Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1912-12-13

10 the task of meeting these n.+...
ueIects' the war department has been al
lessing itself during the past year A
$1,000 .eiensiVe plan of reorganization was
prepared by the war college div;sion : -
the general STAFF. This plan was 1bor-
oushly discussed last summer at series
OF open conferences held by the secretarv
oA war and attended by representatives
rom all branches of the army and from
congress. In printed form it has been
th.a, .Dueeu 20 members of congress and
lHrougnout the army and the national
guard asAd 5sa@T, through institutions Of
learning and elsewhere in the United
states. In 1t, for the first time. we have
q tentative chart for future progress.
The National Guard.
Under existing law the national guard
constitutes, after the regular army. the
nrst line Of national defense It's or
sanization discipline, training, and equip
Hent, under recent legislation, have been
asslnilated. as far as possible to those
OF the regular army, and its practical
eInciency, under the effect of this train
Ing, has very greatly increased. Our citi-
zen soldiers under present conditions
nave reached a stage of development be-
yond which they cannot reasonably be
asked to go without further direct as
slstance In the form of pay from the fed
eral government On the other hand. such
pay from the national treasury would not
be justified unless 1t produced a proper
equivalent in additional efficiency on the
part OF the national guard. The organized
militia today cannot be ordered outside of
the limits of the United States, and thus
cannot lawfully be used for general mill
tary purposes. The officers and men are
ambitious and eager to make themselves
thus available and to become an efficient
national reserve of citizen soldiery They
are the only force of trained men, other
than the regular army, upon which we
can rely. The so-called military pay bill
In the form agreed on between the au-
thoritfes of the war department and the
representatives Of the national guard, in
my opinion adequately meets these con-
ditions and offers proper return for the
pay which it is proposed to give to the
national guard. I believe that its enact
ment into law would be very long step
toward providing this nation with first
Mne of citizen soldiery, upon which its
main reliance must depend in case of any
national emergency. Plans tor the or
ganization Of the national guard into tao
teal divisions, on the same lines as those
adopted for the regular army, are being
formulated by the war college division
of the general staff.
Porto Rico, Mr.. Taft says. continues
to show notable progress and he urges
the senate to pass the bill granting the
Porto Ricans American citizenship.
Philippines
A bill is pending in congress, con-
tinues the message, which revolution
ICES the carefully worked out scheme
of government under which the Philip
pine islands are now governed and
which proposes to render them virtu-
ally autonomous at once and absolutely
independent in eight years. Such
proposal can only be founded on the
assumption that we have now dis
oI,o d. 10 &1A int
people and our responsibility for them
to the world, and that they are now
prepared for government as well
as national sovereignty. A thorough
and unbiased knowledge of the facts
clearly shows that these assumptions
are absolutely with Justification. AS
to this. believe that there is no sub
stantial difference Of opinion among
any of those who have had the respon-
sibility of facing Philippine problems
in the administration of the islands,
and 1 believe that no one to whom the
future Of this people is responsible
concern can countenance policy
fraught with the direst consequences
to those on whose behalf it is osten-
sibly urged.
In tie Philippine islands we have
embarked upon an experiment unprece-
denied in dealing with dependent
peoples. We are developing there
conditions exclusively for their own
welfare We found an archipelago
containing "a tribes and races. speak
ing a great variety of languages. and
with a population over so per cent. of
which could neither read nor write
Through the unifying forces of a
common education, of commercial
and economic development, and of
gradual participation in local self-govern-
ment we are endeavoring to evolve
homogeneous people fit to determine,
when the time arrives, their own destiny.
We are seeking to arouse national spir-
it and not as under the older colonial
theory, to suppress such a spirit The
character of the work we have been do
ing is keenly recognized in the Orient,
and our success thus far followed with
not a little envy by those who, initiating
the same policy, find themselves hamp-
cred by conditions grown up In carrier
DAYS and under different theories OF adj
ministration But our work is far from
done Our duty to the Filipinos Is Tar
from discharged. Over half million FIJI
pino students are now In the Phillpplne
schools helping to mold the men OF the
future into homogeneous people out
there still remain more than q mlllion
FYlipino children of school age yet to be
reached. Freed from American control
the integrating forces Of common edu-
cation and q common language Will cease
and the EDUCATIONAL system now Well start
ed will slip back into inefhciency and DIS
order.
An enormous increase in the CONNER
ciaI DEVELOPMENT Of the islands has been
made since they were virtually granted
full access to our markets three years
ago. with e--ery prospect OF increasing
development and diversified industries.
Freed from American control such devei'
opment is bound to decline. Every oo-
server speaks of the great progress IN
public works for the benefit OF the FIJI
ninos. of hartor improvements OF ROAD
and railways, of irrigation and artesian
wells public buildings. and better means
~ communication. But large parts OF
the islands are still unreached, still even
unexplored. roads and railways are need
ed in many parts, irrigation systems are
still to be Installed and wells to De driven
whole villages and towns. are sun WIN
ont means of communication otner lhan
almost impassi5le roads and trails. Even
the great progress in sanitation. which
has successfully suppressed smallpox. the
hubonic plague and Asiatic cholera, mas
fonnd the cause of and cure FOR perl
beri has segregated the lepers, mss heip-
"a n make Manila the most healthful city
IN the Orient, and to free life tnroushoue