Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1912-12-12

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defect1 the war Department has been a1-
dre1Iing Itself during ll7e past gar. a
comprehensive plan Of Reorganization was
prepared BY the war college division Of
the general nfafk This plan was thor
cughiy discussed last summer at . series
Of open conferences held by the necfetary
Of war and offended BY Representatives
congress. In printed form It 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 frst time. we have
q 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. It's orr
ganization, discipline. trFtning, and equip
ment. under recent IeEislation. have been
nssimiIated. as far a. possible. to those
Of the regular army, and it, practical
efficiency. under the eject OF this train
ing. has very greatly Increased Our citi-
rem soldiers under present conditions
have reached q stage of development be-
yond which they cannot reasonably be
asked to 90 without further direct as
siBtance 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 q proper
equivalent In additional efficiency on the
part Of the national guard. The organized
militia today canrDt be ordered outside OF
the limits Of the United States, and thus
cannot lawfully be used for general miii-
tary purposes. The officers and men are
ambitious and eager to make themselves
thus available and to become an efficient
national reserve Of citizen ssidiery They
are the only force Of trained men, other
! than the regular army upon which we
can rely. The so-caiIed 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 q proper return for the
pay which 1t Is proposed to give; to 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 its
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 star. - ..3s--
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-
tinues the message. which revolution
LEES the carefully worked out scheme
of government under which the Philip
pine islands aress now governed ana
which proposes to render them yirtu-
ally autonomous at once and absolutely
Independent in eight years. Such q
proposal can only be founded en- 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 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, 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.
future of this people is responsible
concern can countenance a policy
fraught with the direst consequences
to those on whose behalf 1t is osten-s
sibly urged.
In the Philippine islands we have
embarked upon an experiment unprece-
dented Fin dealing with dependent
conditions exclusively for their own
welfare. We found an archipelago
containing "a tribes and races, speak
ing great variety of languages, and
with q population over 80 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-goyern-
ment we are endeavoring to evolve a
homogeneous people fit to determine,
when the time arrives. their own destiny.
We are seeking to arouse a national spir-
1t and not, as under the older colonial
theory, to suppress such a spirit. The
character Of the work we have been do
ing is kAenly recognized in the Orient.
\ and our success thus far followed with
not q little envy by those who, initiating
the same policy, find themselves hamp-
cred by conditions grown up in earlier
days and under different theories of adj
ministration But our work is far from
done. Our duty to the Filipinos is far
from discharged Over half q million Fill
Pine students are now In the Philippine
schools helping to mold the men of the
future into a homogeneous people,A but
there still remain more than million
Filipino children of school age yet to be
reached. Freed from American control
the migrating forces of a common edu-
and the EDUCATIONAL system now well start
ed will slip back into inefficiency and dis
order.
An enormous increase in the CONNER
cial development of the islands has been
made since they were virtually granted
fun access to our markets three years
ago, with every prospect Of increasing
development and diversified industries.
Freed from American control such devel-
opment is bound to decline. Every OBJ
server speaks of the great progress in
public works for the benefit of the Fin-
pinea, Of harkor improvements. of road
and railways, of irrigation and artesian
wells, public buildings, and better means
of 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 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 to make Manila the most healthfuI city
in the Orient, and to free life throughout
the whole archipelago from its former
dread diseases, Is nevertheless incom-
In sanitary policy. Even more remains to
be accomplished. II freed from Ameri-
can control sanitary progress Is bound to