Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-30
AUTHORITY NOT DEFINED
COMMISSION REPORTS
UNSATISFACTORY CONDITIONS.
Relation of Insular Government to
Post once and Marine Hos
pftal Service.

The division OF lnSular aHalrs, war De-
partment, publishes the following extract
from the report of the Philippine commits
sion. dated November 80, 1900, concerning
civil government:
The restricted powers Of a military gov
eminent are painfully apparent in respect
to mining claims and the organization of
railroad banking and other corporations.
and the granting of franchises generally.
1t Is necessary that there be somebody OF
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 paci-
fication. Now, the only corporations here
OF Spanish or English origin with but
limited concessions, and American capital
finds Itself completely INSTRUCTED. Such
difficulties would all be removed by the
passage of the Spooner bill now pending In
both houses.
The far reaching effect upon the feeling
of the people of changing the military. gov
eminent to one purely civil with the army
as merely auxiliary to the administration
of civil law cannot be too strongly en-
phasized. Military methods IN administer
ing quasi-civil government, however sue
cessful in securing efficiency and sub
stantial justice, are necessarily abrupt and
In appearance arbitrary. even when they
are those of the army of the republic; and
until civil government is established here
1t will be impossible for the people of the
Philippine Islands to realize the full meas
ure of the difference between government
under American sovereignty and one under
that of Spain
Civil Service Rules Advised.
The relation between the Post Office De-
partment in the Philippines and the insular
government has not been as clearly defined
as 1t might be. At present the director Of
posts considers that by virtue of the orders
of Ia
Department he has the right to appoint
employees In the department and to fix their
salaries and that the commission has no
function except to make the appropria lions
out of the treasury to meet the obliga tons
which he thus incurs. During the incum-
bency of the present director of posts it
must be said that his efficient adminsra-
ton and his anxious desire to cooperate in
every way with the government has re-
leved the doubtful questions of much en-
barrassment; but in the opinion of the COM
mission it would be much wiser either to
give to the, insular government complete
control over the Post Office Department or
to transfer it to the United States govern
ment for its sole management and support
as has been done in Porto Rico.
Assuming that it had legisa tive and ex-
ecutive control of appointments in the
Post Office Department, the commission
brought it within the operation of the
civil service act, and it now recommends
that the selection of post office employees be
made subject to that act.
The commission was requested to appro-
pirate money for the construction of a
post office in the city of Manila, and to
devote certain public land to that purpose
1t was entirely willing to make the appro-
priatiOn. both of the land and the money
but declined to do so until 1t should be def
initely settled whether it to assume
control of the Post Office Department and
pay the expenses thereof or whether the
control and cost was to be assumed by the
United States government.
Pays. hut Does Not Control.
A similar question has arisen I'm regard
to the Marine Hospital service. This, it
seems to us, ought to be under the insular
government and the officers in charge
should be subject to orders by the insular
government Now the anomalous condition
is. that the insular government has been
obliged to appropriate $OD,OOD to make i'm
provements for the hospital service, with
out exercising the slightest control over
the expenditure. The hospital service is
efficient doubtless. but occasions might
arise when it would be exceedingly en-
barrassng to have a branch Of the govern
ment here entirely independent of the con-
troll by the chief executive and the legis-
lature. Certainly there is nothing about
the quarantine service that requires that
it should be administered from the Treas
ury Department, 10000 miles distant,
rather than by the insular government, for
even in the states of the United States. the
quarantine service, by 1nactiOn of Con-
gress, is usually permitted to be part Of
the local police government of the states,
instead of being solely a federal function.
New Land system.
A very large percentage Of the lands are
occupied and claimed by individuals, with
out any record title whatever. Many never
had 81 record title, and those who had them
have largely lost them, through the vicis-
STUDIES of war, the burning of records and
the ravages of insects. 1t is difficult for
would be purchasers to obtain any certain
evidence as to the validity of titles that
are offered to them, and loans upon real
estate security are very difficult to OBJ
tain. because of the uncertainty of titles
and boundaries. Before there can be any
large additional industrial development,
which depends upon certainty of tenure,
d new system of accurate surveys, investi
CATION and registration of titles is indis-
pensabe. system providing for these
l.. in 81 70