The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-07
.TAFT'S SERIAL STORY
PHILIPPINE GOVERNOR AGAIN
 BEFORE COMMITTEE.
Continues His Recital of Conditions in the Archipelago and Suggests Legislation Beneficial to
 the Islands.

Washington, Feb. Ex-Governor Taft ap- peared before the Senate Committee on the Philippines today with the inten- ton of taking up the Senate Philippines tariff bill and of devoting his attention to the revenue and tariff conditions of the Philippine Islands, but before be- ginning with the subject he replied to number of questions by Senator Car mack, bearing upon subjects heretofore covered ky the Governor In his testimony before the committee.
 MT. Carmack quoted from the reports of General MocArthur of 1900 to the eff feet that there is sustantial unity among the Filipino people in their opposition to the United States. Replying. Governor Taft said the commission had not orig inally accepted the Generals conclusion and that the commissions tour of the archipelago had convinced them they were correct in their conclusion.
 That originally the people of the Phil ippine Islands were most aroused, do not doubt" he continued, but the op- position does not continue in It's general aspect. Since the second election of President Mckinley the great majority of the Filipinos have been favorable to the peace and the acceptance or the sov- ereignty of the United States and it would be impossible to continue the present guerrilla warfare without the system of terrorizing which now pre- vails."
 Governor Taft also said he differed from General Bell on the point Of the tain hostilities in Batangas; he did not believe the common people felt so in clined.
 Governor Taft explained the present system of taxation in the Philippines. saying that under the decision Of the Supreme Court no duties are now be- ing collected on articles going into the islands from the United States.
 The plan of the Commission has been to have no internal system Of taxation for the support of the general govern ment of these islands Under the Span ish system there was general poll tax which netted about S.OOO,0OO, While the receipts from the customs were only about $5000,000. Even children were taxed under that system.
 Under Spain there was also tax upon business enterprises and that system has been continued to an extent by the Commission. The Commission had also decided to maintain the poll tax to the ply 1t only to paying the governmental expenses of the towns and provinces. The people of the islands had generally urged the imposition of poll taxes neces- work. Under the Spanish regime the plan had been to enforce sort or slavery.
 Governor Taft said there never had been A land tax on the islands and he attrlp- uted this immunity to the lnnuence oI the friars who had large holdings ana 10 inc owners of large haciendas. The Com mission had imposed land tax. mere had been opposition to the system put this was disappearing. The income from this tax would be small for ume; e,,, as only five million of the sixty-fve million acres of agricultural lands in the Philp- pines are held by private owners. eIoV- ernor Taft said the Spaniards nad a method for acquiring government iahos r- adyantage had not been taken Of It pe- cause of. the complications of spanish methods. He also said there had been much fraud in land matters and ne urged that the rights of squattersA A snou.a ha assessable taxable property Tn Mania would not exceed $30, ,o00, 600. This he add ed, would not exceed one-slXth ot tne valuation of an American city q the same size and yet Manila would require d far larger expenditure than would an American city of the same class.
 One considerable item of expense Tor administration there would be that or maintaining sanitary conditions; It was necessary at all times to guard against all the plaques and there are from loOOo to 20000 lepers in the entire archipelago. The conditions, he explained, rendered IL necessary for the central government to bear part of the expense of municipal government He said the Commission is making an effort to make the customs tariff the only source of revenue and while" he said, we should be glad to have free trade with the United States in order to insure the progress or agri- culture, we cannot but feel that If 1t Is fair to collect tariff on goods coming into the islands from the United states, is it only fair to provide for tariff on Philippine articles coming Into the uni- ted States.
 Tn our judgment the customs tax is absolutely necessary as the government could not be supported by direct taxa tion. Of course. if there were no GUS toms collection on goods coming from the United States, the effect would be tc nuliify all tariff collections
 He said that the tariff adopted by the Commission is specific duty amounting ad valorem system and that the effort had been to place the higher tariff or luxuries and the lower on necessities thus reversing the Spanish system.
 Regarding the effect of the removal of the export duty on hemp from the Phil ippines Governor Taft said: We car sell all the hemp we can raise. The ef- feet of the provision would be greater on sugar. I apprehend that the anxiety of foreigners to secure the hemp product of the Philippines had led to the furnish Ing of much of sinews of war of the Phil ippines"
 In reply to a question from Senator Culberson concerning the effect of plac- ing a lower tariff on American imports from the Philippines than upon Philip pine exports from the United States, Gov ernor Taft explained that the Commis. sion had devoted no time to the Dingley tariff law; that they were looking solely after the Philippines interests.
 Senator Patterson reminded the witness that he had in his report recommended a reduction of 50 per cent and asked why such a reduction had been sur9ested Governor Taft replied: 'I am bound to say that at present our princIpa, reason for asking reduction is sentimental The effect of a reduction of 50 or 75 per cent on Philippines imports into the Uni ted States would not ne great for the next few years and any concession of that chara cter would be beneficial in our dealing with the people of the Philip pines. Such a course on the part of Con gress would be great aid in giving them assurance of the friendly feeling of the American people. Tobacco would be ben cited somewhat as would also sugar the product of this latter article amounting to about 175,000 or 100000 tons annually, but the benefit of the proposed reduction would not be great in actual money say ing"
 Asked to explain the statement in his report that the reduction would cause commerce with the islands to increase by leaps and bounds Governor Taft re- piled:
 That is a theoretical expression; but We want the reduction very much"
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