The searchlight., 1912-12-13

dressing itself during the past year. n
comprehensive plan of reorganization was
prepared by the war college division OF
the general stan. This plan was thor
oughly discussed last summer at 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 II has been
distributed to members OF congress and
throughout the army and the national
guard. and widely though 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. training. and equip
ment, under recent legislation. have been
assimiiatcd. 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 conditiohs
have reached a stage OF development be-
yond which they cannot reasonably De
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 II 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 efnclent
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 biH.
In ~, between
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 Il Is proposed TO give 10 the
national guard. I believe that Its enact
ment into law would be a very long step
toward providing this nation with hrst
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 stan.
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 IL pending In congress. con-
|
izes 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 are now
| prepared for elf-government as wen
| 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 l believe that no one to whom the
future OF this people Is a responsible
concern can countenance policy
fraught with the direst consequences
TO those on whose behalf IL Is osten-
sibly urged.
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 - tribes and races. speak
/
with a population over so per cent. oi
which could neither read nor write
Through the unifying forces OF Q
| common education. of commercial
and economic development. and oi
gradual participation In local self-govern
ment we are endeavoring to evolve q
homogeneous people ht TO determine
when the time arrives, their own destiny
| We are seeking to arouse n national spir
II and not, under the older colonia
theory. to suppress such spirit. Th'
character of the work we have been do
ing Is keenly recognized In the Orient
and our success thus far followed Will
not n little envy by those who. initiatin.
| the same policy find themselves hamp
cred by conditions grown up In earlie
days and under different theories OF ad
ministration. But our work is far iron
done Our duty to the Filiplnos Is IA
from discharged over half n million FIJI
pino students are now In the Philippin
schools helping to mold the men OF tn
future into a homogeneous people, bu
there still remain more than a millioi
Filipino children OF school age yet to b
reached. Freed from American contro
the integrating forces OF a common edu
cation and common language will ceas
and the eucational system now well start
ed will slip back into inefficiency and dis
: order.
An enormous increase in the CONNER
| ctal development OF the islanus mas pee
made since they were virtually granite
full access to our markets three year
ago. with every prospect Of increasin
development and diversified Industries
Freed from American control such devel
opment Is bound to decline. Every oh
server speaks of the great progress
} | public works for the benefit OF the Fill
. pinos. of hartor improvements. OF roa
/ | and railways. of irrigation and artesia
|, | wells. public buildings. and better mean
) | of communication. But large parts {
r the islands are still unreached, still eve
3 | unexplored. roads and railways are need
= ed In many parts. irrigation systems ar
. | stfil to be installed and wells to be driver
= Whole villages and towns are stil witt
! out means OF communication other tha
almost impossible roads and trails. Eve
0 the great progress In sanitation. whic
z has successfully suppressed smallpox. n
: bubonic plague. and Asiatie cholera, ha
v found the cause of and a cure for ber
beri. has segregated the lepers. has hell
n ed 10 make Manila the most healthful eli
n In the Orient. and TO free life througho'
z the whole archipelago from its forms
q | dread diseases. Is nevertheless incou
: plete in many essentials OF permanen,
= | in sanitary policy. Even more remains