The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1912-12-14

defects. the war department has been ad-
dressing itself during the past year A /
comprehensive plan of reorganization was
prepared by the war college division Of /
the general stan. This plan was thor
oughly discussed last summer at a series
OF open conferences held by the secretary /
or war and attended by representatives /
from all branches of the army and from |
congress In printed form 1t has been /
distributed to members of congress and |
throughout the army and the national |
guard. and widely through Institutions of |
learning and elsewhere in the United |
States In It. for the first time. we have |
tentative chart for future progress
The National Guard.
Under existing law the national guard
constitutes, after the regular army. the
first line of national defense. Its or
ganization. discipline training. and equip-
ment. under recent legislation. have been
assimilated. as far as possible. to those
OF the regular army. and its practical
efficiency. under the effect of this train
ing. has very greatly increased. Our citi-
zen soldiers under present conditions
have reached q stage of development be-
yond which they cannot reasonably be
asked to go without further direct as
sistance 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-
thorities of the war department and the
representatives OF the national guard, In
my opinion adequately meets these con-
ditions and offers a proper return for the
pay which 1t IL proposed to give to the
national guard. believe that Its enact
ment into law would be very long step
toward providing this nation with first
line of citizen soldiery, upon which It's
main reliance must depend in case Of any
national emergency. Plans for 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
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 ana
| 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
charged our trusteeship to the Filipino
people and our responsibility for them
to the world, and that they ore now
| prepared for self-government as well
as national sovereignty. thorough
and unbiased knowledge OF the facts
clearly shows that these assumptions
are absolutely with justification. AS
] to this I 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 believe that no one to whom ths
| future of this people Is responsible
concern can countenance policy
fraught with the direst consequences
to those on whose behalf 1t Is osten
sibly urged. te
In the Philippine islands we hav'
embarked upon an experiment unprece
dented in dealing with dependen
peoples. We are developing Their
conditions exclusively for their owl
welfare. We found an archipelago
containing "a tribes and races, speak
ing a great variety of languages. an
with a population over 80 per cent. 0
which could neither read nor write
Through the unifying forces of
common education, of commercia
and economic development. and @
gradual participation in local self govern
} ment we are endeavoring to evolve
homogeneous people fit to determin,
J when the time arrives, their own destiny
We are seeking to arouse natiokal spill
II and not, under thN Older coloLt
| theory, to suppress such spirit tn
character Of the work we have been d.
ing Is keenly recognized In the Orien
; and our success thus far followed wit
: not a little envy by those who, initiatin
the same policy. find themselves haml
| cred by conditions grown Up In earle
. days and under different theories OF a.
D ministration. But our work Is FAR fro
done Our duty to the Filipinos Is II
from discharged. Over half million FIJI
g Pine students are now In the Philippii
n schools helping to mold the men Of IL
r future into a homogeneous people, b.
there still remain more than millit
: Filipino children Of school age yet to
n reached Freed from American contr
the integrating forces of q common ed
Q cation and a common language will cea
n and the EDUCATIONAL system now well star
y ed will slip back into tneffciency and al
:. order.
II An enormous increase in the CONNIE
q cial development of the islands has be-
}" made since they were virtually grant
full access to our markets three yea
o ago, with every prospect of increasil
/ development and diversified industrit
N Freed from American control such dew
opment Is bound to decline. Every o
server speaks of the great progress
% public works for the benefit Of the FL
s. pinos. of hartor improvements, OF 70
st and railways, Of irrigation and artesi
in wells. public buildings, and better mea
le of communication. But large parts
lr the islands are still unreached. still ev
le unexplored, roads and railways are nee
~ ed in many parts irrigation systems
,e still to be installed and wells to be drive
o. Whole villages and towns are still viii
al out means Of communication other tn
ri almost impossible roads and trails. Ev
to the great progress in sanitation, viii
IL has successfully suppressed smallpox.
e. bubonic plague. and Asiatic cholera, I
w found the cause Of and cure for be
I'd herr. has segregated the lepers. has ne
In | I'D 70 make Manila the most healthful c