Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-01

IE M M k the DaJIle Ol MdllAA besSi
| IM MAl 1t is not quite eleven years
AzzgkzzE since the occupation of Ma
nila by the American troops
and 1t is only eight years since Ameri,
can civil government was established
| in the islands. The achievements OF
American rule in that short time nave
revolutionized the life of the islands
from the topmost circles OF society IN
Manila to the everyday life of the dog
eating, head-hunting savages or the
mountains. More has been done In
decade than Spain accomplished in over
| three centuries.
| America found a subject people which
had absolutely no part in the govern
ment and which for years had been In
constant state of insurrection against
the authorities. America brought about
peace by making war effective, ana put
| down the bandits and thieves as we'll
as the political insurgents. Today the
Philippines enjoy a tranquility never
before dreamed of In the Islands. inc
Filipinos have been granted almost
complete autonomy in municipal affalrs
and have been granted large share In
the legislative, executive and Judlclal
government of the islands.
| America found a people which had
never enjoyed free speech or a free
press. Men who spoke for the liberty
of their countrymen were executed
| without IrlaI. PERSONS WIN COlilkAcliiip1
of the corruption of the government
were cast in noisome prisons. All that
| has been changed. The press is frce
the right of free speech is guaranteed
the right of petition is assured. and men
may talk of independence as much as
they please unless they advocate riot
| or rebellion.
America found the church and state
| so combined that there was great dlf-
| ficuty in demarking the province or
| one from the other In government.
Complete separation has been accom-
plished, the right of every man to wor-
! ship as he sees fit is guaranteed, the
| lands of the religious orders were pur-
chased and held for settlement by free
| holders. And all OF this has been ac-
complished peacefully.
America found fluctuating money in
use and replaced 1t with fixed and
staple currency upon the gold standard
so that in every part of the ISLANDS the
money is the same and its value known.
| America found the highways of the
| country in bad repair and few bridges
worthy of the name. Many farmers
| had no roads whatever over which 10
reach the market. Wide rivers were
unfordable in the rainy season, ana
there was no method of crossing them.
| The Americans have constructed nun
dreds of miles of highways and are un-
| ceaslngly pushing the work of new
| construction. They have built bridges
and culverts of steel and concrete and
have connected widely separated COM
munlties by easy transportation.
America found one short railway,
antiquated In equipment and manage
ment, reaching a very small number
of the people. Up to this time more
| than 500 miles of good railway has
| been built and as much more is III
| course of construction, so that within
few years the principal Islands viii
be adequately provided with good rail
| transportation.
America found. 90 per cent of the peo-
pie In absolute ignorance and a school
system which offered no hope of bet
| terlng their condition. An American
| public school system now reaches
| half million pupils out of the total pop
ulation of 100000. The percentage of
| illiteracy is still large, but the next
| generation will see 1T greatly reduced.
The English language has already be-
! come common in many parts of the
| islands, and 1t is spoken by a greater
number of natives than is Spanish.
America found pitifully inadequate
postal system. This has been extended
and improved until now every town and
village is supplied by a regular mail,
city delivery is established in the
larger cities and in some sections even
rural delivery has been inaugurated.
The telegraph system is a part of the
postal service, one feature inherited
from the Spanish and 1t has been ex-
tended widely. The interisland cable
! service under American rule reaches
every important commercial point In
the archipelago
America found Manila unpaved filthy
and reeling with disease, condition
worthy of the fifteenth century. To-
day it is the finest city In the Orient.
The streets are paved, the swamps
| have been turned into beautiful parks,
sewers have been constructed, an
ample supply of good water has been
provided, harbor and river improve
ments have been made, sanitary laws
and regulations have been enforced and
now Manila is modern and clean.
America found a country in which
the simplest sanitary precautions were
|