Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-06-23
Judge William H. Pope Describes Existing Con.
ditions in the Philippines and Tells of the
Wonderful Progress Made During the
Past Two Years.
GOVERNOR TAFT HAS
GREATLY ENDEARED HIMSELF
TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE

Judge William Fl. Pope, who has
just returned to Santa Fe after an
absence Of year spent in service on
the Court of First Instance of the
Philippines, tells of very interesting
experiences which he had in those is
lands. A part of his time was spent
in Manila and visits were also paid to
the principal towns Of Luzen, both
north and south of Manila. He also
visited number of the islands of the
Visayan group, but the most of his
time was spent in holding court in
Leyte and Samar, two of the richest
and most populous provinces of the
archipelago. The district over which
he presided, which included also the
province of Surigao in Mindanao, con-
tained very nearly a million people.
In Samar, the last province to submit
to American sovereignty, and the one
in which General Jacob Smiths vigo-
rous campaign was carried out, Judge
Pope organized the first American
court and was engaged for over three
months in trying the prisoners left
over from the military regime as well
as in disposing of the other business
which had accumulated after the es-
tablishment of the civil government.
His experiences and opportunities for
observation were thus most unique.
In speaking of the conditions to a
representative of the New Mexican
Judge Pope said: when I left Manila
the early part of May, conditions were
most promising for the future. OF
course, the Philippine Commission has
OH its hands the greatest problem Of
recent times, that of guarding the in
terests of 100000 natives, and of de-
veloping in them the capacity for self
government Fortunately, this task Is
in the hands of most competent men.
High as Is the estimation in which
Governor Taft is held by the people of
America, it is not by any means above
that to which he Is entitled. knowing
the complicated and delicate problems
daily coming up for solution in the
Philippines, 1t seems to me that the
wisdom which suggested the choice OF
Governor Taft for this work was most
exceptional. Great as have been his
services in other directions, I am inn
pressed with the fact that the great
est service rendered by him has been
in his erecting lofty ideals for official
conduct. It was my observation that
the we'll known position of Governor
Taft on the subject of keeping In the
foreground the interests Of Filipinos,
on the avoidance by the Americans OF
anything like selfish exploitation OF the
islands, on the necessity for official
rectitude whether in finance or morals.
peryades the whole body of officials
from the highest to the humblest and
has resulted in a class of public SER
wants whose equal would be hard to
find. OF course there are exceptions
as in the case of several of the AM
erican postmasters and disbursing off,
GERS, but the promptness with whlch
those officials have been arrested ana
prosecuted, has been notice to the
other Americans that the Philippines
were not to be made the prey OF dis
honest officeholders, and was also no.
tice to the Filipinos that the American
officials would be held to strict ac-
countability in the administration OF
public trusts. One Of the results OF
Governor Taft's policy thus permeat-
ing the archipelago has been con-
siderate treatment Of the natives ny
the Americans and sympathy Tor
them which has, as a rule, found ex-
preston in attempts to interest them
in education and in the form of gov
ernment which Is possessed by the
United States and whose liberties 1t Is
proposed to extend to the Filipinos as
they become capable Of properly en-
loving them. It Is doubtless true, as
General Chaffee is quoted as saying,
that cruelties have characterized the
relations between the army and the
,Filipinos in the past: but this cruelty
was. as rule, the incident of active
warfare. now fortunately over.
my observation Is that at present.
the treatment Of the Filipino by Am
erican civilians and soldiers alike is,
as a rue, kindly. At all points where
/ visited, the Americans and the edu-
Gated Finpinos attended social enter
tainn1ents together and there mingled
UPON terms of friendship. In some
instances Americans have married
Filipino women, have acquired prop
erty rights among the natives ana
have settled down among them for
life. Ai' J.
This conciliatory policy has resulted
in feelings Of the deepest affection on
the part Of the natives, for Gov. Tart
and accounts for the protests against
his transfer to the supreme bench
. which were heard 90 vigorously from
Manila last winter. As this policy be-
comes more and more known among
the Filipino people and as they be-
come convinced that this is not only
the policy Of Governor Taft but d