers
and bankers and professional men generally" was presented to
the Senate on the 10th of January, 1901. It opens as follows:

"The undersigned, Filipinos and peaceful inhabitants of this
city, in their own name and in the name of the misnamed
'irreconcilables,' respectfully present themselves and submit
to the worthy consideration of the Congress of the United
States of America the following appeal: "The people of the
Philippine Islands, in view of their calamitous condition,
demand in the name of her sons, in the name of all races, in
the name of humanity, that an end be put to the misfortunes
which afflict them which, while they distress and agonize her,
compel her to struggle for the rights that are hers, and for
the maintenance whereof she must, if necessary, continue to
pour out her blood as she has so constantly and generously
done on battlefields, in the woods, on the mountains, in the
city, everywhere! The blood which has been shed and that is
still being shed, and which will continue to be shed until she
has secured her rights, is not shed because of the intrigues
of a few who, according to misinformed persons, desire to
exploit the people and enrich themselves at the cost of their
brother's blood. It has, gentlemen, sprung from the hearts of
the people, who alone are the real strength of nations, the
sovereign king of races, the producers of the arts, of
science, of commerce, of wealth, of agriculture, of
civilization, of progress, and of all the productions of human
labor and intelligence, in all of which the people of the
Philippine Islands had made great progress. The Filipinos were
not sunk in lethargy, as some untruthfully assert. They
suffered, but the hour to break their chains came to them in
August, 1896, and they proclaimed to the world their
emancipation."

{393}

The paper proceeds to review the circumstances of the revolt
against Spanish rule which broke out in 1896, and the later
circumstances of the conflict between Filipinos and Americans
at such length that it cannot be given in full. Its aim and
its spirit may be sufficiently shown by quotation of the
following passages from the closing parts of the appeal:

"Even supposing that America should force us to submit, and
after many years of war the country should submit, as the
lesser evil, to the proclamation of an ample autonomy, that
autonomy would not produce a sincere bond of friendship
between the two people, because, having sacrificed herself for
her independence, the country could not look with affection upon
those who would be the only obstacle to her happiness. She
would always retain her aspirations, so that autonomy would be
a short 'interregnum' which the country would necessarily take
advantage of to regain new strength to be used in the
attainment of her high political ideals, happen what may, and
perhaps in some hour of peril strike a fatal blow at a hated
oppressor. … In giving this warning we do not forget the good
Americans whom we sincerely respect; we are mindful of the
rupture of our good relations with the United States; we are
mindful of the blood which will again run on the soil of our
country. We see in that autonomy a new and sorrowful page in
the history of the Philippines, and therefore we can not but
look upon it with horror. Our people have had enough of
suffering. … They steadfastly believe that their independence
is their only salvation. Should they obtain it, they would be
forever grateful to whomsoever shall have helped them in their
undertaking; they would consider him as their redeemer, and
his name will be engraved with bright letters in the national
history, that all the generations to come may read it with
sublime veneration. America, consistent with her tradition, is
the only one which could play that great rôle in the present
and future of the Philippines. If she recognizes their
independence, they could offer her a part of the revenues of
the Philippine state, according to the treaty which shall be
stipulated; the protection in the country of the merchandise
of the United States, and a moral and material guarantee for
American capital all over the archipelago; finally, whatever
may bring greater prosperity to America and progress to the
country will, we doubt not, be taken into account in the
treaty which shall be celebrated.

"That the independence of the country will be attended with
anarchy is asserted only by those who, offending the truth and
forgetting their dignity, represent the Filipinos under
horrible colors, comparing them to beasts. Their assertions
are backed by isolated acts of pillage and robbery. What
revolution of the world was free from such deeds? At this
epoch passions are unrestrained; vengeance finds opportunity
to satisfy itself; private ambitions are often favored by the
occasion. Could such criminal deeds be avoided? Pythagoras
said: 'If you like to see monsters, travel through a country
during a revolution.' …

"In order to end our appeal we will say, with the learned
lawyer, Senor Mabini: 'To govern is to study the wants and
interpret the aspirations of the people, in order to remedy
the former and satisfy the latter.' If the natives who know
the wants, customs, and aspirations of the people are not fit
to govern them, would the Americans, who have had but little
to do with the Filipinos, be more capable to govern the
latter? We have, therefore, already proven—

1. That the revolution was the exclusive work of the public;

2. That in preparing it they were moved by a great ideal, the
ideal of independence;

3. That they are ready to sacrifice their whole existence in
order to realize their just aspirations;

4. That in spite of the serious difficulties through which
they are passing, they still expect from America that she will
consider them with impartiality and justice, and will
recognize what by right belongs to them, and thus give them an
opportunity to show their boundless gratitude;

