Arizona republican., 1899-12-21
Senator Lodge on Work
 of New Committee.
THOSE PHILIPPINES
Relat: IS With Cuba Different From Those With any of the Other Re- suits of the War With Spain-A Bill Preparing a Permanent Government for Porto Rico-The Other Islands.

Washington, Dc. 20-Senator Lodge, chairman of the new and highly impor- tant committee on the Philippines, was asked today for his views ls to the work of his committee and of the other new committees. In responce to ques- tions he made the following authorized statement:
 "It will ultimately become the duty of the Philippine commission, suppose to deal with all questions connected with the islands, and to consider for submission to the senate the policy which the United States should pur- sue in regard to them. But these are of course, questions of the future. The paramount necessity of the present moment is the restoration of order in the islands, the ending of the war and the extinction of the last embe-s of insurrection which has now degenerat- ed into mere brigandage. This is all work for the army, and is an execu- tive function.
 ''The only immediate duty of the committee that I can see now is to gather together and put into compact form all possible information in regard to the islands, so that when the time comes for congress to act it may have all the knowledge obtainable which will enable it to act intelligently.
 AS to the general purpose of the island committees, I can say to you what the intention of the committee which made them up was in regard to | them, because I had the honor to serve on that committee, ahu tnec- hew committees were the subject of r!iuoA discussion and were selected with the utmost care. The committee on com mittees, after the most careful con sideration, came unanimously to the | opinion that the only way to deal with either our general policy or with the | details of legislation in regard to our new possessions was to constitute new committees, to which everything re-. lating to the islands should be referred. It seemed very clear to them that to attempt to deal with the islands i through the existing committees of the senate would only result in confusion and in an utter lack of coherence in | our policy because the necessary meas ures would have to be framed by eight or ten different committees, when all parts of the subject ought to be con- sidered together and dealt with as whole.
 Tn regard to Cuba, with which our relations are entirely different from those which we hold toward any of the territory we have acquired from Spain, | it seemed clear that we must have committee entrusted with that subject alone. Appreciating fully the gravity | and the delicacy of our relations to Cuba, a committee of exceptional strength and ability was formed to take charge of this subject and all matters connected with it. The Philip pines occupy, of course, position en- tirely different from that of Cuba, and they, also, in my opinion, must re- ceive treatment widely different from, that of the other islands. Matters con nected with them, moreover, are sure to increase in number and importance, and it will be all that the strongest committee can do in the near future to deal properly with the questions which are certain to arise.
 "The committee on the Pacific is- lands will have the immediate duty of preparing a bill for the government or Porto Rico, a most important and la borious work. This bill involves ques-
 tions relating to the currency, the tariff, internal revenue, the navigation laws, and the courts, as well as the political arrangements of the island. Each one of these questions might of itself come within the province of an already existing committee of the senate, but the committee on com mittees felt, after the fullest delibera- | tion, that the only safe and wise way was to entrust all these questions to committee, which could consult with the existing committees of the senate. and in this way give us har- monious and coherent legislation of the best sort. I feel quite sure that when the senate has examined these matters as thoroughly as the committee on committees was obliged to do it will reach the same conclusion, and see that the only way to deal in the best man. ner with these new questions is to refer everything connected with the islands to the particular committees which have been constituted with the utmost care for the performance of these new and important duties.''