Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-14
FILIPINO vs.. RUSSIAN
lnsular Assembly Has More
Power Than Ouma.
MANUEL L. QUEZON'S VIEW
More Legislation Effected in Ameri-
can Dependency.
LAWMAKERS NOT DISSATISFIED
Contrast With Situation in Cars
Kingdom, Where Little Has Been
Done and None Is Content.
MANUEL L. QUEzON'S VIEW
LAWMAKERS NOT DISSATISFIED

When ii comes to measure of the pow
ers exercised by the Russian duma and
the Philippine assembly the latter IegisIa-
tive body has the former beaten to a
Standstill.
This is the opinion of Manuel l.. Quezon,
leading member of the Philippine as
sembly. who is in this city after an ex-
tended visit i'm the cars empire. There
he studied the duma and its accomplish
ments.
Mr.. Quezon formerly governor of
TayabaS. an important province of Lu-
ION. and resigned to become candidate
On the nationalist ticket for the assembly.
He was elected by big majority.
He is chairman of the estimate" COM
mittee. equivalent to the ways and means
and appropriations committees of the
House of Representatives rolled into one.
Mr. QueZon is given large share of the
credit for the conservative record estab-
lished by the recent session of the first
Philippine assembly. He is said to be
right-hand man of the speaker of that
body. Sergio OsmOna. a popular man with
the Philippine commission.
Will Visit Egypt and India.
Assemblyman Quezon went to st. Pc
tersburg as a delegate to the congress of
navigation which recently convened there.
He is on his way back to Manila and in
tends stopping en- route in Egypt and In
dia to study agricultural banks and aids
to farming. subjects the assembly is to
solve during its next session.
Assemblyman Quezon has been fire.
quent caller at the offices of the insular
bureau during the past few days. He
gives glowing accounts of the work of the
assembly.
In theory the laws creating the duma
and the assembly invest more power in
the former. he says. but in actual practice
the Philippine legislative body, notwith-
standing the short period of its existence.
has exercised by far the greater degree of
authority.
He pointed to the fact that the duma
has had three trials at governing Russia.
but has really done very little-almost
nothing, in fact-while the assembly. al
though moving within the limits pre-
scribed by Congress, has had its finger In
all sorts of things In the Islands.
1T should be borne in mind" he said.
that the duma. as now constituted. lacks
entirely that element of popular repre-
sentation which characterizes the Philip
pine assembly. The duma is composed of
members elected by scheme of indirect
suffrage with four different steps and
really amounting to four different kinds
Of elections. while the Philippine assem-
bly, is composed of members selected by
direct vote of the people.
Moreover, in the Philippines no at
tempt has been made by the central gov
ticular candidates. The assembly is. in
fact. made up of men who in reality rep
resent the Filipino people.
Contrast of Two Bodies.
The Philippine assemblyman was asked
to explain what he meant when he said
the duma had not exercised as much
power as the assembly.
The duma is composed largely of a
radical majority dissatisfied with the
terms of the law that created the body.
he said in reply. II not only opposes the
restraint provided by the law and refuses
to cooperate with the government in
obtaining by degrees all powers to which
II aspires. but even goes so far In its
first message to the crown. as to throw
down the gauntlet and challenge the ad-
ministration to combat. The Russian gov
fore forced to dissolve the duma, amend
the electoral laws and change the au-
.thorized method of procedure in the body.
He also pointed out that the present
from the conservative classes, though
also in part from the reactionary ele-
ment. Nevertheless when the Russian
budget was under consideration the duma
refused to agree with the appropriation
desired by the minister of the navy for
the creation of new squadron. simply
because of a difference of opinion as to
the manner in which the naval office
should be conducted.
Satisfaction in Philippines.
In marked contrast to this state of af-
fairs Assemblyman Quezon painted the
Philippine assembly as a docile lamb
Though composed in it's majority
went on Quezorh "of members of a DO
litical faith opposed to that of the adj
ministration In the Philippines. instead
OF attempting to change the organic law
under which the assembly acts and to
incite strife with the government. exact
compliance was given to the creating act
OF Congress. Harmony and cooperation
nave been the watchwords of the assem-
ply and the other branches of the Phil
ippine government
AS natural result of this. said Quezon,
while the duma has done nothing for the
RUSSIAN people the assembly has done
al sorts of good things for the Filipinos.
ana mas thus justified the policy which
created It, Another result. according to
E1uezon. Is that the Filipinos are in a
,arge measure satisfied with their leeis-
DOW bo