5. That the annexation of the Philippines to America is not
feasible;

6. That the American sovereignty is not favored by the
Philippine people;

7. That an ample autonomy can not be imposed without violating
the Filipino will;

8. That the Filipinos are firm for self-government.

"From this it results that the only admissible solution for
the present difficulties is the recognition by America of the
independence of the Filipinos. In saying this we do not
consider either the nullity or the legality of the Paris
treaty on our country, but the well-known doctrine of the
immortal Washington, and of the sons of the United States of
America, worthy champions of oppressed people. Therefore we,
in the name of justice and with all the energies of our souls,
demand—

1. That the independence of the Filipinos be recognized;

2. That all the necessary information regarding the events
which are taking place, concerning the peaceful towns and
places which are supporting the arms of the revolution, be
obtained from Filipinos who, by their antecedents and by their
actual conduct, deserve the respect and confidence of the
Filipino people."

_Congressional Record,
January 10, 1901, page 850._

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 (September).
Adoption of civil service rules.

See (in this volume)
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM: A. D. 1900.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 (September-November).
Civil government of the Islands by the President's Commission.
Legislative measures.
Report of the Commission.

"In April of this year the second Philippine commission, of
which Honorable William H. Taft, of Ohio, Professor Dean C.
Worcester, of Michigan, Honorable Luke I. Wright, of
Tennessee, Honorable Henry C. Ide, of Vermont, and Professor
Bernard Moses, of California, were members, sailed for Manila
with the powers of civil government prescribed in the
instructions of April 7, 1900 [see above]. After devoting
several months to familiarizing themselves with the conditions
in the islands, this commission on the 1st of September, 1900,
entered upon the discharge of the extensive legislative powers
and the specific powers of appointment conferred upon them in
the instructions, and they have since that time continued to
exercise all that part of the military power of the President
in the Philippines which is legislative in its character,
leaving the military governor still the chief executive of the
islands, the action of both being duly reported to this
Department for the President's consideration and approval. …
On consultation with the commission, and with the President's
approval, a note of amnesty was issued by the military
governor, dated June 21, 1900, and supplemented by a public
statement by the military governor, under date of July 2,
1900, based, in the main, upon the instructions to the
commission.
{394}
… In pursuance of them something over 5,000 persons, of all
grades of the civil and military service of the insurrection,
presented themselves and took the following oath: 'I hereby
renounce all allegiance to any and all so-called revolutionary
governments in the Philippine Islands and recognize and accept
the supreme authority of the United States of America therein;
and I do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and
allegiance to that government; that I will at all times
conduct myself as a faithful and law-abiding citizen of said
islands, and will not, either directly or indirectly, hold
correspondence with or give intelligence to an enemy of the
United States, neither will I aid, abet, harbor, or protect
such enemy. That I impose upon myself this voluntary
obligation without any mental reservation or purpose of
evasion, so help me God.' This number included many of the
most prominent officials of the former Tagalog government. …

"The commission in its legislative action is following the
ordinary course of legislative procedure. Its sessions are
open, and its discussion and the proposed measures upon which
it is deliberating are public, while it takes testimony and
receives suggestions from citizens as if it were a legislative
committee. Its first legislative act was the appropriation, on
the 12th of September, of $2,000,000 (Mexican), to be used in
construction and repair of highways and bridges in the
Philippine Islands. The second act, on the same day, was an
appropriation of $5,000 (Mexican) for a survey of a railroad
to the mountains of Benguet, in the island of Luzon. The
proposed railroad, about 45 miles in length, extending from
the Manila and Dagupan road, near the Gulf of Lingayen, to the
interior, will open, at a distance of about 170 miles from
Manila, a high tableland exceedingly healthy, well wooded with
pine and oak, comparatively dry and cool, and where the
mercury is said to range at night in the hottest season of the
year between 50° and 60° F. The value of such a place for the
recuperation of troops and foreign residents will be very
great. The third act of the commission was an appropriation
for the payment of a superintendent of public instruction.
They have secured for that position the services of Frederick
W. Atkinson, recently principal of the high school of
Springfield, Massachusetts, who was selected by the commission
for that purpose before their arrival in Manila.

"Before the 1st of September a board of officers had been
engaged upon the revision of the tariff for the islands in the
light of such criticisms and suggestions as had been made
regarding the old tariff. The commission has considered the
report of this board, and after full public hearings of
business interests in the island has formulated a tariff law
which has been transmitted to the Department. … A
civil-service board has been constituted by the commission
[see, in this volume, CIVIL SERVICE REFORM: A. D. 1900). They
have secured from the United States Civil Service Commission
the experienced and capable services of Mr. Frank M. Kiggins,
and a civil-service law has been enacted by the commission
providing for the application of the merit system to
appointments in the island."

