Arizona republican., 1911-03-04
LAND ADMINISTRATION
 IN THE PHILIPPINES COURSE OF GOVERNMENT OF TIGERS SUSTAINED. Report of the House Investigating
 Committee.

Washington. March 3.-The admin istration of the lands in the Philippine islands has been fairly and honestly conducted. and the charges and in- situations to the contrary directed against officers of either the Philip pine government or the government of the United States are unwarranted and unjust-this is the conclusion of a majority of the house committee on insular affairs in d report of an exhaustive investigation of those mat ters made public today by the chair man of the committee. Representative Olmstead of Pennsylvania.
 The report expressly eXonerates w. Cameron Forbes. governor general; Charles II. Sleeper. director of lands; Frank W. Carpenter executive sccre- tary. and Dean C. Worcester, secre- tary of the interior of the Philippine government, of any improper acts in the management of Philippine lands. and describes them as able. earnest and patriotic men, honestly perform ing their duties under more or less trying circumstances"
 The report reviews at length the alleged violation of the laws govern ing the sales of land and the issu- ance of leases, and lays particular stress on the intricate legal prom lem involved in the question of the status of the so-called "friar lands which were purchased by the Philip pine government from the religious orders with funds raised by a bond issue
 Representative Martin of Colorado precipitated the investigation now re- ported on. by various charges made on the floor of the house in the lat ter part of the session of 1909-19lO, in which he alleged improper sales and leases of the friar lands. espe- cially to persons who, he charged, desired the land to benefit the so- called sugar trust"
 Martin contended that the organic law" of 1902. which gave the civil nitely limited the amount of public land" that might be sold to individu- als and corporations: that one could lawfully obtain only forty acres as an individual and only 2.5O0 acres as representative of corporations With this contention the majority of the committee explicitly disagrees. The report concludes that the ~friar lands" are not subject, as a matter of law, and ought not to be subject, as a matter of practical eXpediency. to the restrictions upon public lands" In support of this position as to the legal status of the "friar lands" the report cites the opinion of George R. Harvey. solicitor general. and ap- proved by Ignacio. attorney general: Louis C. Knight. attorney for the bu- reau of public lands in the islands and Attorney General Wickersham. 1t includes also the controverting opin- ion of Moorefield Storey of Boston.
 The point here is made that the Philippine officials in their course were abundantly sustained. and are bound to be guided by the opinions of the law officers of their govern ment. The transaction to which the larger part of the discussion was ad- dressed was the purchase of the san Jose estate"
 The report, summarizing the find ings of the committee. states that no corporation has been permitted to purchase more than 2.500 acres. and no individual more than forty acres of either friar or public lands since the passage of the organic act of 1902. Congress. however should more clearly express whether individual citizens of the United States are to be included or excluded as purchasers of lands in,-the Philippines.
 About 125.OOO acres of unoccupied friar lands are remaining