The age-herald., 1902-02-02
Gives Committee Interesting
 Facts About the Philippines
ANSWERS MANY QSESTIONS
Says the Greatest Difficulty Is Found In Making Natives Understand What Independence Means.
 Used to Being Bossed.

Washington. February | - Governor Taft today continued his statement con- corning conditions in the Philippine arch ipelago before the Senate committee on the Philippines. He resumed his account of his last years tour of the provinces. He said that next to Manila, Cebu came nearer being city in point of popula- ton and manner of improvement than any other place in the archipelago. The Is- land of Cebu, he said, is the most densely settled of the group. It had been q ques- tion whether a civil government should be established in Cebu. because just be- fore the arrival of the commission the insurgents had been firing into the capital site, but people had insisted. and the or- ganization had been effected.
 Speaking generally. Governor Taft said there were no roads in the Philippine Is- lands under the Spanish, but that since the establishment of American control S1,- 0O0, GOO had been appropriated for road im- provements, both for strategic and com mercal purposes Mosl the towns are ons8S'e coa~ -,ie s---ter part of the travel for any distance is by boat.
 He also said that the wheels of such vehicles as are used are so narrow that they cut up the roads badly.
 Found Industries Progressing.
 In his tour Governor Taft had found the industries progressing, though much interrupted. largely on account of the de- struction of the water buffalo or cariboa, the work cattle of the island This animal he describes as the beast of burden. the family friend, the wealth of the indivld- ual and the object of all the robher bands of the mountain districts" In the last two years about 75 per cent of these brutes had been killed off by disease called rindernest. aad their price had incresseo frohs's to $lAo per cad.
 Agriculture had also been interrupted | by insurrection. but in the vicinity of
 Manila this was not true today
 In the city, where the streets are rough.
 the witness said that the cariboa moves
 so slowly as to block the streets, and he l thought that mules should be imported.
 He also expressed the opinion that milk producing animals might be imported to advantage. There are fine cattle ranges, | but to his knowledge no milk is pro- duced on the islands.
 | When Governor Taft resumed the thread | of his narrative this afternoon he said 1 that the island of Cebu was not long or 1 ganized into civilized government until | it was found necessary to return to mill | itary control. He had, however, been in formed just before his departure for the United States that the 300 400 insur- gents on the island had surrendered, and that the island has been entirely tram quilized. The statement ied Senator Hale to ask a question:,
 Senator Hale Asks Questions.
 within the past ninety days" he said, T have observed from the newspapers that there were forty-one small fights within a period of thirty days. Where do they occur?"
 The reply was that most of these en- counters had taken place in Laguna. Mindero, Bonol. Samaf, Cebu and few other places. Most of the troops are in those provinces.
 Governor Taft spoke Frequently of the unreliabiity of all estimates of the popu- lation. but said there are probably six million Fiipinos or Christians. one and a half or two millions of non-Christians and probably a million of Moros. How ever, a census was badly needed The members of the committee smiled when Governor Taft said that the ChristiaSs had made all the trouble. A second trip into the mort hern part of Luzon island was described next, and this tour, the Governor said. was made almost without military escort. Cogayan in the extreme northern portion of the island. is, from an agricultural standpoint, the most magnificent portion of the islands. This province also contains splendid forests. | He explained that it is necessary to pro- | vide a more paternal form Of govern ment for the Igorrotes than for the Fill 1 1Gn to | Filipinos as governors over these people. | In reply to Senator Patterson Governor | Taft said that there were probably 2UOo rifles in the hands of instructors In the l islands and there are great number who do not carry arms He said he could not | tell where the rifles and ammunition had come from. Some had received them from Admiral Dewey before the begin ming of the insurrection, and there were also rumors of shipments from Hong kong and Japan. but these reports could not be verified.
 Replving to Senator Dubois the wit ness said that Laguna and Samar are the only considerable Philippine provinces which have not been organized and that with these provinces organized practl- cally all the Philippines capable of being taken in would be done under civil gov ernment
 Attached to Their Country.
 In reply to other questions from MT. Dubois Governor Taft sads that the Ell ipinos have a greater attachment TOT their country. for instance, than the Chinese have for theirs.
 ."The Filipino he said, lis attached hrst to his town and second to his province and he is I think now forming an at tachment for the name of Filipino. on that pride of country and on the Fill pino's desire for education, he added l base my hope in the success Of what we are doing in the islands
 In reply to other questions. Governor Taft said that he estimated that from five to seven per cent of the people read and write the Spanish language, but that he could not say what proportion of the people could write their own lam gi1age One great difficulty encountered is the fact that the people of the differ ent provinces do not understand the language of one another. The witness said that many of the S8o American teachers are engaged instructing the Fii- ipino teachers. Many of the American