Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1912-12-11


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
OF war and attended by representatives
from all branches OF the army and from
congress In printed form IL 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 II. for the first time. we have
a 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. t-ai.tag. and equip
ment. under recent legislation. have been
asslmilated, as far as possible. 10 those
or the regular army. and it's practical
efficiency. under the effect OF this train
ing. has very greatly Increased. Our citi-
zen soldiers under present conditions
have reached stage OF development be-
You'd which they cannot reasonably be
asked 10 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 Il produced a proper
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 q trained men. other
than the regular army, upon which We
can rely. The so-cailed 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 proper return for the
pay which it is proposed TO give to the
national guard. ! believe that its enact
ment into law would be very long step
toward providing this nation with a first
line OF citizen soldiery. upon which its
main reliance must depend in case OF any
national ernergency. Plans for the or
ganization OF tie national guard into tao
teal divisions on the same lines as those
adopted for tire 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
charged our trusteeship to the Filipino
people and our responsibility for them
a
prepared for self-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 tho administration OF the Islands,
and l believe that no one to whom the
| future of this people is responsible
| concern can countenance a policy
| fraught with the direst consequences
to those on whose behalf 1t is osten-
| slbly urged
In l. Philippine islands we have
| embarked upon an experiment unprece-
dented 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
4 common education. OF commercial
| and economic development. and OF
! gradual participation in local self-govern-
| ment we arc endeavoring to evolve a
| homogeneous people ht to determine,
| when the time arrives, their own destiny.
! We are seeking to arouse national spr-
]
! 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 little envy by those who, initiating
the same policy. find themselves hamp-
cred by conditions grown up in earlier
1 days and under different theories of ad-
iministration. But our work is far from
done our duty TO the Filipinos is far
! from discharged. over half a million Fill
! Pine students are now H. the Philippine
/ schools helping to mold the men Of the
future into a homogeneous people, but
/ there still remain more than a million
! Filipino children of school age yet to be
/ reached Freed from American control
! the fntegrating forces Of a common edu-
/ cation and a common language viii cease
| and the ,Ucational system now well start
/ ed will slip back into inefrc cheney and dis
| order.
/ cial development of. the islands has been
made since they were virtually granted
| fu access to our markets three years
| ago, with e-ery prospect Of increasing
development and diversified industries.
| Freed from American control such devel-
| opment is bound IL decline. Every Oh
| server speaks OF the great progress in
| public works for the benefit of the F1h-
J ptnos. OF hartor improvements. of road
| and railways OF irrigation and artesian
wells public buildings, and better means
of communication. cut large parts
| the islands are still unreached. still even
| UNEMPLOYED. roads and railways are need
| ed in many parts. irrigation systems are
/ still te be Installed and wells to be driven.
Whole villages and towns are still with
] out means of communication other than
| almost impossible roads and trails. Even
| the great progress in sanitation, which
has successfully suppressed smallpox. the
bubonic plague. and Asiatic cholera has
found the cause OF and cure for beri-
! beri has segregated the lepers. has help
| ed 10 make Manila the most healthful city
| in the Orient and to free life throughout
| the whole archipelago from its former
| dread diseases Is nevertheless incom-
| plete in many essentials of permanence
I in sanitary policy. Even more remains TO
| be accomplished. II freed from Ameri-
can control sanitary progress is bound TO
| be arrested and all that has been achiey-
/ ed likely to be lost.
II the task we have undertaken Is high
| er than that assumed by other nations Its
/ accomplishment must demand even more
patience. We must not forget that We