_United States, Secretary of War, Annual Report,
November 30, 1900, pages 25-27._

A report by the Commission, dated November 30, was received at
Washington late in January, 1901. Of the legislative work on
which it entered September 1st, and which, at the time of
reporting, it had prosecuted during three months, the
Commission speaks as follows:

"It adopted the policy of passing no laws, except in cases of
emergency, without publishing them in the daily 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 Military Governor for
his consideration 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 Commission has now passed
forty-seven laws of more or less importance. … A municipal
code has been prepared and forwarded to you for the
consideration of one or two critical matters, and has not yet
been adopted, pending your consideration of it. A tariff bill
… has been prepared. … 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 they have been
entirely exempt. This enabled the large landowners to escape
any other taxation than the urbana, a tax which was imposed
upon the rental value of city buildings only, and the cedula
tax, which did not in any case exceed $37.50 (Mexican) a
person. We think that a land tax is to be preferred, but of
this there will be found more detailed discussion below. …

"The only legislation thus far undertaken by the Commission
which bears directly on the conduct of municipal affairs in
the city of Manila is a law regulating the sale of spirituous,
malt, vinous or fermented liquors. It is provided that none of
the so-called native 'wines' [said to be concocted by mixing
alcohol with oils and flavoring extracts] 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 selling of native wines to soldiers of the
United States under any circumstances is strictly prohibited,
because the soldiers are inclined to indulge in those
injurious beverages to excess, with disastrous results. … 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 playing of musical instruments or the
operation of any gambling device, phonograph, slot machine,
billiard or pool table or other form of amusement in saloons,
bars or drinking places is prohibited."

The report of the Commission urged strongly the establishing
of a purely civil government in the Islands, for reasons thus
stated: "The restricted powers of a military government are
painfully apparent in respect to mining claims and the
organization of railroad, banking and other corporations 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 obstructed.
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Such difficulties would all be removed by the passage of the
Spooner bill now pending in both houses.

See below: A. D. 1901 (FEBRUARY-MARCH).

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,
cannot be too strongly emphasized. Military methods in
administering quasi-civil government, however successful in
securing efficiency and substantial justice, are necessarily
abrupt and in appearance arbitrary, even when they are those
of the Army of the 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 government under American sovereignty and
one under that of Spain."

Another subject of great importance dealt with in the November
report of the Commission was that concerning the employment of
native troops and police, on which it was said: "The question
as to whether native troops and a native constabulary are at
present practicable has received much thought and a careful
investigation by the Commission. … We have sought and obtained
the opinions of a large number of Regular and volunteer officers
of all rank, having their fields of operation in all parts of
the islands, and there appears to be a general consensus of
opinion among them that the time is ripe for these
organizations, and this is also our conclusion. Assuming that
Congress at its next session will provide for an increase of
the Regular Army, it by no means follows that a large part
thereof will, or should, be stationed here permanently.
Considerations of public policy and economy alike forbid such
a programme, nor in our judgment is it necessary.

"While the American soldier is unsurpassed in war, as it is
understood among civilized people, he does not make the best
policeman, especially among a people whose language and
customs are new and strange to him, and in our opinion should
not be put to that use when, as we believe, a better
substitute is at hand. We therefore earnestly urge the
organization of ten regiments of native troops of infantry and
cavalry, the proportion between the two arms of the service to
be fixed by competent military judges. These troops should in
the main be officered by Americans. Certainly this should be
the case as to their field officers and company commanders.
Lieutenants might be Filipinos, judicially selected, and
provision might be made for their promotion in the event of
faithful or distinguished service.

"We further recommend that a comprehensive scheme of police
organization be put in force as rapidly as possible; that it
be separate and distinct from the army, having for its head an
officer of rank and pay commensurate with the importance of
the position, with a sufficient number of assistants and
subordinates to exercise thorough direction and control. This
organization should embrace every township in the islands, and
should be so constituted that the police of several contiguous
townships could be quickly mobilized. The chief officers of
this organization should be Americans, but some of the
subordinate officers should be natives, with proper provision
for their advancement as a reward for loyal and efficient
services. The main duty of the police would, of course, be to
preserve the peace and maintain order in their respective
townships, but occasion would, no doubt, frequently arise when
it would be necessary to utilize the forces of several
townships against large bands of ladrones."

With regard to the organization of municipal government in the
townships (pueblos) of the Islands the report of the
Commission says, in part: "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
very 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 the body may not
become so numerous as to be unwieldy, on the other, it is
provided that the Councillors shall be few in number (eighteen
to eight, according to the number of inhabitants), and shall
be elected at large; that where the wards are more numerous
than are the Councillors the wards shall be grouped into
districts, and that one Councillor 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. …

"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 two hundred and fifty others
are organized under a comparatively simple form of government
and fifty-five under a much more complicated form 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 carrying 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 government should be given control of the appointment
and arming of the municipal police and that in all provinces
where civil provincial government 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 by
the Military Governor for these purposes. It has been further
provided 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 any time all the
official books and records of the several municipalities, and
to summarily suspend any municipal 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 intervention 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.

