Imperial Valley press., 1913-10-18
FIVE NATIONS IN
PHILIPPINE GOVT.

Washington, Oct. 18-A step in the
direction of providing the Philippine
people with an autonomous govern
ment will be taken by President VIII
son tomorrow.
| There will be transmitted to the
Senate the names of five Filipinos to
be members of and to constitute a
Filipino majority of the Philippines
Commission, the real governing body
OF the islands. Heretofore Americans
have held a ajority of the Philip
pine Commission, which is the upper
house of the Philippine Legislature,
with veto power of the enactment Of
the Filipino Assembly.
Men familiar with the Philippines
incline to the opinion that selections
made ly the administration are good.
,Jn%,icc Mapa is taken from the Su.
preme Court of the islands and given
the secretaryship of finance and JUS
tice on the commission. Mapa is 4
member of the Progressista party, the
more conservative of the two leading
political organizations on The islands,
ard lawyer of marked ability. Ills
standing in the community is high.
| Rafael Palma, who was a member
OF the old commission, has been re.
appointed and the other three men,
bers are Vicente Singson, Paine De
Veyra and Assemblyman Illustre.
| Singson is the leader of the Pro-
gressista party and has been a men,
ber of the Philippine Assembly since
it's formation in 1907.
De Veyra is one of the editors of
Ell Ideal, nationalist newspaper
of Manila, and Illustre is lawyer
and planter.
A careful examination of the ad-
ministration's policy as outlined at
Manila by Gov.-Gen. Harrison at the
time of his Inauguration shows that
except in the proposal to give the
Filipinos a majority of upper house
of the Legislature there has been no
real departure from the policy origin
ally laid down by President Mckinley
and carried out by the two Presi-
dents who succeeded him.
That policy had for its ultimate
goal the creation of an autonomous
government in the Philippines, when
the people proved themselves capable
of sustaining it. and such is the sub
Gov.-Gen. Harrison's statement as
sumes in behalf of the Democratic
party responsibility for the presence
and part of the American govern
ment in the Philippines, expresses a
determination to preserve the perma
nent institutions of the islands, de-
clares that life and property must be
protected by stable government, in
sists upon the preservation of Ameri-
can sovereignty, and pledges disinter-
ested measures for the advancement
of the people.
The Jones bill, fixing a definite date
for the election of an independent
Philippine government and the COM
plete withdrawal of the United States
has been abandoned. and there has
been substituted a determination tc
work constructively for the future OF
the Philippines and to test out ster
by step any changes that are made
If the concessions granted are abused
or If the new government proves in
efficient. it is within the power of the
administration to remove the men tc
whom it has extended its confidence
and restore the government TO entire
American control
A number of changes heve been
made in civil service, the most i'm
portant of which are the removal of
Col. Henry B. Mccoy, insular collector
of customs, who is the Republican
national committeeman for the Philip
pines and Capt. Charles H. Sleeper,
director of the Bureau of Lands.
Mccoy has been succeeded by Mr.
Herstein, a tariff EXPERT, who was as
sociated with Gov.-Gen. Harrison in
technical work for the Wavs and
Means Committee, and Capt. S'eaper
has been replaced by Gen. Manuel
Tinio, who was director Of the Bureau
of Labor under the recent Forbes adj
ministration, ard one of Aouinaldo'S
ablest lieutenants durino the insurrec-
| tintn % 90 innct tho II,,;Anl Ctntn-