The Forrest City times., 1899-11-10

brought about satisfaction, ana public order is better in the island to-day than at any time during the last twenty years. l Summarizing the failure of the native | form or government. and the success of the American control the commission l says:
 The flat failure of this attempt to ss- 1 tabiish an independent native goverl- | ment in Negros, conducted, as it was un | der the most favorable circumstances, | makes 1t apparent that here, well as in | the less favored provinces, a large amount or American control Is at present abso- | iuteiy essential to a successful adminis- | tration of public affairs.'
 1 NeGotintions With Aguinnido.
 The efforts. at equalization with Agui- | naldo and his various commissions are | set forth in detail. These commissioners l were assured of the benencent purposes of | the United States and the presidents l readiness to grant the Filipino people | large measure of home rule and ample liberty as consistent with the ends | ognition of the sovereignty of the United 1 States'--a point which, being established, | the commission invariably refused to cyea | discuss.
 The commission adds that nothing came | of negotiations, as Aguinaldo's emssaries | were without powers, and merely came and came again, for information. Court | teous reception was accorded to the insur- gent commissions. and earnest appeals made to stop further bloodshed, all alt. messing ''the spirit of patient conciliationi exhibited by the American commission ii endeavoring to reach an amicable ad
 
 | the obduracy of Aguinaldo
 The report sums up the result of thcs. fruitess exchanges as follows:
 | NO better proof could be furnished that | the primary object of his struggle is not, | as is pretended, the liberty of the Filipino peoples. but the continuance of his own l arbitrary and despotic power. In any | event, the American people may feel con | ndent that no effort was omitted by the commission to secure a peaceful end of | the struggle, but the opportunities they l offered and urged were all neglected, ii not indeed spurned.'
 Incapable of Self-GOvernment
 The chapter devoted to capacity for self-government" is the result. the report states, of diligent inquiry for several | months, in the course of which great l number of witnesses were examined of all shades of political thought and varieties of occupation, tribe and locality. The most striking, and perhaps the most sig multiplicity of tribes inhabiting the archipelago, the diversity of their lan- suage (Which are mutually unintelligible), and the multifarious phases of civilization | ranging all the way from the highest to the lowest, As to this the report says: l "The Fiipinos are not a nation, but a variegated assemblage of different tribes and people; and their loyalty is still O. the tribal type"
 | Concerning their intellectual capacities the commission says:
 .'As to the general intellectual capacities of the Filipinos. the commission is dis in limited number of persons, these ca pacities have not been developed by edu- eatlon naoo' or r expesienee The b masses of the public opinion on which popular govern ment rests does not exist in the Philip pines. And 1t can not exist until educa- | tion has elevated the masses, broadenea their intellectual horizon, and disciplined their faculty of Judgment. And even then the power of self government can not be assumed without considerable previous training and experience under the gud- | ance and tutelage of an enlightened ana | hn1A nt is that the Filiuinos have never had any | experience in governing themselves"
 American Sovereignty a Boon.
 The report shows that their inability fni regime which gave the Filipnos little or no part in governing themselves. Afte. res lewing this spanish system. the com
 This is all the training in self-govern- ment which the inhabitants of the Phil of education and political experience com bined with their racial and linguistic di- versailles, disqualfy them, in spite of their | dertake the task of governing the archi- pelago at the present time. The most tha can be expected of them is to co-operate | with the Americans in the administration or general affairs from Manila as a center and to undertake, subject to American sar eontroi or or guidance as may be found nee, and municipal affairs. Fortunately there are educated F'ilipinos, though they do not
  tire population, and their support and services will be of incalculable value in inaugrating and maintaining the new gov errment.
 As education advances and experience rlpens, the natives may be intrusted with larger and more independent share O. I government; self-government as the American ideal, being constantly kept in view as the goal. In this way American prove a great political boon to the reo- pie.
 FiliDinOs Can't stand Alone.
 Should our power by any fatality be WitbdIawn, the commission believe that the government of the Philippines would speedily lapse into anarchy, which would excuse. if 1t did not necessitate. the in- tervention of other powers, and the event. ual division of the islands among them
 Only through American occupation therefore. is the idea of free, self-gov- 1 wealth at all conceivable. And the fndis- pensable need from the Filipino point of view of maintaining American sovereign ty over the archipelago is recognized by all intelligent Fiipinos, and even by those | Insurgents who desire an American pro- tectorate. The latter. it Is true would take the revenues and leave us inc re | responsibilities. Nevertheless. they recog- niZe the indutiable fact that the Filipinos the Filipinos coincides with the dictates of national honor in forbidding our abandon ment of the archipelago. We can not. from any point of view escape the responsbili- ties of government which our sovereignty entails, and the commission is strongly per 1 suaded that the performance of our na- uonal duty will prove the greatest bless ing to the people of the Philippine is l lands"
 One of the closing chapters of the re- port IS devoted to a tribute to "our sol- diers and sailors in the war" The com mission says that the presence of Admiral | Dewey as a member of this body makes It uniting to dwell on his personal settlements, but he joins in the eulogy of his comrades. The commission witnessed some of the deeds of our soldiers and de- | clare that all skill, courage and a patient | endurance can do has been done in the | Philippines.
 DesccratiOn of Churches.
 They dismissed the reports of the des- ecrating of churches, the murdering of | prisoners, and the committing of unmcn- | tionable crimes. and say they are glad to | express tke belief that a war was never more humanely conducted, saying: 1 If churches were occupied, it was only as military necessity, and frequently l after their use as forts by the insurgents had made it necessary to train our ar ! tillery upon them. Prisoners were taken | whenever opportunity offered often only l to be set at liberty after being disarmed