Arizona republican., 1907-06-23

the commission in which act after act deals with repeals and exceptions to
 previous acts. Kumors to the effect | that Uncle Sam was about to dispose
 of the islands to some foreign power,
 caused some comment among the 'po- 1 liticos'; but as a rule the masses are indifferent. Usually the majority of
 the people. are indifferent to affairs in
 general, unless stirred by some frantic
 or disgruntled politician who quite of
 ten occupies some responsible position while he manipulates his cats paw
 out in the hills.
 As to the disposition of the islands
 to some foreign power. were it possible
 to do so honorably. then would Uncle
 sam be fortunate. for. in my opinion,
 the islands are Jumbo and will ever
 be. Whenever possible the policy has
 been to fill offices and positions with
 such natives who were deemed capa-
 ble. This is a most excellent principle
 and if the test of loyalty and true worth were always adhered to. the
 step toward autonomy would be a cer-
 tain and far-reaching one. To yield
 at once to the demand for independ-
 ence would place the islands in a truly
 q
 shadow of a doubt the islands would
 be almost instantly in the throes of
 insurrection The term Independence carries in general to the Filipino, the idea of license and power to rule. The
 time may come when the islands may
 be able to exercise autonomy, but the time when is a matter of merest con- lecture. Certainly neither the present
 nor the next generation can expect to attain to the degree of excellence nec- essary to the exercise of full sway in governmental functions. Education alone, and that in it's most general sense. must be the instrument used to bring about the conditions essential to | self government The present public 1 school system is making rapid strides l toward this end. The theories of self ! support. the dignity of labor. and true | individuality are slowly being incul- | cated. As with the American Indian, | the question is not so much how to | get a living as to know how to live. |
 Relative to the development of the | islands. the question most difficult of | solution. is that of labor In a land | where the climate is almost ideal. and | nature with a lavish hand scatters the | fruits over the land, and the waters yield abundant meats. what incentive can there be for arduous labor? Along | q river. surrounded by banana. cocoa nut and other fruit or edible root bear ing trees. l have seen the native whil- | ing away his time in absolute indif- ference as to thought of either the present or the morrow. l believe that l have seen perfect contentment Con with them in their native tongue revealed nothing less than sat- isfaction. In the towns the cost of labor since American occupation has more than doubled and in some cases quintupled. The. cost of living has ad- perhaps one-fourth. The con sequent results are that the laborer can work one day and rest three. He has no need to work and why should he? He is no different from the rest of mankind in that respect. At the same time there are thousands of acres of fertile land adapted to the growth of hemp. tobacco. rice. sugar-cane and so forth; but fortunate indeed is he who can get regular and efficient la bor. Many advocate the importation of Chinese or Japanese labor. This would be advantageous to the Chinese or to the Japanese and to the con- tractor; but where would the Filipino come in? The question of admitting Philippine tobacco and sugar duty free need not worry our politicians so long as the labor question is unsolved; and even then is doubtful if the product will be sufficiently large to affect the domestic production.
 As with the political future, so it must be. with the social religious and questions which confront us in our eastern possessions. In a system of education which not only theoriZes but also illustrates tlie practical life. which. as it now does. reaches the mga tao.-laboring classes-even in the remote barrios. and which alone III is not restricted and bound by con ventional lines and formal rules. lies he only possible practical advance nent yf the race toward the perhaps Utopian- idea of real independence.
 'I might add that the disciplinary as carried out by the regu- ar army and by the native scouts when viewed from a distance of nearly len thousand miles. may seem unnes- essarily drastic; but to one who ap- Dreciates actual conditions comes the realization that a firm hand giving justice as merits the case is a mighty factor in inculcating respect for au- thority: and too he is convinced that to withdraw or even lessen the mili- tary force in the Philippines would be a serious error"
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