The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-30
TAFT TO STUDENTS
PHILIPPINE GOVERNOR ADDRESS
ES YALE MEN.
TOLD OF COMMISSIONS WORK
CHURCH PROBLEM AND WATER
CURE DISCUSSED.

Gov. Taft Lets the Army Down Ea
With 500 Posts and Several Time.
as Many DetachmeDts Bad Men
Have n Good Chance to Get In
Their WOrk-SeparntiOn of Church
and state a Very Difficult Problem.
Conference With Head of Church
Does Not Mean Establishment OF
Diplomatic Relations with Vati-
can.
New Haven, Conn, April 29.-Gov.
Gen. William H. Taft of the Philip
pine Islands was we'll received this
evening when he addressed about q
900 students, professors and others in
College street hall at Yale. He was
introduced by President A. 7. Hadley.
After Briefly reviewing the historical
ana geographical features of the Phil
ippines, Judge Taft described its gov
ernmental and economic status at the
time the American army took possess
sion. He then developed the history
OF the past four years. more especially
the work of the Philippine Commits
sioner.
With respect to the evidence as to
the water cure and other cruelty. Gov.
Iaft said that it must be remembered
that the army of 10000 to go. 900 men.
by reason of the guerrilla warfare car
RED on by the insurgents, had to be
divided into 500 posts, many of which
were commanded by first and second
leutenants or captains and some times
by sergeants, and that the detachments
IN the Held far exceeded the number
or posts; that this explained how ii
was possible with many engagements
dalIy, exceptional instances of such
abuses might occur without tvpifyine
the conduct of the army, which on the
whole was humane and considerable to-
ward the natives. 1t was not to he
expected that in an army of 60 900 men
there should not be brutes or weak
men who would yield to the temnta-
ton of arbitrary power and the prov
oeation hardly to be understood of the
ambush and treachery, savagery and
danger OF the Filipino warfare as 1t
was practiced.
The Church Problem.
In speaking of the relations between
the church and the government in the
Philippines the speaker said that under
the Spanish rule the church and the
state had held their interests so inextri-
caoly associated and fused that it was
a work of the most difficult character
to separate justly the interests of the
one from the other, and yet those in
terests must be separated in order that
the state and church in the Philippines
should be brought to the condition re-
CURED by our traditions and system of
government II was an Indispensable
condition precedent to bringing about
the necessary separation that there
shouid be some conference be-
tween the church authorities and
the representatives of this govern
ment with a view to an amicable adj
Justment. Whether this conference
should be had between a representative
of the United States government and
a representative of the great corpora
ton of the Catholic church, or should
be conference between a representa-
tive OF this government and the head
OF the church was a mere matter Of
method and facility of complete settle
ment- 1t could not. of course, involve
the establishment of diplomatic rela-
tions with the Vatican, but If held
would be a conference made necessary
by the unusual circumstance of a
transfer of sovereignty from a country
closely associated with the church to
one which must have the interests of
the church and state separate.