The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-01-27
STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR TAFT.
Government Is Conceaiing Nothing
 Work of Sensa tionaIists.

Chicago Jan. 26.-William H. Taft,
 civil governor of the Philippines, arriv- i ed in Chicago this afternoon from San l Francisco, He was met at the depot | by President s. M Felton, of the Chi 1 cago and Alton Railroad company, and | went at once to Mr. Feltons residence,
 where he spent the day. Governor Taft | left tonight over the Pennsylvania
 road for Cincinnati. Before leaving he said:
 The only answer I have to make to the ideas of individual observers who declare that the true condition in the Philippines is being concealed, or that we are hugging delusions of peace that can never be brought out, is that the
 government Is concealing nothing and
 that it's conclusions are not based on
 wild theories, but on substantial facts"
 This was the reply Governor Taft made to a statement, published by
 Stephen Bonsal declaring that desper-
 ate opposition was still being encoun-
 tered in the field and that the natives
 are irreconcilable and better organized
 than before the capture of Aguinaldo.
 Governor Taft said that although there
 was a time when, for military reasons,
 it had not been advisable to make pub
 lie everything occurring in the Philip
 pines, the necessity for such secrecy is
 over and that no effort is now being
 made to conceal any part of the truth
 from the people of this country.
 AS a matter of fact he added "the
 embers of distrust are being kept alive
 by sensa tionalsts, who seize on every petty point and seek to twist 1t into
 some horrible barbarity of our govern ment in the islands. Take for in- stance, the talk about concentration camps. Although I am not sufficiently
 well acquainted with the full military plans to speak with absolute authority, I can say that the whole subject is very much misunderstood by our people.
 AS matter of fact, there has never been any thought of establishing con- centration camps in the ordinary &C., ceptance of the term. All that has been proposed is an insurgent cordon, the es- tablishment of a dead line into which will gradually be drawn all the rem | nants of insurgents that exist.
 "The non -combatants on the islands l have never, even at the hardest period [ of the war, received anything but the utmost kindness and consideration at | our hands and it is hardly probable, that this policy will be reversed now that the opposition is fast drawing to a close"
 The governor believes that the only existing opposition to the authority of the United States is being fomented by the men who form the Hong Kong Junta, most of whom were formerly residents of the rich coffee growing provinces of Batangas. "It is in this he went on, that we are now meeting with our only difficulty. | My statements concerning the close of the rebellion are not 'optimistic' in the sense that they are overdrawn. They are based on nothing but plain facts.
 'The natives are rapidly developing an affection for our institutions and a large number of former insurgents have become valuable members of the fully worthy of any trust that may be reposed in them. The coming elections will develop the real progress in this direction and I am cer- tain that the result will be gratifying
 The restrictions placed on the privi- eee of the ballot are principally of an character, fact that will, 0f course, but out numbers of Filipinos. But this is q condition that will be bet 1 ter rapidly The progress of education S satisfactory and our policy in this di- 'ection is liberal.
 "No obstacle of any character is put s the way of the parish schools; in- { iced, it is now generally understood f throughout the islands that the govern ( nent will eagerly welcome the estab- 1 ishment of additional institutions of q his character as long as they conform C Q the educational standard demanded c n our public schools and instruct pupils a Il the English language. 1t is utterly t to us what the character of t he school is. All factors that will aid ] c