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"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 government is
established in any province, power to remove officials for
inefficiency, 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-Christian 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
number of Mahometans and pagans is much less than the number
of Christianized natives. Still, the non-Christian tribes are
very far from forming an insignificant 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 civilization."

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 (October).
United States military forces in the Islands.

"At the date of my last annual report there were in the
Philippine Islands 971 officers and 31,344 enlisted men; and
there were en route for service in those islands 546 officers
and 16,553 enlisted men—the latter force being principally in
California. Since that time an additional force ordered to
China was diverted to the Philippine Islands, making a total
of 98,668 men sent to the archipelago. Of this number 15,000
volunteers, first sent to that country in 1898, together with
the sick and disabled, have been returned to the United
States, leaving at the present time in the islands, according
to last report, 2,367 officers and 69,161 enlisted men.
Fifteen hundred men have been left in China to act as a guard
for the American legation in that country and for other
purposes."

_United States, Annual Report of Lieutenant-General
Commanding the Army, October 29, 1900._

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1900 (November).
The problem of the Spanish Friars.
Two contradictory representations of their work and influence.
Views and recommendations of the United States Commission.

Of the character, work and influence of the Spanish religious
orders in the Philippine Islands there are two diametrically
opposite accounts given by different writers. Both are
represented in two of the quotations below, and those are
followed by extracts from a report made by the United States
Commission, November 30, 1900, on the subject of the problem
they present to the new government of the Islands. The first
writer is condemnatory. He says:

"The better classes [of the Filipinos] have absorbed much of
Spanish civilization in their three-century-old
apprenticeship. They show extraordinary talent for music. The
church of the mother land of Spain is much in evidence among
them. It brought to them its blessings, but also incidentally
a terrible curse. The mendicant orders—the Franciscans, the
Dominicans, the Augustinians, no longer poor preachers,
thinking only of serving, blessing, loving men, but grown
rich, domineering, and, in many cases, sadly corrupt in
morals—ate up the land. They added field to field, house to
house, till there was but little space left for the people.
They charged enormous rents to those who to put bread in their
mouths must till their fields. Just such cause for revolt existed
as that which in France aroused the storm of the great
revolution; the people taxed without mercy, the clergy
untaxed, reaping the benefit. Had the Christ-like St. Francis
of Assisi been endowed with the gift of prophetic vision to
see this gross degeneracy of his followers, more than ever
would he have felt the soundness of his intuition which made
him set his face like flint against the acquisition of any
property by his order. His beloved fair Lady of Poverty would
have seemed to him more beautiful than ever. He would have
been horrified with the knowledge of the cruel rapacity of
monks bearing his name, who, nevertheless, grossly oppressed
the Philippine peasantry in rents and taxes,—the very poor
whom St. Francis founded his order to serve.

"Perhaps the most deep-seated cause of Filipino insurrection
against Spanish authority was this unchecked growth of
ignorant, cruel, and oppressive ecclesiasticism. It was this
which weighed most heavily upon the people. It made the mere
question of gaining a livelihood difficult, but especially did
it strangle intellectual and moral growth. It not only
oppressed the Filipinos, but it overawed and dominated the
Spanish authorities. It was the power of the mendicant orders
which drove out the just Condé de Caspe, and later the
well-disposed and clement Blanco, which stimulated and
supported the frightful atrocities of the cruel Polavieja
during the revolution of 1896. Archbishop Nozaleda, a Spanish
monk of the Dominican order, was a leader in urging wholesale
and often wholly unjustifiable arrests, which were succeeded
by the torture and execution of hundreds of persons. It is
difficult for a mind reared in the freedom and culture of
modern Europe, or still freer America, to realize the horrible
excesses and actual mediæval cruelties which were committed in
the prisons of Manila and elsewhere in the islands upon Filipino
insurgents, or those accused of being in league with them,
during the revolution of 1896. The actual story of these
things as it is unfolded, not only from Filipino sources, but
from the Spanish archives of Manila, is like a scene evoked
from the long-buried and forgotten past in the middle ages.
Indeed, the only intelligible interpretation of events which
cast shame on the name of Spanish authority and Spanish
Christianity is found by reflecting that affairs in the
Philippines, just previous to the battle of Manila, were
controlled by ideas and forces which existed generally in
Europe previous to the Reformation,—ideas which slowly
retreated before the dawn of the new learning and the
liberation of the individual conscience."

_H. Welsh,
The Other Man's Country,
chapter 1 (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company)._

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In the other view there is an appeal to results which cannot
easily be divested of force. They are set forth in the
following: